Acts 27:1-44 When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Augustan Regiment.

VIN⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Augustan Regiment. ² We boarded an Adramyttian ship about to sail for ports along the coast of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us. ³ The next day we put in at Sidon; and Julius treated Paul kindly, and allowed him to go to his friends and be cared for. ⁴ And from there we put out to sea and sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. ⁵ When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. ⁶ There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us on board. ⁷ We sailed slowly for many days and had problems arriving off Cnidus. The wind did not allow us to hold our course. So we sailed to the downwind part of Crete near Salmone. ⁸ After we had moved along the coast with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea. ⁹ By now much time had passed, and the voyage had already become dangerous because it was after the Fast. So Paul advised them, ¹⁰ “Men, I can see that our voyage will be filled with disaster and great loss, not only to ship and cargo, but to our own lives as well.” ¹¹ But contrary to Paul’s advice, the centurion was persuaded by the pilot and the owner of the ship. ¹² Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to sail on, if somehow they could reach Phoenix to winter there. Phoenix was a harbor in Crete facing both southwest and northwest. ¹³ When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had their opportunity. So they weighed anchor and sailed along, hugging the coast of Crete. ¹⁴ But it was not long before a violent wind (called a northeaster) swept down from the island. ¹⁵ Well the ship was caught and could not head into the wind, so we gave up and were driven along. ¹⁶ Passing to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we barely managed to secure the lifeboat. ¹⁷ After they had hoisted it up, they used cables to help reinforce the ship. Fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor, and so were driven along. ¹⁸ So violently were we tossed about by the storm, that the next day they began throwing the cargo overboard, ¹⁹ 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 the great storm continued to batter us, we abandoned all hope of being saved. ²¹ After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete. Then you would have averted this disaster and loss. ²² But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because you will not experience any loss of life, but only of the ship. ²³ This night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood by me ²⁴ and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And look, God has granted you the lives of all who sail with you.’ ²⁵ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen exactly as I have been told. ²⁶ However, we must run aground on some island.” ²⁷ On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea. About midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. ²⁸ After taking soundings, they found the depth to be twenty fathoms. A little later they took soundings again and found it was fifteen fathoms. ²⁹ Fearing that we would run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daybreak. ³⁰ The sailors tried to escape from the ship. They had even lowered the boat into the sea, pretending they were going to layout anchors from the bow, ³¹ but Paul said to the Centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved." ³² Then the soldiers cut the ropes that held the boat and let it drift away. ³³ Just before daybreak Paul begged them all to take some food. "For fourteen days," he said, "you have been on the watch all the time, without a proper meal. ³⁴ So I urge you to eat something, for it will help you survive, since none of you will lose so much as a hair from his head." ³⁵ After he had said this, Paul took bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. ³⁶ They were all encouraged and took some food themselves. ³⁷ There were 276 of us on the ship. ³⁸ When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea. ³⁹ When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they sighted a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. ⁴⁰ Cutting away the anchors, they left them in the sea as they loosened the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. ⁴¹ But the vessel struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was being tattered by the pounding of the waves. ⁴² The soldiers' planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any from swimming away and escaping. ⁴³ but the centurion wanted to save Paul, so he prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. ⁴⁴ The rest were to follow, some on planks and others on various pieces of the ship. In this way everyone got to shore safely.