Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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In Malta
1 When we were safely ashore,
we learned that the island
was called Malta.
2 The natives there
were very friendly to us. It had
started to rain and was cold, so they
built a fire and made us all welcome.
3 Paul gathered up a bundle of sticks
and was putting them on the fire
when a snake came out on account
of the heat and fastened itself to his
hand.
4 The natives saw the snake
hanging on Paul's hand and said to
one another, “This man must be a
murderer, but Fate will not let him
live, even though he escaped from
the sea.”
5 But Paul shook the snake
off into the fire without being
harmed at all.
6 They were waiting
for him to swell up or suddenly fall
down dead. But after waiting for a
long time and not seeing anything
unusual happening to him, they
changed their minds and said, “He is
a god!”
7 Not far from that place were
some fields that belonged to Publius,
the chief of the island. He welcomed
us kindly and for three days we were
his guests.
8 Publius' father was in
bed, sick with fever and dysentery.
Paul went into his room, prayed,
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placed his hands on him, and healed
him.
9 When this happened, all the
other sick people on the island came
and were healed.
10 They gave us
many gifts, and when we sailed, they
put on board what we needed for the
voyage.
From Malta to Rome
11 After three months we sailed
away on a ship from Alexandria,
called “The Twin Gods,” which had
spent the winter in the island.
12 We
arrived in the city of Syracuse and
stayed there for three days.
13 From
there we sailed on and arrived in the
city of Rhegium. The next day a
wind began to blow from the south,
and in two days we came to the
town of Puteoli.
14 We found some
believers there who asked us to stay
with them a week. And so we came
to Rome.
15 The believers in Rome
heard about us and came as far as
the towns of Market of Appius and
Three Inns to meet us. When Paul
saw them, he thanked God and was
greatly encouraged.
In Rome
16 When we arrived in Rome, Paul
was allowed to live by himself with a
soldier guarding him.
17 After three days Paul called the
local Jewish leaders to a meeting.
When they had gathered, he said to
them, “My fellow Israelites, even
though I did nothing against our
people or the customs that we received
from our ancestors, I was
made a prisoner in Jerusalem and
handed over to the Romans.
18 After
questioning me, the Romans wanted
to release me, because they found
that I had done nothing for which I
deserved to die.
19 But when the
Jews opposed this, I was forced to
appeal to the Emperor, even though
I had no accusation to make against
my own people. note
20 That is why I
asked to see you and talk with you.
As a matter of fact, I am bound in
chains like this for the sake of him
for whom the people of Israel hope.”
21 They said to him, “We have not
received any letters from Judea
about you, nor have any of our people
come from there with any news
or anything bad to say about you.
22 But we would like to hear your
ideas, because we know that everywhere
people speak against this
party to which you belong.”
23 So they set a date with Paul, and
a large number of them came that
day to the place where Paul was
staying. From morning till night he
explained to them his message
about the Kingdom of God, and he
tried to convince them about Jesus
by quoting from the Law of Moses
and the writings of the prophets.
24 Some of them were convinced by
his words, but others would not believe.
25 So they left, disagreeing
among themselves, after Paul had
said this one thing: “How well the
Holy Spirit spoke through the
prophet Isaiah to your ancestors!
26 For he said,
‘Go and say to this people:
You will listen and listen, but not understand;
you will look and look, but not see,
27
because this people's minds are dull,
and they have stopped up their ears
and closed their eyes.
Otherwise, their eyes would see,
their ears would hear,
their minds would understand,
and they would turn to me, says God,
and I would heal them.’” note
28 And Paul concluded: “You are to
know, then, that God's message of
salvation has been sent to the Gentiles.
They will listen!” note
30 For two years Paul lived in a
place he rented for himself, and
there he welcomed all who came to
see him.
31 He preached about the
Kingdom of God and taught about
the Lord Jesus Christ, speaking with
all boldness and freedom.
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Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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