BWE - Acts - 27

27:1  It was planned that we would go by boat to Italy. An officer named Julius was put in charge of Paul and some other prisoners. Julius was an army captain in the Augustan group.

27:2  We got on a boat which was from the city of Adramyttium. This boat was going along the coast of Asia Minor. And so we went out to sea. A man named Aristarchus from the city of Thessalonica in Macedonia came with us also.

27:3  The next day we stopped at the city of Sidon. Julius was kind to Paul. He allowed him to go to see his friends so they could care for him.

27:4  Then we started out to sea again. We went near the island of Cyprus, because the wind was blowing against us.

27:5  We crossed the sea by the countries of Cilicia and Pamphylia. Then we reached the city of Myra in Lycia.

27:6  There the officer found a boat from the city of Alexandria going to the country of Italy. So he put us on that boat.

27:7  We went slowly for many days. And after much trouble, we reached the city of Cnidus. The wind was blowing hard against us. We could not go on. So we went around the south side of the island of Crete, past Cape Salmone.

27:8  We had trouble going along near the coast, but at last we came to a place called Fair Havens. This was near the town of Lasea.

27:9  It was now so late in the year that it was a bad time to go by boat. So Paul spoke to them about it.

27:10  He said, ‘Sirs, I see that if we go on by boat, we will have much trouble. Something bad will happen to the things on the boat and to the boat itself, and also to us.’

27:11  The officer did not listen to what Paul said. But he listened to the captain and the owner of the boat.

27:12  This place was not a good place for the boat to stay through the winter months of the year. So most of the men wanted to go on. They thought they might be able to reach Phoenicia and stay there for the winter. Phoenicia is a good place on the island of Crete. Boats can stay there. The winds do not blow against them.

27:13  When the south wind began to blow a little, they thought they had what they wanted. So they started off. They went along very close to the land of Crete.

27:14  But soon a very strong north-east wind blew from Crete.

27:15  The wind blew against the boat and it could not go into the wind. So they let the boat go where the wind took it.

27:16  We came close to a small island called Clauda. There we had a hard time to pull up the small boat.

27:17  However, at last they got it up. Then they put ropes around the boat to make it strong. They were also afraid they would get stuck in a bad place in the sand. So they took down the big sail cloth that was up to catch the wind. Then they let the boat go where the wind took it.

27:18  The next day the storm was very bad. They threw out the things that were in the boat.

27:19  And the third day they threw off the things they used on the boat, with their own hands.

27:20  For many days we could not see the sun or the stars. The bad storm kept on. We did not think that we would be saved.

27:21  The men of the boat had not eaten anything for a long time. Then Paul stood up and said, ‘Sirs, you should have listened to me and not left Crete. But you did leave. So you have had much trouble and have lost all these things.

27:22  Now I tell you to be glad. Not one of you will die. Only the boat will break and be lost.

27:23  I belong to God and worship him. Last night his angel stood before me.

27:24  He said, “Paul, do not be afraid. You must stand before Caesar. And see, God has given you the lives of all these men who are travelling with you.”

27:25  So be glad, sirs. I believe God. It will be just the way he told me.

27:26  However, we will have to go on an island.’

27:27  On the fourteenth night we were being blown across the Adrian Sea. About midnight the boatmen thought that we must be near some land.

27:28  So they tested how deep the water was there. They found that the line went down twenty arm lengths. A little later they tested and found that it was only fifteen arm lengths deep.

27:29  Then they were afraid that we would hit the rocks. There were four heavy iron hooks called anchors. They let them down into the water at the back end of the boat. Then they wished that morning would come.

27:30  The boatmen wanted to get off and leave the boat. They even put down the small boat into the water. They said they were going to put more anchors out from the front of the big boat.

27:31  But Paul said to the officer and soldiers, ‘If these men do not stay on the boat, you cannot be saved.’

27:32  Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the small boat and let the water carry it away.

27:33  When it was almost morning, Paul begged them all to eat. He said, ‘Today is the fourteenth day that you have been watching and have not eaten anything.

27:34  So now, I beg you, eat something. You need it to make you strong so you can save yourselves. Not one of you will lose even one hair from your head.’

27:35  When he had said this, he stood in front of them all. He took some bread and thanked God for it. Then he broke it and began to eat it.

27:36  Then they all were glad and ate some food themselves.

27:37  In all, we were 276 people on the boat.

27:38  They ate all they wanted. Then they threw the grain into the water, so that the boat would not be so heavy.

27:39  In the morning they saw land. But they did not know what country it was. They saw a sandy place. So they talked it over and thought they would try to get the boat on it.

27:40  They cut off the anchors and left them in the water. At the same time, they untied the wood that guided the boat. They put up the big sail to catch the wind and tried to get the boat onto that sandy place.

27:41  But they came to a place where there was sand under the water. The boat stuck in it. The front end stuck so badly that they could not make it go. The back end began to break up because the water beat it so hard.

27:42  The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners so that none of them would swim to land and run away.

27:43  But the officer wanted to save Paul, so he stopped the soldiers. He told the people, ‘Those of you who can swim, jump into the water first and get to the land.

27:44  Then the rest of you jump in and go on planks and other pieces of the boat.’ So in this way they all got to the land safely.