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THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 
Winter in Malta.
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1Once we had reached safety we learned that the island was
called Malta. The natives showed us extraordinary hospitality; they lit a re and welcomed all of us because it had begun to rain and was cold. 3Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the re when a viper, escaping from the heat, fastened on his hand. 4When the natives saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man must certainly be a murderer; though he escaped the sea, Justice* has not let him remain alive.” 5But he shook the snake o into the re and su ered no harm. 6They were expecting him to swell up or suddenly to fall down dead but, after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.a 7In the vicinity of that place were lands belonging to a man named Publius, the chief of the island. He welcomed us and received us cordially as his guests for three days. 8It so happened that the father of Publius was sick with a fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and, after praying, laid his hands on him and healed him. 9After this had taken place, the rest of the sick on the island came to Paul and were cured. 10They paid us great honor and when we eventually set sail they brought us the provisions we needed.
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Arrival in Rome. 11Three months later we set sail on a ship that had wintered at the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the Dioscuri* as its gurehead. 12We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days, 13and from there we sailed round the coast and arrived at Rhegium. After a day, a south wind came up and in two days we reached Puteoli. 14There we found some brothers and were urged to stay with them for seven days. And thus we came to Rome. 15The brothers from there heard about us and came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul gave thanks to God and took courage. 16When he entered Rome,* Paul was allowed to live by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.
A lighthouse in Malta
A harbor in present day Malta
28:3
“These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents [with their hands], and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17-18).
a. [28:6] 14:11.
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* [28:4] Justice: in Greek mythology, the pursuing goddess of vengeance and justice.
* [28:11] Dioscuri: that is, the Twin Brothers, Castor and Pollux, the sons of Zeus and the
patrons of the sailors.
* [28:16] With Paul’s arrival in Rome, the programmatic spread of the word of the Lord to “the
ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8) is accomplished. In Rome, Paul is placed under house arrest, and under this mild form of custody he is allowed to proclaim the word in the capital of the civilized world of his day.