^27:21Since many of them had no desire to eat,⁷⁶ Paul⁷⁷ stood up⁷⁸ among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me⁷⁹ and not put out to sea⁸⁰ from Crete, thus avoiding⁸¹ this damage and loss. ^27:22And now I advise⁸² you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only the ship will be lost.⁸³^27:23For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong⁸⁴ and whom I serve⁸⁵ came to me⁸⁶^27:24and said,⁸⁷ ‘Do not be afraid, Paul! You must stand before⁸⁸ Caesar,⁸⁹ and God has graciously granted you the safety⁹⁰ of all who are sailing with you.’ ^27:25Therefore keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God⁹¹ that it will be just as I have been told. ^27:26But we must⁹² run aground on some island.”

^27:27When the fourteenth night had come, while we were being driven⁹³ across the Adriatic Sea,⁹⁴ about midnight the sailors suspected they were approaching some land.⁹⁵^27:28They took soundings⁹⁶ and found the water was twenty fathoms⁹⁷ deep; when they had sailed a little farther⁹⁸ they took soundings again and found it was fifteen fathoms⁹⁹ deep. ^27:29Because they were afraid¹⁰⁰ that we would run aground on the rocky coast,¹⁰¹ they threw out¹⁰² four anchors from the stern and wished¹⁰³ for day to appear.¹⁰⁴^27:30Then when the sailors tried to escape from the ship and were lowering the ship’s boat into the sea, pretending¹⁰⁵ that they were going to put out anchors from the bow, ^27:31Paul said to the centurion¹⁰⁶ and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you¹⁰⁷ cannot be saved.” ^27:32Then the soldiers cut the ropes¹⁰⁸ of the ship’s boat and let it drift away.¹⁰⁹

^27:33As day was about to dawn,¹¹⁰ Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have been in suspense¹¹¹ and have gone¹¹² without food; you have eaten nothing.¹¹³^27:34Therefore I urge you to take some food, for this is important¹¹⁴ for your survival.¹¹⁵ For not one of you will lose a hair from his head.” ^27:35After he said this, Paul¹¹⁶ took bread¹¹⁷ and gave thanks to God in front of them all,¹¹⁸ broke¹¹⁹ it, and began to eat. ^27:36So all of them were encouraged and took food themselves. ^27:37(We were in all two hundred seventy-six¹²⁰ persons on the ship.)¹²¹^27:38When they had eaten enough to be satisfied,¹²² they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat¹²³ into the sea.

Paul is Shipwrecked

^27:39When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed¹²⁴ a bay¹²⁵ with a beach,¹²⁶ where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. ^27:40So they slipped¹²⁷ the anchors¹²⁸ and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the linkage¹²⁹ that bound the steering oars¹³⁰ together. Then they hoisted¹³¹ the foresail¹³² to the wind and steered toward¹³³ the beach. ^27:41But they encountered a patch of crosscurrents¹³⁴ and ran the ship aground; the bow stuck fast and could not be moved, but the stern was being broken up by the force¹³⁵ of the waves. ^27:42Now the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners¹³⁶ so that none of them would escape by swimming away.¹³⁷^27:43But the centurion,¹³⁸ wanting to save Paul’s life,¹³⁹ prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land,¹⁴⁰^27:44and the rest were to follow,¹⁴¹ some on planks¹⁴² and some on pieces of the ship.¹⁴³ And in this way¹⁴⁴ all were brought safely to land.

