Acts 27:21–28:31

²¹Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, ^oyou should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this ^oinjury and loss. ²²Yet now I urge you to ^ptake heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. ²³For this very night ^qthere ^rstood before me ^san angel of the God ^tto whom I belong and ^uwhom I worship, ²⁴and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; ^vyou must stand before Caesar. And behold, ^wGod has granted you all those who sail with you.’ ²⁵So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. ²⁶But ^xwe must ^yrun aground on some island.”

²⁷When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. ²⁸So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms.⁴ A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms.^{5 29}And fearing that we might ^zrun on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. ³⁰And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered ^athe ship’s boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, ³¹Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” ³²Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it go.

³³As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. ³⁴Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength,⁶ for ^bnot a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” ³⁵And when he had said these things, he took bread, and ^cgiving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. ³⁶Then they all ^dwere encouraged and ate some food themselves. ³⁷(We were in all 276^{7 e}persons in the ship.) ³⁸And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, ^fthrowing out the wheat into the sea.

The Shipwreck

³⁹Now when it was day, ^gthey did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. ⁴⁰So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. ⁴¹But striking a reef,^{8 h}they ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. ⁴²ⁱThe soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. ⁴³But the centurion, ^jwishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, ⁴⁴and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that ^kall were brought safely to land.

Paul on Malta

28After we were brought safely through, ^lwe then learned that ^mthe island was called Malta. ²ⁿThe native people¹ showed us unusual ^okindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. ³When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. ⁴When ^pthe native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, ^q“No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, ^rJustice² has not allowed him to live.” ⁵He, however, ^sshook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. ⁶They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, ^tthey changed their minds and ^usaid that he was a god.

⁷Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. ⁸It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and ^vprayed, and ^wputting his hands on him, healed him. ⁹And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. ¹⁰They also honored us greatly,³ and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.

Paul Arrives at Rome

¹¹After three months we set sail in ^xa ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods⁴ as a figurehead. ¹²Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. ¹³And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. ¹⁴There we found ^ybrothers⁵ and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. ¹⁵And ^ythe brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, ^zPaul thanked God and took courage. ¹⁶And when we came into Rome, ^aPaul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.

Paul in Rome

¹⁷After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, ^bthough I had done nothing against our people or ^cthe customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. ¹⁸When they had examined me, they ^dwished to set me at liberty, ^ebecause there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. ¹⁹But because the Jews objected, I was compelled ^fto appeal to Caesar—though I had no charge to bring against ^gmy nation. ²⁰For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is ^hbecause of ⁱthe hope of Israel that I am wearing ^jthis ^kchain.” ²¹And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of ^lthe brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. ²²But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this ^msect we know that everywhere ⁿit is spoken against.”

²³When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening ^ohe expounded to them, testifying to ^pthe kingdom of God and ^qtrying to convince them about Jesus ^rboth from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. ²⁴And ^ssome were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. ²⁵And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: ^t“The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:

^26u“ ‘Go to this people, and say,

^v“You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

^27wFor this people’s heart has grown dull,

and with their ears they can barely hear,

and their eyes they have closed;

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and ^xturn, and I would heal them.’

²⁸Therefore let it be known to you that ^ythis ^zsalvation of God ^ahas been sent to the Gentiles; ^bthey will listen.”⁶

³⁰He lived there two whole years at his own expense,⁷ and ^cwelcomed all who came to him, ^31dproclaiming ^ethe kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ ^fwith all boldness and ^gwithout hindrance.