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27 And when it was determined that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus’ band.

And entering into a ship from Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia, one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.

And the next day we touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously treated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself.

And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary.

And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia.

And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard.

And when we had sailed slowly many days and scarcely had come as far as Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone;

and, with difficulty passing by it, we came unto a place which is called The Fair Havens, nigh unto the city of Lasea.

Now after much time had been lost, and when sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was now already past, Paul admonished them

10 and said unto them, “Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be attended by hurt and much damage, not only to the lading and ship, but also to our lives.”

11 Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, rather than those things which were spoken by Paul.

12 And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the greater number advised to depart thence also, hoping that by some means they might attain Phoenix, which is a haven of Crete and lieth toward the southwest and northwest, and there to winter.

13 And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, casting loose from thence, they sailed close by Crete.

14 But not long after, there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.

15 And when the ship was caught and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive.

16 And running under the lee of a certain island, which is called Clauda, we had much work in securing the boat,

17 which when they had taken up, they used helps to undergird the ship. And fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, they struck sail, and so were driven.

18 And being exceedingly tossed by a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship;

19 and the third day we cast out with our own hands the ship’s tackle.

20 And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.

21 But after long fasting, Paul stood forth in the midst of them and said, “Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and should not have cast loose from Crete and suffered this harm and loss.

22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship only.

23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, to whom I belong and whom I serve,

24 saying, ‘Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar. And lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.’

25 Therefore sirs, be of good cheer, for I believe God, and that it shall be even as it was told to me.

26 Nonetheless, we must be cast upon a certain island.”

27 But when the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven up and down in the Adriatic, about midnight the shipmen deemed that we were drawing near to some land.

28 And they took a sounding and found it to be twenty fathoms deep; and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again and found it fifteen fathoms.

29 Then, fearing lest we should be driven upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.

30 And as the shipmen were about to flee from the ship, and had let down the boat into the sea under the pretext that they would cast anchors out of the prow,

31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these remain in the ship, ye cannot be saved.”

32 Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off.

33 And as the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, “This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing.

34 Therefore I pray you to take some meat, for this is for your health; for there shall not a hair fall from the head of any of you.”

35 And when he had thus spoken, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it, he began to eat.

36 Then they were all of good cheer, and they also took some meat.

37 And we were in all on the ship, two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.

38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship and cast out the wheat into the sea.

39 And when it was day, they knew not the land, but they discovered a certain creek with a shore, into which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship.

40 And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder ropes, and hoisted up the mainsail into the wind, and made toward shore.

41 And falling into a place where two currents met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to break up with the violence of the waves.

42 And the soldier’s counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out and escape.

43 But the centurion, desiring to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should cast themselves first into the sea and get to land,

44 and the rest, some on boards and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass that they all escaped safely to 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