Old/New Testament

²⁷ On the fourteenth night we were being blown across the Adrian Sea. About midnight the boatmen thought that we must be near some land.

²⁸ So they tested how deep the water was there. They found that the line went down twenty arm lengths. A little later they tested and found that it was only fifteen arm lengths deep.

²⁹ Then they were afraid that we would hit the rocks. There were four heavy iron hooks called anchors. They let them down into the water at the back end of the boat. Then they wished that morning would come.

³⁰ The boatmen wanted to get off and leave the boat. They even put down the small boat into the water. They said they were going to put more anchors out from the front of the big boat.

³¹ But Paul said to the officer and soldiers, `If these men do not stay on the boat, you cannot be saved.'

³² Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the small boat and let the water carry it away.

³³ When it was almost morning, Paul begged them all to eat. He said, `Today is the fourteenth day that you have been watching and have not eaten anything.

³⁴ So now, I beg you, eat something. You need it to make you strong so you can save yourselves. Not one of you will lose even one hair from your head.'

³⁵ When he had said this, he stood in front of them all. He took some bread and thanked God for it. Then he broke it and began to eat it.

³⁶ Then they all were glad and ate some food themselves.

³⁷ In all, we were 276 people on the boat.

³⁸ They ate all they wanted. Then they threw the grain into the water, so that the boat would not be so heavy.

³⁹ In the morning they saw land. But they did not know what country it was. They saw a sandy place. So they talked it over and thought they would try to get the boat on it.

⁴⁰ They cut off the anchors and left them in the water. At the same time, they untied the wood that guided the boat. They put up the big sail to catch the wind and tried to get the boat onto that sandy place.

⁴¹ But they came to a place where there was sand under the water. The boat stuck in it. The front end stuck so badly that they could not make it go. The back end began to break up because the water beat it so hard.

⁴² The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners so that none of them would swim to land and run away.

⁴³ But the officer wanted to save Paul, so he stopped the soldiers. He told the people, `Those of you who can swim, jump into the water first and get to the land.

⁴⁴ Then the rest of you jump in and go on planks and other pieces of the boat.' So in this way they all got to the land safely.