1
After our escape, we learned that the island was called Malta.
2
Its people showed extraordinary kindness - it was cold and it had started to rain, so they lit a bonfire and welcomed us all.
3
Sha'ul had gathered a bundle of sticks and was adding them to the fire, when a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, fastened itself to his hand.
4
The islanders saw the creature hanging from Sha'ul's hand and said to one another, "This man must be a murderer. Even though he escaped the sea, justice has not allowed him to live."
5
But he shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no harm.
6
They waited, expecting him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing that nothing amiss was happening to him, they reversed their opinion and said he was a god.