The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 And when the decision had been made that we were to go by sea to Italy, they gave Paul and certain other prisoners into the care of a captain named Julius, of the Augustan band.
1
When it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they handed Paul and some other prisoners over to Julius, an officer in the Roman army regiment called "The Emperor's Regiment."
2 And we went to sea in a ship of Adramyttium which was sailing to the sea towns of Asia, Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.
2
We went aboard a ship from Adramyttium, which was ready to leave for the seaports of the province of Asia, and we sailed away. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.
3 And on the day after, we came to Sidon; and Julius was kind to Paul, and let him go to see his friends and take a rest.
3
The next day we arrived at Sidon. Julius was kind to Paul and allowed him to go and see his friends, to be given what he needed.
4 And sailing again from there, we went on under cover of Cyprus, because the wind was against us.
4
We went on from there, and because the winds were blowing against us, we sailed on the sheltered side of the island of Cyprus.
5 And having gone across the sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia we came to Myra, in Lycia.
5
We crossed over the sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia and came to Myra in Lycia.
6 And there the captain came across a ship of Alexandria, sailing for Italy, and put us in it.
6
There the officer found a ship from Alexandria that was going to sail for Italy, so he put us aboard.
7 And when we had gone on slowly for a long time, and had had hard work getting across to Cnidus, for the wind was against us, we went under cover of Crete, in the direction of Salmone;
7
We sailed slowly for several days and with great difficulty finally arrived off the town of Cnidus. The wind would not let us go any farther in that direction, so we sailed down the sheltered side of the island of Crete, passing by Cape Salmone.
8 And sailing down the side of it, as well as we were able, we came to a certain place named Fair Havens, near which was the town of Lasea.
8
We kept close to the coast and with great difficulty came to a place called Safe Harbors, not far from the town of Lasea.
9 And as a long time had gone by, and the journey was now full of danger, because it was late in the year, Paul put the position before them,
9
We spent a long time there, until it became dangerous to continue the voyage, for by now the Day of Atonement was already past. So Paul gave them this advice:
10 Saying, Friends, I see that this journey will be one of great damage and loss, not only to the goods and the ship, but to ourselves.
10
"Men, I see that our voyage from here on will be dangerous; there will be great damage to the cargo and to the ship, and loss of life as well."
11 But the captain gave more attention to the master and the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.
11
But the army officer was convinced by what the captain and the owner of the ship said, and not by what Paul said.
12 And as the harbour was not a good one in which to be for the winter, the greater number of them were for going out to sea, in order, if possible, to put in for the winter at Phoenix, a harbour of Crete, looking to the north-east and south-east.
12
The harbor was not a good one to spend the winter in; so almost everyone was in favor of putting out to sea and trying to reach Phoenix, if possible, in order to spend the winter there. Phoenix is a harbor in Crete that faces southwest and northwest.
13 And when the south wind came softly, being of the opinion that their purpose might be effected, they let the ship go and went sailing down the side of Crete, very near to the land.
13
A soft wind from the south began to blow, and the men thought that they could carry out their plan, so they pulled up the anchor and sailed as close as possible along the coast of Crete.
14 But after a little time, a very violent wind, named Euraquilo, came down from it with great force.
14
But soon a very strong wind - the one called "Northeaster" - blew down from the island.
15 And when the ship got into the grip of it, and was not able to make headway into the wind, we gave way, and went before it.
15
It hit the ship, and since it was impossible to keep the ship headed into the wind, we gave up trying and let it be carried along by the wind.
16 And, sailing near the side of a small island named Cauda, we were able, though it was hard work, to make the ship's boat safe:
16
We got some shelter when we passed to the south of the little island of Cauda. There, with some difficulty we managed to make the ship's boat secure.
17 And having got it up, they put cords under and round the ship; but fearing that they might be pushed on to the Syrtis, they let down the sails and so went running before the wind.
17
They pulled it aboard and then fastened some ropes tight around the ship. They were afraid that they might run into the sandbanks off the coast of Libya, so they lowered the sail and let the ship be carried by the wind.
18 And, still fighting the storm with all our strength, the day after they made a start at getting the goods out of the ship;
18
The violent storm continued, so on the next day they began to throw some of the ship's cargo overboard,
19 And on the third day, they let all the sailing apparatus go over the side.
19
and on the following day they threw part of the ship's equipment overboard.
20 And as we had not seen the sun or stars for a long time, and a great storm was on us, all hope of salvation was gone.
20
For many days we could not see the sun or the stars, and the wind kept on blowing very hard. We finally gave up all hope of being saved.
21 And when they had been without food for a long time, Paul got up among them and said, Friends, it would have been better if you had given attention to me and not gone sailing out from Crete, to undergo this damage and loss.
