Acts 27:41

41 And when we felled into a place of gravel gone all about with the sea, they hurtled the ship. And when the former part was fixed, it dwelled unmoveable [And the former part fixed, dwelled unmoveable], and the last part was broken of the strength of the sea.

Acts 27:41 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 27:41

And falling into a place where two seas met
An "isthmus", on each side of which the sea ran; and which the inhabitants of Malta, as Beza says, show to this day, and call it, "la Cala de San Paulo", or the Descent of Saint Paul. The meeting of these two seas might occasion a great rippling in the sea like to a large eddy, or counter tide; and here might be a sand on which

they ran the ship aground;
for this place where the two seas met, as the same annotator observes, could not be the shore itself; for otherwise, to what purpose should they cast themselves into the sea, as they afterwards did, if the head of the ship struck upon the shore, and stuck fast there? but must rather mean a shelf of sand, opposite, or near the entrance into the bay, and where the shipwreck was.

And the fore part stuck fast, and remained unmovable;
so that there was no getting her off:

but the hinder part was broken by the violence of the waves;
that is, the stern; by which means there were boards and broken pieces for the company to get ashore upon.

Acts 27:41 In-Context

39 And when the day was come, they knew no land; and they beheld an haven that had a water bank, into which they thought, if they might, to bring up the ship. [Soothly when day was made, they knew not land; forsooth they beheld some haven having a water bank, into which they thought, if they might, to cast the ship.]

40 And when they had taken up the anchors, they betook them to the sea, and slacked together the jointures of rudders [And when they had taken up the anchors, they betook them into the sea, and slaked together the jointures of rudders]. And with a little sail lifted up, by blowing of the wind [after blowing of the wind] they went to the bank.

41 And when we felled into a place of gravel gone all about with the sea, they hurtled the ship. And when the former part was fixed, it dwelled unmoveable [And the former part fixed, dwelled unmoveable], and the last part was broken of the strength of the sea.

42 And counsel of the knights' was, to slay men that were in ward, lest any should escape, when he had swimmed out. [Soothly the counsel of the knights? was, to slay men in the keeping, lest any should escape, when he had swum out.]

43 But the centurion would keep Paul, and forbade it to be done. And he commanded them that might swim, to go into the sea, and escape, and go out to the land. [Forsooth the centurion willing to keep Paul, forbade to be done. And he commanded them that might swim, to send them first into the sea, and escape, and go out to the land.]