Verse Lens · Context pointer
Acts 28:3 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 3. 3And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
Reports a viper fastening to Paul's hand as he gathers sticks.
Read It With
- Acts 28:1–28:10
Acts 28:3 reports a viper fastening to Paul's hand as he gathers sticks; within Acts 28:1–28:10, the controlling movement is that The survivors learn they are on Melita, islanders offer unusual kindness, a viper fastens to Paul without harming him, local interpretations move from calling Paul a murderer to calling him a god, and Publius hosts the group as healings follow.
Why It Needs Context
Reports a viper fastening to Paul's hand as he gathers sticks. Its responsible force depends on the full sequence, speaker, narrator framing, and outcome of Acts 28:1–28:10; it is connective evidence rather than a complete standalone teaching.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Acts 28:1–28:10 — Malta receives the survivors and witnesses healingSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and unit coverage.
Exact location: Acts 28:1–28:10, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control, without pretending one edition is a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text, Acts 28:1-28:10
Open the Acts Greek text file ↗