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Acts 27

God preserves Paul for his appearance before Caesar and saves everyone aboard through the danger and destruction of shipwreck.

Paul is being taken to Italy as a prisoner under the centurion Julius, with companions and other prisoners aboard. After slow progress against contrary winds, the ship leaves Crete despite Paul’s warning. A fierce storm drives them off course, and hope of survival fades. Paul then reports an angel’s assurance that everyone aboard will live, though the ship will be lost. The account follows their struggle through hunger, an attempted escape by the sailors, and shipwreck.

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1When it was determined that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Augustan band.
2Embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to places on the coast of Asia, we put to sea, Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica being with us.
3The next day, we touched at Sidon. Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him permission to go to his friends and refresh himself.
4Putting to sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary.
5When we had sailed across the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia.
6There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy, and he put us on board.
7When we had sailed slowly many days, and had come with difficulty opposite Cnidus, the wind not allowing us further, we sailed under the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone.
9When much time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous because the Fast had now already gone by, Paul admonished them
10and said to them, “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.”
11But the centurion gave more heed to the master and to the owner of the ship than to those things which were spoken by Paul.
12Because the haven was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised going to sea from there, if by any means they could reach Phoenix and winter there, which is a port of Crete, looking southwest and northwest.
13When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to shore.
14But before long, a stormy wind beat down from shore, which is called Euroclydon.
17After they had hoisted it up, they used cables to help reinforce the ship. Fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis sand bars, they lowered the sea anchor, and so were driven along.
18As we labored exceedingly with the storm, the next day they began to throw things overboard.
19On the third day, they threw out the ship’s tackle with their own hands.
20When neither sun nor stars shone on us for many days, and no small storm pressed on us, all hope that we would be saved was now taken away.
21When they had been long without food, Paul stood up in the middle of them and said, “Sirs, you should have listened to me, and not have set sail from Crete and have gotten this injury and loss.
22Now I exhort you to cheer up, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.
23For there stood by me this night an angel, belonging to the God whose I am and whom I serve,
24saying, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. Behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’
25Therefore, sirs, cheer up! For I believe God, that it will be just as it has been spoken to me.
26But we must run aground on a certain island.”
27But when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven back and forth in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors surmised that they were drawing near to some land.
29Fearing that we would run aground on rocky ground, they let go four anchors from the stern, and wished for daylight.
30As the sailors were trying to flee out of the ship and had lowered the boat into the sea, pretending that they would lay out anchors from the bow,
31Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these stay in the ship, you can’t be saved.”
32Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat and let it fall off.
34Therefore I beg you to take some food, for this is for your safety; for not a hair will perish from any of your heads.”
35When he had said this and had taken bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all; then he broke it and began to eat.
36Then they all cheered up, and they also took food.
37In all, we were two hundred seventy-six souls on the ship.
38When they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.
40Casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time untying the rudder ropes. Hoisting up the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach.
41But coming to a place where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground. The bow struck and remained immovable, but the stern began to break up by the violence of the waves.
42The soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim out and escape.
43But the centurion, desiring to save Paul, stopped them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should throw themselves overboard first to go toward the land;
44and the rest should follow, some on planks and some on other things from the ship. So they all escaped safely to the land.
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Key verses
Acts 27:23Paul grounds his assurance in a message from God, identifying himself as someone who belongs to God and serves him.
Acts 27:24The angel connects Paul’s coming appearance before Caesar with God’s promise to preserve every person sailing with him.
Acts 27:25Paul declares his trust in God’s word while the storm continues and the promised rescue remains unseen.
Where this chapter reaches

Psalm shares the scene of people at sea losing hope in a storm and receiving deliverance from God, though here the ship is destroyed. Luke shares the assurance about no hair perishing, placing God’s care alongside real danger and suffering.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What do you notice about Paul’s trust in God alongside his insistence on sailors staying and people eating?

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How does the loss of the ship shape your reading of God’s promise to preserve everyone aboard?

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Questions people ask about Acts 27

What is Euroclydon in Acts 27?

Euroclydon is the name given to the violent wind that sweeps down from Crete after the ship leaves shelter. The vessel cannot hold its course against it and is driven along. The chapter describes a prolonged storm that blocks sight of the sun and stars and leaves those aboard without hope.

Why did Paul say the sailors had to stay in the ship?

The sailors were trying to escape in the ship’s boat under cover of laying anchors. Paul warned the centurion that their departure would endanger everyone’s survival. God’s promise of rescue stands alongside this warning: the account treats keeping the sailors aboard as necessary to bringing everyone through the wreck.

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Acts · 28 chapters

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).