Acts 27
27
Sailing for Rome
1When it was decided that we were to sail to Italy, they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Imperial Regiment. # Ac 10:1; 16:10; 25:12,25 2So when we had boarded a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, intending to sail to ports along the coast of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us. # Ac 17:1; 19:29; 20:4; Col 4:10; Phm 24 3The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends to receive their care. # Ac 24:23; 27:43; 28:16 4When we had put out to sea from there, we sailed along the northern coast # Lit sailed under the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5After sailing through the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we reached Myra in Lycia. # Ac 6:9; 13:13 6There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7Sailing slowly for many days, we came with difficulty as far as Cnidus. Since the wind did not allow us to approach it, we sailed along the south side # Lit sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 8With yet more difficulty we sailed along the coast and came to a place called Fair Havens near the city of Lasea.
Paul’s Advice Ignored
9By now much time had passed, and the voyage was already dangerous. Since the Fast # The Day of Atonement # Lv 16:29-31; 23:27-29; Nm 29:7 was already over, Paul gave his advice 10and told them, “Men, I can see that this voyage is headed toward damage and heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but also of our lives.” 11But the centurion paid attention to the captain and the owner of the ship rather than to what Paul said. # Ac 27:21; Rv 18:17 12Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to set sail from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix, a harbor on Crete # Ac 2:11; Ti 1:5 open to the southwest and northwest, and to winter there.
Storm-Tossed Ship
13When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought they had achieved their purpose. They weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14But not long afterward, a fierce wind called the “northeaster” # Lit Euraquilo, a violent northeast wind rushed down from the island. 15Since the ship was caught and was unable to head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16After running under the shelter of a little island called Cauda, # Or Clauda we were barely able to get control of the skiff. 17After hoisting it up, they used ropes and tackle and girded the ship. Then, fearing they would run aground on the Syrtis, # = sandbanks or sandbars near North Africa they lowered the drift-anchor, and in this way they were driven along. 18Because we were being severely battered by the storm, they began to jettison the cargo the next day. # Jnh 1:5; Ac 27:38 19On the third day, they threw the ship’s gear overboard with their own hands.
20For many days neither sun nor stars appeared, and the severe storm kept raging. Finally all hope that we would be saved was disappearing. 21Since many were going without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “You men should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete and sustain this damage and loss. 22Now I urge you to take courage, because there will be no loss of any of your lives, but only of the ship. 23For this night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me, # Dn 6:16; Ac 18:9; 23:11; Rm 1:9; 2Tm 4:17 24and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And, look! God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.’ 25Therefore, take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me. # Ac 27:22,36; Rm 4:20-21 26However, we must run aground on a certain island.” # Ac 27:17,29; 28:1
27When the fourteenth night came, we were drifting in the Adriatic Sea, # Part of the northern Mediterranean Sea; not the modern Adriatic Sea east of Italy and in the middle of the night the sailors thought they were approaching land. # Lit thought there was land approaching them 28They took a sounding and found it to be 120 feet # Lit 20 fathoms deep; when they had sailed a little farther and sounded again, they found it to be 90 feet # Lit 15 fathoms deep. 29Then, fearing we might run aground in some rocky place, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come.
30Some sailors tried to escape from the ship; they had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending that they were going to put out anchors from the bow. 31Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the skiff and let it drop away.
33When it was about daylight, Paul urged them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and going without food, having eaten nothing. 34Therefore I urge you to take some food. For this has to do with your survival, since none of you will lose a hair from your head.” # 1Kg 1:52; Mt 10:30; Lk 21:18 35After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all of them, and when he broke it, he began to eat. # Mt 14:19; 15:36 36They all became encouraged and took food themselves. 37In all there were 276 of us on the ship. # Ac 2:41; 7:14; Rm 13:1; 1Pt 3:20 38When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the grain overboard into the sea.
Shipwreck
39When daylight came, they did not recognize the land but sighted a bay with a beach. They planned to run the ship ashore if they could. # Ac 27:18; 28:1 40After casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and headed for the beach. 41But they struck a sandbar and ran the ship aground. The bow jammed fast and remained immovable, while the stern began to break up by the pounding of the waves.
42The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners so that no one could swim away and escape. 43But the centurion kept them from carrying out their plan because he wanted to save Paul, so he ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44The rest were to follow, some on planks and some on debris from the ship. In this way, everyone safely reached the shore. # Ac 12:19; 27:3,22; 2Co 11:25
Currently Selected:
Acts 27: HCSB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
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:
:
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.