Acts 27
27
Paul Sails for Rome
1It was decided that we would sail for Italy. Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a Roman commander named Julius. He belonged to the Imperial Guard. 2We boarded a ship from Adramyttium. It was about to sail for ports along the coast of Asia Minor. We headed out to sea. Aristarchus was with us. He was a Macedonian from Thessalonica.
3The next day we landed at Sidon. There Julius was kind to Paul. He let Paul visit his friends so they could give him what he needed. 4From there we headed out to sea again. We passed the calmer side of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5We sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia. Then we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6There the commander found a ship from Alexandria sailing for Italy. He put us on board. 7We moved along slowly for many days. We had trouble getting to Cnidus. The wind did not let us stay on course. So we passed the calmer side of Crete, opposite Salmone. 8It was not easy to sail along the coast. Then we came to a place called Fair Havens. It was near the town of Lasea.
9A lot of time had passed. Sailing had already become dangerous. By now it was after the Day of Atonement, a day of fasting. So Paul gave them a warning. 10“Men,” he said, “I can see that our trip is going to be dangerous. The ship and everything in it will be lost. Our own lives will be in danger also.” 11But the commander didn’t listen to what Paul said. Instead, he followed the advice of the pilot and the ship’s owner. 12The harbor wasn’t a good place for ships to stay during winter. So most of the people decided we should sail on. They hoped we would reach Phoenix. They wanted to spend the winter there. Phoenix was a harbor in Crete. It faced both southwest and northwest.
The Storm
13A gentle south wind began to blow. The ship’s crew thought they saw their chance to leave safely. So they pulled up the anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14Before very long, a wind blew down from the island. It had the force of a hurricane. It was called the Northeaster. 15The ship was caught by the storm. We could not keep it sailing into the wind. So we gave up and were driven along by the wind. 16We passed the calmer side of a small island called Cauda. We almost lost the lifeboat that was tied to the side of the ship. 17So the men lifted the lifeboat on board. Then they tied ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. They were afraid it would get stuck on the sandbars of Syrtis. So they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. 18We took a very bad beating from the storm. The next day the crew began to throw the ship’s contents overboard. 19On the third day, they even threw the ship’s tools and supplies overboard with their own hands. 20The sun and stars didn’t appear for many days. The storm was terrible. So we gave up all hope of being saved.
21The men had not eaten for a long time. Paul stood up in front of them. “Men,” he said, “you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete. Then you would have avoided this harm and loss. 22Now I beg you to be brave. Not one of you will die. Only the ship will be destroyed. 23I belong to God and serve him. Last night his angel stood beside me. 24The angel said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must go on trial in front of Caesar. God has shown his grace by sparing the lives of all those sailing with you.’ 25Men, continue to be brave. I have faith in God. It will happen just as he told me. 26But we must run the ship onto the beach of some island.”
The Ship Is Destroyed
27On the 14th night the wind was still pushing us across the Adriatic Sea. About midnight the sailors had a feeling that they were approaching land. 28They measured how deep the water was. They found that it was 120 feet deep. A short time later they measured the water again. This time it was 90 feet deep. 29They were afraid we would crash against the rocks. So they dropped four anchors from the back of the ship. They prayed that daylight would come. 30The sailors wanted to escape from the ship. So they let the lifeboat down into the sea. They pretended they were going to lower some anchors from the front of the ship. 31But Paul spoke to the commander and the soldiers. “These men must stay with the ship,” he said. “If they don’t, you can’t be saved.” 32So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat. They let it drift away.
33Just before dawn Paul tried to get them all to eat. “For the last 14 days,” he said, “you have wondered what would happen. You have gone without food. You haven’t eaten anything. 34Now I am asking you to eat some food. You need it to live. Not one of you will lose a single hair from your head.” 35After Paul said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God. He did this where they all could see him. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36All of them were filled with hope. So they ate some food. 37There were 276 of us on board. 38They ate as much as they wanted. They needed to make the ship lighter. So they threw the rest of the grain into the sea.
39When daylight came, they saw a bay with a sandy beach. They didn’t recognize the place. But they decided to run the ship onto the beach if they could. 40So they cut the anchors loose and left them in the sea. At the same time, they untied the ropes that held the rudders. They lifted the sail at the front of the ship to the wind. Then they headed for the beach. 41But the ship hit a sandbar. So the front of it got stuck and wouldn’t move. The back of the ship was broken to pieces by the pounding of the waves.
42The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners. They wanted to keep them from swimming away and escaping. 43But the commander wanted to save Paul’s life. So he kept the soldiers from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and swim to land. 44The rest were supposed to get there on boards or other pieces of the ship. That is how everyone reached land safely.
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Acts 27
27
Paul Is Sent to Rome
1Now when it was determined that #27:1 Luke apparently stayed nearby, so that he could visit and assist Paul during the two years of his imprisonment.we (including Luke) would sail for Italy, they turned Paul and some other prisoners over to a centurion of the Augustan Regiment named Julius. 2And going aboard a ship from Adramyttian which was about to sail for the ports along the [west] coast [province] of Asia [Minor], we put out to sea; and Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, accompanied us. 3The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, treating Paul with [thoughtful] consideration, allowed him to go to his friends there and be cared for and refreshed. 4From there we put out to sea and sailed to the leeward (sheltered) side of Cyprus [for protection from weather] because the winds were against us. 5When we had sailed across the sea along the coasts of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia [on the south coast of Asia Minor]. 6There the centurion [Julius] found an Alexandrian ship [a grain ship of the Roman fleet] sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it. 7For a number of days we sailed slowly and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus; then, because the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the leeward (sheltered) side of Crete, off Salmone; 8and hugging the shore with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea [on the south side of Crete].
