Acts 28:6

The islanders were expecting him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The Maltese islanders, having just watched Paul shake a venomous snake into a fire without injury, wait to see if he will suffer divine punishment. The words — προσεδόκων (prosedokōn) means they were expecting, while καταπίπτειν (katapiptein) literally denotes to fall down. The thread — This reaction parallels crowds in Acts 14:11 and Acts 12:22 who mistake human deliverance for divine presence, contrasting with the messianic acclamation in Matthew 21:9. Why it lands — The text records a shift from expecting fatal judgment to declaring Paul a god, demanding recognition of how divine protection can be misread as pagan divinity.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

Cross-references

Acts 12:22 And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!”
Matthew 21:9 The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”
Acts 14:11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices in the Lycaonian language: “The gods have come down to us in human form!”
Matthew 27:22 “What then should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify Him!”