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it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, of the Augustan Regiment. 2 So when we had boarded a ship from Adramyttium, we put to sea, intending to sail to the ports along the coast of the province of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.
3 The next day we put in Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly, and allowed him to go to his friends that they might provide him with his needs. 4 When we had put to sea from there, we sailed along the lee side of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5 After we had sailed across the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we arrived at Myra in Lycia. 6 Then the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We made slow headway for many days, and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. But as the wind would not allow us to proceed, we sailed along the lee side of Crete off Salmone. 8 With yet more difficulty we sailed along the coast and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.
9 By now much time had been lost, and sailing had by now become dangerous because the Fast was already over. So Paul warned them, 10 saying, “Men, I can see that this voyage will end with disaster and heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to the captain and the owner of the ship rather than to what Paul said. 12 Since the harbour was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on from there, hoping to somehow reach Phoenix, a harbour of Crete facing to the south-west and north-west, and to winter there.
13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the coast of Crete. 14 But not long afterwards, a fierce wind called the “noreaster” swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and was unable to head into the wind, so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 After passing along the lee side of a small island called Cauda, we were scarcely able to get control of the ship’s skiff. 17 When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself and used the ropes and tackle to bind the ship together. Then, fearing that the ship would run aground on the sandbars on the Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along by the wind. 18 Because we were being so violently battered by the storm, the next day they began throwing the cargo overboard. 19 Then on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 For many days neither sun nor stars appeared and the severe storm continued raging, until we finally abandoned all hope of being saved.
21 After the men had gone without food for such a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have taken my advice and not sailed from Crete; then you would have been spared from all this damage and loss. 22 Now I urge you to have courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood by me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar; and God has graciously granted you the lives of all those who are sailing with you’. 25 So have courage, men, for I believe God that it will happen just as it was told to me. 26 However, we must run aground on a certain island.”
27 On the fourteenth night we were drifting across the Adriatic Sea, and in the middle of the night the sailors suspected they were approaching land. 28 So they took depth soundings and found that the water was around forty metres deep. Then when they had gone a little further, they again took soundings and found it was twenty metres deep. 29 Then, fearing that we would run aground against rockes, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come. 30 Some of the sailors were attempting to escape from the ship, and they let down the ship’s skiff into the sea, pretending that they were going to let down anchors from the ship’s bow. 31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes holding the skiff and let it fall away.
33 Just before daybreak, Paul urged them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and going without food, having eaten nothing. 34 Now I urge you to eat some food, for this will help you survive. There will not be a single hair lost from the head of any of you.” 35 After he had said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all of them, and when he had broken it, he began to eat. 36 Then they were all encouraged and also ate some food themselves. 37 In all there were 276 of us onboard the ship. 38 When they had eaten enough food, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.
39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40 So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, and at the same time they untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. 41 But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. Then the bow stuck fast and remained immovable, and the stern began to break up with the pounding of the surf.
42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners so that none of them could swim off and escape. 43 But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life, and he kept them from carrying out their plan. So he ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to the land. 44 The rest were to follow, some on planks and others on broken pieces of the ship. In this way, everyone safely escaped to the land.