Acts 28:5

5 But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed.

Acts 28:5 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 28:5

And he shook off the beast into the fire
Having held it a while, and as being master of it, and as not being afraid of it, though it was the ready way to provoke it to fasten on him again:

and felt no harm;
it having not bit him, nor infected him with its poison; and hereby was fulfilled what our Lord promised to his disciples, ( Mark 16:18 ) ;

Acts 28:5 In-Context

3 As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand.

4 The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live.”

5 But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed.

6 The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn’t harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god.

7 Near the shore where we landed was an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and treated us kindly for three days.