Acts 27:1–28:16

Sailing for Rome

27When it was decided that we were to sail to Italy, they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Imperial Regiment. ^p2So when we had boarded a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, intending to sail to ports along the coast of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us. ^q3The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends to receive their care. ^r4When we had put out to sea from there, we sailed along the northern coast ^sof Cyprus because the winds were against us. ⁵After sailing through the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we reached Myra in Lycia. ^t6There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. ⁷Sailing slowly for many days, we came with difficulty as far as Cnidus. Since the wind did not allow us to approach it, we sailed along the south side ^uof Crete off Salmone. ⁸With yet more difficulty we sailed along the coast and came to a place called Fair Havens near the city of Lasea.

Paul’s Advice Ignored

⁹By now much time had passed, and the voyage was already dangerous. Since the Fast ^vwwas already over, Paul gave his advice ¹⁰and told them, “Men, I can see that this voyage is headed toward damage and heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but also of our lives.” ¹¹But the centurion paid attention to the captain and the owner of the ship rather than to what Paul said. ^x12Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to set sail from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix, a harbor on Crete ^yopen to the southwest and northwest, and to winter there.

Storm-Tossed Ship

¹³When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought they had achieved their purpose. They weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. ¹⁴But not long afterward, a fierce wind called the “northeaster” ^zrushed down from the island. ¹⁵Since the ship was caught and was unable to head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. ¹⁶After running under the shelter of a little island called Cauda, ^awe were barely able to get control of the skiff. ¹⁷After hoisting it up, they used ropes and tackle and girded the ship. Then, fearing they would run aground on the Syrtis, ^bthey lowered the drift-anchor, and in this way they were driven along. ¹⁸Because we were being severely battered by the storm, they began to jettison the cargo the next day. ^c19On the third day, they threw the ship’s gear overboard with their own hands.

²⁰For many days neither sun nor stars appeared, and the severe storm kept raging. Finally all hope that we would be saved was disappearing. ²¹Since many were going without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “You men should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete and sustain this damage and loss. ²²Now I urge you to take courage, because there will be no loss of any of your lives, but only of the ship. ²³For this night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me, ^d24and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And, look! God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.’ ²⁵Therefore, take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me. ^e26However, we must run aground on a certain island.” ^f

²⁷When the fourteenth night came, we were drifting in the Adriatic Sea, ^gand in the middle of the night the sailors thought they were approaching land. ^h28They took a sounding and found it to be 120 feet ⁱdeep; when they had sailed a little farther and sounded again, they found it to be 90 feet ^jdeep. ²⁹Then, fearing we might run aground in some rocky place, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come.

³⁰Some sailors tried to escape from the ship; they had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending that they were going to put 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 the ropes holding the skiff and let it drop away.

³³When it was about daylight, Paul urged them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and going without food, having eaten nothing. ³⁴Therefore I urge you to take some food. For this has to do with your survival, since none of you will lose a hair from your head.” ^k35After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all of them, and when he broke it, he began to eat. ^l36They all became encouraged and took food themselves. ³⁷In all there were 276 of us on the ship. ^m38When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the grain overboard into the sea.

Shipwreck

³⁹When daylight came, they did not recognize the land but sighted a bay with a beach. They planned to run the ship ashore if they could. ⁿ⁴⁰After casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and headed for the beach. ⁴¹But they struck a sandbar and ran the ship aground. The bow jammed fast and remained immovable, while the stern began to break up by the pounding of the waves.

⁴²The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners so that no one could swim away and escape. ⁴³But the centurion kept them from carrying out their plan because he wanted to save Paul, so he ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. ⁴⁴The rest were to follow, some on planks and some on debris from the ship. In this way, everyone safely reached the shore. ^o

Malta’s Hospitality

28Once ashore, we ^pthen learned that the island was called Malta. ^q2The local people ^rshowed us extraordinary kindness, for they lit a fire and took us all in, since it was raining and cold. ³As Paul gathered a bundle of brushwood and put it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself to his hand. ⁴When the local people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man is probably a murderer, and though he has escaped the sea, Justice ^sdoes not allow him to live!” ^t5However, he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. ^u6They expected that he would swell up or suddenly drop dead. But after they waited a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. ^v

Ministry in Malta

⁷Now in the area around that place was an estate belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us hospitably for three days. ⁸Publius’s father was in bed suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went to him, and praying and laying his hands on him, he healed him. ^w9After this, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. ¹⁰So they heaped many honors on us, and when we sailed, they gave us what we needed.

Rome at Last

¹¹After three months we set sail in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island, with the Twin Brothers ^xas its figurehead. ¹²Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed three days. ¹³From there, after making a circuit along the coast, ^ywe reached Rhegium. After one day a south wind sprang up, and the second day we came to Puteoli. ¹⁴There we found believers ^zaand were invited to stay with them for seven days.

And so we came to Rome. ¹⁵Now the believers ^bfrom there had heard the news about us and had come to meet us as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage. ¹⁶When we entered Rome, ^cPaul was permitted to stay by himself with the soldier who guarded him. ^d