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Footnotes

76 Or “Since they had no desire to eat for a long time.” The genitive absolute construction with the participle ὑπαρχούσης (huparchousēs) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle. It could also be translated temporally (“When many of them had no desire to eat”). The translation of πολλῆς (pollēs) as a substantized adjective referring to the people on board the ship (“many of them”) rather than a period of time (“for a long time”; so most modern versions) follows ἀσιτία, which has “πολλῆς ἀ. ὑπαρχούσης since almost nobody wanted to eat because of anxiety or seasickness … Ac 27:21.” This detail indicates how turbulent things were on board the ship.
77 Here τότε (tote) is redundant (pleonastic) according to τότε 2; thus it has not been translated.
78 Grk “standing up … said.” The participle σταθείς (statheis) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
79 L&N 36.12 has “πειθαρχήσαντάς μοι μὴ ἀνάγεσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς Κρήτης ‘you should have listened to me and not have sailed from Crete’ Ac 27:21.” By saying “you should have listened to me and not put out to sea from Crete” Paul was not “rubbing it in,” but was reasserting his credibility before giving his next recommendation.
80 ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”
81 The infinitive κερδῆσαι (kerdēsai) has been translated as resultative.
82 The same verb is used for Paul’s original recommendation in Ac 27:9.
83 Grk “except the ship.” Here “but” is used to translate the improper preposition πλήν (plēn; see πλήν 2) since an exception like this, where two different categories of objects are involved (people and a ship), is more naturally expressed in contemporary English with an adversative (“but”). The words “will be lost” are also supplied for clarity. The “prophecy” about the ship serves to underscore Paul’s credibility as an agent of God. Paul addressed his audience carefully and drew attention to the sovereign knowledge of God.
84 Grk “of whom I am.” The relative clause with its possessive was translated following L&N 15.86 παρίσταμαι.
85 Or “worship.”
86 Or “stood by me.” παρίστημι/παριστάνω 2.a.α states, “approach, come τινί (to) someone … Ac 9:39; 27:23.”
87 Grk “came to me saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
88 παρίστημι/παριστάνω 2.a.α states, “Also as a t.t. of legal usage appear before, come before … Καίσαρι σε δεῖ παραστῆναι you must stand before the Emperor (as judge) Ac 27:24.” See Acts 23:11. Luke uses the verb δεῖ (dei) to describe what must occur.
89 Or “before the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
90 Grk “God has graciously granted you all who are sailing with you.” The words “the safety of” have been supplied to clarify the meaning of the verb κεχάρισται (kecharistai) in this context. The safety of all who are sailing with you. In a sense, Paul’s presence protects them all. For Luke, it serves as a picture of what the gospel does through Christ and through the one who brings the message.
91 πιστεύω 1.c states, “w. pers. and thing added π. τινί τι believe someone with regard to someth.… W. of pers. and ὅτι foll.… πιστεύετέ μοι ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρί J 14:11a. Cp. 4:21; Ac 27:25.”
92 This is another use of δεῖ (dei) to indicate necessity (see also v. 24). Acts 28:1 shows the fulfillment of this.
93 Here “being driven” has been used to translate διαφέρω (diapherō) rather than “drifting,” because it is clear from the attempt to drop anchors in v. 29 that the ship is still being driven by the gale. “Drifting” implies lack of control, but not necessarily rapid movement.
94 The Adriatic Sea. They were now somewhere between Crete and Malta.
95 Grk “suspected that some land was approaching them.” προσάγω 2.a states, “lit. ὑπενόουν προσάγειν τινά αὐτοῖς χώραν they suspected that land was near (lit. ‘approaching them’) Ac 27:27.” Current English idiom would speak of the ship approaching land rather than land approaching the ship.
96 Grk “Heaving the lead, they found.” The participle βολίσαντες (bolisantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. See also βολίζω. Although the term is used twice in this verse (and thus is technically not a NT ), it occurs nowhere else in the NT.
97 A fathom is about 6 feet or just under 2 meters (originally the length of a man’s outstretched arms). This was a nautical technical term for measuring the depth of water. Here it was about 120 ft (36 m).
98 L&N 15.12, “βραχὺ δὲ διαστήσαντες ‘when they had gone a little farther’ Ac 27:28.”
99 Here the depth was about 90 ft (27 m).
100 Grk “fearing.” The participle φοβούμενοι (phoboumenoi) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.
101 Grk “against a rough [rocky] place.” L&N 79.84 has “φοβούμενοί τε μή που κατὰ τραχεῖς τόποις ἐκπέσωμεν ‘we were afraid that we would run aground on the rocky coast’ Ac 27:29.”
102 Grk “throwing out … they.” The participle ῥίψαντες (rhipsantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
103 εὔχομαι 2 states, “wish … τὶ for someth.… Foll. by and inf.… Ac 27:29.” The other possible meaning for this term, “pray,” is given in 1 and employed by a number of translations (, , ). If this meaning is adopted here, then “prayed for day to come” must be understood metaphorically to mean “prayed that they would live to see the day,” or “prayed that it would soon be day.”
