Acts 27
New Catholic Bible
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.
Footnotes
- Acts 27:1 A journey full of vicissitudes. For 15 days, the ship will drift from the coast of Crete to the island of Malta, without any planned direction because the mariners cannot rely on the stars or the sun, which supplied the only way of determining direction at that time (Acts 27:20). Paul very calmly takes control of the situation; he is used to the sea and has already experienced three shipwrecks (see 2 Cor 11:25).
Paul evidently cannot think of founding a community on Malta, since it is a mere stopover, but he does effect cures. There are three more stopovers: Syracuse, Rhegium, and Puteoli. In the last-named place Paul has the joy of finding some brothers (Acts 28:13-14). In Rome, he finds a community of Christians of whose origin we know nothing, but which has already received from him the great Letter on salvation in Jesus Christ; the members of this community go to meet Paul at a place over 30 miles from the City (at the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns, north of Terracina: Acts 28:15-16). He was, therefore, known and expected. - Acts 27:1 This begins the final “we-section” in Acts (see note on Acts 16:9-15). Augustan cohort: a name identifying the Roman legion to which the centurion belonged.
- Acts 27:2 Adramyttium: a harbor on the west coast of the province of Asia.
- Acts 27:3 Sidon: a city 70 miles north of Caesarea.
- Acts 27:5 Myra in Lycia: an important harbor on the journey from Egypt to Rome as well as a prominent place for storing grain.
- Acts 27:6 Alexandrian ship: a ship traveling from Egypt to Rome with a cargo of grain.
- Acts 27:7 Cnidus: a city at the southeastern part of Asia Minor. A journey from Myra to Cnidus was 170 miles and required 10 to 15 days. Crete: an island 160 miles in length. Salmone: a promontory on the northeast tip of Crete.
- Acts 27:8 Fair Havens: a city midway on the southern coast of Crete. Lasea: a city about five miles from Fair Havens.
- Acts 27:9 The Fast: the fast that was called for on the Day of Atonement, i.e., either late September or early October. The season for sailing lasted from Pentecost (May-June) to Tabernacles (five days after the Fast). Sailing was regarded as hazardous after September 15 and as catastrophic after November 11.
- Acts 27:12 Phoenix: a city with a harbor that provided protection from storms.
- Acts 27:16 Cauda: a city about 23 miles from Crete.
- Acts 27:17 Syrtis: a sandy stretch of land off the coast of Tunis and Tripoli in North Africa.
- Acts 27:27 Adriatic Sea: the name was used generally for the seas between Italy, Greece, and Africa.
- Acts 27:31 Unless these men stay: Paul points out that if the sailors jump ship, the passengers will be unable to bring the vessel to shore by themselves and will perish.
Acts 27
International Children’s Bible
Paul Sails for Rome
27 It was decided that we would sail for Italy. An officer named Julius, who served in the Emperor’s[a] army, guarded Paul and some other prisoners. 2 We got on a ship and left. The ship was from the city of Adramyttium and was about to sail to different ports in Asia. Aristarchus, a man from the city of Thessalonica in Macedonia, went with us. 3 The next day we came to Sidon. Julius was very good to Paul. He gave Paul freedom to go visit his friends, who took care of his needs. 4 We left Sidon and sailed close to the island of Cyprus because the wind was blowing against us. 5 We went across the sea by Cilicia and Pamphylia. Then we came to the city of Myra, in Lycia. 6 There the officer found a ship from Alexandria that was going to Italy. So he put us on it.
7 We sailed slowly for many days. We had a hard time reaching Cnidus because the wind was blowing against us. We could not go any farther that way. So we sailed by the south side of the island of Crete near Salmone. 8 We sailed along the coast, but the sailing was hard. Then we came to a place called Safe Harbors, near the city of Lasea.
9 But we had lost much time. It was now dangerous to sail, because it was already after the Day of Cleansing.[b] So Paul warned them, 10 “Men, I can see there will be a lot of trouble on this trip. The ship and the things in the ship will be lost. Even our lives may be lost!” 11 But the captain and the owner of the ship did not agree with Paul. So the officer did not believe Paul. Instead, the officer believed what the captain and owner of the ship said. 12 And that harbor was not a good place for the ship to stay for the winter. So most of the men decided that the ship should leave. The men hoped we could go to Phoenix. The ship could stay there for the winter. (Phoenix was a city on the island of Crete. It had a harbor which faced southwest and northwest.)
