Acts 27

1When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, of the Imperial Cohort.

2We boarded a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail for ports along the coast of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.

3The next day we landed at Sidon. Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends so they could provide for his needs.

4Putting out to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were against us.

5When we had sailed across the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia.

6There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board.

7We sailed slowly for a number of days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. Since the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of Crete, off Salmone.

8Sailing along the coast with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.

9A long time had passed, and sailing had now become dangerous because by now the Fast was already over. So Paul advised them,

10“Men, I can see that our voyage is going to end in disaster and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”

11But the centurion was persuaded more by the pilot and the owner of the ship than by what Paul said.

12Since the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, hoping they could somehow reach Phoenix and spend the winter there. It was a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest.

13When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted, so they weighed anchor and sailed along the coast of Crete, close to shore.

14But before very long a hurricane-force wind, called the Northeaster, rushed down from the island.

15The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind, so we gave way to it and were driven along.

16As we ran under the shelter of a small island called Cauda, we were barely able to get control of the ship’s boat.

17After the men had hoisted it aboard, they used ropes to brace the ship. Because they were afraid they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and so let themselves be driven along.

18We were being so violently battered by the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.

19On the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands.

20When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued to rage, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

21After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not set sail from Crete. Then you would have avoided this damage and loss.

22But now I urge you to take courage, because not one of you will lose your life; only the ship will be lost.

23For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me

24and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar, and God has graciously given you the lives of all who are sailing with you.’

25So take courage, men, for I trust God that it will turn out just as he told me.

26But we must run aground on some island.”

27On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed that they were approaching land.

28They took soundings and found that the water was twenty fathoms deep. A little later they took soundings again and found it was fifteen fathoms deep.

29Afraid that we might run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come.

30The sailors tried to escape from the ship. They lowered the ship’s boat into the sea, pretending they were going to put out anchors from the bow.

31But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.”

32So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the boat and let it drift away.

33Just before daybreak Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food, eating nothing.

34So I urge you to eat some food, for it will help you survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.”

35After he said this, he took bread, gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat.

36They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.

37Altogether there were 276 of us on board.

38When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.

39When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could.

40So they cut loose the anchors and left them in the sea, and at the same time they untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach.

41But they struck a sandbar where two currents met and ran the ship aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was being broken to pieces by the pounding of the waves.

42The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners so that none of them would swim away and escape.

43But the centurion wanted to save Paul, so he kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land,

44and the rest were to follow, some on planks and some on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.