Acts 27 (New American Standard)

Paul Is Sent to Rome

1 When it was decided that ¹we ²would sail for ³Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan ^a4cohort named Julius. 2 And embarking in an Adramyttian ship, which was about to sail to the regions along the coast of ^b5Asia, we put out to sea accompanied by ⁶Aristarchus, a ⁷Macedonian of ⁸Thessalonica. 3 The next day we put in at ⁹Sidon ; and Julius ¹⁰treated Paul with consideration and ¹¹allowed him to go to his friends and receive care. 4 From there we put out to sea and sailed under the shelter of ¹²Cyprus because ¹³the winds were contrary. 5 When we had sailed through the sea along the coast of ¹⁴Cilicia and ¹⁵Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an ¹⁶Alexandrian ship sailing for ¹⁷Italy, and he put us aboard it. 7 When we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, ¹⁸since the wind did not permit us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of ¹⁹Crete, off Salmone ; 8 and with difficulty ²⁰sailing past it we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea. 9 When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even ²¹the ^cfast was already over, Paul began to admonish them, 10 and said to them, "Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with ²²damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives." 11 But the centurion was more persuaded by the ²³pilot and the ^dcaptain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul. 12 Because the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of ²⁴Crete, facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. 13 ^eWhen a moderate south wind came up, supposing that they had attained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began ²⁵sailing along ²⁶Crete, close inshore.

Shipwreck

14 But before very long there ²⁷rushed down from ^fthe land a violent wind, called ^gEuraquilo ; 15 and when the ship was caught in it and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and let ourselves be driven along. 16 Running under the shelter of a small island called Clauda, we were scarcely able to get the ship's ^hboat under control. 17 After they had hoisted it up, they used ⁱsupporting cables in undergirding the ship ; and fearing that they might ²⁸run aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the ^jsea anchor and in this way let themselves be driven along. 18 The next day as we were being violently storm-tossed, ^kthey began to ²⁹jettison the cargo ; 19 and on the third day they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 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. 21 ^lWhen they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, "³⁰Men, you ought to have ^mfollowed my advice and not to have set sail from ³¹Crete and ⁿincurred this ³²damage and loss. 22 "Yet now I urge you to ³³keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 "For this very night ³⁴an angel of the God to whom I belong and ³⁵whom I serve ³⁶stood before me, 24 saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul ; ³⁷you must stand before Caesar ; and behold, God has granted you ³⁸all those who are sailing with you.' 25 "Therefore, ³⁹keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that ^oit will turn out exactly as I have been told. 26 "But we must ⁴⁰run aground on a certain ⁴¹island." 27 But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to surmise that ^pthey were approaching some land. 28 They took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms ; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms. 29 Fearing that we might ⁴²run aground somewhere on the ^qrocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and ^rwished for daybreak. 30 But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down ⁴³the ship's boat into the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, "Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved." 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ⁴⁴ropes of the ship's boat and let it fall away. 33 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. 34 "Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your preservation, for ⁴⁵not a hair from the head of any of you will perish." 35 Having said this, he took bread and ⁴⁶gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it and began to eat. 36 All ⁴⁷of them ^swere encouraged and they themselves also took food. 37 All of us in the ship were two hundred and seventy-six ^t48persons. 38 When they had eaten enough , they began to lighten the ship by ⁴⁹throwing out the wheat into the sea. 39 When day came, ⁵⁰they ^ucould not recognize the land ; but they did observe a bay with a beach, and they resolved to drive the ship onto it if they could. 40 And casting off ⁵¹the 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. 41 But striking a ^vreef where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground ; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves. 42 The soldiers' plan was to ⁵²kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape ; 43 but the centurion, ⁵³wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention, and commanded that those who could swim should ^wjump overboard first and get to land, 44 and the rest should follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that ⁵⁴they all were brought safely to land.