1 Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta.
2
The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.
3
Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.
4
When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.”
5
But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.
6
The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.