27:1 It was decided that we would sail for Italy. An ·officer [centurion] named Julius, who served in the ·emperor’s army [Imperial/Augustan regiment; C a military unit directly under Caesar], ·guarded [took charge of] Paul and some other prisoners.
27:2 We got on a ship that was from the city of Adramyttium [C a seaport on the northwest coast of Asia Minor] and was about to sail to different ports in Asia [C a Roman province, in present-day Turkey]. Aristarchus [19:29; 20:4; Col. 4:10; Philem. 24], a man from the city of Thessalonica [17:1] in Macedonia [16:9], went with us.
27:3 The next day we ·came to [landed at] Sidon [12:20]. Julius was very ·good [kind; considerate] to Paul and gave him freedom to go visit his friends, who took care of his needs.
27:4 We left Sidon and sailed ·close to [to the north of; L under the lee/shelter of] the island of Cyprus [11:19], because the wind was blowing against us.
27:5 We ·went [L sailed] across the sea by Cilicia [6:9; 9:11] and Pamphylia [13:13] and landed at the city of Myra [C a significant city on the Andracus River] in Lycia [C a province in southeastern Asia Minor].
27:6 There the ·officer [centurion] found a ship from Alexandria [C a major city in Egypt] that was going to Italy, so he put us on it.
27:7 We sailed slowly for many days. We had a hard time reaching Cnidus [C a port on the southwest side of Asia Minor] because the wind was blowing against us, and we could not go any farther. So we sailed ·by the south side [L under the shelter/lee] of the island of Crete [C a large island off the southern coast of Asia Minor] near Salmone [C a promontory on the eastern coast of Crete, present-day Cape Sidero].
27:8 Sailing past it was hard. Then we came to a place called Fair Havens [C a bay on the southern coast of Crete], near the ·city [town] of Lasea [C a nearby Cretan city].
27:9 We had lost much time, and it was now dangerous to sail, because it was already after ·the Day of Cleansing [L the Fast; C the Day of Atonement; Yom Kippur in Hebrew; Lev. 16; either late September or early October]. So Paul ·warned [advised] them,
27:10 “Men, I can see there will be ·a lot of trouble [L disaster and heavy loss] on this trip. The ship, the cargo, and even our lives may be lost.”
27:11 But the centurion was more persuaded by the ·captain [pilot] and the owner of the ship than by what Paul said.
27:12 Since that harbor was not a ·good [suitable; safe] place for the ship to stay for the winter, ·most of the men [the majority] decided that the ship ·should leave [put to sea]. They hoped we could go to Phoenix and stay there for the winter. Phoenix, a ·city [or port; or harbor] on the island of Crete, had a harbor which faced southwest and northwest.
27:13 When a ·good [moderate; gentle] wind began to blow from the south, the men on the ship thought they ·could reach their goal [or had achieved their objective; or had the opportunity they were waiting for]. So they pulled up the anchor, and we sailed very close to the island of Crete.
27:14 But ·then [L not long after this] a ·very strong [violent; hurricane-like] wind named the “northeaster” came from ·the island [L it].
27:15 The ship was caught in it and could not sail against it. So we stopped trying and ·let the wind carry us [L were driven along].
27:16 When we went ·below [under the lee/shelter of] a small island named Cauda [C 23 miles off the south coast of Crete], we were barely able to bring in the lifeboat.
27:17 After the men took the lifeboat in, they tied ·ropes [or cables] ·around [or under] the ship to hold it together. The men were afraid that the ship would ·hit [run aground on] the sandbanks of Syrtis [C off the coast of North Africa], so they lowered the ·sail [or sea anchor; L gear] and let the wind carry the ship.
27:18 The next day the storm was blowing us so hard that the men threw out some of the cargo.
27:19 ·A day later [L On the third day] with their own hands they threw out the ship’s ·equipment [rigging; tackle; gear].
27:20 When we could not see the sun or the stars for many days, and ·the storm was very bad [L no small storm raged], we lost all hope of being saved.
27:21 After ·the men [many] had ·gone without food [or lost their appetite] for a long time, Paul stood up before them and said, “Men, you should have ·listened to me [obeyed me; taken my advice]. You should not have sailed from Crete. Then you would not have all this trouble and loss.
27:22 But now I ·tell [urge; advise] you to ·cheer up [keep up your courage] because none of you will ·die [be lost]. Only the ship will be lost.
27:23 ·Last [L This] night an angel ·came to [L stood by] me from the God I belong to and worship.
27:24 The angel said, ‘Paul, do not be afraid. You must stand before Caesar. And God has ·promised you that he will save the lives of [graciously granted safety to] everyone sailing with you.’
27:25 So men, have courage. [L For] I trust in God that everything will happen as ·his angel told me [L I have been told].
27:26 But we will ·crash [run aground] on ·an [L some/a certain] island.”
27:27 On the fourteenth night we were still ·being carried [drifting; or being driven] around in the Adriatic Sea [C the sea between Greece and Italy including the central Mediterranean]. About ·midnight [L the middle of the night] the sailors thought we were close to land,
27:28 so they ·lowered a rope with a weight on the end of it into the water [took a sounding]. They found that the water was one hundred twenty feet deep [L twenty fathoms]. They went a little farther and ·lowered the rope again [took a sounding]. It was ninety feet [L fifteen fathoms] deep.
27:29 ·The sailors [L They] were afraid that we would ·hit the rocks [run aground], so they threw four anchors ·into the water [L from the stern] and prayed for daylight to come.
27:30 Some of the sailors wanted to leave the ship, and they lowered the lifeboat, pretending they were throwing more anchors from the ·front of the ship [bow].
27:31 But Paul told the ·officer [centurion] and the other soldiers, “If these men do not stay in the ship, your lives cannot be saved.”
27:32 So the soldiers cut the ropes and let the lifeboat fall into the water.
27:33 Just before dawn Paul ·began persuading [begged; encouraged; urged] all the people to ·eat something [L take food]. He said, “·For the past fourteen days [L Today is the fourteenth day] you have been ·waiting and watching [in suspense] and ·not eating [L going without food, taking nothing].
27:34 Now I ·beg [urge; encourage] you to ·eat something [L take food]. You need it to ·stay alive [survive]. None of you will lose even one hair off your heads.”
27:35 After he said this, Paul took some bread and thanked God for it before all of them. He broke off a piece and began eating [C reflecting language associated with the Lord’s Supper].
27:36 They all felt ·better [encouraged] and ·started eating [L took bread], too.
27:37 ·There were [L We were in all] two hundred seventy-six people on the ship.
27:38 When they had eaten all they wanted, they began making the ship lighter by throwing the ·grain [wheat] into the sea.
27:39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a beach and wanted to sail the ship ·to [up on] the beach if they could.
27:40 So they ·cut the ropes to [L cast off] the anchors and left ·the anchors [L them] in the sea. At the same time, they untied the ropes that were holding the rudders. Then they raised the front sail into the wind and sailed toward the beach.
27:41 But the ship hit a ·sandbank [reef; shoal; or cross-current; L place of two seas]. The front of the ship stuck there and could not move, but the ·back of the ship [stern] began to break up from the big waves.
27:42 The soldiers ·decided [made a decision] to kill the prisoners so none of them could swim away and escape.
27:43 But ·Julius, the officer, [L the centurion] wanted to ·let Paul live [L save Paul] and ·did not allow the soldiers to kill the prisoners [L stopped them from their plan]. Instead he ordered everyone who could swim to jump into the water first and swim to land.
27:44 The rest were to follow using wooden boards or pieces of the ship. And this is how all the people made it safely to land.
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