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27 And when our sailing to Italy was determined, they were delivering up both Paul and certain others, prisoners, to a centurion, by name Julius, of the band of Sebastus,

and having embarked in a ship of Adramyttium, we, being about to sail by the coasts of Asia, did set sail, there being with us Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica,

on the next [day] also we touched at Sidon, and Julius, courteously treating Paul, did permit [him], having gone on unto friends, to receive [their] care.

And thence, having set sail, we sailed under Cyprus, because of the winds being contrary,

and having sailed over the sea over-against Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myria of Lycia,

and there the centurion having found a ship of Alexandria, sailing to Italy, did put us into it,

and having sailed slowly many days, and with difficulty coming over-against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over-against Salmone,

and hardly passing it, we came to a certain place called `Fair Havens,' nigh to which was the city [of] Lasaea.

And much time being spent, and the sailing being now dangerous -- because of the fast also being already past -- Paul was admonishing,

10 saying to them, `Men, I perceive that with hurt, and much damage, not only of the lading and of the ship, but also of our lives -- the voyage is about to be;'

11 but the centurion to the pilot and to the shipowner gave credence more than to the things spoken by Paul;

12 and the haven being incommodious to winter in, the more part gave counsel to sail thence also, if by any means they might be able, having attained to Phenice, [there] to winter, [which is] a haven of Crete, looking to the south-west and north-west,

13 and a south wind blowing softly, having thought they had obtained [their] purpose, having lifted anchor, they sailed close by Crete,

14 and not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, that is called Euroclydon,

15 and the ship being caught, and not being able to bear up against the wind, having given [her] up, we were borne on,

16 and having run under a certain little isle, called Clauda, we were hardly able to become masters of the boat,

17 which having taken up, they were using helps, undergirding the ship, and fearing lest they may fall on the quicksand, having let down the mast -- so were borne on.

18 And we, being exceedingly tempest-tossed, the succeeding [day] they were making a clearing,

19 and on the third [day] with our own hands the tackling of the ship we cast out,

20 and neither sun nor stars appearing for more days, and not a little tempest lying upon us, thenceforth all hope was taken away of our being saved.

21 And there having been long fasting, then Paul having stood in the midst of them, said, `It behoved [you], indeed, O men -- having hearkened to me -- not to set sail from Crete, and to save this hurt and damage;

22 and now I exhort you to be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of life among you -- but of the ship;

23 for there stood by me this night a messenger of God -- whose I am, and whom I serve --

24 saying, Be not afraid Paul; before Caesar it behoveth thee to stand; and, lo, God hath granted to thee all those sailing with thee;

25 wherefore be of good cheer, men! for I believe God, that so it shall be, even as it hath been spoken to me,

26 and on a certain island it behoveth us to be cast.'

27 And when the fourteenth night came -- we being borne up and down in the Adria -- toward the middle of the night the sailors were supposing that some country drew nigh to them;

28 and having sounded they found twenty fathoms, and having gone a little farther, and again having sounded, they found fifteen fathoms,

29 and fearing lest on rough places we may fall, out of the stern having cast four anchors, they were wishing day to come.

30 And the sailors seeking to flee out of the ship, and having let down the boat to the sea, in pretence as [if] out of the foreship they are about to cast anchors,

31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, `If these do not remain in the ship -- ye are not able to be saved;'

32 then the soldiers did cut off the ropes of the boat, and suffered it to fall off.

33 And till the day was about to be, Paul was calling upon all to partake of nourishment, saying, `Fourteen days to-day, waiting, ye continue fasting, having taken nothing,

34 wherefore I call upon you to take nourishment, for this is for your safety, for of not one of you shall a hair from the head fall;'

35 and having said these things, and having taken bread, he gave thanks to God before all, and having broken [it], he began to eat;

36 and all having become of good cheer, themselves also took food,

37 (and we were -- all the souls in the ship -- two hundred, seventy and six),

38 and having eaten sufficient nourishment, they were lightening the ship, casting forth the wheat into the sea.

39 And when the day came, they were not discerning the land, but a certain creek were perceiving having a beach, into which they took counsel, if possible, to thrust forward the ship,

40 and the anchors having taken up, they were committing [it] to the sea, at the same time -- having loosed the bands of the rudders, and having hoisted up the mainsail to the wind -- they were making for the shore,

41 and having fallen into a place of two seas, they ran the ship aground, and the fore-part, indeed, having stuck fast, did remain immoveable, but the hinder-part was broken by the violence of the waves.

42 And the soldiers' counsel was that they should kill the prisoners, lest any one having swam out should escape,

43 but the centurion, wishing to save Paul, hindered them from the counsel, and did command those able to swim, having cast themselves out first -- to get unto the land,

44 and the rest, some indeed upon boards, and some upon certain things of the ship; and thus it came to pass that all came safe unto the land.

Paul Sails for Rome

27 When it was decided that we(A) would sail for Italy,(B) Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment.(C) We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia,(D) and we put out to sea. Aristarchus,(E) a Macedonian(F) from Thessalonica,(G) was with us.

The next day we landed at Sidon;(H) and Julius, in kindness to Paul,(I) allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs.(J) From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.(K) When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia(L) and Pamphylia,(M) we landed at Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship(N) sailing for Italy(O) and put us on board. We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course,(P) we sailed to the lee of Crete,(Q) opposite Salmone. We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.

Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement.[a](R) So Paul warned them, 10 “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.”(S) 11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete,(T) facing both southwest and northwest.

The Storm

13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force,(U) called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat(V) secure, 17 so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid they would run aground(W) on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor[b] and let the ship be driven along. 18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.(X) 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice(Y) not to sail from Crete;(Z) then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage,(AA) because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel(AB) of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve(AC) stood beside me(AD) 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar;(AE) and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’(AF) 25 So keep up your courage,(AG) men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.(AH) 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground(AI) on some island.”(AJ)

The Shipwreck

27 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic[c] Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet[d] deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet[e] deep. 29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30 In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat(AK) down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.”(AL) 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.

33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.”(AM) 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it(AN) and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged(AO) and ate some food themselves. 37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 38 When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.(AP)

39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach,(AQ) where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40 Cutting loose the anchors,(AR) they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. 41 But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.(AS)

42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43 But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life(AT) and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44 The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.(AU)

Footnotes

  1. Acts 27:9 That is, Yom Kippur
  2. Acts 27:17 Or the sails
  3. Acts 27:27 In ancient times the name referred to an area extending well south of Italy.
  4. Acts 27:28 Or about 37 meters
  5. Acts 27:28 Or about 27 meters