Acts 27

Paul Sails for Romeⓘ

Setting sail for Italy¹When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial^a Regiment. ²We boarded an Adramyttian ship about to sail for ports along the coast of Asia,^b and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.

³The next day we landed at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul with consideration, allowing him to visit his friends and receive their care. ⁴After putting out from there, we sailed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. ⁵And when we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. ⁶There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board.

⁷After sailing slowly for many days, we arrived off Cnidus. When the wind impeded us, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. ⁸After we had moved along the coast with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.

Paul's warning ignored⁹By now much time had passed, and the voyage had already become dangerous because it was after the Fast.^c So Paul advised them, ¹⁰“Men, I can see that our voyage will be filled with disaster and great loss, not only to ship and cargo, but to our own lives as well.”

¹¹But contrary to Paulʼs advice, the centurion was persuaded by the pilot and by the owner of the ship. ¹²Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to sail on, hoping that somehow they could reach Phoenix to winter there. Phoenix was a harbor in Crete facing both southwest and northwest.

The Storm at Seaⓘ

The storm hits¹³When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had their opportunity. So they weighed anchor and sailed along, hugging the coast of Crete. ¹⁴But it was not long before a cyclone called the Northeaster swept down across the island. ¹⁵Unable to head into the wind, the ship was caught up. So we gave way and let ourselves be driven along.

¹⁶Passing to the lee of a small island called Cauda,^d we barely managed to secure the lifeboat. ¹⁷After hoisting it up, the crew used ropes to undergird the ship. And fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor^e and were driven along.

¹⁸We were tossed so violently that the next day the men began to jettison the cargo. ¹⁹On the third day, they threw the shipʼs tackle overboard with their own hands. ²⁰When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the great storm continued to batter us, we abandoned all hope of being saved.

Paul's message of hope²¹After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete. Then you would have averted this disaster and loss. ²²But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because you will not experience any loss of life, but only of the ship. ²³For just last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me ²⁴and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And look, God has granted you the lives of all who sail with you.’

²⁵So take courage, men, for I believe God that it will happen just as He told me. ²⁶However, we must run aground on some island.”

The Shipwreckⓘ

Sailors' escape attempt and the shared meal²⁷On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea.^f About midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. ²⁸They took soundings and found that the water was twenty fathoms deep.^g Going a little farther, they took another set of soundings that read fifteen fathoms.^{h 29}Fearing that we would run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daybreak.

³⁰Meanwhile, the sailors attempted to escape from the ship. Pretending to lower anchors from the bow, they let the lifeboat down into the sea. ³¹But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain with the ship, you cannot be saved.” ³²So the soldiers cut the ropes to the lifeboat and set it adrift.

³³Right up to daybreak, Paul kept urging them all to eat: “Today is your fourteenth day in constant suspense, without taking any food. ³⁴So for your own preservation, I urge you to eat something, because not a single hair of your head will be lost.”

³⁵After he had said this, Paul took bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. ³⁶They were all encouraged and took some food themselves. ³⁷In all, there were 276ⁱ of us on board. ³⁸After the men had eaten their fill, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.

The shipwreck and everyone saved³⁹When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they sighted a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. ⁴⁰Cutting away the anchors, they left them in the sea as they loosened the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. ⁴¹But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was being broken up by the pounding of the waves.

⁴²The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners so none of them could swim to freedom. ⁴³But the centurion, wanting to spare Paulʼs life, thwarted their plan. He commanded those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. ⁴⁴The rest were to follow on planks and various parts of the ship. In this way everyone was brought safely to land.