Acts 27
English Standard
Version (ESV)
27 And when it was decided (A)that (B)we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other
prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan (C)Cohort named Julius. 2 And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which
was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea,
accompanied by (D)Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica.3 The
next day we put in at Sidon. And (E)Julius (F)treated Paul kindly and (G)gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. 4 And
putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the
winds were against us.5 And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of
Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia.6 There
the centurion found (H)a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We
sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and
as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete
off Salmone. 8 Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair
Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.
9 Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous
because even (I)the Fast[a] was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying,
“Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with (J)injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also
of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to (K)the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 And
because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority
decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could
reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and
spend the winter there.
13 Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing
that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along
Crete, close to the shore. 14 But soon a tempestuous wind, called the
northeaster, (L)struck down from the land. 15 And
when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and
were driven along.16 Running under the lee of a small island called
Cauda,[b] we managed with difficulty to secure the ship's boat.17 After
hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that
they would (M)run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear,[c] and thus they were driven along. 18 Since
we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day (N)to jettison the cargo. 19 And on the third day they threw the ship's
tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When
neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us,
all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.
21 Since they had been without food for a long
time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, (O)you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete
and incurred this (P)injury and loss. 22 Yet now I urge you to (Q)take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only
of the ship. 23 For this very night (R)there (S)stood before me(T)an angel of the God (U)to whom I belong and (V)whom I worship, 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; (W)you must stand before Caesar. And behold, (X)God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 So
take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been
told. 26 But (Y)we must (Z)run aground on some island.”
27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were
being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that
they were nearing land. 28 So they took a sounding and found twenty
fathoms.[d] A little farther on they took a sounding again and found
fifteen fathoms.[e] 29 And fearing that we might (AA)run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and
prayed for day to come. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from
the ship, and had lowered (AB)the ship's boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors
from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers,
“Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then
the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat and let it go.
33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to
take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in
suspense and without food, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore
I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength,[f] for (AC)not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” 35 And
when he had said these things, he took bread, and (AD)giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began
to eat. 36 Then they all (AE)were encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 (We
were in all 276[g] (AF)persons in the ship.) 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened
the ship, (AG)throwing out the wheat into the sea.
39 Now when it was day, (AH)they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a
beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. 40 So
they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening
the ropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they
made for the beach. 41 But striking a reef,[h] (AI)they ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable,
and the stern was being broken up by the surf. 42 (AJ)The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim
away and escape. 43 But the centurion, (AK)wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He
ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, 44 and
the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that(AL)all were brought safely to land.
Paul had quite an
adventure on this trip! I have heard
newscasts of the troubles people have had a cruise ships and this one must have
been even worse. Take note, these men
thought they knew best. They thought
they could beat the odds of the weather.
In order to save their ship they sailed on and ended up losing their
ship. They didn’t listen to Paul but why
should they have? To them he was just a
prisoner probably wanting to avoid his trial but his guard knew otherwise and
took special care of him. He even let
him go be with his Christian friends at one stop. Then in the end would not let them kill any
prisoners because he wanted to spare Paul.
Bottom line to me
in this account of Paul’s travel is that he weathered a storm through God’s protection. This gave him yet another opportunity to share
Christ with others. Then, a snake came
along and could have killed him but he merely shook it off in the fire as if it
were a fly. God placed these things in
Paul’s life just like He places things in our lives. When we react it can be with a worldly reaction,
such as, “No, I want to protect my belongings, my pride, my and will not heed the warnings” or “I want to be
sure to give God all the credit for whatever His plan is for my life.” I have to ask myself, “When I am angry, upset,
disappointed in any situation am I trusting God or am I simply protecting my
worldly belongings? I am sure Paul was
frightened at times on that ship. Yet
God allowed him to know that all would be saved (except the ship) and he was
then able to share with those aboard so they could see the glory of God. So it is for us today. As long as we are living and breathing we
need to declare the mighty wonders of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ no
matter what our situation.
Seek Him and know
Him, rest in the comfort of His peace and share with others of His greatness!
Seeking Him with
all my heart,
Sheila
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