June 20th Acts 27 (The Long Journey to Rome) Paul sails for Italy
1: And when it was determined that
we should sail into Italy,
they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a
centurion of Augustus' band. 2: And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we
launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia;
one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us. 3: And the next
day we touched at Sidon.
And Julius courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his
friends to refresh himself. 4: And when we had launched from thence, we sailed
under Cyprus,
because the winds were contrary. 5: And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia
and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. 6: And there the
centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing
into Italy;
and he put us therein. 7: And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce
were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under
Crete, over against Salmone; 8: And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which
is called The fair havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea. 9: Now when
much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was
now already past, Paul admonished them, 10: And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive
that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and
ship, but also of our lives. 11: Nevertheless the centurion believed the master
and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul.
12: And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part
advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice,
and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south
west and north west.
The
storm
13: And when the south wind blew
softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they
sailed close by Crete. 14: But not long after
there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. 15: And when the
ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. 16: And
running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come
by the boat: 17: Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding
the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail,
and so were driven. 18: And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the
next day they lightened the ship; 19: And the third day we cast out with our
own hands the tackling of the ship. 20: And when neither sun nor stars in many
days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved
was then taken away. 21: But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the
midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have
loosed from Crete, and to have gained this
harm and loss. 22: And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be
no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. 23: For there stood by me
this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, 24: Saying, Fear
not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all
them that sail with thee. 25: Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe
God, that it shall be even as it was told me. 26: Howbeit we must be cast upon
a certain island. 27: But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven
up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to
some country; 28: And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had
gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms. 29:
Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out
of the stern, and wished for the day. 30: And as the shipmen were about to flee
out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as
though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, 31: Paul said to the
centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be
saved. 32: Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off.
33: And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat,
saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued
fasting, having taken nothing. 34: Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for
this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any
of you. 35: And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God
in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat. 36: Then
were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat. 37: And we were in
all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. 38: And when they had
eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea.
Shipwreck
39: And when it was day, they knew
not the land: but they discovered a certain creek with a shore, into the which
they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship. 40: And when they
had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed
the rudder bands, and hoisted up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward
shore. 41: And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship
aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder
part was broken with the violence of the waves. 42: And the soldiers' counsel
was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. 43:
But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and
commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea,
and get to land: 44: And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of
the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.
Paul sets off guarded by soldiers of
the Roman Empire for Rome
itself. Julius was his guard, a centurion of an important division of the Roman
army. Paul was treated with great respect by his guards and they gave Paul
liberty to have fellowship with his christian companions at Sidon. Then they set off again sailing south
of Cyprus
because the winds were against them. They changed ship at Myra
to board an Alexandrian grain ship bound for Italy. They made little progress
for a while then eventually they sailed to the south of Crete
and docked at a harbour called ‘Fair Havens’. Paul who by now was an
experienced traveller in the Mediterranean
said that as the sailing was becoming dangerous they should wait out the bad
storms ahead. However the Captain and officers of the ship was impatient to get
going and the Centurion believed them. Because Fair Havens was not a good place
to winter they set off. Because they had a gentle wind they thought they would
set sail, however very soon a dangerous wind called Euroclydon caught the ship
and because the ship was uncontrollable they let the storm drive the ship. They
passed south of Clauda. Then they passed ropes around the ship to try to hold
it all together. They took down the sails hoping to miss sandbanks. The ship
was tossed about like a cork. So they decided to lighten the ship by throwing
the cargo overboard. On the third day of the storm they even threw all the
ropes and tackle to lighten the ship. When after many more days they had seen
no sun or stars and clearly didn’t know where they were they lost all hope of
being saved. After a period of fasting and prayer Paul stood in the middle of
them and said you should have listened to me and not sailed from Crete, however be of good cheer there will be no loss of
life but we will loose the ship. Because an angel of the Lord stood by me
tonight telling me not to fear because God will give to me all the souls on the
ship, but we will be thrown up onto an Island.
On the fourteenth night of the storm the sailors knew that they were nearing
land. They took sounding and knew that the ship was approaching land. They
thought that they might be dashed onto rocks so they threw four anchors out of
the ship. Some of the sailors wanted to get into a small dingy but Paul said no
we must stay together. The dingy ropes were cut and the dingy fell away into
the sea. Paul encouraged them to eat some food to give them strength. There
were 276 on board. They all felt much cheered and they threw the grain
overboard. When day dawned they found a small bay and they decided to run the
ship straight for the bay. They took up the anchors and they cut the ropes holding
the rudder enabling them to steer again and the hoisted the mainsail and made
for the shore. They found a place between two islands they ran the ship aground
and the bow of the ship stuck fast on the rocks but the stern was being broken
by the crashing waves. The soldiers wanted to kill all the prisoners in case
they escaped. But the centurion wanting to save Paul stopped them and commanded
that everyone should jump ship and swim as best they could for land. Everyone
was saved floating on bits of plank and parts of the ship. They all escaped
from the storm safe to land.
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