Berean Standard Bible
Acts 28:3
3Paul gathered a bundle of sticks, and as he laid them on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself to his hand.
Acts 28:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
- New International Version (NIV)Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.
- English Standard Version (ESV)When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
Context of Acts 28:3
1Once we were safely ashore, we learned that the island was called Malta. 2The islanders showed us extraordinary kindness. They kindled a fire and welcomed all of us because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a bundle of sticks, and as he laid them on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself to his hand. 4When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5But Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.
Read all of Acts 28Acts 28:3 word by word
συστρέψαντος δὲ τοῦ Παύλου φρυγάνων τι πλῆθος καὶ ἐπιθέντος ἐπὶ τὴν πυρὰν ἔχιδνα ἀπὸ τῆς θέρμης ἐξελθοῦσα καθῆψεν τῆς χειρὸς αὐτοῦ.¶Read the interlinear
- ·δέde · thenG1161
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- PaulΠαῦλοςPaulos · PaulG3972
- gatheredσυστρέφωsustrephō · to gatherG4962
- aτιςtis · oneG5100
- bundleπλῆθοςplēthos · multitudeG4128
- of sticksφρύγανονphruganon · brushwoodG5434
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- as he laidἐπιτίθημιepitithēmi · to put/lay onG2007
- onἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- fireπυράpura · fireG4443
- a viperἔχιδναechidna · snakeG2191
- drivenἐξέρχομαιexerchomai · to go outG1831
- outἀπόapo · away fromG575
- heatθέρμηthermē · heatG2329
- fastenedκαθάπτωkathaptō · to attachG2510
- hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- handχείρcheir · handG5495
Cross-references for Acts 28:3
- Job 20:16He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him.
- Isaiah 30:6This is the burden against the beasts of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people of no profit to them.
- Isaiah 41:24Behold, you are nothing and your work is of no value. Anyone who chooses you is detestable.
- Isaiah 59:5They hatch the eggs of vipers and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
- Matthew 3:7But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
- Matthew 12:34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
- Matthew 23:33You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?
- Acts 28:4When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”
- Amos 5:19It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a snake.
- 2 Corinthians 6:9unknown, yet well-known; dying, and yet we live on; punished, yet not killed;
- 2 Corinthians 11:23Are they servants of Christ? (I am speaking as if I were out of my mind.) I am so much more: in harder labor, in more imprisonments, in worse beatings, in frequent danger of death.
Commentaries on Acts 28:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3There came a viper out of the heat - We may naturally suppose that there had been fuel laid before on the fire, and that the viper was in this fuel, and that it had been revived by the heat; and, when St. Paul laid his bundle on the fire, the viper was then in a state to lay hold on his hand.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Had gathered a bundle of sticks - For the purpose of making a fire. There came a viper - A poisonous serpent. See the notes on Matthew 3:7. The viper was doubtless in the bundle of sticks or limbs of trees which Paul had gathered, but was concealed, and was torpid. But when the bundle was laid on the fire, the viper became warmed by the heat, and came out and fastened on the hand of Paul. And fastened on his hand - ͂ kathēpsenThis word properly means to…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. 33. when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks--"a quantity of dry sticks." The vigorous activity of Paul's character is observable in this comparatively trifling action [Webster and Wilkinson]. and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat--Having laid itself up among the sticks on the approach of the cold winter season, it had suddenly recovered from its torpor by the heat. and fastened--its fangs. on his hand--Vipers dart at their enemies…Read the comment
Topics related to Acts 28:3
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
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