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Acts 28

1After we had been brought safely through, we learned that the island was called Malta. 2The local people showed us extraordinary kindness. They lit a fire and welcomed us all because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold. 3Paul gathered a bundle of brushwood and put it on the fire. A viper came out because of the heat and fastened onto his hand. 4When the local people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Though he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5But he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. 6They expected him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. After waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

7In the area around that place were lands belonging to the island's leading man, named Publius. He welcomed us and graciously hosted us for three days. 8Publius's father lay sick with fevers and dysentery. Paul went in to him, prayed, laid his hands on him, and healed him. 9After this happened, the rest of those on the island who had illnesses also came and were healed. 10They honored us with many honors, and when we set sail they provided what we needed.

11After three months we set sail in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island, with the Twin Brothers as its figurehead. 12We landed at Syracuse and stayed three days. 13From there we cast off and arrived at Rhegium. A day later a south wind arose, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them seven days. And so we came to Rome. 15The brothers there heard about us and came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage. 16When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself with the soldier guarding him.

17After three days he called together the leading men of the Jews. When they gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, although I had done nothing against the people or the customs of our fathers, I was handed over as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. 18After examining me, they wanted to release me because there was no basis for a death sentence in me. 19But when the Jews objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar, though I had no charge to bring against my nation. 20For this reason I asked to see you and speak with you, for it is because of the hope of Israel that I wear this chain.” 21They said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, nor has any of the brothers arrived to report or say anything evil about you. 22But we consider it right to hear from you what you think, for we know that this sect is spoken against everywhere.”

23They appointed a day with him, and more of them came to him at his lodging. From morning until evening he explained to them, testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus from the law of Moses and the prophets. 24Some were persuaded by what was said, but others disbelieved. 25Disagreeing with one another, they began to leave after Paul made one statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, 26saying, ‘Go to this people and say, “You will hear and hear but certainly not understand, and look and look but certainly not see. 27For the heart of this people has grown dull, and they have heard heavily with their ears, and they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and turn, and I will heal them.”’ 28So let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the nations. They will listen.”

30He stayed two whole years in his own rented lodging and welcomed all who came to him, 31proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus the Messiah with all boldness, unhindered.

Translation notes 6

28:1–6 — Island and people. Malta follows the usual identification of the Greek Melitē. “Local people” translates a Greek term for people outside Greek language and culture; “barbarians” today would misleadingly imply brutality. Their unusual kindness is explicit. “Justice” is personified in their speech, possibly as a divine power; their judgments that Paul is a murderer and then a god are not the narrator's conclusions. No modern snake species is supplied.

28:7–13 — Hospitality and sailing. Publius is the island's leading man; the title's precise administrative role is not stated. “Many honors” may include material gifts. The Twin Brothers are Castor and Pollux, the ship's emblem. Verse 13 follows the base's verb understood as casting off; other witnesses have “sailed around.”

28:16 — Custody. Some witnesses add that the centurion handed the prisoners to the camp commander. The base moves directly to Paul's separate lodging with a guard. He is not described as unconditionally released.

28:17–28 — Israel and the nations. Paul's account retains his own claim about being handed over. Some hearers are persuaded and others disbelieve; the text does not say every Jewish hearer rejected him. The Isaiah quotation describes hearing without understanding and refusal to see; it is retained in its full form here rather than replaced by Luke 8:10's shorter quotation. “They will listen” refers to the nations and does not erase the earlier positive Jewish responses.

28:29 — The missing verse. The base omits an added sentence: “After he said these things, the Jews went away, having a great dispute among themselves.” Early manuscript evidence favors the shorter reading; the addition is preserved here rather than inserted into the continuous narrative.

28:30–31 — Ending. The book ends with Paul's two years of welcome and proclamation under the narrated custody. It does not state the result of his appeal, his later travels, or his death. “Unhindered” is the final Greek word and remains the final word of the reading text.