Section 27:1–12
Paul began his journey to Rome as a prisoner
In this section, the person in charge of the prisoners at Caesarea decided the prisoners heading to Rome should travel by ship. He entrusted Paul and other prisoners to an officer named Julius. Julius took some soldiers with him to help him guard the prisoners, but they are not mentioned in the Greek until 27:31, where they become an important part of the story. In 27:2, Julius, Paul, other prisoners and some of Paul’s companions boarded a ship that the owner planned would go part way to Italy.
At Myra, they found a ship that the owner planned would go to Italy. They boarded that ship and began sailing. But the wind caused them to change course and they landed at Fair Havens, a harbor on the island of Crete. The people on that ship decided to sail to Phoenix.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
Paul began sailing to Rome
-or-
A centurion began to take Paul to Rome
-or-
The beginning of Paul’s journey to Rome
Paragraph 27:1–5
27:1a
When it was decided: Festus had already decided that Paul needed to go to Caesar (25:12), who lived in Rome. The verse here refers to the person whom Festus chose to watch for an opportunity to send Paul. It could have been one of his officials or one of the military commanders over the soldiers guarding Paul. But he may have asked Festus if he agreed.
The clause it was decided is passive. Exactly who decided is not important to the story. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
When ⌊someone⌋ decided
-or-
When ⌊those responsible for Paul⌋ ⌊and the other prisoners⌋ decided
we: Luke wrote the book of Acts. He went with Paul on this voyage. So he used the pronoun we here.
sail for: This phrase refers to going somewhere by ship. All of the large ships of that time used sails and wind to move the ships forward. The ships of that time could be large; the one that wrecked at Malta had 276 people on it (27:37). Below is an artist’s drawing of a typical sailing ship of that time and place.
A trip to Rome could take several months with several stops along the way. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
travel by ship to
-or-
be put on a ship and go to
-or-
take a ship to
Italy: This is the name of the country of the Romans. It was a well-known place to those who first read Acts, so Luke did not have to explain what it was or where.
In some languages, people will not know what this name refers to. If so, you may want to explain it in your translation. For example:
⌊the land/country of⌋ Italy
The Roman capital city was Rome. You may want to explain the connection between Rome, Romans, and Italy. An example footnote is:
The land/country of the Romans was called Italy. Their capital city was Rome. Caesar lived in Rome.
27:1b
Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to: This clause in Greek is literally “(they) handed over Paul and some other prisoners.” The implied word “they” probably refers to the various groups of soldiers guarding Paul and the other prisoners. But the people who handed over are not mentioned because they are not important to the story. Many English versions translate with a passive clause. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
⌊the soldiers guarding⌋ Paul gave him and some other prisoners to
were handed over to: This phrase refers to taking someone who was under his authority and putting him under the authority of another person. The authorities in Caesarea controlled Paul’s life, now they gave that authority to Julius. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
were put in the hands of
-or-
Julius…was put in charge of (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
were placed in the custody of (New Living Translation (2004))
centurion: The centurion was an officer in the Roman army who usually led one hundred soldiers. Translate this word as you did in 10:1 or 24:23.
27:1c
who belonged to the Imperial Regiment: Julius was a member of a group of soldiers called the Imperial Regiment. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
of the Imperial Regiment (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
⌊who was⌋ in the Imperial Regiment
This clause tells the reader more about Julius. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that Luke was thinking of other men named Julius and only this one belonged to the Imperial Regiment. If that is true in your language, translate this information in a way that tells more about Julius. One way to do that is to start a new sentence here. For example:
He belonged to the Imperial Regiment.
Imperial: The Greek word is a title for Caesar and is literally “revered one.” Here it refers to Caesar, the leader of the Romans. This group of soldiers served the Roman Emperor in Judea and Syria. They were not his personal bodyguard. This title was an honorary title. Other ways to translate this word are:
His Majesty’s
-or-
the revered ⌊Roman⌋ leader’s
-or-
Emperor’s (Good News Translation)
See how you translated this word in 25:21 (“Emperor”).
Regiment: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Regiment refers to a group of about six hundred soldiers. It was one-tenth of a legion, and a Roman army had several legions in it. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
Cohort (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
brigade
-or-
battalion
-or-
military group
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