Section 27:13–26
A violent storm drove the ship off its course
In this section, they tried to sail to Phoenix, but before they got far the wind changed direction and began to blow very strongly. This forced them in the wrong direction. They strengthened the ship by tying ropes around it. They threw away some of the cargo so the ship would be less heavy and less likely to sink. The storm hid the sun, stars, and land, so they did not know where they were. After a week or more, God sent an angel who spoke to Paul, and he encouraged the people on the ship.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
The Storm (New International Version)
-or-
A strong storm threatened ⌊to sink⌋ the ship
-or-
They sailed ⌊for Phoenix⌋ but a storm tried to destroy the ship
Paragraph 27:13–20
27:13a
When a gentle south wind began to blow: The word gentle indicates a wind that blew only a little. It was not a strong wind.
south wind: This phrase refers to a wind blowing from the south.
27:13b
they thought they had their opportunity: The ship needed a wind from the north, east, or south to be able to travel well to the west. When the wind began blowing from the south, they thought they had a good wind for traveling west. They did not know the wind was about to change. Other ways to translate this clause are:
supposing that they had obtained their purpose (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
the men thought that they could carry out their plan (Good News Translation)
-or-
the sailors thought they could make it (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
the men on the ship thought, “This is the wind we wanted, and now we have it.” (New Century Version)
27:13c
So: The Berean Standard Bible and some other English versions add So here. It is implied in the Greek either here or before “sailed.”
they weighed anchor: This clause refers to pulling the anchor from the sea floor up to the ship so that the ship could begin sailing. For example:
they pulled up the anchor (Good News Translation)
anchor: This word refers to a device that is heavy and often shaped like an upside-down “T.” Sailors would lower it to the sea bottom with a rope attached. The other end of the rope was tied to the ship. The anchor would dig into the ground at the sea bottom and prevent the ship from drifting away. In some languages people are not familiar with anchors. If so, you may want to describe it in your translation. For example:
⌊heavy⌋ thing that prevented the ship from drifting
-or-
iron/metal weight that restrains the ship
sailed along, hugging the coast of Crete: This clause in Greek is literally “they sailed along Crete, close to (it).” They sailed near land because a southerly wind would push them toward the southern coast of Crete, but they stayed a safe distance away so they would not hit any rocks. For example:
began to sail past Crete, close to the shore (New Revised Standard Version)
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