The Storm
13 Then a good wind began to blow from the south. The men on the ship thought, “This is the wind we wanted, and now we have it!” So they pulled up the anchor. We sailed very close to the island of Crete. 14 But then a very strong wind named the “Northeaster” came from the island. 15 This wind took the ship and carried it away. The ship could not sail against it. So we stopped trying and let the wind blow us. 16 We went below a small island named Cauda. Then we were able to bring in the lifeboat, but it was very hard to do. 17 After the men took the lifeboat in, they tied ropes around the ship to hold it together. The men were afraid that the ship would hit the sandbanks of Syrtis.[c] So they lowered the sail and let the wind carry the ship. 18 The next day the storm was blowing us so hard that the men threw out some of the cargo. 19 A day later they threw out the ship’s equipment. 20 For many days we could not see the sun or the stars. The storm was very bad. We lost all hope of staying alive—we thought we would die.
21 The men had gone without food for a long time. Then one day Paul stood up before them and said, “Men, I told you not to leave Crete. You should have listened to me. Then you would not have all this trouble and loss. 22 But now I tell you to cheer up. None of you will die! But the ship will be lost. 23 Last night an angel from God came to me. This is the God I worship. I am his. 24 God’s angel said, ‘Paul, do not be afraid! You must stand before Caesar. And God has given you this promise: He will save the lives of all those men sailing with you.’ 25 So men, be cheerful! I trust in God. Everything will happen as his angel told me. 26 But we will crash on an island.”
27 On the fourteenth night we were floating around in the Adriatic Sea.[d] The sailors thought we were close to land. 28 They threw a rope into the water with a weight on the end of it. They found that the water was 120 feet deep. They went a little farther and threw the rope in again. It was 90 feet deep. 29 The sailors were afraid that we would hit the rocks, so they threw four anchors into the water. Then they prayed for daylight to come. 30 Some of the sailors wanted to leave the ship, and they lowered the lifeboat. These sailors wanted the other men to think that they were throwing more anchors from the front of the ship. 31 But Paul told the officer and the other soldiers, “If these men do not stay in the ship, your lives cannot be saved!” 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes and let the lifeboat fall into the water.
33 Just before dawn Paul began persuading all the people to eat something. He said, “For the past 14 days you have been waiting and watching. You have not eaten. 34 Now I beg you to eat something. You need it to stay alive. None of you will lose even one hair off your heads.” 35 After he said this, Paul took some bread and thanked God for it before all of them. He broke off a piece and began eating. 36 All the men felt better. They all started eating too. 37 (There were 276 people on the ship.) 38 We ate all we wanted. Then we began making the ship lighter by throwing the grain into the sea.
The Ship Is Destroyed
39 When daylight came, the sailors saw land. They did not know what land it was, but they saw a bay with a beach. They wanted to sail the ship to the beach, if they could. 40 So they cut the ropes to the anchors and left the anchors in the sea. At the same time, they untied the ropes that were holding the rudders. Then they raised the front sail into the wind and sailed toward the beach. 41 But the ship hit a sandbank. The front of the ship stuck there and could not move. Then the big waves began to break the back of the ship to pieces.
42 The soldiers decided to kill the prisoners so that none of them could swim away and escape. 43 But Julius, the officer, wanted to let Paul live. He did not allow the soldiers to kill the prisoners. Instead he ordered everyone who could swim to jump into the water and swim to land. 44 The rest used wooden boards or pieces of the ship. And this is how all the people made it safely to land.
Footnotes
- 27:1 Emperor The ruler of the Roman Empire, which was almost all the world.
- 27:9 Day of Cleansing An important Jewish holy day in the fall of the year. This was the time of year that bad storms happened on the sea.
- 27:17 Syrtis Shallow area in the sea near the Libyan coast.
- 27:27 Adriatic Sea The sea between Greece and Italy, including the central Mediterranean.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
