And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they
delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the
Augustan Cohort named Julius. And embarking in a ship of
Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast
of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian
from Thessalonica. The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius
treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be
cared for. And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the
lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. And when we had
sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and
Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found a
ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. We sailed
slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus,
and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the
lee of Crete off Salmone. Coasting along it with difficulty, we
came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of
Lasea.
Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous
because even the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying,
“Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much
loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”
But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner
of the ship than to what Paul said. And because the harbor was not
suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to
sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach
Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest,
and spend the winter there.
Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had
obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete,
close to the shore. But soon a tempestuous wind, called the
northeaster, struck down from the land. And when the ship was
caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were
driven along. Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda,
we managed with difficulty to secure the ship's boat. After
hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then,
fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the
gear, and thus they were driven along. Since we were violently
storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. And on
the third day they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own
hands. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no
small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last
abandoned.
Since they had been 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 and incurred this injury and loss. Yet now
I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among
you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before
me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he
said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And
behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take
heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I
have been told. But we must run aground on some island.”
When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven
across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that
they were nearing land. So they took a sounding and found twenty
fathoms. A little farther on they took a sounding again and found
fifteen fathoms. And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they
let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come.
And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had
lowered the ship's boat into the sea under pretense of laying out
anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers,
“Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” Then the
soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat and let it go.
As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food,
saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in
suspense and without food, having taken nothing. Therefore I urge
you to take some food. For it will give you strength, for not a
hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” And when he had
said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the
presence of all he broke it and began to eat. Then they all were
encouraged and ate some food themselves. (We were in all 276
persons in the ship.) And when they had eaten enough, they
lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.
Now when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they
noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to
run the ship ashore. So they cast off the anchors and left them in
the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the
rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the
beach. But striking a reef, they ran the vessel aground. The bow
stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by
the surf. The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any
should swim away and escape. But the centurion, wishing to save
Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who
could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the
rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all
were brought safely to land.
