< Acts 27 >
1 And Festus commanded, respecting him, that he should be sent to Italy, unto Caesar. And he delivered Paul, and other prisoners with him, to a certain man, a centurion of the Augustan cohort, whose name was Julius.
2 And when we were to depart, we embarked in a ship which was from the city of Adramyttium, and was going to the country of Asia. And there embarked with us in the ship, Aristarchus, a Macedonian of the city of Thessalonica.
3 And the next day, we arrived at Zidon. And the centurion treated Paul with kindness, and permitted him to visit his friends and be refreshed.
4 And on sailing from there, because the winds were against us, we sailed around to Cyprus.
5 And we passed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, and arrived at Myra, a city of Lycia.
6 And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria, which was going to Italy; and he set us on board of it.
7 And as it was hard navigating, we had scarcely arrived, after many days, over against the isle of Cnidos. And, because the wind would not allow us to pursue a straight course, we sailed around by Crete, and came opposite the city of Salmone.
8 And with difficulty, after sailing about it, we arrived at a place called the Fair Havens, near to which was the city called Lassa.
9 And we were there a long time, and till after the day of the Jewish fast. And it was hazardous then for any one to go by sea; and Paul counselled them,
10 and said: Men, I perceive that our voyage will be attended with peril, and with much loss, not only of the cargo of our ship, but also of our lives.
11 But the centurion listened to the pilot, and to the owner of the ship, more than to the words of Paul.
12 And, because that harbor was not commodious for wintering in, many of us were desirous to sail from it, and if possible, to reach and to winter in a certain harbor of Crete, which was called Phenice, and which opened towards the south.
13 And when the south wind breezed up, and they hoped to arrive as they desired, we began to sail around Crete.
14 And shortly after, a tempest of wind arose upon us, called Typhonic Euroclydon.
15 And the ship was whirled about by the wind, and could not keep head to it; and we resigned the ship to its power.
16 And when we had passed a certain island, called Cyra, we could hardly retain the boat.
17 And after hoisting it on board, we girded the ship around the waist, and made it strong. And, because we were afraid of falling upon a precipice of the sea, we pulled own the sail; and so we drifted.
18 And as the storm raged violently upon us, we the next day threw goods into the sea.
19 And on the third day, with our own hands, we threw away the tackling of the ship.
20 And as the storm held on for many days, and as no sun was visible, nor moon, nor stars, all hope of our surviving was wholly cut off.
21 And as no one had taken a meal of food, Paul now stood up in the midst of them, and said: If ye had given heed to me, O men, we should not have sailed from Crete, and we should have been exempt from this loss and peril.
22 And now, I counsel you to be without anxiety; for not a soul of you will be lost, but only the ship.
23 For there appeared to me this night, the angel of that God whose I am, and whom I serve;
24 and he said to me: Fear not, Paul; for thou art yet to stand before Caesar; and, lo, God hath made a gift to thee of all them that sail with thee.
25 Therefore, men, be ye courageous; for I confide in God, that it will be as was told to me.
26 Yet we are to be cast upon a certain island.
27 And after the fourteen days of our roaming and tossing on the Adriatic sea, at midnight, the sailors conceived that they approached land.
28 And they cast the lead, and found twenty fathoms. And again they advanced a little, and they found fifteen fathoms.
29 And as we feared lest we should be caught in places where were rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern of the ship, and prayed for the morning.
30 And the sailors sought to flee out of the ship. And from it they lowered down the boat into the sea, under pretence that they were going in it to make fast the ship to the land.
31 And when Paul saw it, he said to the centurion and to the soldiers: Unless these remain in the ship, ye cannot be saved.
32 Then the soldiers cut the boat rope from the ship, and let the boat go adrift.
33 And while it was not yet morning, Paul advised them all to take food, saying to them: In consequence of the peril, it is now the fourteenth day that ye have tasted nothing.
34 Therefore I entreat you, to take food for the sustenance of your life; for not a hair from the head of any of you, will perish.
35 And having said these things, he took bread, and gave glory to God before them all; and he broke it, and began to eat.
36 And they were all consoled; and they took nourishment.
37 And there were of us in the ship two hundred and seventy-six souls.
38 And when they were satisfied with food, they lightened the ship, and took the wheat and cast it into the sea.
39 And when it was day, the sailors knew not what land it was: but they saw on the margin of the land an inlet of the sea; whither, if possible they intended to drive the ship.
40 And they cut away the anchors from the ship, and left them in the sea. And they loosened the bands of the rudder, and hoisted a small sail to the breeze, and made way towards the land.
41 And the ship struck upon a shoal between two channels of the sea, and stuck fast upon it. And the forward part rested upon it, and was immovable; but the after part was shattered by the violence of the waves.
42 And the soldiers were disposed to slay the prisoners; lest they should resort to swimming, and escape from them.
43 But the centurion kept them from it, because he was desirous to preserve Paul. And those who were able to swim, he commanded to swim off first, and pass to the land.
44 And the rest, he made to transport themselves on planks, and on other timbers of the ship. And so they all escaped safe to land.
