Thematic Bible: Shaking off vipers

When we made it to shore safely we learned that the island was called Malta. The natives there were very friendly to us. It started to rain and was cold, so they built a fire and made us all welcome. Paul gathered an armful of sticks and put them on the fire. A snake came out on account of the heat and fastened itself to his hand. read more.
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. But Paul shook the snake off into the fire without being harmed at all. The people were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. They waited a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him. They changed their minds and said he was a god.