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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

Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even (A)the Fast[a] was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with (B)injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to (C)the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

The Storm at Sea

13 Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. 14 But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, (D)struck down from the land. 15 And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda,[b] we managed with difficulty to secure the ship's boat. 17 After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they would (E)run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear,[c] and thus they were driven along. 18 Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day (F)to jettison the cargo. 19 And 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 no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.

21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, (G)you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this (H)injury and loss. 22 Yet now I urge you to (I)take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night (J)there (K)stood before me (L)an angel of the God (M)to whom I belong and (N)whom I worship, 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; (O)you must stand before Caesar. And behold, (P)God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But (Q)we must (R)run aground on some island.”

27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. 28 So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms.[d] A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms.[e] 29 And fearing that we might (S)run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered (T)the ship's boat into the sea under pretense of laying 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 away the ropes of the ship's boat and let it go.

33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength,[f] for (U)not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” 35 And when he had said these things, he took bread, and (V)giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. 36 Then they all (W)were encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 (We were in all 276[g] (X)persons in the ship.) 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, (Y)throwing out the wheat into the sea.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 27:9 That is, the Day of Atonement
  2. Acts 27:16 Some manuscripts Clauda
  3. Acts 27:17 That is, the sea-anchor (or possibly the mainsail)
  4. Acts 27:28 About 120 feet; a fathom (Greek orguia) was about 6 feet or 2 meters
  5. Acts 27:28 About 90 feet (see previous note)
  6. Acts 27:34 Or For it is for your deliverance
  7. Acts 27:37 Some manuscripts seventy-six, or about seventy-six