Ashore
On Malta
Once
safely on shore,
We
found out that the island was called Malta.
2
The islanders showed us unusual kindness.
They
built a fire and welcomed us
All
because it was raining and cold.
3
Paul gathered a pole of brushwood
And
as he put it on the fire,
A
Viper, driven out by the heat,
Fastened
itself on his hand.
4
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,
JUSTICE
HAS NOT ALLOWED HIM TO LIVE.'
5
But Paul shook the snake off into the fire
And
suffered no ill effects.
6
The people expected him to swell up
Or
suddenly fall over dead,
But
after waiting for long time
And
seeing nothing unusual happen to him,
They
change their minds and said he was a god.
7
There was an estate nearby
That
belonged to Publius,
The
Chief Official of the Island.
He
welcomed us to his home
and
for three days entertained us hospitably.
8
His father was sick in bed,
Suffering
from fever and dysentery.
Paul
went into see him,
And
after prayer, place his hands on him
And
healed him.
9
When this had happened,
The
rest of the sick on the island
Came
and were Cured.
10
They honored us in many ways
And
when we were ready to sail,
They
furnished us with the supplies we needed.
Arrival
At Rome
11
After three months we put out to sea in a ship
That
had wintered in the island.
It
was an Alexandrian ship
With
the Figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux.
12
We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days.
13
From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium.
The
next day the south wind came up,
And
on the following day we reached Puteoli.
14
There we found some Brothers
Who
invited us to spend a week with them.
And
so we went to Rome.
15
The Brothers there had heard that we were coming,
And
they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius
And
Three Taverns to meet us.
At
the sight of these men Paul thanked God
And
was encouraged.
16
When we got to Rome,
Paul
was allowed to live by himself,
With
a soldier to guard him.
Paul
Preaches At Rome Under Guard
17
Three days later he called together
The
leaders of the Jews.
When
they had assembled,
Paul
said to them:
'My
Brothers,
Although
I have done nothing against our people
Or
against the Customs of our Ancestors,
I
was arrested in Jerusalem
And
handed over to the Romans.
18
They examined me and wanted to release me,
Because
I was not Guilty of any Crime deserving Death.
19
But when the Jews objected,
I
was compelled to appeal to Caesar--
Not
that I had any charge to bring against my own people.
20
For this reason I have asked to see you
And
talk with you.
It
is because of the Hope of Israel
That
I am bound with this Chain.
21
They replied,
'We
have not received any letters
From
Judea concerning you,
And
none of the Brothers who has come from there
Has
reported or said anything bad about you.
22
BUT WE WANT TO HEAR WHAT YOUR VIEWS ARE,
FOR
WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE EVERYWHERE
ARE
TALKING AGINST THIS SECT.'
23
They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day,
And
came in even larger numbers
To
the Place where he was staying.
FROM
MORNING TILL EVENING
HE
EXPLAINED AND DECLARED TO THEM THE KINGDOM OF GOD
AND
TRIED TO CONVINCE THEM ABOUT JESUS
FROM
THE LAW OF MOSES
AND
FROM THE PROPHETS.
24
Some were convinced by what he said,
But
others would not believe.
25
They disagreed among themselves
And
began to leave
After
Paul had made his final statement:
THE
HOLY SPIRIT SPOKE THE TRUTH
TO
YOUR FOREFATHERS
WHEN
HE SAID THROUGHT ISAIAH THE PROPHET:
26
'Go to this people and say,
You
will be Ever Hearing but never Understanding;
You
will be Ever Seeing but never Perceiving.
27
For this people's heart has become Calloused;
They
hardly hear with their ears,
And
they have Closed their eyes.
Otherwise
they might see with their eyes,
Hear
with their ears,
Understand
with their hearts
And
turn I would heal them.'
28
'THEREFORE I WANT YOU TO KNOW
THAT
GOD'S SALVATION HAS BEEN SENT TO THE GENTILES,
AND
THEY WILL LISTEN!'
30
For two whole years
Paul
stayed there in his own rented house
And
welcome all who came to see him.
31
BOLDY AND WITHOUT HINDRANCE
HE
PREACHED THE KINGDOM OF GOD
AND
TAUGHT ABOUT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
(Acts
28)
No comments:
Post a Comment