American Standard Version
Acts 28:4
4And when the barbarians saw the venomous creature hanging from his hand, they said one to another, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped from the sea, yet Justice hath not suffered to live.
Acts 28:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)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.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)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."
- New King James Version (NKJV)So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.”
Context of Acts 28:4
2And the barbarians showed us no common kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us all, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. 3But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out by reason of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous creature hanging from his hand, they said one to another, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped from the sea, yet Justice hath not suffered to live. 5Howbeit he shook off the creature into the fire, and took no harm. 6But they expected that he would have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but when they were long in expectation and beheld nothing amiss come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.
Read all of Acts 28Acts 28:4 word by word
Ὡς δὲ εἶδον οἱ βάρβαροι κρεμάμενον τὸ θηρίον ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς αὐτοῦ, πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἔλεγον· πάντως φονεύς ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος, ὃν διασωθέντα ἐκ τῆς θαλάσσης ἡ δίκη ζῆν οὐκ εἴασεν.¶Read the interlinear
- whenὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
- sawὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- creatureθηρίονthērion · wild animalG2342
- hangingκρεμάωkremannumi · to hangG2910
- handχείρcheir · handG5495
- saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- oneἀλλήλωνallēlōn · one anotherG240
- manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
- isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- murdererφονεύςphoneus · murdererG5406
- seaθάλασσαthalassa · seaG2281
- liveζάωzaō · to liveG2198
Cross-references for Acts 28:4
- Acts 28:2And the barbarians showed us no common kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us all, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
- Acts 28:5Howbeit he shook off the creature into the fire, and took no harm.
- Genesis 3:1Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?
- Isaiah 13:21But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and ostriches shall dwell there, and wild goats shall dance there.
- Isaiah 43:20The beasts of the field shall honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen,
- Zephaniah 2:15This is the joyous city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none besides me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.
- Luke 13:2And he answered and said unto them, Think ye that these Galilæans were sinners above all the Galilæans, because they have suffered these things?
- John 7:24Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
- John 9:1And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth.
- Genesis 4:8And Cain told Abel his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
- Genesis 9:5And surely your blood, the blood of your lives, will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it: and at the hand of man, even at the hand of every man’s brother, will I require the life of man.
- Genesis 42:21And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
- Numbers 35:31Moreover ye shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer, that is guilty of death; but he shall surely be put to death.
- Proverbs 28:17A man that is laden with the blood of any person Shall flee unto the pit; let no man stay him.
- Isaiah 26:21For, behold, Jehovah cometh forth out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
- Matthew 23:35that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar.
Commentaries on Acts 28:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4The venomous beast - , The venomous animal; for is a general name among the Greek writers for serpents, vipers, scorpions, wasps, and such like creatures. Though the viper fastened on Paul's hand, it does not appear that it really bit him; but the Maltese supposed that it had, because they saw it fasten on his hand. Vengeance suffereth not to live - These heathens had a general knowledge of retributive justice; and they thought that the stinging of the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4The venomous beast - The English word “beast” we usually apply to an animal of larger size than a viper. But the original ́ thērionis applicable to animals of any kind, and was especially applied by Greek writers to serpents. See Schleusner. No doubt - The fact that the viper had fastened on him; and that, as they supposed, he must now certainly die, was the proof from which they inferred his guilt. Is a murderer - Why they thought he was a murderer…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-6The people of Malta believed that justice was a personal power or a god who punished criminals. When nothing bad happened to Paul, they changed their minds. They saw that he was not harmed by the snake. So they thought he had power over snakes and said that he must be a god (compare 14:11–12). But this was not true. Paul did not have special power in himself. Instead, his survival showed that God was protecting him (compare Mark 16:17–18).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-64-6. No doubt this man is a murderer--His chains, which they would see, might strengthen the impression. whom ... vengeance suffereth not to live--They believed in a Supreme, Resistless, Avenging Eye and Hand, however vague their notions of where it resided.Read the comment
Topics related to Acts 28:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Acts 28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries