New Testament in a Year

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.”