Acts 27:1-44

Now when it was determined that we (including Luke) would sail for Italy, they turned Paul and some other prisoners over to a centurion of the Augustan Regiment named Julius. And going aboard a ship from Adramyttian which was about to sail for the ports along the [west] coast [province] of Asia [Minor], we put out to sea; and Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, accompanied us. The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, treating Paul with [thoughtful] consideration, allowed him to go to his friends there and be cared for and refreshed. From there we put out to sea and sailed to the leeward (sheltered) side of Cyprus [for protection from weather] because the winds were against us. When we had sailed across the sea along the coasts of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia [on the south coast of Asia Minor]. There the centurion [Julius] found an Alexandrian ship [a grain ship of the Roman fleet] sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it. For a number of days we sailed slowly and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus; then, because the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the leeward (sheltered) side of Crete, off Salmone; and hugging the shore with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea [on the south side of Crete]. Now much time had been lost, and navigation was dangerous, because even [the time for] the fast (Day of Atonement) was already over, so Paul began to strongly warn them, saying, “Men, I sense [after careful thought and observation] that this voyage will certainly be a disaster and with great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” However, the centurion [Julius, ranking officer on board] was persuaded by the pilot and the owner of the ship rather than by what Paul said. Because the harbor was not well situated for wintering, the majority [of the sailors] decided to put to sea from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. So when the south wind blew softly, thinking that they had obtained their goal, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, hugging the coast. But soon afterward a violent wind, called Euraquilo [a northeaster, a tempestuous windstorm like a typhoon], came rushing down from the island; and when the ship was caught in it and could not head against the wind [to gain stability], we gave up and [letting her drift] were driven along. We ran under the shelter of a small island [twenty-five miles south of Crete] called Clauda, and with great difficulty we were able to get the ship’s skiff on the deck and secure it. After hoisting the skiff [on board], they used support lines [for frapping] to undergird and brace the ship’s hull; and fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis [off the north coast of Africa], they let down the sea anchor and lowered the sails and were driven along [backwards with the bow into the wind]. On the next day, as we were being violently tossed about by the storm [and taking on water], they began to jettison the cargo; and on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle (spare lines, blocks, miscellaneous equipment) overboard with their own hands [to further reduce the weight]. Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm kept raging about us, from then on all hope of our being saved was [growing worse and worse and] gradually abandoned. After they had gone a long time without food [because of seasickness and stress], Paul stood up before them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice and should not have set sail from Crete, and brought on this damage and loss. But even now I urge you to keep up your courage and be in good spirits, because there will be no loss of life among you, but only loss of the ship. For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, and said, ‘Stop being afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has given you [the lives of] all those who are sailing with you.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I believe God and have complete confidence in Him that it will turn out exactly as I have been told; but we must run [the ship] aground on some island.” The fourteenth night had come and we were drifting and being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors began to suspect that they were approaching some land. So they took soundings [using a weighted line] and found [the depth to be] twenty fathoms (120 feet); and a little farther on they sounded again and found [the depth to be] fifteen fathoms (90 feet). Then fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern [to slow the ship] and kept wishing for daybreak to come. But as the sailors were trying to escape [secretly] from the ship and had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending that they were going to lay out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain on the ship, you cannot be saved.” Then the soldiers cut away the ropes that held the skiff and let it fall and drift away. While they waited for the day to dawn, Paul encouraged them all [and told them] to have some food, saying, “This is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly on watch and going without food, having eaten nothing. So I urge you to eat some food, for this is for your survival; for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.” Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all, and he broke it and began to eat. Then all of them were encouraged and their spirits improved, and they also ate some food. All told there were two hundred and seventy-six of us aboard the ship. After they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the wheat [from Egypt] overboard into the sea. When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, and they decided to run the ship ashore there if they could. So they cut the cables and severed the anchors and left them in the sea while at the same time unlashing the ropes of the rudders; and after hoisting the foresail to the wind, they headed steadily for the beach. But striking a reef with waves breaking in on either side, they ran the ship aground. The prow (forward point) stuck fast and remained immovable, while the stern began to break up under the [violent] force of the waves. The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would dive overboard and swim [to land] and escape; but the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from [carrying out] their plan. He commanded those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to the shore; and [he commanded] the rest to follow, some on [floating] planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it was that all of them were brought safely to land.

Free Reading Plans and Devotionals related to Acts 27:1-44