21
After everyone had gone a long time without food, Paul stood before them and said, "You should have listened to me and not have sailed from Crete; then we would have avoided all this damage and loss.
22 But now, I say to you, be of good heart, for there will be no loss of life, but only of the ship.
22
But now I beg you, take courage! Not one of you will lose your life; only the ship will be lost.
23 For this night there came to my side an angel of the God who is my Master and whose servant I am,
23
For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship came to me
24 Saying, Have no fear, Paul, for you will come before Caesar, and God has given to you all those who are sailing with you.
24
and said, "Don't be afraid, Paul! You must stand before the Emperor. And God in his goodness to you has spared the lives of all those who are sailing with you.'
25 And so, O men, be of good heart, for I have faith in God that it will be as he said to me.
25
So take courage, men! For I trust in God that it will be just as I was told.
26 But we will be sent on to a certain island.
26
But we will be driven ashore on some island."
27 But when the fourteenth day came, while we were going here and there in the Adriatic sea, about the middle of the night the sailors had an idea that they were getting near land;
27
It was the fourteenth night, and we were being driven in the Mediterranean by the storm. About midnight the sailors suspected that we were getting close to land.
28 And they let down the lead, and saw that the sea was a hundred and twenty feet deep; and after a little time they did it again and it was ninety feet.
28
So they dropped a line with a weight tied to it and found that the water was one hundred and twenty feet deep; a little later they did the same and found that it was ninety feet deep.
29 Then, fearing that by chance we might come on to the rocks, they let down four hooks from the back of the ship, and made prayers for the coming of day.
29
They were afraid that the ship would go on the rocks, so they lowered four anchors from the back of the ship and prayed for daylight.
30 Then the sailors made attempts secretly to get away from the ship, letting down a boat as if they were about to put down hooks from the front of the ship;
30
Then the sailors tried to escape from the ship; they lowered the boat into the water and pretended that they were going to put out some anchors from the front of the ship.
31 But Paul said to the captain and his men, If you do not keep these men in the ship, you will not be safe.
31
But Paul said to the army officer and soldiers, "If the sailors don't stay on board, you have no hope of being saved."
32 Then the armed men, cutting the cords of the boat, let her go.
32
So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the boat and let it go.
33 And when dawn was near, Paul gave them all orders to take food, saying, This is the fourteenth day you have been waiting and taking no food.
33
Just before dawn, Paul begged them all to eat some food: "You have been waiting for fourteen days now, and all this time you have not eaten a thing.
34 So I make request to you to take food; for this is for your salvation: not a hair from the head of any of you will come to destruction.
34
I beg you, then, eat some food; you need it in order to survive. Not even a hair of your heads will be lost."
35 And when he had said this and had taken bread, he gave praise to God before them all, and took a meal of the broken bread.
35
After saying this, Paul took some bread, gave thanks to God before them all, broke it, and began to eat.
36 Then they all took heart and did the same.
36
They took courage, and every one of them also ate some food.
37 And we were, in the ship, two hundred and seventy-six persons.
37
There was a total of 276 of us on board.
38 And when they had had enough food, they made the weight of the ship less, turning the grain out into the sea.
38
After everyone had eaten enough, they lightened the ship by throwing all the wheat into the sea.
39 And when it was day, they had no knowledge of the land, but they saw an inlet of the sea with a floor of sand, and they had the idea of driving the ship up on to it if possible.
39
When day came, the sailors did not recognize the coast, but they noticed a bay with a beach and decided that, if possible, they would run the ship aground there.
40 So cutting away the hooks, and letting them go into the sea, and freeing the cords of the guiding-blades, and lifting up the sail to the wind, they went in the direction of the inlet.
40
So they cut off the anchors and let them sink in the sea, and at the same time they untied the ropes that held the steering oars. Then they raised the sail at the front of the ship so that the wind would blow the ship forward, and we headed for shore.
41 And coming to a point between two seas, they got the ship to land; and the front part was fixed in the sand and not able to be moved, but the back part was broken by the force of the waves.
41
But the ship hit a sandbank and went aground; the front part of the ship got stuck and could not move, while the back part was being broken to pieces by the violence of the waves.
42 Then the armed men were for putting the prisoners to death, so that no one would get away by swimming.
42
The soldiers made a plan to kill all the prisoners, in order to keep them from swimming ashore and escaping.
43 But the captain, desiring to keep Paul safe, kept them from their purpose, and gave orders that those who had knowledge of swimming were to go off the ship and get first to land:
43
But the army officer wanted to save Paul, so he stopped them from doing this. Instead, he ordered everyone who could swim to jump overboard first and swim ashore;
44 And the rest, some on boards and some on things from the ship. And so it came about that they all got safe to land.
44
the rest were to follow, holding on to the planks or to some broken pieces of the ship. And this was how we all got safely ashore.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.