Acts 28:4 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Acts 28:1-10

What a great variety of places and circumstances do we find Paul in! He was a planet, and not a fixed star. Here we have him in an island to which, in all probability, he had never come if he had not been thrown upon it by a storm; and yet it seems God has work for him to do here. Even stormy winds fulfil God's counsel, and an ill wind indeed it is that blows nobody any good; this ill wind blew good to the island of Melita; for it gave them Paul's company for three months, who was a blessing... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Acts 28:1-6

28:1-6 When we had been brought safely to shore, we recognized that the island was Malta. The natives showed us quite extraordinary kindness for they lit a bonfire and brought us all to it because of the rain which had come on and the cold. When Paul had twisted up a faggot of sticks and placed it on the fire, a viper came out of it because of the heat and fastened on his hand. When the natives saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer and,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 28:4

And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast ,.... The viper is called "Therion", a beast, it being of the viviparous kind; and hence comes "Theriaca", or "Venice treacle", the foundation of which composition is vipers' flesh; and it is called venomous, because it is of all serpents the most venomous: this when the country people saw hang on his hand , having wrapped itself about it, they said among themselves, no doubt this man is a murderer : they might see he was a prisoner by... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:4

The venomous beast - Το θηριον , The venomous animal; for θηρια 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 serpent was a... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:4

Verse 4− 4.So soon as the barbarians saw. This judgment was common in all ages, that those who were grievously punished had grievously offended. Neither was this persuasion conceived of nothing; but it came rather from a true feeling of godliness. For God, to the end he might make the world without excuse, would have this deeply rooted in the minds of all men, that calamity and adversity, and chiefly notable destruction, were testimonies and signs of his wrath and just vengeance against sins.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 28:1-6

The instability of ignorance, and the stability of the true Christian. The whole circumstance an apt illustration of the spiritual forces working in the midst of the natural. The shipwrecked company. Paul active in helping. The barbarians better than those who abused Divine blessings like the Jews, who violated Divine order like the Romans; but, though actuated by kindness, easily led away by superstition and ignorant prejudice. I. THE INSUFFICIENCY OF NATURAL INSTINCTS . ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 28:1-6

A strong family likeness. This short episode is, in its proportion, as refreshing to the reader as to those who played the actual part in it. It is the oasis of narrative. It reads like a brief parable of the human heart. Or we may be impressed by it, as by some portrait, which presents to our view features with which we seem to be very familiar, and half hiding, half revealing a likeness to some one well known. They are the features that "half conceal and half reveal" the likeness of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 28:1-10

Kindness. Genuine kindness is a pleasant thing to see by whomsoever and under whatsoever circumstances it is exercised. God has planted it in the human breast, and it is one of the distinctive attributes of man. Too often, indeed, the indulgence of bad passions is suffered to choke it, and rival interests to interfere with its action. Still, there it is, a faint reflection, it is true, of the love of God, but nevertheless a remnant of God's image in man; pleasant to behold, sweetening the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 28:1-10

A picture of the human. In these few verses we have a graphic picture of some of the experiences of our life and of the instincts or intuitions of our nature. I. A PICTURE OF THE HUMAN . 1. Human suffering. 2. Unspoiled human nature. Such is the dire effect of long-continued, sin upon the soul, that it often happens that nearly every vestige of the goodness with which our Creator first endowed us disappears. As God made us, it was natural that we should compassionate... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 28:1-10

Occurrences at Malta. I. THE HOSPITALITY OF THE HEATHEN . The instinct of kindness is God-implanted in the human heart. Hospitality was not so much a virtue in heathendom as the refusal of it a crime. So much the more must any "shutting up of the bowels of compassion" against the needy brother or the stranger be an offence against the Son of man. The great charge which he, in his depiction of the scene of judgment, brings against the unfaithful is the neglect of the common... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Acts 28:1-10

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Acts 28:1-6

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 28:4

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:4

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 28:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 28:1-6

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 28:1-6

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 28:1-10

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 28:1-10

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 28:1-10

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