Acts 28

¹Acts 28:1. Once we were safely ashore, we learned that the island was called Malta.²Acts 28:2. The islanders showed us extraordinary kindness. They kindled a fire and welcomed all of us because it was raining and cold.³Acts 28:3. Paul gathered a bundle of sticks, and as he laid them on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself to his hand.⁴Acts 28:4. When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”⁵Acts 28:5. But Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.⁶Acts 28:6. The islanders were expecting him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

⁷Acts 28:7. Nearby stood an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and entertained us hospitably for three days.⁸Acts 28:8. The father of Publius was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him, and after praying and placing his hands on him, he healed the man.⁹Acts 28:9. After this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured as well.¹⁰Acts 28:10. The islanders honored us in many ways and supplied our needs when we were ready to sail.

¹¹Acts 28:11. After three months we set sail in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered in the island. It had the Twin Brothers as a figurehead.¹²Acts 28:12. Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there three days.¹³Acts 28:13. From there we weighed anchor and came to Rhegium. After one day, a south wind came up, and on the second day we arrived at Puteoli.¹⁴Acts 28:14. There we found some brothers who invited us to spend the week with them. And so we came to Rome.¹⁵Acts 28:15. The brothers there had heard about us and traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and gave thanks to God.¹⁶Acts 28:16. When we arrived in Rome, Paul was permitted to stay by himself, with a soldier to guard him.

¹⁷Acts 28:17. After three days, he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, I was taken prisoner in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.¹⁸Acts 28:18. They examined me and wanted to release me, because there was no basis for a death sentence against me.¹⁹Acts 28:19. But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, even though I have no charge to bring against my nation.²⁰Acts 28:20. So for this reason I have called to see you and speak with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”²¹Acts 28:21. The leaders replied, “We have not received any letters about you from Judea, nor have any of the brothers from there reported or even mentioned anything bad about you.²²Acts 28:22. But we consider your views worth hearing, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this sect.”

²³Acts 28:23. So they set a day to meet with Paul, and many people came to the place he was staying. He expounded to them from morning to evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and persuading them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets.²⁴Acts 28:24. Some of them were convinced by what he said, but others refused to believe.²⁵Acts 28:25. They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit was right when He spoke to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:²⁶Acts 28:26. ‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”²⁷Acts 28:27. For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’²⁸Acts 28:28. Be advised, therefore, that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

³⁰Acts 28:30. Paul stayed there two full years in his own rented house, welcoming all who came to visit him.³¹Acts 28:31. Boldly and freely he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.