The Journey to Rome[a]
Chapter 27
Paul’s Voyage toward Rome. 1 When it was decided that we[b] should sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to Julius, a centurion of the Augustan cohort. 2 We embarked on a ship from Adramyttium[c] that was about to sail to ports in the province of Asia, and we put out to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica.
3 On the next day, we landed at Sidon,[d] and Julius was considerate enough to allow Paul to visit his friends there and be cared for by them. 4 From there, we put out to sea again and sailed around the sheltered side of Cyprus because of the headwinds. 5 Then, crossing the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we reached Myra in Lycia.[e]
Storm and Shipwreck. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship[f] that was bound for Italy and put us on board. 7 For a good many days, we made little headway, and we experienced difficulty in reaching Cnidus.[g] Then, as the wind continued to pose difficulties, we sailed for the sheltered side of Crete off Salmone. 8 We moved along the coast with difficulty and reached a place called Fair Havens,[h] near the city of Lasea.
9 Much time had already been lost, and sailing had now become hazardous, since the time of the Fast[i] had already gone by. Therefore, Paul gave them this warning, 10 “Men, I can see that this voyage will be fraught with danger and involve heavy losses, not only of the ship and the cargo but also of our lives.”
11 However, the centurion paid more attention to the advice of the captain and of the ship’s owner than to what Paul said. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable for spending the winter, the majority were in favor of putting out to sea from there, in the hope that they could reach Phoenix,[j] a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.
13 When a gentle southerly breeze began to blow, they thought that they would be able to achieve their objective. They weighed anchor and began to sail past Crete, hugging the shore. 14 But before long a violent wind, called a northeaster, swept down on them. 15 Since the ship was caught up in it, we had to give way to the wind and let ourselves be driven along.
16 As we passed along the sheltered side of a small island called Cauda,[k] we managed with some difficulty to secure the ship’s lifeboat. 17 After hoisting it up, they used cables to undergird the ship. Then, afraid of running aground on the shallows of Syrtis,[l] they lowered the sea anchor and so let themselves drift.
18 We were being pounded so violently by the storm that on the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 Then on the third day, they threw the ship’s gear overboard with their own hands. 20 For many days, neither the sun nor the stars could be seen, and the storm continued to rage until we finally abandoned all hope of being saved.
21 When they all had gone without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete. Then you would have avoided all this damage and loss. 22 I urge you now to keep up your courage. There will be no loss of life among you. Only the ship will be lost.
23 “Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve appeared to me, 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You shall appear before Caesar. Furthermore, for your sake God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you.’ 25 Therefore, men, keep up your courage. I have complete trust in God that what he told me will be fulfilled. 26 But we will run aground on some island.”
27 On the fourteenth night, we were still drifting across the Adriatic Sea.[m] About midnight, the sailors began to suspect that they were nearing land, 28 so they took soundings and found that the water was twenty feet deep. A little farther on they again took soundings and found fifteen feet.
29 Fearing that we might run aground on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come. 30 The sailors then tried to abandon ship. They had already lowered the lifeboat into the sea, on the pretext that they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31 But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay[n] with the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes of the lifeboat and set it adrift.
33 Just before daybreak, Paul urged all of them to take some food, saying, “This is the fourteenth day that you have been in suspense, going hungry and eating nothing. 34 Therefore, I beg you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose even a hair of his head.”
35 After he had said this, he took bread, gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat. 36 Then they were all encouraged and began to eat. 37 Altogether, there were two hundred and seventy-six persons on board. 38 After they had eaten as much as they wanted they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.
39 In the morning, they did not recognize the land, but they sighted a bay with a sandy beach, and they decided to run the ship aground on this if they could. 40 And so they cut loose the anchors and left them in the sea. At the same time, they loosened the ropes that held the rudders. Then, hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach. 41 But they struck a reef, and the vessel ran aground. The bow became stuck and remained unmovable, while the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the waves.
42 The soldiers decided to kill the prisoners lest any of them might swim away and escape. 43 However, the centurion was determined to spare Paul’s life, and he prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for land, 44 while the rest were to follow either on planks or on pieces of wreckage from the ship. In this way, all were brought safely to land.
Footnotes
- Acts 27:1 A journey full of vicissitudes. For 15 days, the ship will drift from the coast of Crete to the island of Malta, without any planned direction because the mariners cannot rely on the stars or the sun, which supplied the only way of determining direction at that time (Acts 27:20). Paul very calmly takes control of the situation; he is used to the sea and has already experienced three shipwrecks (see 2 Cor 11:25).
Paul evidently cannot think of founding a community on Malta, since it is a mere stopover, but he does effect cures. There are three more stopovers: Syracuse, Rhegium, and Puteoli. In the last-named place Paul has the joy of finding some brothers (Acts 28:13-14). In Rome, he finds a community of Christians of whose origin we know nothing, but which has already received from him the great Letter on salvation in Jesus Christ; the members of this community go to meet Paul at a place over 30 miles from the City (at the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns, north of Terracina: Acts 28:15-16). He was, therefore, known and expected. - Acts 27:1 This begins the final “we-section” in Acts (see note on Acts 16:9-15). Augustan cohort: a name identifying the Roman legion to which the centurion belonged.
- Acts 27:2 Adramyttium: a harbor on the west coast of the province of Asia.
- Acts 27:3 Sidon: a city 70 miles north of Caesarea.
- Acts 27:5 Myra in Lycia: an important harbor on the journey from Egypt to Rome as well as a prominent place for storing grain.
- Acts 27:6 Alexandrian ship: a ship traveling from Egypt to Rome with a cargo of grain.
- Acts 27:7 Cnidus: a city at the southeastern part of Asia Minor. A journey from Myra to Cnidus was 170 miles and required 10 to 15 days. Crete: an island 160 miles in length. Salmone: a promontory on the northeast tip of Crete.
- Acts 27:8 Fair Havens: a city midway on the southern coast of Crete. Lasea: a city about five miles from Fair Havens.
- Acts 27:9 The Fast: the fast that was called for on the Day of Atonement, i.e., either late September or early October. The season for sailing lasted from Pentecost (May-June) to Tabernacles (five days after the Fast). Sailing was regarded as hazardous after September 15 and as catastrophic after November 11.
- Acts 27:12 Phoenix: a city with a harbor that provided protection from storms.
- Acts 27:16 Cauda: a city about 23 miles from Crete.
- Acts 27:17 Syrtis: a sandy stretch of land off the coast of Tunis and Tripoli in North Africa.
- Acts 27:27 Adriatic Sea: the name was used generally for the seas between Italy, Greece, and Africa.
- Acts 27:31 Unless these men stay: Paul points out that if the sailors jump ship, the passengers will be unable to bring the vessel to shore by themselves and will perish.