Paul Sets Sail for Rome
27 1 When it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they handed Paul and some other prisoners over to a centurion named Julius, of the Imperial Regiment. 2 We boarded a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us. 3 The next day we landed at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends so they could care for his needs. 4 From there we put out to sea again and sailed under the shelter of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5 When we had sailed across the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us aboard it. 7 We made slow progress for many days and had trouble reaching Cnidus. Because the wind would not allow us to hold our course, we sailed under the shelter of Crete, off Salmone. 8 We struggled along the coast and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.
9 Much time had been lost, and sailing had now become dangerous because even the Fast was already over. So Paul warned them, a a v9 "The Fast" was the Day of Atonement, in autumn — once it passed, the season for safe sea travel was effectively closed. 10 "Men, I can see that this voyage is going to bring disaster and heavy loss, not only to the cargo and the ship, but also to our own lives." 11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and the ship's owner than to what Paul said. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to sail on, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix and winter there — a harbor in Crete facing both southwest and northwest.
The Storm at Sea
13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had what they wanted, so they weighed anchor and sailed along, hugging the coast of Crete. 14 But before long, a hurricane-force wind called the Northeaster swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught and could not head into the wind, so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we passed under the shelter of a small island called Cauda, we were barely able to secure the ship's lifeboat. 17 After hoisting it aboard, they used ropes to brace the hull. Fearing they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. b b v17 The Syrtis was a notorious stretch of shifting sandbars off the North African coast, dreaded by ancient sailors. 18 We were being so violently battered by the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, with their own hands they threw the ship's gear overboard. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the violent storm kept raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up among them and said, "Men, you should have listened to me and not put out from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this disaster and loss. 22 But now I urge you to take courage, because not one of you will lose his life; only the ship will be lost. 23 Last night an angel of our Father — the one to whom I belong and whom I serve — stood beside me c c v23 Paul does not name a distant deity but the Father he belongs to — even in a sinking ship, he is a son in his Father's care. 24 and said, "Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar; and look, our Father has granted you the lives of all who are sailing with you." 25 So take courage, men, for I trust our Father that it will happen just as I was told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.
The Shipwreck
27 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A little farther on they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep. d d v28 The Greek measures twenty then fifteen fathoms — the rapidly shrinking depth warned the sailors that land was dangerously close. 29 Fearing we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come. 30 The sailors tried to escape from the ship and had let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower anchors from the bow. 31 But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved." 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes holding the lifeboat and let it drift away.
33 Just before daybreak Paul urged them all to eat, saying, "For fourteen days now you have been in constant suspense, going without food, eating nothing. 34 So I urge you to eat something; you need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head." 35 After he said this, he took bread and gave thanks to our Father in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 Altogether there were two hundred and seventy-six of us on board. 38 When they had eaten all they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea. 39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40 Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the steering oars. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. 41 But they struck a sandbar where two currents met and ran the ship aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, while the stern was being broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.
42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners so that none of them could swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion wanted to spare Paul's life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land, 44 and the rest to follow on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.