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.
Currently Selected:
Acts 27: NIrV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Acts 27
27
Paul Sails for Rome
1When it was decided that we should sail to Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were turned over to an army officer. His name was Julius, and he belonged to the emperor’s division. 2We set sail on a ship from the city of Adramyttium. The ship was going to stop at ports on the coast of the province of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from the city of Thessalonica, went with us.
3The next day we arrived at the city of Sidon. Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to visit his friends and receive any care he needed. 4Leaving Sidon, we sailed on the northern side of the island of Cyprus because we were traveling against the wind. 5We sailed along the coast of the provinces of Cilicia and Pamphylia and arrived at the city of Myra in the province of Lycia. 6In Myra the officer found a ship from Alexandria that was on its way to Italy and put us on it. 7We were sailing slowly for a number of days. Our difficulties began along the coast of the city of Cnidus because the wind would not let us go further. So at Cape Salmone, we started to sail for the south side of the island of Crete. 8We had difficulty sailing along the shore of Crete. We finally came to a port called Fair Harbors. The port was near the city of Lasea.
9We had lost so much time that the day of fasting had already past. Sailing was now dangerous, so Paul advised them, 10“Men, we’re going to face a disaster and heavy losses on this voyage. This disaster will cause damage to the cargo and the ship, and it will affect our lives.” 11However, the officer was persuaded by what the pilot and the owner of the ship said and not by what Paul said. 12Since the harbor was not a good place to spend the winter, most of the men decided to sail from there. They hoped to reach the city of Phoenix somehow and spend the winter there. (Phoenix is a harbor that faces the southwest and northwest winds and is located on the island of Crete.)
13When a gentle breeze began to blow from the south, the men thought their plan would work. They raised the anchor and sailed close to the shore of Crete.
14Soon a powerful wind (called a northeaster) blew from the island. 15The wind carried the ship away, and we couldn’t sail against the wind. We couldn’t do anything, so we were carried along by the wind. 16As we drifted to the sheltered side of a small island called Cauda, we barely got control of the ship’s lifeboat. 17The men pulled it up on deck. Then they passed ropes under the ship to reinforce it. Fearing that they would hit the large sandbank off the shores of Libya, they lowered the sail and were carried along by the wind. 18We continued to be tossed so violently by the storm that the next day the men began to throw the cargo overboard. 19On the third day they threw the ship’s equipment overboard. 20For a number of days we couldn’t see the sun or the stars. The storm wouldn’t let up. It was so severe that we finally began to lose any hope of coming out of it alive.
21Since hardly anyone wanted to eat, Paul stood among them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete. You would have avoided this disaster and loss. 22Now I advise you to have courage. No one will lose his life. Only the ship will be destroyed. 23I know this because an angel from the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood by me last night. 24The angel told me, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul! You must present your case to the emperor. God has granted safety to everyone who is sailing with you.’ 25So have courage, men! I trust God that everything will turn out as he told me. 26However, we will run aground on some island.”
The Shipwreck
27On the fourteenth night we were still drifting through the Mediterranean Sea. About midnight the sailors suspected that we were approaching land. 28So they threw a line with a weight on it into the water. It sank 120 feet. They waited a little while and did the same thing again. This time the line sank 90 feet. 29Fearing we might hit rocks, they dropped four anchors from the back of the ship and prayed for morning to come.
30The sailors tried to escape from the ship. They let the lifeboat down into the sea and pretended they were going to lay out the anchors from the front of the ship. 31Paul told the officer and the soldiers, “If these sailors don’t stay on the ship, you have no hope of staying alive.” 32Then the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.
33Just before daybreak Paul was encouraging everyone to have something to eat. “This is the fourteenth day you have waited and have had nothing to eat. 34So I’m encouraging you to eat something. Eating will help you survive, since not a hair from anyone’s head will be lost.” 35After Paul said this, he took some bread, thanked God in front of everyone, broke it, and began to eat. 36Everyone was encouraged and had something to eat. 37(There were 276 of us on the ship.) 38After the people had eaten all they wanted, they lightened the ship by dumping the wheat into the sea.
39In the morning they couldn’t recognize the land, but they could see a bay with a beach. So they decided to try to run the ship ashore. 40They cut the anchors free and left them in the sea. At the same time they untied the ropes that held the steering oars. Then they raised the top sail to catch the wind and steered the ship to the shore. 41They struck a sandbar in the water and ran the ship aground. The front of the ship stuck and couldn’t be moved, while the back of the ship was broken to pieces by the force of the waves.
42The soldiers had a plan to kill the prisoners to keep them from swimming away and escaping. 43However, the officer wanted to save Paul, so he stopped the soldiers from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and swim ashore. 44Then he ordered the rest to follow on planks or some other pieces ⌞of wood⌟ from the ship. In this way everyone got to shore safely.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.