1When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a captain named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment.
2We got into a ship from Adramyttium, which was going to sail to cities along the coast of Asia. We set sail, and Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.
3The next day, we landed at Sidon. Julius was kind to Paul and let him visit his friends to get what he needed.
4From there, we sailed out to sea, passing to the sheltered side of Cyprus because the winds were against us.
5After we sailed across the sea off the coasts of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we arrived at Myra, a city in Lycia.
6There, the officer found a ship from Alexandria that was sailing to Italy, and he put us on board.
7We sailed slowly for many days and had difficulty reaching Cnidus because the wind wouldn't let us go any further. So, we sailed to the sheltered side of Crete, past Salmone.
8With much effort, we sailed along the coast and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.
9A lot of time had passed, and the voyage became dangerous because the time for fasting was already over. Paul warned them,
10and said to them, "Men, I can see that this voyage will bring trouble and great loss, not only to the cargo and the ship, but also to our lives."
11However, the officer paid more attention to the ship's captain and owner than to what Paul said.
12Because the harbor was not suitable for winter, most people advised to sail from there, hoping to reach Phoenix and spend the winter there. Phoenix is a harbor in Crete that faces both northeast and southeast.
13When a gentle south wind blew, they thought they could achieve their goal. So, they pulled up anchor and sailed close to the coast of Crete.
14But soon after, a strong stormy wind called Euroclydon swept down from the island.
15When the ship was caught and couldn't head into the wind, we gave up and let ourselves be driven by it.
16We sailed to the sheltered side of a small island called Clauda, and with difficulty, we managed to secure the ship's lifeboat.
17After they pulled the lifeboat on board, they used ropes to reinforce the hull of the ship. Fearing they might run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let themselves be driven by the storm.
18Because the storm was so violent, the next day they began to throw cargo overboard.
19On the third day, they threw the ship's equipment overboard with their own hands.
20For many days, we couldn't see the sun or the stars, and a huge storm raged over us. Eventually, all hope of being saved disappeared.
21After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up among them and said, "Men, you should have listened to me and not sailed from Crete. Then you would have avoided this damage and loss.
22But now I encourage you to be cheerful, because no one among you will lose their life; only the ship will be lost.
23For last night, an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me,
24and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar. Look, God has graciously given you the lives of all who are sailing with you.'
25So, men, cheer up! For I believe God that it will happen exactly as he told me.
26But we must run aground on a certain island.
27On the fourteenth night, as we were being tossed back and forth in the Adriatic Sea, around midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land.
28They took a sounding and found it was 120 feet deep. A little later, they took another sounding and found it was 90 feet deep.
29Fearing that we might run aground on rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and longed for daylight.
30While the sailors were trying to escape from the ship, they lowered the lifeboat into the sea, pretending they were going to put out anchors from the bow.
31Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved."
32Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the lifeboat and let it drift away.
33As daylight was approaching, Paul urged them all to eat some food. He said, "Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and fasting, without eating anything.
34Therefore, I urge you to eat some food; it is necessary for your survival. Not a single hair will fall from the head of any of you."
35After he said this, he took some bread, gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat.
36Then everyone was encouraged and ate some food themselves.
37In total, there were 276 of us on the ship.
38After they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea.
39When day came, they didn't recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach and decided to try to run the ship aground there.
40They cut the anchors loose and left them in the sea, and at the same time untied the ropes that controlled the rudders. Then, raising the foresail to catch the wind, they headed for the beach.
41But they hit a sandbar where two currents met, and the ship ran aground. The front of the ship stuck fast and couldn't move, while the back part began to break apart from the force of the waves.
42The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners so none of them could swim away and escape.
43But the Roman officer wanted to save Paul, so he prevented the soldiers from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and head for the shore.
44The rest followed, some on planks and others on pieces of the ship. In this way, everyone made it safely to land.