¹When we were safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. ²The people who lived on the island were unusually kind to us. They made a fire and welcomed all of us around it because of the rain and the cold.

³Paul 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. ⁴When 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.”

⁵Paul shook the snake into the fire and wasn’t harmed. ⁶The people were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But after they had waited a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

⁷A man named Publius, who was the governor of the island, had property around the area. He welcomed us and treated us kindly, and for three days we were his guests. ⁸His father happened to be sick in bed. He was suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went to him, prayed, placed his hands on him, and made him well.

⁹After that had happened, other sick people on the island went to Paul and were made well. ¹⁰They showed respect for us in many ways, and when we were going to set sail, they put whatever we needed on board.

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