ActsChapter 28

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¹Once we were safe on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. ²The people who lived on the island were very kind to us. It was raining and cold. So they built a fire and welcomed all of us. ³Paul gathered a bundle of sticks. He was putting them on the fire when a poisonous snake crawled out. The heat had driven it out. It bit down on his hand and held on. ⁴The islanders 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."a ⁵But Paul shook the snake off into the fire. He was not hurt at all. ⁶The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall over dead. They waited a long time. But they saw nothing strange happen to him. So they changed their minds. They said he was a god. ⁷Nearby there was land that belonged to Publius. He was the chief official of the island. He welcomed us into his home. For three days he took good care of us as his guests. ⁸The father of Publius was sick in bed. He had a fever and a bad stomach sickness. Paul went in to see him. He prayed and put his hands on the man. Then he healed him. ⁹After this happened, the rest of the sick people on the island came. They were healed too. ¹⁰The islanders honored us in many ways. When we were ready to sail, they gave us the things we needed. ¹¹After three months we set sail. We went on a ship from Alexandria that had spent the winter at the island. The ship had the Twin Brothers carved on its front.b ¹²We stopped at Syracuse and stayed there three days. ¹³From there we pulled up anchor and came to Rhegium. After one day, a south wind started to blow. On the second day we arrived at Puteoli. ¹⁴There we found some believers. They asked us to stay with them for a week. And so we came to Rome. ¹⁵The believers in Rome had heard we were coming. They traveled all the way to the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he felt encouraged. He thanked God. ¹⁶When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself. A soldier stayed with him to guard him. ¹⁷After three days, Paul called the Jewish leaders together. When they came, he said to them, "Brothers, I have done nothing against our people. I have done nothing against the customs of our fathers. But I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. ¹⁸The Romans questioned me. They wanted to set me free. They found no reason that I should be put to death. ¹⁹But the Jews were against it. So I had to appeal to Caesar. But I don't have any charge to bring against my own nation. ²⁰That's why I asked to see you and talk with you. I'm wearing this chain because of the hope of Israel." ²¹The leaders answered, "We haven't gotten any letters about you from Judea. None of our brothers from there has reported anything bad about you. They haven't even said anything bad. ²²But we want to hear what you think, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this group." ²³So they chose a day to meet with Paul. Many people came to the place where he was staying. From morning until evening, he explained things to them. He told them about the kingdom of God. He tried to convince them about Jesus. He used the Law of Moses and the books of the Prophets. ²⁴Some of them believed what he said. But others would not believe. ²⁵They didn't agree with each other. They began to leave after Paul said one last thing: "The Holy Spirit was right when he spoke to your fathers. He spoke through Isaiah the prophet. He said, ²⁶'Go to this people and say, "You will hear and hear, but never understand. You will look and look, but never see." ²⁷These people's hearts have grown hard. They can barely hear with their ears. They have shut their eyes. If not, they might see with their eyes. They might hear with their ears. They might understand with their hearts and turn. Then I would heal them.' ²⁸So I want you to know this. God has sent his salvation to the Gentiles. And they will listen!" ²⁹—c ³⁰Paul stayed there two whole years in a house he rented. He welcomed everyone who came to see him. ³¹He preached about the kingdom of God. He taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. He did it boldly, and no one stopped him.