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And when considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even (A)the [a]Fast was already over, Paul began to advise them, 10 and said to them, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with (B)damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion was being more persuaded by the (C)pilot and the [b]captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority reached a decision to set sail from there, if somehow they could arrive at Phoenix, a harbor of (D)Crete facing southwest and northwest, to spend the winter there.

13 And when a moderate [c]south wind came up, thinking that they had attained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began (E)sailing along [d]the shore of (F)Crete.

The Storm at Sea

14 But before very long there (G)rushed down from [e]the land a violent wind, called [f]Euraquilo; 15 and when the ship was caught in it and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and let ourselves be carried along. 16 And running under the shelter of a small island called Clauda, we were scarcely able to get the ship’s [g]boat under control. 17 After they had hoisted it up, they used [h]supporting cables in undergirding the ship. Fearing that they might (H)run aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the [i]sea anchor and in this way let themselves be carried along. 18 And the next day as we were being violently storm-tossed, [j]they began to (I)jettison the cargo; 19 and on the third day they cast the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 And since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, from then on all hope of our being saved was gradually abandoned.

21 And [k]when they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, “(J)Men, you ought to have [l]followed my advice to not set sail from (K)Crete and to [m]avoid this (L)damage and loss. 22 And now I advise you to (M)be cheerful, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night (N)an angel of the God to whom I belong and (O)whom I serve (P)stood before me, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; (Q)you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you (R)all those who are sailing with you.’ 25 Therefore, (S)be cheerful, men, for I believe God that [n]it will turn out exactly as I have been told. 26 But we must (T)run aground on some (U)island.”

27 But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being carried about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to suspect that some land was approaching them. 28 And when they took soundings, they found it to be [o]twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be [p]fifteen fathoms. 29 And fearing that we might (V)run aground somewhere on the [q]rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and were praying for daybreak. 30 But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down (W)the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot [r]be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the (X)ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.

33 Until the day was about to dawn, Paul was encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your [s]salvation, for (Y)not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.” 35 And having said these things, he took bread and (Z)gave thanks to God in the presence of all. And he broke it and began to eat. 36 And all (AA)of them became cheerful and they themselves also took food. 37 And all of us in the ship were 276 [t](AB)persons. 38 And when they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by (AC)throwing out the wheat into the sea.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 27:9 Day of Atonement in September or October, which was a dangerous time of year for navigation
  2. Acts 27:11 Or owner
  3. Acts 27:13 Lit south wind having gently blown
  4. Acts 27:13 Lit closer
  5. Acts 27:14 Lit it
  6. Acts 27:14 A northeaster
  7. Acts 27:16 Or skiff: a small boat in tow or carried on board for emergency use, transportation to and from shore, etc.
  8. Acts 27:17 Lit helps
  9. Acts 27:17 Or gear
  10. Acts 27:18 Lit they were doing a throwing out
  11. Acts 27:21 Or when they had lost their appetite for a long time
  12. Acts 27:21 Lit obeyed me
  13. Acts 27:21 Lit gained
  14. Acts 27:25 Lit it will be
  15. Acts 27:28 Approx. 120 ft. or 36 m, a fathom was approx. 6 ft. or 1.8 m
  16. Acts 27:28 Approx. 90 ft. or 27 m
  17. Acts 27:29 Lit rough places
  18. Acts 27:31 Or survive
  19. Acts 27:34 Or survival
  20. Acts 27:37 Lit souls

Paul’s Advice Ignored

By now much time had passed, and the voyage was already dangerous. Since the Day of Atonement[a](A) was already over, Paul gave his advice 10 and told them, “Men, I can see that this voyage is headed toward disaster and heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid attention to the captain and the owner of the ship rather than to what Paul said.(B) 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to set sail from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix, a harbor on Crete(C) facing the southwest and northwest, and to winter there.

Storm-Tossed Ship

13 When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought they had achieved their purpose. They weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 But before long, a fierce wind called the “northeaster” rushed down from the island. 15 Since the ship was caught and unable to head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 After running under the shelter of a little island called Cauda,[b] we were barely able to get control of the skiff. 17 After hoisting it up, they used ropes and tackle and girded the ship. Fearing they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the drift-anchor, and in this way they were driven along. 18 Because we were being severely battered by the storm, they began to jettison the cargo the next day.(D) 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 For many days neither sun nor stars appeared, and the severe storm kept raging. Finally all hope was fading that we would be saved.

21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul then stood up among them and said, “You men should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete and sustain this damage and loss. 22 Now I urge you to take courage, because there will be no loss of any of your lives, but only of the ship. 23 For last night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me(E) 24 and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. It is necessary for you to appear before Caesar. And indeed, God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.’ 25 So take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me.(F) 26 But we have to run aground on some island.”(G)

27 When the fourteenth night came, we were drifting in the Adriatic Sea, and about midnight the sailors thought they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found it to be a hundred twenty feet[c] deep; when they had sailed a little farther and sounded again, they found it to be ninety feet[d] deep. 29 Then, fearing we might run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come. 30 Some sailors tried to escape from the ship; they had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending that they were going to put out anchors from the bow. 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the skiff and let it drop away.

33 When it was about daylight, Paul urged them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and going without food, having eaten nothing. 34 So I urge you to take some food. For this is for your survival, since none of you will lose a hair from your head.”(H) 35 After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all of them, and after he broke it, he began to eat.(I) 36 They all were encouraged and took food themselves. 37 In all there were 276 of us on the ship.(J) 38 When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the grain overboard into the sea.

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Footnotes

  1. 27:9 Lit the Fast
  2. 27:16 Or Clauda
  3. 27:28 Lit twenty fathoms
  4. 27:28 Lit fifteen fathoms