Acts 27:13–26

The Storm

¹³When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. ¹⁴Before very long, a wind of hurricane force,ⁱ called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. ¹⁵The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. ¹⁶As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat^j secure, ¹⁷so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid they would run aground^k on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor^b and let the ship be driven along. ¹⁸We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.^{l 19}On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. ²⁰When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

²¹After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice^m not to sail from Crete;ⁿ then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. ²²But now I urge you to keep up your courage,^o because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. ²³Last night an angel^p of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve^q stood beside me^{r 24}and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar;^s and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’^{t 25}So keep up your courage,^u men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.^{v 26}Nevertheless, we must run aground^w on some island.”^x