Acts 27

1 And when it was decided that we should sail off to Italy, they handed Paul and some other prisoners over to a commander of a hundred named Julius, of the Augustan Cohort. [a] † 2 And going aboard a ship of Adramyttium that was about to sail to the places along Asia, we put out to sea, Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, being with us. 3 And on the next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends and be cared for. 4 And putting out from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us; [c] 5 and sailing across the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia we came down to Myra in Lycia. 6 And there the commander of a hundred found an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy, and put us on board it. 7 And for a good many days we sailed slowly and came off Cnidus with difficulty; and since the wind would not let us go on, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone, 8 and coasting along it with difficulty we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was a city, Lasea. [d]

9 And as considerable time had passed, and the voyage was already dangerous because even the Fast had now gone by, Paul advised them, [e] 10 saying to them, “Men, I see that the voyage is going to be with harm and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but also of our lives.” [f] 11 But the commander of a hundred was persuaded by the helmsman and the shipowner rather than by what Paul said. 12 And since the harbor was unsuitable for wintering, the greater number set a plan to put out from there, in case they might somehow reach Phoenix and winter there — a harbor of Crete looking toward the southwest wind and the northwest wind. [g]

13 And when a south wind blew gently, thinking they had gained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed close along Crete. [h] 14 But not long after, a hurricane-force wind called the Euraquilo rushed down off the island; [i] 15 and when the ship was caught and could not look the wind in the eye, we gave way and were driven along. [j] 16 And running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were barely able to get control of the ship’s boat; 17 and having hoisted it up, they used supports, undergirding the ship. And fearing that they would be driven onto the Syrtis, they lowered the gear, and so were carried along. [k] 18 And as we were being violently storm-tossed, on the next day they began throwing the cargo overboard; 19 and on the third day they threw out the ship’s tackle with their own hands. 20 And when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm lay on us, from then on all hope of our being rescued was being taken away.

21 And when they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not put out from Crete, and gained this harm and this loss. [m] 22 And now I advise you to be of good cheer, for there will be no loss of life among you — only of the ship. 23 For this night there stood by me a messenger of the God whose I am, whom I also serve, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar, and look — God has granted you all those sailing with you.’ 25 So be of good cheer, men; for I trust God that it will be exactly as it has been spoken to me. 26 But we must run aground on some island.”

27 And when the fourteenth night came, as we were being carried across in the Adria, about the middle of the night the sailors began to suspect that some land was drawing near them. [n] 28 And taking a sounding they found a hundred and twenty feet; and after going a short distance and sounding again, they found ninety feet. [o] 29 And fearing that we might be driven onto rough places, they threw four anchors out from the stern and prayed for day to come. 30 And when the sailors were seeking to flee from the ship and had lowered the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretext that they were about to lay out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the commander of a hundred and to the soldiers, “Unless these men remain in the ship, you cannot be rescued.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.

33 And until day was about to come, Paul was urging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have gone on waiting and going without, having taken nothing. 34 So I urge you to take some food, for this is for your rescue; for not a hair will be lost from the head of any of you.” 35 And when he had said this and taken bread, he gave thanks to God in front of them all, and breaking it he began to eat. 36 And they all became cheerful and took food themselves as well. 37 And we were in all two hundred and seventy-six souls in the ship. [p] 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing the wheat out into the sea.

39 And when day came, they did not recognize the land, but they made out a bay with a beach, onto which they were planning, if they could, to drive the ship. 40 And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the lashings of the steering oars; and hoisting the foresail to the wind that was blowing, they held course for the beach. [q] 41 But falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the bow stuck fast and stayed unmoved, while the stern was being broken up by the force. [r] 42 And the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape; 43 but the commander of a hundred, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their plan, and ordered those able to swim to throw themselves overboard first and get to land, 44 and the rest, some on planks and some on pieces of the ship. And so it happened that all were brought safely through to the land.