New Testament in a Year

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.”