Acts 27:13

A Violent Storm at Sea

13 And [when] a southwest wind began to blow gently, [because they] thought [they] could accomplish their purpose, they weighed anchor [and] sailed close along Crete.

Acts 27:13 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 27:13

And when the south wind blew softly
Or moderately, which was a good wind for them:

supposing that they, had obtained their purpose;
that things would succeed according to their wish, and favour their design:

loosing thence;
from the Fair Havens; the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions render it, "loosing from Assos"; which could not be Assos of Troas, mentioned in ( Acts 20:13 ) which was many miles from hence; rather Asum, a town in Crete, of which Pliny ^F18 makes mention, though, according to him, it seems to be an inland town; wherefore it is best to take the word (asson) , to be an adverb, and render it "thence", as we do; or join it with the next word, and render it,

they came near, or they sailed close by Crete;
along the shore, the wind favouring them, that they were in no danger of being dashed upon it, it being a soft gentle wind.

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 Nat. Hist. l. 4. c. 12.

Acts 27:13 In-Context

11 But the centurion was convinced even more by the shipmaster and the shipowner than by what was said by Paul.

12 And [because] the harbor was unsuitable for spending the winter in, the majority decided on a plan to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could arrive at Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing toward the southwest and toward the northwest, to spend the winter [there].

13 And [when] a southwest wind began to blow gently, [because they] thought [they] could accomplish their purpose, they weighed anchor [and] sailed close along Crete.

14 But not long afterward a wind like a hurricane, called the northeaster, rushed down from it.

15 And [when] the ship was caught and [was] not able to head into the wind, we gave way [and] were driven [along].

Footnotes

• [a] *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle ("began to blow gently")
• [b] *Here "[because]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("thought") which is understood as causal
• [c] *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("weighed anchor") has been translated as a finite verb