Acts of Emissaries of Yeshua (Act) 27

1Once it had been decided that we should set sail for Italy, they handed Sha’ul and some other prisoners over to an officer of the Emperor’s Regiment named Julius. 2We embarked in a ship from Adramyttium which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and put out to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 3The next day, we landed at Tzidon; and Julius considerately allowed Sha’ul to go visit his friends and receive what he needed. 4Putting to sea from there, we sailed close to the sheltered side of Cyprus because the winds were against us, 5then across the open sea along the coasts of Cilicia and Pamphylia; and so we reached Myra in Lycia.

6There the Roman officer found an Alexandrian vessel sailing to Italy and put us aboard. 7For a number of days we made little headway, and we arrived off Cnidus only with difficulty. The wind would not let us continue any farther along the direct route; so we ran down along the sheltered side of Crete from Cape Salmone; 8and, continuing to struggle on, hugging the coast, we reached a place called Pleasant Harbor, near the town of Lasea.

9Since much time had been lost, and continuing the voyage was risky, because it was already past Yom-Kippur, Sha’ul advised them, 10“Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be a catastrophe, not only with huge losses to the cargo and the ship but with loss of our lives as well.” 11However, the officer paid more attention to the pilot and the ship’s owner than to what Sha’ul said. 12Moreover, since the harbor was not well suited to sitting out the winter, the majority reached the decision to sail on from there in the hope of reaching Phoenix, another harbor in Crete, and wintering there, where it is protected from the southwest and northwest winds.

13When a gentle southerly breeze began to blow, they thought that they had their goal within grasp; so they raised the anchor and started coasting by Crete close to shore. 14But before long there struck us from land a full gale from the northeast, the kind they call an Evrakilon. 15The ship was caught up and unable to face the wind, so we gave way to it and were driven along.

16As we passed into the lee of a small island called Cauda, we managed with strenuous effort to get control of the lifeboat. 17They hoisted it aboard, then fastened cables tightly around the ship itself to reinforce it. Fearing they might run aground on the Syrtis sandbars, they lowered the topsails and thus continued drifting. 18But because we were fighting such heavy weather, the next day they began to jettison non-essentials; 19and the third day, they threw the ship’s sailing equipment overboard with their own hands. 20For many days neither the sun nor the stars appeared, while the storm continued to rage, until gradually all hope of survival vanished.

21It was then, when they had gone a long time without eating, that Sha’ul stood up in front of them and said, “You should have listened to me and not set out from Crete; if you had, you would have escaped this disastrous loss. 22But now, my advice to you is to take heart; because not one of you will lose his life — only the ship will be lost. 23For this very night, there stood next to me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve. 24He said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Sha’ul! you have to stand before the Emperor. Look! God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’ 25So, men, take heart! For I trust God and believe that what I have been told will come true. 26Nevertheless, we have to run aground on some island.”

27It was the fourteenth night, and we were still being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, when around midnight the sailors sensed that we were nearing land. 28So they dropped a plumbline and found the water one hundred and twenty feet deep. A little farther on, they took another sounding and found it ninety feet. 29Fearing we might run on the rocks, they let out four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come.

30At this point, the crew made an attempt to abandon ship — they lowered the lifeboat into the sea, pretending that they were about to let out some anchors from the bow. 31Sha’ul said to the officer and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain aboard the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.” 32Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the lifeboat and let it go.

33Just before daybreak, Sha’ul urged them all to eat, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have been in suspense, going hungry, eating nothing. 34Therefore I advise you to take some food; you need it for your own survival. For not one of you will lose so much as a hair from his head.” 35When he had said this, he took bread, said the b’rakhah to God in front of everyone, broke it and began to eat. 36With courage restored, they all ate some food themselves. 37Altogether there were 276 of us on board the ship. 38After they had eaten all they wanted, they lightened the ship by dumping the grain into the sea.

39When day broke, they didn’t recognize the land; but they noticed a bay with a sand beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40So they cut away the anchors and left them in the sea; at the same time, they loosened the ropes that held the rudders out of the water. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and headed for the beach. 41But they encountered a place where two currents meet, and ran the vessel aground on the sandbar there. The bow stuck and would not move, while the pounding of the surf began to break up the stern.

42At this point the soldiers’ thought was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim off and escape. 43But the officer, wanting to save Sha’ul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to throw themselves overboard first and head for shore, 44and the rest to use planks or whatever they could find from the ship. Thus it was that everyone reached land safely.

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Acts of Emissaries of Yeshua (Act) 27: CJB

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Acts 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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