Acts 27:39

39 When daylight came, the sailors saw land. They did not know what land it was, but they saw a bay with a beach and wanted to sail the ship to the beach if they could.

Acts 27:39 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 27:39

And when it was day they knew not the land
What place it was, or the name of it:

but they discovered a certain creek with a shore;
a gulf or bay, with a shore near it; the Ethiopic version explains it,

an arm of the sea,
where was a port, where they thought they could secure themselves, or get ashore:

into which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the
ship;
whither they had a mind, and consulted to run the ship, if it could be done by any means, believing it was the most likely method of saving themselves, and that; for notwithstanding the assurance they had that no man's life should be lost, they made use of all proper means for their safety and security.

Acts 27:39 In-Context

37 There were two hundred seventy-six people on the ship.

38 When they had eaten all they wanted, they began making the ship lighter by throwing the grain into the sea.

39 When daylight came, the sailors saw land. They did not know what land it was, but they saw a bay with a beach and wanted to sail the ship to the beach if they could.

40 So they cut the ropes to the anchors and left the anchors in the sea. At the same time, they untied the ropes that were holding the rudders. Then they raised the front sail into the wind and sailed toward the beach.

41 But the ship hit a sandbank. The front of the ship stuck there and could not move, but the back of the ship began to break up from the big waves.