1 When it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they handed Paul and some other prisoners over to a centurion named Julius, of the Augustan Cohort. 2 We boarded a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to the ports along Asia, and set sail. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us. 3 The next day we put in at Sidon. Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends and receive their care. 4 We sailed from there under the shelter of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5 After crossing the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found a ship from Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us aboard it. 7 We sailed slowly for many days and barely reached a point off Cnidus. Since the wind would not let us go on, we sailed under the shelter of Crete, off Salmone. 8 We made our way along its coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.

9 Much time had passed, and sailing was now dangerous because even the Fast had already passed. Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Men, I see that the voyage will bring damage and great loss, not only to the cargo and the ship but also to our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and the shipowner than to what Paul said. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable for wintering, the majority decided to sail from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had gained their purpose. They weighed anchor and sailed close along Crete. 14 But soon a violent wind called Euraquilo swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught and could not face the wind, so we gave way and were driven along. 16 Running under the shelter of a small island called Cauda, we barely managed to secure the ship’s boat. 17 After hoisting it aboard, they secured the ship with ropes passed underneath. Fearing they would be driven onto the Syrtis, they lowered the gear and drifted along in this way. 18 The storm battered us violently, and the next day they began throwing the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day they threw the ship’s equipment overboard with their own hands. 20 For many days neither sun nor stars appeared, and a violent storm kept bearing down on us. At last all hope of our being saved was lost.

21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not sailed from Crete, and so avoided this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to take courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, only of the ship. 23 For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar, and look, God has granted you all those sailing with you.’ 25 So take courage, men, for I believe God that it will happen just as I have been told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.”

27 On the fourteenth night, as we were being driven about in the sea of Adria, around midnight the sailors suspected that land was drawing near. 28 They took a sounding and found a depth of about 120 feet. A little farther on they took another sounding and found about 90 feet. 29 Fearing we might be driven onto rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. 30 The sailors tried to escape from the ship and lowered the boat into the sea, pretending that they were going to lay out anchors from the bow. 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut the boat’s ropes and let it fall away.

33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged everyone to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have continued waiting without food, having taken nothing. 34 So I urge you to eat, for this is for your survival. Not a hair will be lost from the head of any of you.” 35 After saying this, he took bread, gave thanks to God before them all, broke it, and began to eat. 36 They all took courage and ate some food themselves. 37 There were 276 of us in all on the ship. 38 When they had eaten their fill, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea.

39 When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a beach where they planned to run the ship ashore if they could. 40 They cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the lashings of the rudders. They hoisted the foresail to the wind and headed for the beach. 41 But they struck a place where two seas met and ran the ship aground. The bow stuck fast and remained immovable, while the stern was being broken up by the force of the sea. 42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners so that none could swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land, 44 and the rest to follow, some on planks and some on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.