³And 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. ⁴And 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!” ⁵He, in turn, shook off the creature into the fire and^* suffered no harm. ⁶But they were expecting that he was going to swell up^b or suddenly to fall down dead. So after^* they had waited for a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and^* began saying^* that he was a god.

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Footnotes

*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“had gathered”)
*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came out”) has been translated as a finite verb
*The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began saying”)
*Here “although” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was rescued”) which is understood as concessive
*Here personified as a goddess
*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“shook off”) has been translated as a finite verb
bOr “to burn with fever” (either meaning is possible here)
*Here “after” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“had waited”)
*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“changed their minds”) has been translated as a finite verb
*The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began saying”)

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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. They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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, 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.” But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

As Paul gathered a bundle of brushwood and put it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. When the local people saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man, no doubt, is a murderer. Even though he has escaped the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” But he shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no harm. They expected that he would begin to swell up or suddenly drop dead. After they waited a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

NLTNew Living Translation

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. 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.

KJV 1900King James Version

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. Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

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