Acts 27

1When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to an army officer named Julius. He belonged to a group of soldiers called the Imperial Regiment.

2We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.

3The next day we landed at Sidon. Julius was kind to Paul and let him go to his friends, so they could take care of his needs.

4From there we set sail again. We sailed on the sheltered side of Cyprus, because the winds were against us.

5When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia.

6There the army officer found a ship from Alexandria that was sailing for Italy, and he put us on board.

7We sailed slowly for many days, and we had trouble even getting to Cnidus. The wind would not let us go the way we planned, so we sailed on the sheltered side of Crete, opposite Salmone.

8We moved along the coast with much trouble and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.

9Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement. So Paul warned them,

10Men, I can see that this trip is going to bring terrible trouble. We will lose the ship and its cargo, and maybe even our own lives.

11But the army officer did not listen to what Paul said. Instead, he followed the advice of the pilot and the owner of the ship.

12The harbor was not a good place to spend the winter. So most of the people decided that we should sail on. They hoped to reach Phoenix and spend the winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.

13When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had gotten what they wanted. So they pulled up the anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.

14Before long, a wind as strong as a hurricane, 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 on the sheltered side of a small island called Cauda, we could barely keep the lifeboat safe.

17After the men pulled it up onto the ship, they tied ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. They were afraid of running onto the sandbars of Syrtis, so they lowered the anchor to slow the ship down, and let the ship be carried along by the storm.

18We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.

19On the third day, they threw the ship's equipment into the sea 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 in front of them and said: Men, you should have listened to me and not sailed from Crete. Then you would have avoided all this damage and loss.

22But now I want you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost. Only the ship will be destroyed.

23Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me

24And said: Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar. And God has kindly given you the lives of everyone sailing with you.

25So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as He told me.

26But we must run aground on some island.

27On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land.

28They measured the depth of the water and found it was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A little later they measured again and found it was ninety feet deep.

29They were afraid we would be smashed against the rocks. So they dropped four anchors from the back of the ship and prayed for daylight.

30The sailors tried to escape from the ship. They let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the front of the ship.

31Then Paul said to the army officer and the soldiers: Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.

32So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it fall away.

33Just before dawn, Paul urged them all to eat. He said: For the last fourteen days you have been anxiously waiting, and you have gone without food. You have not eaten anything.

34Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from your head.

35After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat.

36They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.

37Altogether there were two hundred and seventy-six of us on board.

38When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.

39When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could.

40They cut the anchors loose and left them in the sea. At the same time, they untied the ropes that held the steering oars. Then they raised the front sail to catch the wind, and headed for the beach.

41But the ship hit a sandbar and got stuck. The front of the ship stuck fast and would not move, and the back of the ship was broken to pieces by the pounding waves.

42The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping.

43But the army officer wanted to save Paul's life, so he stopped them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump into the water first and get to land.

44The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.