Acts 27 - Amplified Bible(AMP)

Paul Is Sent to Rome

1Now 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.

2And going aboard a ship from Adramyttian which was about to sail for the ports along the coast of Asia, we put out to sea; and Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, accompanied us.

3The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, treating Paul with consideration, allowed him to go to his friends there and be cared for and refreshed.

4From there we put out to sea and sailed to the leeward (sheltered) side of Cyprus because the winds were against us.

5When we had sailed across the sea along the coasts of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia.

6There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it.

7For 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;

8and hugging the shore with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.

9Now much time had been lost, and navigation was dangerous, because even the fast (Day of Atonement) was already over, so Paul began to strongly warn them,

10saying, “Men, I sense 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.”

11However, the centurion was persuaded by the pilot and the owner of the ship rather than by what Paul said.

12Because the harbor was not well situated for wintering, the majority 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.

13So when the south wind blew softly, thinking that they had obtained their goal, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, hugging the coast.

Shipwreck

14But soon afterward a violent wind, called Euraquilo, came rushing down from the island;

15and when the ship was caught in it and could not head against the wind, we gave up and were driven along.

16We ran under the shelter of a small island called Clauda, and with great difficulty we were able to get the ship’s skiff on the deck and secure it.

17After hoisting the skiff, they used support lines to undergird and brace the ship’s hull; and fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the sea anchor and lowered the sails and were driven along.

18On the next day, as we were being violently tossed about by the storm, they began to jettison the cargo;

19and on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle (spare lines, blocks, miscellaneous equipment) overboard with their own hands.

20Since 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 gradually abandoned.

21After they had gone a long time without food, 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.

22But 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.

23For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me,

24and said, ‘Stop being afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has given you all those who are sailing with you.’

25So 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;

26but we must run aground on some island.”

27The 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.

28So they took soundings and found twenty fathoms (120 feet); and a little farther on they sounded again and found fifteen fathoms (90 feet).

29Then fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and kept wishing for daybreak to come.

30But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending that they were going to lay out anchors from the bow,

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

32Then the soldiers cut away the ropes that held the skiff and let it fall and drift away.

33While they waited for the day to dawn, Paul encouraged them all to have some food, saying, “This is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly on watch and going without food, having eaten nothing.

34So 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.”

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

36Then all of them were encouraged and their spirits improved, and they also ate some food.

37All told there were two hundred and seventy-six of us aboard the ship.

38After they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the wheat overboard into the sea.

39When 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.

40So 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.

41But 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 force of the waves.

42The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would dive overboard and swim and escape;

43but the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from their plan. He commanded those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to the shore;

44and the rest to follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it was that all of them were brought safely to land.