“And 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.”
Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he was putting it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. - Paul, far from exhausted by the shipwreck, 'gathered a pile of brushwood' (synalizō hetera, synalizō hetera-'gathered together dry wood') to feed the fire. 'As he was putting it on' (epitithēmi, epitithēmi-'lay upon'), 'a viper' (echidna, echidna-a poisonous snake) 'fastened itself on his hand' (periplekō tēn cheira, periplekō tēn cheira-'wound around his hand'). The viper is 'driven out by the heat' (ek tēs thermēs, ek tēs thermēs-'because of the warmth'), a realistic detail: snakes shelter in wood during cool, wet weather. Paul becomes an instrument of hospitality even in adversity.
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