Acts 28:3-21

³But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and placed them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened onto his hand.

⁴When the native people saw the animal hanging from his hand, they said one to another, “This man certainly is a murderer who escaped from the sea, yet justice does not permit him to live.”

⁵But then he shook the animal into the fire and suffered no harm.

⁶They were waiting for him to become inflamed with a fever or to suddenly drop dead. But after they watched him for a long time and saw that nothing was unusual with him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

⁷Now in a nearby place there were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, a man named Publius. He welcomed us and kindly provided for us for three days.

⁸It happened that the father of Publius had been made ill with a fever and dysentery. When Paul went to him, he prayed, placed his hands on him, and healed him.

⁹After this happened, the rest of the people on the island who were sick also came and were healed.

¹⁰The people also honored us with many honors. When we were preparing to sail, they gave us what we needed.

¹¹After three months we set sail in an ship that had spent the winter at the island, a ship of Alexandria, with “the twin gods” as it figurehead.

¹²After we landed at the city of Syracuse, we stayed there three days.

¹³From there we sailed and arrived at the city of Rhegium. After one day a south wind sprang up, and in two days we came to the city of Puteoli.

¹⁴There we found some brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. In this way we came to Rome.

¹⁵From there the brothers, after they heard about us, came to meet us as far as The Market of Appius and The Three Taverns. When Paul saw the brothers, he thanked God and took courage.

¹⁶When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself with the soldier who was guarding him.

¹⁷Then it came about that after three days Paul called together those men who were the leaders among the Jews. When they had come together, he said to them, “Brothers, although I have done nothing wrong against the people or the customs of our fathers, I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.

¹⁸After they questioned me, they wished to set me free, because there was no reason in me for a death penalty.

¹⁹But when the Jews spoke against their desire, I was forced to appeal to Caesar, although it is not as if I were bringing any accusation against my nation.

²⁰Because of my appeal, then, I have asked to see you and to speak with you. It is because of the certain hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”

²¹Then they said to him, “We neither received letters from Judea about you, nor did any of the brothers come and report or say anything bad about you.