104 Grk “and wished for day to come about.” And wished for day to appear. The sailors were hoping to hold the ship in place until morning, when they could see what was happening and where they were.
105 πρόφασις 2 states, “προφάσει ὡς under the pretext that, pretending that … Ac 27:30.” In other words, some of the sailors gave up hope that such efforts would work and instead attempted to escape while pretending to help.
106 See the note on the word centurion in .
107 The pronoun you is plural in Greek.
108 The soldiers cut the ropes. The centurion and the soldiers were now following Paul’s advice by cutting the ropes to prevent the sailors from escaping.
109 Or “let it fall away.” According to ἐκπίπτω 1 and 2 the meaning of the verb in this verse could be either “fall away” or “drift away.” Either meaning is acceptable, and the choice between them depends almost entirely on how one reconstructs the scene. Since cutting the boat loose would in any case result in it drifting away (whether capsized or not), the meaning “drift away” as a nautical technical term has been used here.
110 ἄχρι 1.b.α has “ἄ. οὗ ἡμέρα ἤμελλεν γίνεσθαι until the day began to dawn 27:33.”
111 Or “have waited anxiously.” Grk “waiting anxiously.” The participle προσδοκῶντες (prosdokōntes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
112 Or “continued.”
113 Grk “having eaten nothing.” The participle προσλαβόμενοι (proslabomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb (with subject “you” supplied) due to requirements of contemporary English style.
114 Or “necessary.” πρός 1 has “πρ. τῆς σωτηρίας in the interest of safety Ac 27:34”; L&N 27.18 has “ ‘therefore, I urge you to take some food, for this is important for your deliverance’ or ‘… for your survival’ Ac 27:34.”
115 Or “deliverance” (‘salvation’ in a nontheological sense).
116 Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
117 Grk “taking bread, gave thanks.” The participle λαβών (labōn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
118 Or “before them all,” but here this could be misunderstood to indicate a temporal sequence.
119 Grk “and breaking it, he began.” The participle κλάσας (klasas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
120 One early (B) and an early version (sa) read “about seventy-six.” For discussion of how this variant probably arose, see F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles, 465.
121 This is a parenthetical note by the author.
122 Or “When they had eaten their fill.”
123 Or “grain.”
124 Or “observed,” “saw.”
125 Or “gulf” ( κόλπος 3).
126 A beach would refer to a smooth sandy beach suitable for landing.
127 That is, released. Grk “slipping … leaving.” The participles περιελόντες (perielontes) and εἴων (eiōn) have been translated as finite verbs due to requirements of contemporary English style.
128 The term is used of a ship’s anchor. ( ἄγκυρα a).
129 Grk “bands”; possibly “ropes.”
130 Or “rudders.”
131 Grk “hoisting … they.” The participle ἐπάραντες (eparantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
132 Grk “sail”; probably a reference to the foresail.
133 κατέχω 7 states, “hold course, nautical t.t., intr.… κατεῖχον εἰς τὸν αἰγιαλόν they headed for the beach Ac 27:40.”
134 Grk “fell upon a place of two seas.” The most common explanation for this term is that it refers to a reef or sandbar with the sea on both sides, as noted in διθάλασσος: the “τόπος δ. Ac 27:41 is a semantic unit signifying a point (of land jutting out with water on both sides).” However, Greek had terms for a “sandbank” (θῖς [this], ταινία [tainia]), a “reef” (ἑρμα [herma]), “strait” (στενόν [stenon]), “promontory” (ἀρωτήρον [arōtēron]), and other nautical hazards, none of which are used by the author here. here translates τόπον διθάλασσον (topon dithalasson) as “cross-currents,” a proposal close to that advanced by J. M. Gilchrist, “The Historicity of Paul’s Shipwreck,” 61 (1996): 29–51, who suggests the meaning is “a patch of cross-seas,” where the waves are set at an angle to the wind, a particular hazard for sailors. Thus the term most likely refers to some sort of adverse sea conditions rather than a topographical feature like a reef or sandbar.
135 Or “violence” ( βία a).
136 The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners. The issue here was not cruelty, but that the soldiers would be legally responsible if any prisoners escaped and would suffer punishment themselves. So they were planning to do this as an act of self-preservation. See Acts 16:27 for a similar incident.
137 The participle ἐκκολυμβήσας (ekkolumbēsas) has been taken instrumentally.
138 See the note on the word centurion in .
139 Or “wanting to rescue Paul.” Thanks to the centurion who wanted to save Paul’s life, Paul was once more rescued from a potential human threat.
140 I. ἔξειμι has “ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν get to land Ac 27:43.”
141 The words “were to follow” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. They must be supplied to clarify the sense in contemporary English.
142 Or “boards” according to σανίς.
143 Grk “on pieces from the ship”; that is, pieces of wreckage from the ship. Both the planks and pieces of the ship were for the weak or nonswimmers. The whole scene is a historical metaphor representing how listening to Paul and his message could save people.
144 Grk “And in this way it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.