Acts 28
28
Acts 28
1¶ And when they were escaped, then we knew that the island was called Melita. {or Malta}
2And the barbarous people showed us no little kindness; for they kindled a great fire and received all of us because of the present rain and because of the cold.
3And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out of the heat and fastened on his hand.
4And 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 has escaped the sea, yet vengeance does not suffer him to live.
5And he shook off the beast into the fire and felt no harm.
6But they were waiting to see when he should have swollen or fallen down dead suddenly; but after they had waited a great while and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.
7In the same quarters were possessions of a principal man of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and lodged us three days courteously.
8And it came to pass that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of dysentery, to whom Paul entered in and prayed and laid his hands on him and healed him.
9So when this was done, others also, who had diseases in the island, came and were healed,
10who also honoured us with many gifts; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary.
11¶ And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose ensign was Castor and Pollux.
12And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days.
13And having gone around, we came to Rhegium, and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli,
14where we found brethren, who asked us to tarry with them seven days, and so we went toward Rome.
15And from there, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and The Three Taverns whom when Paul saw, he thanked God and took courage.
16And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the praetorian prefect, but Paul was allowed to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him.
17¶ And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the principals of the Jews together, and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans,
18who, when they had examined me, would have let me go because there was no cause of death in me.
19But when the Jews spoke against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar, not that I had anything to accuse my nation of.
20For this cause therefore I have called for you, to see you and to speak with you: because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.
21And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came showed or spoke any harm of thee.
22But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest; for as concerning this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against.
23¶ And when they had appointed him a day, many came to him into his lodging, to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, procuring to persuade them of that concerning Jesus, the Christ, out of the law of Moses and out of the prophets, from morning until evening.
24And some believed the things which were spoken, and some did not believe.
25And when they did not agree among themselves, they departed, after Paul had spoken this word, Well spoke the Holy Spirit by Isaiah the prophet unto our fathers,
26saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see and not perceive;
27for the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and should be converted and I should heal them.
28Be it known, therefore, unto you that this saving health of God is sent unto the Gentiles and that they will hear it.
29And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves.
30¶ And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house and received all that came in unto him,
31preaching the kingdom of God and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all liberty, without hindrance.
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Acts 28: JUB
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
Acts 28
28
1-2Once everyone was accounted for and we realized we had all made it, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. The natives went out of their way to be friendly to us. The day was rainy and cold and we were already soaked to the bone, but they built a huge bonfire and gathered us around it.
3-6Paul pitched in and helped. He had gathered up a bundle of sticks, but when he put it on the fire, a venomous snake, roused from its sleepiness by the heat, struck his hand and held on. Seeing the snake hanging from Paul’s hand like that, the natives jumped to the conclusion that he was a murderer getting what he deserved. Paul shook the snake off into the fire like it was nothing. They kept expecting him to drop dead, but when it was obvious he wasn’t going to, they jumped to the conclusion that he was a god!
7-9The head man in that part of the island was Publius. He took us into his home as his guests, drying us out and putting us up in fine style for the next three days. Publius’s father was sick at the time, down with a high fever and dysentery. Paul went to the old man’s room, and when he laid hands on him and prayed, the man was healed. Word of the healing got around fast, and soon everyone on the island who was sick came and got healed.
Rome
10-11We spent a wonderful three months on Malta. They treated us royally, took care of all our needs and outfitted us for the rest of the journey. When an Egyptian ship that had wintered there in the harbor prepared to leave for Italy, we got on board. The ship had a carved Gemini for its figurehead: “the Heavenly Twins.”
12-14a We put in at Syracuse for three days and then went up the coast to Rhegium. Two days later, with the wind out of the south, we sailed into the Bay of Naples. We found Christian friends there and stayed with them for a week.
14b-16 And then we came to Rome. Friends in Rome heard we were on the way and came out to meet us. One group got as far as Appian Court; another group met us at Three Taverns—emotion-packed meetings, as you can well imagine. Paul, brimming over with praise, led us in prayers of thanksgiving. When we actually entered Rome, they let Paul live in his own private quarters with a soldier who had been assigned to guard him.
17-20Three days later, Paul called the Jewish leaders together for a meeting at his house. He said, “The Jews in Jerusalem arrested me on trumped-up charges, and I was taken into custody by the Romans. I assure you that I did absolutely nothing against Jewish laws or Jewish customs. After the Romans investigated the charges and found there was nothing to them, they wanted to set me free, but the Jews objected so fiercely that I was forced to appeal to Caesar. I did this not to accuse them of any wrongdoing or to get our people in trouble with Rome. We’ve had enough trouble through the years that way. I did it for Israel. I asked you to come and listen to me today to make it clear that I’m on Israel’s side, not against her. I’m a hostage here for hope, not doom.”
21-22They said, “Nobody wrote warning us about you. And no one has shown up saying anything bad about you. But we would like very much to hear more. The only thing we know about this Christian sect is that nobody seems to have anything good to say about it.”
23They agreed on a time. When the day arrived, they came back to his home with a number of their friends. Paul talked to them all day, from morning to evening, explaining everything involved in the kingdom of God, and trying to persuade them all about Jesus by pointing out what Moses and the prophets had written about him.
24-27Some of them were persuaded by what he said, but others refused to believe a word of it. When the unbelievers got cantankerous and started bickering with each other, Paul interrupted: “I have just one more thing to say to you. The Holy Spirit sure knew what he was talking about when he addressed our ancestors through Isaiah the prophet:
Go to this people and tell them this:
“You’re going to listen with your ears,
but you won’t hear a word;
You’re going to stare with your eyes,
but you won’t see a thing.
These people are blockheads!
They stick their fingers in their ears
so they won’t have to listen;
They screw their eyes shut
so they won’t have to look,
so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face
and let me heal them.”
28“You’ve had your chance. The non-Jewish outsiders are next on the list. And believe me, they’re going to receive it with open arms!”
30-31Paul lived for two years in his rented house. He welcomed everyone who came to visit. He urgently presented all matters of the kingdom of God. He explained everything about Jesus Christ. His door was always open.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.