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: NIrV
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Acts 27
27
Departure for Rome. 1#27:1–28:16] Here Luke has written a stirring account of adventure on the high seas, incidental to his main purpose of showing how well Paul got along with his captors and how his prophetic influence saved the lives of all on board. The recital also establishes the existence of Christian communities in Puteoli and Rome. This account of the voyage and shipwreck also constitutes the final “we-section” in Acts (see note on Acts 16:10–17). When it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they handed Paul and some other prisoners over to a centurion named Julius of the Cohort Augusta.#Cohort Augusta: the presence of a Cohort Augusta in Syria during the first century A.D. is attested in inscriptions. Whatever the historical background to this information given by Luke may be, the name Augusta serves to increase the prominence and prestige of the prisoner Paul whose custodians bear so important a Roman name. 2We went on board a ship from Adramyttium bound for ports in the province of Asia and set sail. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.#19:29; 20:4. 3On the following day we put in at Sidon where Julius was kind enough to allow Paul to visit his friends who took care of him. 4From there we put out to sea and sailed around the sheltered side of Cyprus because of the headwinds, 5and crossing the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia we came to Myra in Lycia.
Storm and Shipwreck. 6There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship that was sailing to Italy and put us on board. 7For many days we made little headway, arriving at Cnidus only with difficulty, and because the wind would not permit us to continue our course we sailed for the sheltered side of Crete off Salmone. 8We sailed past it with difficulty and reached a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.
9Much time had now passed and sailing had become hazardous because the time of the fast#The time of the fast: the fast kept on the occasion of the Day of Atonement (Lv 16:29–31), which occurred in late September or early October. had already gone by, so Paul warned them,#Lv 16:29–31. 10“Men, I can see that this voyage will result in severe damage and heavy loss not only to the cargo and the ship, but also to our lives.” 11The centurion, however, paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12Since the harbor was unfavorably situated for spending the winter, the majority planned to put out to sea from there in the hope of reaching Phoenix, a port in Crete facing west-northwest, there to spend the winter.
13A south wind blew gently, and thinking they had attained their objective, they weighed anchor and sailed along close to the coast of Crete. 14Before long an offshore wind of hurricane force called a “Northeaster” struck. 15Since the ship was caught up in it and could not head into the wind we gave way and let ourselves be driven. 16We passed along the sheltered side of an island named Cauda and managed only with difficulty to get the dinghy under control. 17They hoisted it aboard, then used cables to undergird the ship. Because of their fear that they would run aground on the shoal of Syrtis, they lowered the drift anchor and were carried along in this way. 18We were being pounded by the storm so violently that the next day they jettisoned some cargo, 19and on the third day with their own hands they threw even the ship’s tackle overboard. 20Neither the sun nor the stars were visible for many days, and no small storm raged. Finally, all hope of our surviving was taken away.
21When many would no longer eat, Paul stood among them and said, “Men, you should have taken my advice and not have set sail from Crete and you would have avoided this disastrous loss. 22I urge you now to keep up your courage; not one of you will be lost, only the ship. 23For last night an angel of the God to whom [I] belong and whom I serve stood by me 24and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You are destined to stand before Caesar; and behold, for your sake, God has granted safety to all who are sailing with you.’#23:11. 25Therefore, keep up your courage, men; I trust in God that it will turn out as I have been told. 26We are destined to run aground on some island.”
27On the fourteenth night, as we were still being driven about on the Adriatic Sea, toward midnight the sailors began to suspect that they were nearing land. 28They took soundings and found twenty fathoms; a little farther on, they again took soundings and found fifteen fathoms. 29Fearing that we would run aground on a rocky coast, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. 30The sailors then tried to abandon ship; they lowered the dinghy to the sea on the pretext of going to lay out anchors from the bow. 31But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32So the soldiers cut the ropes of the dinghy and set it adrift.
33Until the day began to dawn, Paul kept urging all to take some food. He said, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting, going hungry and eating nothing. 34I urge you, therefore, to take some food; it will help you survive. Not a hair of the head of anyone of you will be lost.” 35When he said this, he took bread,#He took bread… : the words recall the traditional language of the celebration of the Eucharist (see Lk 22:19). gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat.#Mt 15:36; Mk 6:41; 8:6; Lk 22:19; 1 Cor 11:23–24. 36They were all encouraged, and took some food themselves. 37In all, there were two hundred seventy-six of us on the ship. 38After they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea.
39When day came they did not recognize the land, but made out a bay with a beach. They planned to run the ship ashore on it, if they could. 40So they cast off the anchors and abandoned them to the sea, and at the same time they unfastened the lines of the rudders, and hoisting the foresail into the wind, they made for the beach. 41But they struck a sandbar and ran the ship aground. The bow was wedged in and could not be moved, but the stern began to break up under the pounding [of the waves]. 42The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners so that none might swim away and escape, 43but the centurion wanted to save Paul and so kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to the shore, 44and then the rest, some on planks, others on debris from the ship. In this way, all reached shore safely.
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