Acts 27

Paul Is Sent to Rome

1Now when it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they proceeded to turn Paul and some other prisoners over to a centurion of the Augustan #27:1 Normally 600 men (the number varied)cohort, named Julius. 2And we boarded an Adramyttian ship that was about to sail to the regions along the coast of #27:2 I.e., west coast province of Asia MinorAsia, and put out to sea accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica. 3The next day we put in at Sidon; and Julius treated Paul with consideration and allowed him to go to his friends and receive care. 4From there we put out to sea and sailed under the shelter of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. 5When we had sailed through the sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it. 7When we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, since the wind did not permit us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of Crete, off Salmone; 8and with difficulty sailing past it, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.

9When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the #27:9 I.e., Day of Atonement in September or October, which was a dangerous time of year for navigationfast was already over, Paul started admonishing them, 10saying to them, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11But the centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the #27:11 Or ownercaptain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul. 12The harbor was not suitable for wintering, so the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

13 # 27:13 Lit a south wind having gently blown When a moderate south wind came up, thinking that they had attained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began sailing along Crete, closer to shore.

Shipwreck

14But before very long a violent wind, called #27:14 I.e., a northeasterEuraquilo, rushed down from #27:14 Lit itthe land; 15and when the ship was caught in it and could not head up into the wind, we gave up and let ourselves be driven by the wind. 16Running under the shelter of a small island called Cauda, we were able to get the ship’s #27:16 Or skiff: a small boat in tow for emergencies, transportation to and from shore, etc.boat under control only with difficulty. 17After they had hoisted it up, they used #27:17 Lit helpssupporting cables in undergirding the ship; and fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the #27:17 Lit implement, an object designed to stabilize a boat from the stern against the wind.sea anchor and let themselves be driven along in this way. 18The next day as we were being violently tossed by the storm, #27:18 Lit they were doing a throwing outthey began to jettison the cargo; 19and on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, from then on all hope of our being saved was slowly abandoned.

21 # 27:21 Lit there being much lack of appetite When many had lost their appetites, Paul then stood among them and said, “#27:21 Lit O menMen, you should have followed my advice and not have set sail from Crete, and thereby spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22And yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong, whom I also serve, came to me, 24saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has graciously granted you all those who are sailing with you.’ 25Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that #27:25 Lit it will beit will turn out exactly as I have been told. 26But we must run aground on a certain island.”

27But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to suspect that #27:27 Lit some land was approaching themthey were approaching some land. 28And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms. 29Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the #27:29 Lit rough placesrocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and #27:29 Or wished forprayed for daybreak. 30But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense 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 yourselves cannot be saved.” 32Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.

33Until the day was about to dawn, Paul kept encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken in nothing. 34Therefore, I encourage you to take 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 the presence of them all, and he broke it and began to eat. 36All of them #27:36 Lit became cheerfulwere encouraged and they themselves also took food. 37We were 276 #27:37 Lit soulspeople on the ship in all. 38When they had eaten enough, they began lightening the ship by throwing the wheat out into the sea.

39Now when day came, they #27:39 Lit were not recognizingcould not recognize the land; but they did notice a bay with a beach, and they resolved to run the ship onto it if they could. 40And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders; and they hoisted the foresail to the wind and were heading for the beach. 41But they struck a #27:41 Lit placereef where two seas met and ran the ship aground; and the prow stuck firmly and remained immovable, while the stern started to break up due to the force of the waves. 42The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape; 43but the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from accomplishing their intention, and commanded that those who could swim were to #27:43 Lit throw themselvesjump overboard first and get to land, 44and the rest were to follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.

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Acts 27: NASB2020

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Acts of the Apostles 27

Paul Sails for Rome

1When the time came, we set sail for Italy. Paul and several other prisoners were placed in the custody of a Roman officer#27:1 Greek centurion; similarly in 27:6, 11, 31, 43. named Julius, a captain of the Imperial Regiment. 2Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was also with us. We left on a ship whose home port was Adramyttium on the northwest coast of the province of Asia;#27:2 Asia was a Roman province in what is now western Turkey. it was scheduled to make several stops at ports along the coast of the province.

