Acts 27
Paul, along with other prisoners, was put on a ship to Italy under the care of a centurion named Julius. The journey was difficult due to contrary winds, and Paul warned the crew that the voyage would be in danger of injury and damage, but they did not listen. A violent storm arose, and the ship was driven along, with the crew throwing heavy items and equipment overboard in an attempt to lighten the ship. Paul reassured the crew that no lives would be lost, as an angel of God had told him that he would stand before Caesar and that God had given him all those on the ship. The ship eventually ran aground on an island, and the crew and passengers escaped to the land, with the centurion intervening to save Paul's life.
Then it was decided to send him by ship to Italy, and that Paul, with the others in custody, should be delivered to a centurion named Julius, of the cohort of AugustaAfter climbing aboard a ship from Adramyttium, we set sail and began to navigate along the ports of Asia, with Aristarchus, the Macedonian from Thessalonica, joining usAnd on the following day, we arrived at Sidon. And Julius, treating Paul humanely, permitted him to go to his friends and to look after himselfAnd when we had set sail from there, we navigated below Cyprus, because the winds were contraryAnd navigating though the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we arrived at Lystra, which is in LyciaAnd there the centurion found a ship from Alexandria sailing to Italy, and he transferred us to itAnd when we had sailed slowly for many days and had barely arrived opposite Cnidus, for the wind was hindering us, we sailed to Crete, near SalmoneAnd barely being able to sail past it, we arrived at a certain place, which is called Good Shelter, next to which was the city of LaseaThen, after much time had passed, and since sailing would no longer be prudent because the Fast Day had now passed, Paul consoled themand he said to them: "Men, I perceive that the voyage is now in danger of injury and much damage, not only to the cargo and the ship, but also to our own lives.But the centurion put more trust in the captain and the navigator of the ship, than in the things being said by PaulAnd since it was not a fitting port in which to winter, the majority opinion was to sail from there, so that somehow they might be able to arrive at Phoenicia, in order to winter there, at a port of Crete, which looks out toward the southwest and northwestAnd since the south wind was blowing gently, they thought that they might reach their goal. And after they had set out from Asson, they weighed anchor at CreteBut not long afterward, a violent wind came against them, which is called the Northeast WindAnd once the ship had been caught in it and was not able to strive against the wind, giving over the ship to the winds, we were driven alongThen, being forced along a certain island, which is called the Tail, we were barely able to hold on to the ship’s lifeboatWhen this was taken up, they used it to assist in securing the ship. For they were afraid that they might run aground. And having lowered the sails, they were being driven along in this wayThen, since we were being tossed about strongly by the tempest, on the following day, they threw the heavy items overboardAnd on the third day, with their own hands, they threw the equipment of the ship overboardThen, when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no end to the storm was imminent, all hope for our safety was now taken awayAnd after they had fasted for a long time, Paul, standing in their midst, said: "Certainly, men, you should have listened to me and not set out from Crete, so as to cause this injury and lossAnd now, let me persuade you to be courageous in soul. For there shall be no loss of life among you, but only of the shipFor an Angel of God, who is assigned to me and whom I serve, stood beside me this nightsaying: ‘Do not be afraid, Paul! It is necessary for you to stand before Caesar. And behold, God has given to you all those who are sailing with you.Because of this, men, be courageous in soul. For I trust God that this will happen in the same way that it has been told to meBut it is necessary for us to arrive at a certain island.Then, after the fourteenth night arrived, as we were navigating in the sea of Adria, about the middle of the night, the sailors believed that they saw some portion of the landAnd upon dropping a weight, they found a depth of twenty paces. And some distance from there, they found a depth of fifteen pacesThen, fearing that we might happen upon rough places, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and they were hoping for daylight to arrive soonYet truly, the sailors were seeking a way to flee from the ship, for they had lowered a lifeboat into the sea, on the pretext that they were attempting to cast anchors from the bow of the shipSo Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, "Unless these men remain in the ship, you will not be able to be saved.Then the soldiers cut the ropes to the lifeboat, and they allowed it to fallAnd when it began to be light, Paul requested that they all take food, saying: "This is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and continuing to fast, taking nothingFor this reason, I beg you to accept food for the sake of your health. For not a hair from the head of any of you shall perish.And when he had said these things, taking bread, he gave thanks to God in the sight of them all. And when he had broken it, he began to eatThen they all became more peaceful in soul. And they also took foodTruly, we were two hundred and seventy-six souls on the shipAnd having been nourished with food, they lightened the ship, casting the wheat into the seaAnd when day had arrived, they did not recognize the landscape. Yet truly, they caught sight of a certain narrow inlet having a shore, into which they thought it might be possible to force the shipAnd when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves to the sea, at the same time loosing the restraints of the rudders. And so, raising the mainsail to the gusting wind, they pressed on toward the shoreAnd when we happened upon a place open to two seas, they ran the ship aground. And indeed, the bow, being immobilized, remained fixed, but truly the stern was broken by the violence of the seaThen the soldiers were in agreement that they should kill the prisoners, lest anyone, after escaping by swimming, might fleeBut the centurion, wanting to save Paul, prohibited it from being done. And he ordered those who were able to swim to jump in first, and to escape, and to get to the landAnd as for the others, some they carried on boards, and others on those things that belonged to the ship. And so it happened that every soul escaped to the land
Share this chapter