The islanders showed us extraordinary kindness. They kindled a fire and welcomed all of us because it was raining and cold.
Parallel translations
- WEB The natives showed us uncommon kindness; for they kindled a fire, and received us all, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
- KJV And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
- NKJV And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold.
- NASB The natives showed us extraordinary kindness, for they kindled a fire and took us all in because of the rain that had started and because of the cold.
- NLT The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Maltese natives show unusual kindness, building a fire to welcome the cold, rain-soaked survivors.
Overview
The islanders, called 'barbarians' for not speaking Greek, extend remarkable hospitality to the shipwrecked company. Their compassion reflects God's common grace at work even among pagans and His provision for His servants. The warm welcome embodies the practical love that the gospel later commends and that God uses to care for Paul and his companions.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Heb 13:2Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
- Col 3:11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
- Rom 1:14I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.
- 2 Cor 11:27in labor and toil and often without sleep, in hunger and thirst and often without food, in cold and exposure.
- Acts 28:4When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”
- 1 Cor 14:11If, then, I do not know the meaning of someone’s language, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me.
- Prov 24:11–12Rescue those being led away to death, and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.
- Matt 10:42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”
- Lev 19:34You must treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
- Acts 27:3The next day we landed at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul with consideration, allowing him to visit his friends and receive their care.
- Rom 2:14–15Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.
- Rom 2:27The one who is physically uncircumcised yet keeps the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
- Lev 19:18Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
- Luke 10:30–37Jesus took up this question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.
- John 18:18Because it was cold, the servants and officers were standing around a charcoal fire they had made to keep warm. And Peter was also standing with them, warming himself.
- Ezra 10:9So within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled in Jerusalem, and on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the square at the house of God, trembling regarding this matter and because of the heavy rain.
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 28:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.