3The next day when we docked at Sidon, Julius was very kind to Paul and let him go ashore to visit with friends so they could provide for his needs. 4Putting out to sea from there, we encountered strong headwinds that made it difficult to keep the ship on course, so we sailed north of Cyprus between the island and the mainland. 5Keeping to the open sea, we passed along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, landing at Myra, in the province of Lycia. 6There the commanding officer found an Egyptian ship from Alexandria that was bound for Italy, and he put us on board.

7We had several days of slow sailing, and after great difficulty we finally neared Cnidus. But the wind was against us, so we sailed across to Crete and along the sheltered coast of the island, past the cape of Salmone. 8We struggled along the coast with great difficulty and finally arrived at Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea. 9We had lost a lot of time. The weather was becoming dangerous for sea travel because it was so late in the fall,#27:9 Greek because the fast was now already gone by. This fast was associated with the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), which occurred in late September or early October. and Paul spoke to the ship’s officers about it.

10“Men,” he said, “I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on—shipwreck, loss of cargo, and danger to our lives as well.” 11But the officer in charge of the prisoners listened more to the ship’s captain and the owner than to Paul. 12And since Fair Havens was an exposed harbor—a poor place to spend the winter—most of the crew wanted to go on to Phoenix, farther up the coast of Crete, and spend the winter there. Phoenix was a good harbor with only a southwest and northwest exposure.

The Storm at Sea

13When a light wind began blowing from the south, the sailors thought they could make it. So they pulled up anchor and sailed close to the shore of Crete. 14But the weather changed abruptly, and a wind of typhoon strength (called a “northeaster”) burst across the island and blew us out to sea. 15The sailors couldn’t turn the ship into the wind, so they gave up and let it run before the gale.

16We sailed along the sheltered side of a small island named Cauda,#27:16 Some manuscripts read Clauda. where with great difficulty we hoisted aboard the lifeboat being towed behind us. 17Then the sailors bound ropes around the hull of the ship to strengthen it. They were afraid of being driven across to the sandbars of Syrtis off the African coast, so they lowered the sea anchor to slow the ship and were driven before the wind.

18The next day, as gale-force winds continued to batter the ship, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard. 19The following day they even took some of the ship’s gear and threw it overboard. 20The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone.

21No one had eaten for a long time. Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, “Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Crete. You would have avoided all this damage and loss. 22But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. 23For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, 24and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’ 25So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said. 26But we will be shipwrecked on an island.”

The Shipwreck

27About midnight on the fourteenth night of the storm, as we were being driven across the Sea of Adria,#27:27 The Sea of Adria includes the central portion of the Mediterranean. the sailors sensed land was near. 28They dropped a weighted line and found that the water was 120 feet deep. But a little later they measured again and found it was only 90 feet deep.#27:28 Greek 20 fathoms . . . 15 fathoms [37 meters . . . 27 meters]. 29At this rate they were afraid we would soon be driven against the rocks along the shore, so they threw out four anchors from the back of the ship and prayed for daylight.

30Then the sailors tried to abandon the ship; they lowered the lifeboat as though they were going to put out anchors from the front of the ship. 31But Paul said to the commanding officer and the soldiers, “You will all die unless the sailors stay aboard.” 32So the soldiers cut the ropes to the lifeboat and let it drift away.

33Just as day was dawning, Paul urged everyone to eat. “You have been so worried that you haven’t touched food for two weeks,” he said. 34“Please eat something now for your own good. For not a hair of your heads will perish.” 35Then he took some bread, gave thanks to God before them all, and broke off a piece and ate it. 36Then everyone was encouraged and began to eat— 37all 276 of us who were on board. 38After eating, the crew lightened the ship further by throwing the cargo of wheat overboard.

39When morning dawned, they didn’t recognize the coastline, but they saw a bay with a beach and wondered if they could get to shore by running the ship aground. 40So they cut off the anchors and left them in the sea. Then they lowered the rudders, raised the foresail, and headed toward shore. 41But they hit a shoal and ran the ship aground too soon. The bow of the ship stuck fast, while the stern was repeatedly smashed by the force of the waves and began to break apart.

42The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to make sure they didn’t swim ashore and escape. 43But the commanding officer wanted to spare Paul, so he didn’t let them carry out their plan. Then he ordered all who could swim to jump overboard first and make for land. 44The others held on to planks or debris from the broken ship.#27:44 Or or were helped by members of the ship’s crew. So everyone escaped safely to shore.

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