Acts 27:30

30 Some of the sailors wanted to leave the ship, and they lowered the lifeboat, pretending they were throwing more anchors from the front of the ship.

Acts 27:30 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 27:30

And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship
To save their lives, concluding that it was in the utmost danger, and that it would quickly, notwithstanding the anchors cast out, break away, and fall upon the rocks, and split to pieces:

when they had let down the boat into the sea;
which before they had taken up into the ship, ( Acts 27:16 Acts 27:17 ) and now they let it down, in order to get into it, and make their escape:

under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the
foreship;
the foremost part of the ship, the prow of it; their pretence in attempting to get out of the ship, and into the boat, was, that whereas there were anchors cast out of the stern, or hinder part of the ship, so they would cast out others, from the fore part of it; and "stretch" them "out", as the word signifies, or carry them further out into the sea, for the security of the ship; and to do which, it was necessary to use the boat.

Acts 27:30 In-Context

28 so they lowered a rope with a weight on the end of it into the water. They found that the water was one hundred twenty feet deep. They went a little farther and lowered the rope again. It was ninety feet deep.

29 The sailors were afraid that we would hit the rocks, so they threw four anchors into the water and prayed for daylight to come.

30 Some of the sailors wanted to leave the ship, and they lowered the lifeboat, pretending they were throwing more anchors from the front of the ship.

31 But Paul told the officer and the other soldiers, "If these men do not stay in the ship, your lives cannot be saved."

32 So the soldiers cut the ropes and let the lifeboat fall into the water.