Darby Bible
Acts 28:3
3And Paul having gathered a [certain] quantity of sticks together in a bundle and laid [it] on the fire, a viper coming out from the heat seized 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
1And when we got safe [to land] we then knew that the island was called Melita. 2But the barbarians shewed us no common kindness; for, having kindled a fire, they took us all in because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold. And Paul having gathered a [certain] quantity of sticks together in a bundle and laid [it] on the fire, a viper coming out from the heat seized his hand. 4And when the barbarians saw the beast hanging from his hand, they said to one another, This man is certainly a murderer, whom, [though] saved out of the sea, Nemesis has not allowed to live. 5He however, having shaken off the beast into the fire, felt no harm.
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
Cross-references for Acts 28:3
- Job 20:16He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall kill him.
- Isaiah 30:6— The burden of the beasts of the south: Through a land of trouble and anguish, whence come the lioness and lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they carry their riches upon the shoulders of asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to the people that shall not profit [them].
- Isaiah 41:24Behold, ye are less than nothing, and your work is of nought; an abomination is he that chooseth you. ...
- Isaiah 59:5They hatch serpents' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.
- Matthew 3:7But seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, Offspring of vipers, who has forewarned you to flee from the coming wrath?
- Matthew 12:34Offspring of vipers! how can ye speak good things, being wicked? For of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
- Matthew 23:33Serpents, offspring of vipers, how should ye escape the judgment of hell?
- Acts 28:4And when the barbarians saw the beast hanging from his hand, they said to one another, This man is certainly a murderer, whom, [though] saved out of the sea, Nemesis has not allowed to live.
- Amos 5:19as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
- 2 Corinthians 6:9as unknown, and well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as disciplined, and not put to death;
- 2 Corinthians 11:23Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as being beside myself) I above measure [so]; in labours exceedingly abundant, in stripes to excess, in prisons exceedingly abundant, in deaths oft.
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
Darby Bible — 1889 — Public Domain
Commentaries