Acts 27

Now when it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cohort named Julius.

And getting aboard an Adramyttian ship, which was about to sail to the regions along the coast of Asia, we set sail accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica.

The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul with consideration and allowed him to go to his friends and receive care.

And from there we set sail and sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were against us.

And when we had sailed through the sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia.

There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it.

And when we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, since the wind did not permit us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of Crete, off Salmone;

and with difficulty, we sailed past it and came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.

And when considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the Fast was already over, Paul began to advise them,

and said to them, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”

But the centurion was being more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul.

And because the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority reached a decision to set sail from there, if somehow they could arrive at Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, to spend the winter there.

And when a moderate south wind came up, thinking that they had attained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began sailing along the shore of Crete.

But before very long there rushed down from the land a violent wind, called Euraquilo;

and when the ship was caught in it and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and let ourselves be carried along.

And running under the shelter of a small island called Clauda, we were scarcely able to get the ship’s boat under control.

After they had hoisted it up, they used supporting cables in undergirding the ship. Fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the sea anchor and in this way let themselves be carried along.

And the next day as we were being violently storm-tossed, they began to jettison the cargo;

and on the third day they cast the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands.

And since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, from then on all hope of our being saved was gradually abandoned.

And when they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, “Men, you ought to have followed my advice to not set sail from Crete and to avoid this damage and loss.

And now I advise you to be cheerful, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.

For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me,

saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’

Therefore, be cheerful, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.

But we must run aground on some island.”

But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being carried about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to suspect that some land was approaching them.

And when they took soundings, they found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms.

And fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and were praying for daybreak.

But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow,

Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.”

Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.

Until the day was about to dawn, Paul was encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken nothing.

Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your salvation, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.”

And having said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all. And he broke it and began to eat.

And all of them became cheerful and they themselves also took food.

And all of us in the ship were 276 persons.

And when they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing out the wheat into the sea.

Now when day came, they could not recognize the land; but they were noticing a bay with a beach, and they were resolving to drive the ship onto it if they could.

And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders. And hoisting the foresail to the wind, they were heading for the beach.

But striking a reef where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the bow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves.

Now the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape;

but the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention, and ordered that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land,

and the rest should follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.