Acts:27
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And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy ,
they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort ,
named Julius .
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And embarking in a ship of Adramyt '
tium ,
which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia ,
we put to sea ,
accompanied by Aristar '
chus ,
a Macedo '
nian from Thessaloni '
ca .
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The next day we put in at Sidon ;
and Julius treated Paul kindly ,
and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for .
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And putting to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus ,
because the winds were against us .
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And when we had sailed across the sea which is off Cili '
cia and Pamphyl '
ia ,
we came to Myra in Ly '
cia .
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There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy ,
and put us on board .
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We sailed slowly for a number of days ,
and arrived with difficulty off Cni '
dus ,
and as the wind did not allow us to go on ,
we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmo '
ne .
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Coasting along it with difficulty ,
we came to a place called Fair Havens ,
near which was the city of Lase '
a .
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As much time had been lost ,
and the voyage was already dangerous because the fast had already gone by ,
Paul advised them ,
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saying , "
Sirs ,
I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss ,
not only of the cargo and the ship ,
but also of our lives ."
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But the centurion paid more attention to the captain and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said .
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And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in ,
the majority advised to put to sea from there ,
on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix ,
a harbor of Crete ,
looking northeast and southeast ,
and winter there .
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And when the south wind blew gently ,
supposing that they had obtained their purpose ,
they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete ,
close inshore .
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But soon a tempestuous wind ,
called the northeaster ,
struck down from the land ;
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and when the ship was caught and could not face the wind ,
we gave way to it and were driven .
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And running under the lee of a small island called Cauda ,
we managed with difficulty to secure the boat ;
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after hoisting it up ,
they took measures to undergird the ship ;
then ,
fearing that they should run on the Syr '
tis ,
they lowered the gear ,
and so were driven .
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As we were violently storm-tossed ,
they began next day to throw the cargo overboard ;
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and the third day they cast out with their own hands the tackle of the ship .
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And when neither sun nor stars appeared for many a day ,
and no small tempest lay on us ,
all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned .
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As they had been long without food ,
Paul then came forward among them and said , "
Men ,
you should have listened to me ,
and should not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss .
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I now bid you take heart ;
for there will be no loss of life among you ,
but only of the ship .
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For this very night there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship ,
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and he said , `
Do not be afraid ,
Paul ;
you must stand before Caesar ;
and lo ,
God has granted you all those who sail with you .'
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So take heart ,
men ,
for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told .
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But we shall have to run on some island ."
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When the fourteenth night had come ,
as we were drifting across the sea of A '
dria ,
about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land .
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So they sounded and found twenty fathoms ;
a little farther on they sounded again and found fifteen fathoms .
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And fearing that we might run on the rocks ,
they let out four anchors from the stern ,
and prayed for day to come .
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And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship ,
and had lowered the boat into the sea ,
under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow ,
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Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers , "
Unless these men stay in the ship ,
you cannot be saved ."
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Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat ,
and let it go .
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As day was about to dawn ,
Paul urged them all to take some food ,
saying , "
Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food ,
having taken nothing .
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Therefore I urge you to take some food ;
it will give you strength ,
since not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you ."
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And when he had said this ,
he took bread ,
and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat .
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Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves .
* (
We were in all two hundred and seventy-six persons in the ship .)
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And when they had eaten enough ,
they lightened the ship ,
throwing out the wheat into the sea .
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Now when it was day ,
they did not recognize the land ,
but they noticed a bay with a beach ,
on which they planned if possible to bring the ship ashore .
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So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea ,
at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders ;
then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach .
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But striking a shoal they ran the vessel aground ;
the bow stuck and remained immovable ,
and the stern was broken up by the surf .
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The soldiers '
plan was to kill the prisoners ,
lest any should swim away and escape ;
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but the centurion ,
wishing to save Paul ,
kept them from carrying out their purpose .
He ordered those who could swim to throw themselves overboard first and make for the land ,
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and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship .
And so it was that all escaped to land .