3 Paul gathered a pile of sticks for the fire. He was putting them on the fire when a poisonous snake came out because of the heat and bit him on the hand.
4 The people living on the island saw the snake hanging from Paul’s hand. They said to each other, “This man must be a murderer! He did not die in the sea, but Justice does not want him to live.”
5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire. He was not hurt.
6 The people thought that Paul would swell up or fall down dead. The people waited and watched him for a long time, but nothing bad happened to him. So they changed their minds about Paul. Now they said, “He is a god!”
7 There were some fields around there owned by a very important man on the island. His name was Publius. He welcomed us into his home and was very good to us. We stayed in his house for three days.
8 Publius’ father was very sick with a fever and dysentery. But Paul went to him and prayed. Then he put his hands on the man and healed him.
9 After this, all the other sick people on the island came to Paul, and he healed them, too.