9Now much time had been lost, and #27:9 Sailing in the Mediterranean was dangerous for ancient ships after the second week of September, and virtually impossible after Nov 11, so now there was no hope of reaching Italy before winter.navigation was dangerous, because even [the time for] the fast (Day of Atonement) was already over, so Paul began to strongly warn them, 10saying, “Men, I sense [after careful thought and observation] that this voyage will certainly be a disaster and with great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11However, the centurion [Julius, ranking officer on board] was persuaded by the pilot and the owner of the ship rather than by what Paul said. 12Because the harbor was not well situated for wintering, the majority [of the sailors] decided to put to sea from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.
13So when the south wind blew softly, thinking that they had obtained their goal, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, hugging the coast.
Shipwreck
14But soon afterward a violent wind, called Euraquilo [a northeaster, a tempestuous windstorm like a typhoon], came rushing down from the island; 15and when the ship was caught in it and could not head against the wind [to gain stability], we gave up and [letting her drift] were driven along. 16We ran under the shelter of a small island [twenty-five miles south of Crete] called Clauda, and with great difficulty we were able to get the ship’s #27:16 This was a small boat towed behind the ship for transportation to and from shore or as a lifeboat for emergencies. In a violent sea it might collide repeatedly with the ship and cause major damage.skiff on the deck and secure it. 17After hoisting the skiff [on board], they used #27:17 These were ropes that were tightly wrapped around (and sometimes under) the hull of an ancient ship to firm and strengthen it in heavy seas.support lines [for frapping] to undergird and brace the ship’s hull; and fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis [off the north coast of Africa], they let down the #27:17 A sea anchor (para-anchor) is a sturdy fabric parachute set at the end of an anchor rode (designed for use with a rope/chain windlass) or other long line and sometimes weighted so it rides deep. A sea anchor is placed off the bow (front) so that the boat’s bow would be held into the wind while drifting or being blown downwind. One danger of this is that the rudder may be damaged and that is what happened later—the rudder was lost (see v 40). A drogue is set off the stern (back) when sailing downwind to slow the boat and provide more control. The sea anchor held the bow into the wind and slowed the drift. The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, Third Edition.sea anchor and lowered the sails and were driven along [backwards with the bow into the wind]. 18On the next day, as we were being violently tossed about by the storm [and taking on water], they began to jettison the cargo; 19and on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle (spare lines, blocks, miscellaneous equipment) overboard with their own hands [to further reduce the weight]. 20Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm kept raging about us, from then on all hope of our being saved was [growing worse and worse and] gradually abandoned.
21After #27:21 Lit there was much loss of appetite.they had gone a long time without food [because of seasickness and stress], Paul stood up before them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice and should not have set sail from Crete, and brought on this damage and loss. 22But even now I urge you to keep up your courage and be in good spirits, because there will be no loss of life among you, but only loss of the ship. 23For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, 24and said, ‘Stop being afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has given you [the lives of] all those who are sailing with you.’ 25So keep up your courage, men, for I believe God and have complete confidence in Him that it will turn out exactly as I have been told; 26but we must run [the ship] aground on some island.”
27The fourteenth night had come and we were drifting and being driven about in the #27:27 The Ionian Sea was then considered part of the Adriatic (Adrian Gulf) which, in ancient times, extended much farther south than today’s Adriatic Sea.Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors began to suspect that they were approaching some land. 28So they took soundings [using a weighted line] and found [the depth to be] twenty fathoms (120 feet); and a little farther on they sounded again and found [the depth to be] fifteen fathoms (90 feet). 29Then fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern [to slow the ship] and kept wishing for daybreak to come. 30But as the sailors were trying to escape [secretly] from the ship and had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending that they were going to lay out anchors from the bow, 31Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain on the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32Then the soldiers cut away the ropes that held the skiff and let it fall and drift away.
33While they waited for the day to dawn, Paul encouraged them all [and told them] to have some food, saying, “This is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly on watch and going without food, having eaten nothing. 34So I urge you to eat some food, for this is for your survival; for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.” 35Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all, and he broke it and began to eat. 36Then all of them were encouraged and their spirits improved, and they also ate some food. 37All told there were two hundred and seventy-six of us aboard the ship. 38After they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the #27:38 Wheat was a major Egyptian export.wheat [from Egypt] overboard into the sea.
39When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, and they decided to run the ship ashore there if they could. 40So they cut the cables and severed the anchors and left them in the sea while at the same time #27:40 Ships of this period and region often had two large paddles on either side of the stern for steering, and when not in use they would be secured with ropes. This was particularly necessary in foul weather, where the sea might dislodge a rudder. Now that they were casting off, the rudders had to be freed and lowered into the water for use.unlashing the ropes of the rudders; and after hoisting the foresail to the wind, they headed steadily for the beach. 41But striking a #27:41 Lit place with water on both sides. This may have been a strip of land extending from the beach, but most of it evidently was awash by the waves at the time, since the centurion commanded everyone to swim or paddle on debris to land (vv 43f).reef with waves breaking in on either side, they ran the ship aground. The prow (forward point) stuck fast and remained immovable, while the stern began to break up under the [violent] force of the waves. 42The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would dive overboard and swim [to land] and escape; 43but the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from [carrying out] their plan. He commanded those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to the shore; 44and [he commanded] the rest to follow, some on [floating] planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it was that all of them were brought safely to land.
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