Acts 27 (NMV)
1 When it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they handed Paul and some other prisoners over to a centurion named Julius, of the Imperial Regiment.
2 We boarded a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to 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, allowing him to go to his friends to receive their care.
4 From there we set sail and sailed along the sheltered side of Cyprus because the winds were against us.
5 After sailing across the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia.
6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board.
7 We sailed slowly for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. Since the wind would not allow us to continue, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmone.
8 With difficulty, we sailed along the coast and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.
9 By now much time had passed, and sailing had become dangerous because the Day of Atonement was already over. So Paul gave them this advice:
10 "Men," he said, "I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous, with great damage to the ship and cargo, and danger to our own lives as well."
11 But the centurion was persuaded more by the pilot and the owner of the ship than by what Paul said.
12 Since the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority decided to sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and spend the winter there. It was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.
13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had achieved their purpose. They weighed anchor and sailed along the coast of Crete, close to the shore.
14 But before long, a fierce wind called the "Northeaster" rushed down from the island.
15 The ship was caught by the storm and couldn't head into the wind. So we gave way to it and were driven along.
16 Running under the shelter of a small island called Cauda, we managed with difficulty to secure the ship's lifeboat.
17 After hoisting it up, they used ropes to undergird the ship. Fearing that they might run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along.
18 We were being battered so severely by the storm that the next day they began to jettison the cargo.
19 On the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands.
20 For many days, neither sun nor stars appeared, and the storm continued raging. We finally gave up all hope of being saved.
21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up among them and said, "Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete and avoided this damage and loss.
22 But now I urge you to take courage, because none of you will be lost, only the ship will be destroyed.
23 For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me
24 and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And look! God has graciously granted you the lives of all who are sailing with you.'
25 So take courage, men, because I believe God that it will happen just as He told me.
26 But we must run aground on some island."
27 On the fourteenth night, we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land.
28 They took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms [about 120 feet] deep. A short time later, they took soundings again and found it was fifteen fathoms [about 90 feet] deep.
29 Fearing we might run aground on the rocks, they threw four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come.
30 Some of the sailors tried to escape from the ship. They had lowered the lifeboat into the sea, pretending they were going to lower anchors from the bow.
31 But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved."
32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the lifeboat and let it drift away.
33 Just before dawn, Paul urged them all to eat: "Today is the fourteenth day you've been in constant suspense and gone without food, you haven't eaten anything.
34 So I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head."
35 After he said this, he took bread, gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat.
36 They were all encouraged and took some food themselves.
37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board.
38 When they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.
39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a beach and decided to run the ship aground if they could.
40 They cut loose the anchors and left them in the sea. At the same time, they untied the ropes holding the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach.
41 But they struck a sandbar and ran the ship aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was being broken apart by the pounding of the waves.
42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping.
43 But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land,
44 and the rest were to follow, some on planks and others on debris from the ship. In this way, everyone reached land safely.