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Acts 28:3–5

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. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand,l 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.”m But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.n

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Acts 28:3–5 — English Standard Version (ESV)

When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

Acts 28:3–5 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.

Acts 28:3–5 — New Living Translation (NLT)

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

Acts 28:3–5 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

Acts 28:3–5 — New Century Version (NCV)

Paul gathered a pile of sticks and was putting them on the fire when a poisonous snake came out because of the heat and bit him on the hand. The people living on the island saw the snake hanging from Paul’s hand and said to each other, “This man must be a murderer! He did not die in the sea, but Justice does not want him to live.” But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and was not hurt.

Acts 28:3–5 — American Standard Version (ASV)

But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out by reason of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous creature hanging from his hand, they said one to another, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped from the sea, yet Justice hath not suffered to live. Howbeit he shook off the creature into the fire, and took no harm.

Acts 28:3–5 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

And Paul having gathered a certain quantity of sticks together in a bundle and laid it on the fire, a viper coming out from the heat seized his hand. And when the barbarians saw the beast hanging from his hand, they said to one another, This man is certainly a murderer, whom, though saved out of the sea, Nemesis has not allowed to live. He however, having shaken off the beast into the fire, felt no harm.

Acts 28:3–5 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Paul gathered a bundle of brushwood and put it on the fire. The heat forced a poisonous snake out of the brushwood. The snake bit Paul’s hand and wouldn’t let go. When the people who lived on the island saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer! He may have escaped from the sea, but justice won’t let him live.” 

Paul shook the snake into the fire and wasn’t harmed.

Acts 28:3–5 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

As Paul gathered a bundle of brushwood and put it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself to his hand. When the local people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man is probably a murderer, and though he has escaped the sea, Justice does not allow him to live!” However, he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.

Acts 28:3–5 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, when a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man must be a murderer; though he has escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.” He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

Acts 28:3–5 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

And when Paul had gathered a large number of sticks and was placing them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. And when the local people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “Doubtless this man is a murderer whom, although he was rescued from the sea, Justice has not permitted to live!” He, in turn, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

Acts 28:3–5 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

Paul gathered some sticks and put them on the fire. A poisonous snake was driven out by the heat. It fastened itself on Paul’s hand. The people of the island saw the snake hanging from his hand. They said to each other, “This man must be a murderer. He escaped from the sea. But Justice won’t let him live.” Justice was the name of a goddess.

Paul shook the snake off into the fire. He was not harmed.

Acts 28:3–5 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.

When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.”

However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.


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