Acts 27:42

42 And [the] counsel of the soldiers was that they should kill the prisoners, lest any one should swim off and escape.

Acts 27:42 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 27:42

And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners
Paul, and the rest: this they had not only an inclination to, but they declared it, and gave it as their opinion, and what they thought advisable to be done directly:

lest any of them should swim out and escape;
and they should be accountable for them: but this was dreadful wickedness in them to seek to take away the lives of others, when they themselves were in so much danger; and monstrous ingratitude to the Apostle Paul, who had been so much concerned for their lives, and careful of them, and had been the means of saving them, and for whose sake they were saved: the devil must have had a great hand in this.

Acts 27:42 In-Context

40 and, having cast off the anchors, they left [them] in the sea, at the same time loosening the lashings of the rudders, and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the strand.

41 And falling into a place where two seas met they ran the ship aground, and the prow having stuck itself fast remained unmoved, but the stern was broken by the force of the waves.

42 And [the] counsel of the soldiers was that they should kill the prisoners, lest any one should swim off and escape.

43 But the centurion, desirous of saving Paul, hindered them of their purpose, and commanded those who were able to swim, casting themselves first [into the sea], to get out on land;

44 and the rest, some on boards, some on some of the things [that came] from the ship; and thus it came to pass that all got safe to land.