Acts 28:4

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 Living Translation (NLT)The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live.”

Context of Acts 28:4

2And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold. 3But 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. 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.” 5But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

Acts 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andδέde · thenG1161
• whenὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• the barbariansὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the barbariansβάρβαροςbarbaros · barbarianG915
• sawὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• theθηρίονthērion · wild animalG2342
• hangκρεμάωkremannumi · to hangG2910
• onἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• handχείρcheir · handG5495
• they saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• amongπρόςpros · to/withG4314
• themselvesἀλλήλωνallēlōn · one anotherG240
• No doubtπάντωςpantōs · surelyG3843
• thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• a murdererφονεύςphoneus · murdererG5406
• whomὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• he hath escapedδιασῴζωdiasōzō · to saveG1295
• the seaθάλασσαthalassa · seaG2281
• yet vengeanceδίκηdikē · condemnationG1349
• sufferethἐάωeaō · to allowG1439
• notοὐou · noG3756
• to liveζάωzaō · to liveG2198

Cross-references for Acts 28:4

• Acts 28:2And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold.
• Acts 28:5But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.
• Genesis 3:1Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
• Isaiah 13:21But wild beasts of the desert will lie there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches will dwell there, And wild goats will caper there.
• Isaiah 43:20The beast of the field will 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 rejoicing city That dwelt securely, That said in her heart, “I am it, and there is none besides me.” How has she become a desolation, A place for beasts to lie down! Everyone who passes by her Shall hiss and shake his fist.
• Luke 13:2And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?
• John 7:24Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
• John 9:1Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.
• Genesis 4:8Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
• Genesis 9:5Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.
• Genesis 42:21Then they said to one another, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.”
• Numbers 35:31Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death.
• Proverbs 28:17A man burdened with bloodshed will flee into a pit; Let no one help him.
• Isaiah 26:21For behold, the Lord comes out of His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; The earth will also disclose her blood, And will no more cover her slain.
• Matthew 23:35that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered 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

• Barbarian
• Melita (Malta)
• Minister, Christian
• Paul

In the dictionaries

• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Attain
• Barbarian
• Compass
• Concern
• Confidence
• Constrain
• Escape
• Foreship
• James

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