The Journey to Rome^[a]

Chapter 27

Paul’s Voyage toward Rome. ¹ When it was decided that we^[b] should sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to Julius, a centurion of the Augustan cohort. ² We embarked on a ship from Adramyttium^[c] that was about to sail to ports in the province of Asia, and we put out to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica.

³ On the next day, we landed at Sidon,^[d] and Julius was considerate enough to allow Paul to visit his friends there and be cared for by them. ⁴ From there, we put out to sea again and sailed around the sheltered side of Cyprus because of the headwinds. ⁵ Then, crossing the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we reached Myra in Lycia.^[e]

Storm and Shipwreck. ⁶ There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship^[f] that was bound for Italy and put us on board. ⁷ For a good many days, we made little headway, and we experienced difficulty in reaching Cnidus.^[g] Then, as the wind continued to pose difficulties, we sailed for the sheltered side of Crete off Salmone. ⁸ We moved along the coast with difficulty and reached a place called Fair Havens,^[h] near the city of Lasea.

⁹ Much time had already been lost, and sailing had now become hazardous, since the time of the Fast^[i] had already gone by. Therefore, Paul gave them this warning, ¹⁰ “Men, I can see that this voyage will be fraught with danger and involve heavy losses, not only of the ship and the cargo but also of our lives.”

¹¹ However, the centurion paid more attention to the advice of the captain and of the ship’s owner than to what Paul said. ¹² Since the harbor was unsuitable for spending the winter, the majority were in favor of putting out to sea from there, in the hope that they could reach Phoenix,^[j] a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

¹³ When a gentle southerly breeze began to blow, they thought that they would be able to achieve their objective. They weighed anchor and began to sail past Crete, hugging the shore. ¹⁴ But before long a violent wind, called a northeaster, swept down on them. ¹⁵ Since the ship was caught up in it, we had to give way to the wind and let ourselves be driven along.

¹⁶ As we passed along the sheltered side of a small island called Cauda,^[k] we managed with some difficulty to secure the ship’s lifeboat. ¹⁷ After hoisting it up, they used cables to undergird the ship. Then, afraid of running aground on the shallows of Syrtis,^[l] they lowered the sea anchor and so let themselves drift.

¹⁸ We were being pounded so violently by the storm that on the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. ¹⁹ Then on the third day, they threw the ship’s gear overboard with their own hands. ²⁰ For many days, neither the sun nor the stars could be seen, and the storm continued to rage until we finally abandoned all hope of being saved.

²¹ When they all had gone without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete. Then you would have avoided all this damage and loss. ²² I urge you now to keep up your courage. There will be no loss of life among you. Only the ship will be lost.

²³ “Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve appeared to me, ²⁴ and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You shall appear before Caesar. Furthermore, for your sake God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you.’ ²⁵ Therefore, men, keep up your courage. I have complete trust in God that what he told me will be fulfilled. ²⁶ But we will run aground on some island.”

²⁷ On the fourteenth night, we were still drifting across the Adriatic Sea.^[m] About midnight, the sailors began to suspect that they were nearing land, ²⁸ so they took soundings and found that the water was twenty feet deep. A little farther on they again took soundings and found fifteen feet.

²⁹ Fearing that we might run aground on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come. ³⁰ The sailors then tried to abandon ship. They had already lowered the lifeboat into the sea, on the pretext that they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. ³¹ But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay^[n] with the ship, you cannot be saved.” ³² Then the soldiers cut the ropes of the lifeboat and set it adrift.

³³ Just before daybreak, Paul urged all of them to take some food, saying, “This is the fourteenth day that you have been in suspense, going hungry and eating nothing. ³⁴ Therefore, I beg you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose even a hair of his head.”

³⁵ After he had said this, he took bread, gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat. ³⁶ Then they were all encouraged and began to eat. ³⁷ Altogether, there were two hundred and seventy-six persons on board. ³⁸ After they had eaten as much as they wanted they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.

³⁹ In the morning, they did not recognize the land, but they sighted a bay with a sandy beach, and they decided to run the ship aground on this if they could. ⁴⁰ And so they cut loose the anchors and left them in the sea. At the same time, they loosened the ropes that held the rudders. Then, hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach. ⁴¹ But they struck a reef, and the vessel ran aground. The bow became stuck and remained unmovable, while the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the waves.

⁴² The soldiers decided to kill the prisoners lest any of them might swim away and escape. ⁴³ However, the centurion was determined to spare Paul’s life, and he prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for land, ⁴⁴ while the rest were to follow either on planks or on pieces of wreckage from the ship. In this way, all were brought safely to land.