Acts 27:1–20

The Voyage to Rome Begins

27And when ^ait was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan Regiment. ²So, entering a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia. ^bAristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us. ³And the next day we landed at Sidon. And Julius ^ctreated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care. ⁴When we had put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. ⁵And when we had sailed over the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. ⁶There the centurion found ^dan Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy, and he put us on board.

⁷When we had sailed slowly many days, and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of ^eCrete off Salmone. ⁸Passing it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.

Paul’s Warning Ignored

⁹Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous ^fbecause ¹the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, ¹⁰saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.” ¹¹Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. ¹²And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there.

In the Tempest

¹³When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. ¹⁴But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called ²Euroclydon. ¹⁵So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her ³drive. ¹⁶And running under the shelter of an island called ⁴Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty. ¹⁷When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the ⁵Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so were driven. ¹⁸And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. ¹⁹On the third day ^gwe threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands. ²⁰Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.