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27 And when it was decided that we set sail to Italy, they were handing over both Rav Sha’ul and some other prisoners to a centurion, Julius by name, of the Imperial Cohort.

And having embarked in an oniyah of Adramyttium about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we set sail, Aristarchus a Macedonian of Thessalonica being with us.

The next day, we put in at a harbor in Tzidon; and Julius treated Rav Sha’ul with kindness, permitting him to be cared for by his chaverim.

And from there, having put out to sea, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.

Then having sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came down to Myra of Lycia.

And there the centurion found an Alexandrian oniyah sailing to Italy and put us on board.

But for many yamim we sailed slowly and with difficulty along the coast of Cnidus, and as the wind was not permitting us to go vaiter (farther), we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone.

And with difficulty sailing past it, we came to a certain place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.

And since considerable time had been lost and it was already unsafe for a voyage, because Yom Kippur had already come and gone; therefore, Rav Sha’ul gave them this eitza (suggestion),

10 Saying to them, "Anashim, I see that the voyage will be hardship and much peril, not only of the cargo and the oniyah, but also of our lives."

11 But the centurion was persuaded by the pilot and the owner rather than by the dvarim of Rav Sha’ul.

12 But the port being unfavorably situated for spending the winter, the majority decided to set sail from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix to spend the winter. It was a harbor of Crete, facing southwest and northwest.

13 And a gentle south wind began to blow, and they thought they could attain their matarah (objective), so they weighed anchor and they were sailing past Crete, close by the shore.

14 After not much time a violent, typhoon force wind rushed down from Crete, the so called Euraquilo, the Northeaster.

15 And the oniyah, having been caught in it, and not being able to directly face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven.

16 By running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were able only with difficulty to get the lifeboat secured.

17 After hoisting it up, they were using frapping cables, passing them underneath the oniyah; then, fearing lest on the shallows of Syrtis they might run aground, they lowered the sea anchor, and so they were being driven along.

18 And we were being violently tossed by the storm, so much so that the next day they were throwing the cargo overboard.

19 And on the Yom Shlishi, with their own hands, they threw out the tackle of the oniyah.

20 And neither shemesh (sun) nor kochavim appeared for many yamim and no small tempest assailed us. Lemaskana (finally) all tikvateinu for yeshu’ah was being abandoned.

21 And after having much loss of appetite, then Rav Sha’ul stood up in the midst of them, and said, "Anashim, you should have obeyed me and not put out to sea from Crete and thereby spared yourselves this hardship and this loss.

22 "And now I advise you to have ometz lev (courage), for there will be no loss of life among you, except the oniyah.

23 "For a malach Hashem stood by me during lailah hazeh, of the G-d whom I serve,

24 "Saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Sha’ul. It is necessary for you to stand before Caesar; and, hinei, Hashem has given to you all the ones sailing with you.'

25 "Therefore have lev same’ach, Anashim. For I have emunah in Hashem that it will be exactly as he has told me.

26 "But it is necessary for us to run aground on some island."

27 Now when the fourteenth night had come, while we being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, toward chatzot halailah (midnight), the sailors were suspecting that we were getting close to land.

28 And having taken soundings, they found twenty fathoms and, having sailed a little vaiter (farther), again they took soundings, and they found fifteen fathoms.

29 And fearing lest somehow against the rough places we might run aground, they threw four anchors off the stern, and they were praying for the dawn to break.

30 Now when the sailors sought to flee from the oniyah and to let down the lifeboat into the sea on the pretext of casting out anchors,

31 Rav Sha’ul said to the centurion and to the chaiyalim, "Unless these remain in the oniyah, you cannot be saved."

32 Then the chaiyalim cut away the ropes of the lifeboat, and let it fall away, setting it adrift.

33 Just before boker, Rav Sha’ul was urging everyone to take okhel (food), saying, "Today is the 14th day you have been held in suspense and are continuing without eating, having taken nothing.

34 "Therefore, I encourage you to take okhel, for it is for your deliverance, for none of you will lose a hair from your heads."

35 And having said these things, and having taken lechem, Rav Sha’ul said the HaMotzi before all, and, after the Betzi’at HaLechem, he began to eat.

36 And receiving ometz lev, they all took okhel.

37 Now there were in all two hundred and seventy-six nefashot in the oniyah.

38 And having eaten enough okhel (food), they were lightening the oniyah by throwing the wheat overboard into the sea.

39 And when it became day, they were not recognizing the land, but a certain bay they were noticing, having a shore onto which they were wanting, if possible, to run aground the oniyah.

40 And the anchors they cast off and they left them in the sea. At the same time they loosened the ropes of the rudders and raised the sail to the wind and were steering toward the shore.

41 But having fallen into a channel, a place between two seas, they ran the oniyah aground, and, while the bow had stuck and remained immovable, the stern was being destroyed by the force of the waves.

42 Now the kesher (plan, plot) of the chaiyalim was that they should kill the prisoners, lest anyone, having swum away, should escape.

43 But the centurion, desiring to save Rav Sha’ul, kept them from carrying out the kesher, and he ordered the ones able to swim to throw themselves overboard first and to make for the shore.

44 As for the rest, some were on planks, others on pieces from the oniyah. And so everyone was brought safely onto 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