^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.

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Footnotes

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).

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms. A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

They took soundings and found it to be a hundred twenty feet deep; when they had sailed a little farther and sounded again, they found it to be ninety feet deep.

NLTNew Living Translation

They dropped a weighted line and found that the water was 120 feet deep. But a little later they measured again and found it was only 90 feet deep.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And taking soundings, they found twenty fathoms. So going on a little further and taking soundings again, they found fifteen fathoms.

KJV 1900King James Version

And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms.

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