Darby Bible
Acts 28:4
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.
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
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. 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. And 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. 6But they expected that he would have swollen or fallen down suddenly dead. But when they had expected a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, changing their opinion, they said 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
- beastθηρίονthērion · wild animalG2342
- hangingκρεμάωkremannumi · to hangG2910
- handχείρcheir · handG5495
- saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- oneἀλλήλωνallēlōn · one anotherG240
- manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
- isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- murdererφονεύςphoneus · murdererG5406
- savedδιασῴζωdiasōzō · to saveG1295
- seaθάλασσαthalassa · seaG2281
- allowedἐάωeaō · to allowG1439
- liveζάωzaō · to liveG2198
Cross-references for Acts 28:4
- Acts 28:2But 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.
- Acts 28:5He however, having shaken off the beast into the fire, felt no harm.
- Genesis 3:1And the serpent was more crafty than any animal of the field which Jehovah Elohim had made. And it said to the woman, Is it even so, that God has said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
- Isaiah 13:21But beasts of the desert shall lie there, and their houses shall be full of owls; and ostriches shall dwell there, and wild goats shall dance there.
- Isaiah 43:20The beast of the field shall glorify me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I will give waters in the wilderness, rivers in the waste, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
- Zephaniah 2:15This is the rejoicing city that dwelt in security, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none else beside me: how is she become a desolation, a couching-place for beasts! Every one that passeth by her shall hiss, shall wave his hand.
- Luke 13:2And he answering said to them, Think ye that these Galileans were sinners beyond all the Galileans because they suffered such things?
- John 7:24Judge not according to sight, but judge righteous judgment.
- John 9:1And as he passed on, he saw a man blind from birth.
- Genesis 4:8And Cain spoke to 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 indeed your blood, [the blood] of your lives, will I require: at the hand of every animal will I require it, and at the hand of Man, at the hand of each [the blood] of his brother, will I require the life of Man.
- Genesis 42:21Then they said one to another, We are indeed guilty concerning our brother, whose anguish of soul we saw when he besought us, and we did not hearken; therefore this distress is come upon us.
- Numbers 35:31And ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall certainly be put to death.
- Proverbs 28:17A man laden with the blood of [any] person, fleeth to the pit: let no man stay him.
- Isaiah 26:21For behold, Jehovah cometh out of his place to visit the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth upon them; and the earth shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
- Matthew 23:35so that all righteous blood shed upon the earth should come upon you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple 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
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