| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1When the time came, we set sail for Italy. Paul and several other prisoners were placed in the custody of a Roman officer named Julius, a captain of the Imperial Regiment. | 1When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. |
| 2Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was also with us. We left on a ship whose home port was Adramyttium on the northwest coast of the province of Asia; it was scheduled to make several stops at ports along the coast of the province. | 2We boarded an Adramyttian ship about to sail for ports along the coast of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us. |
| 3The next day when we docked at Sidon, Julius was very kind to Paul and let him go ashore to visit with friends so they could provide for his needs. | 3The next day we landed at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul with consideration, allowing him to visit his friends and receive their care. |
| 4Putting out to sea from there, we encountered strong headwinds that made it difficult to keep the ship on course, so we sailed north of Cyprus between the island and the mainland. | 4After putting out from there, we sailed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. |
| 5Keeping to the open sea, we passed along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, landing at Myra, in the province of Lycia. | 5And when we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. |
| 6There the commanding officer found an Egyptian ship from Alexandria that was bound for Italy, and he put us on board. | 6There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. |
| 7We had several days of slow sailing, and after great difficulty we finally neared Cnidus. But the wind was against us, so we sailed across to Crete and along the sheltered coast of the island, past the cape of Salmone. | 7After sailing slowly for many days, we arrived off Cnidus. When the wind impeded us, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. |
| 8We struggled along the coast with great difficulty and finally arrived at Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea. | 8After we had moved along the coast with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea. |
| 9We had lost a lot of time. The weather was becoming dangerous for sea travel because it was so late in the fall, and Paul spoke to the ship’s officers about it. | 9By now much time had passed, and the voyage had already become dangerous because it was after the Fast. So Paul advised them, |
| 10“Men,” he said, “I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on—shipwreck, loss of cargo, and danger to our lives as well.” | 10“Men, I can see that our voyage will be filled with disaster and great loss, not only to ship and cargo, but to our own lives as well.” |
| 11But the officer in charge of the prisoners listened more to the ship’s captain and the owner than to Paul. | 11But contrary to Paul’s advice, the centurion was persuaded by the pilot and by the owner of the ship. |
| 12And since Fair Havens was an exposed harbor—a poor place to spend the winter—most of the crew wanted to go on to Phoenix, farther up the coast of Crete, and spend the winter there. Phoenix was a good harbor with only a southwest and northwest exposure. The Storm at Sea | 12Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to sail on, if somehow they could reach Phoenix to winter there. Phoenix was a harbor in Crete facing both southwest and northwest. |
| 13When a light wind began blowing from the south, the sailors thought they could make it. So they pulled up anchor and sailed close to the shore of Crete. | 13When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had their opportunity. So they weighed anchor and sailed along, hugging the coast of Crete. |
| 14But the weather changed abruptly, and a wind of typhoon strength (called a “northeaster”) burst across the island and blew us out to sea. | 14But it was not long before a cyclone called the Northeaster swept down across the island. |
| 15The sailors couldn’t turn the ship into the wind, so they gave up and let it run before the gale. | 15Unable to head into the wind, the ship was caught up. So we gave way and let ourselves be driven along. |
| 16We sailed along the sheltered side of a small island named Cauda, where with great difficulty we hoisted aboard the lifeboat being towed behind us. | 16Passing to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we barely managed to secure the lifeboat. |
| 17Then the sailors bound ropes around the hull of the ship to strengthen it. They were afraid of being driven across to the sandbars of Syrtis off the African coast, so they lowered the sea anchor to slow the ship and were driven before the wind. | 17After hoisting it up, the crew used ropes to undergird the ship. And fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and were driven along. |
| 18The next day, as gale-force winds continued to batter the ship, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard. | 18We were tossed so violently that the next day the men began to jettison the cargo. |
| 19The following day they even took some of the ship’s gear and threw it overboard. | 19On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. |
| 20The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone. | 20When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the great storm continued to batter us, we abandoned all hope of being saved. |
| 21No one had eaten for a long time. Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, “Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Crete. You would have avoided all this damage and loss. | 21After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete. Then you would have averted this disaster and loss. |
| 22But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. | 22But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because you will not experience any loss of life, but only of the ship. |
| 23For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, | 23For just last night an angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve, stood beside me |
| 24and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’ | 24and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And look, God has granted you the lives of all who sail with you.’ |
| 25So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said. | 25So take courage, men, for I believe God that it will happen just as He told me. |
| 26But we will be shipwrecked on an island.” The Shipwreck | 26However, we must run aground on some island.” |
| 27About midnight on the fourteenth night of the storm, as we were being driven across the Sea of Adria, the sailors sensed land was near. | 27On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea. About midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. |
| 28They dropped a weighted line and found that the water was 120 feet deep. But a little later they measured again and found it was only 90 feet deep. | 28They took soundings and found that the water was twenty fathoms deep. Going a little farther, they took another set of soundings that read fifteen fathoms. |
| 29At this rate they were afraid we would soon be driven against the rocks along the shore, so they threw out four anchors from the back of the ship and prayed for daylight. | 29Fearing that we would run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daybreak. |
| 30Then the sailors tried to abandon the ship; they lowered the lifeboat as though they were going to put out anchors from the front of the ship. | 30Meanwhile, the sailors attempted to escape from the ship. Pretending to lower anchors from the bow, they let the lifeboat down into the sea. |
| 31But Paul said to the commanding officer and the soldiers, “You will all die unless the sailors stay aboard.” | 31But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain with the ship, you cannot be saved.” |
| 32So the soldiers cut the ropes to the lifeboat and let it drift away. | 32So the soldiers cut the ropes to the lifeboat and set it adrift. |
| 33Just as day was dawning, Paul urged everyone to eat. “You have been so worried that you haven’t touched food for two weeks,” he said. | 33Right up to daybreak, Paul kept urging them all to eat: “Today is your fourteenth day in constant suspense, without taking any food. |
| 34“Please eat something now for your own good. For not a hair of your heads will perish.” | 34So for your own preservation, I urge you to eat something, because not a single hair of your head will be lost.” |
| 35Then he took some bread, gave thanks to God before them all, and broke off a piece and ate it. | 35After he had said this, Paul took bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. |
| 36Then everyone was encouraged and began to eat— | 36They were all encouraged and took some food themselves. |
| 37all 276 of us who were on board. | 37In all, there were 276 of us on board. |
| 38After eating, the crew lightened the ship further by throwing the cargo of wheat overboard. | 38After the men had eaten their fill, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea. |
| 39When morning dawned, they didn’t recognize the coastline, but they saw a bay with a beach and wondered if they could get to shore by running the ship aground. | 39When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they sighted a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. |
| 40So they cut off the anchors and left them in the sea. Then they lowered the rudders, raised the foresail, and headed toward shore. | 40Cutting away the anchors, they left them in the sea as they loosened the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. |
| 41But they hit a shoal and ran the ship aground too soon. The bow of the ship stuck fast, while the stern was repeatedly smashed by the force of the waves and began to break apart. | 41But the vessel struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was being broken up by the pounding of the waves. |
| 42The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to make sure they didn’t swim ashore and escape. | 42The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners so none of them could swim to freedom. |
| 43But the commanding officer wanted to spare Paul, so he didn’t let them carry out their plan. Then he ordered all who could swim to jump overboard first and make for land. | 43But the centurion, wanting to spare Paul’s life, thwarted their plan. He commanded those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. |
| 44The others held on to planks or debris from the broken ship. So everyone escaped safely to shore. | 44The rest were to follow on planks and various parts of the ship. In this way everyone was brought safely to land. |
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