27:18a

We were tossed so violently: The Greek clause can be translated literally as “We being storm-tossed violently.” The wind and waves pushed the ship from side to side as well as up and down in the front and back. Other ways to translate this clause are:

As we were violently storm-tossed, (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
We were being pounded by the storm so violently (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
As the storm beat violently against us
-or-
The storm ⌊and waves⌋ tossed us ⌊and the ship⌋ around violently

27:18b

the men began to jettison the cargo: The Greek clause can be translated literally as “they began to do throwing out.” What they threw into the sea is not said. They did not throw equipment for sailing the ship until 27:19 and they did not throw the grain in the hold of the ship until 27:38. Each time they threw something overboard it was more important things to the ship owner, so this first time they would have thrown less important things. So it may have been:

(a) other things that the ship owner planned to sell in Rome,

(b) things that the ship owner was taking for other people,

(c) things that belonged to the passengers that were not needed to survive the storm.

Refer generally to these kinds of things in your translation. For example:

they began to throw various ⌊less important⌋ things off the ship
-or-
they started throwing cargo ⌊that was not essential⌋ into the sea

Throwing these things overboard made the ship lighter, so that the ship floated higher in the water so the waves would damage it less. Some of these things may have been on the top deck of the ship, and removing them would help prevent the ship from tipping over. In some languages the purpose for throwing these things overboard may not be clear. If so, you may want to explain it in your translation. For example:

they began to throw various things off the ship ⌊to make it lighter⌋
-or-
they started throwing cargo ⌊that was not essential⌋ into the sea ⌊to help prevent the waves damaging the ship⌋

the men: The word men probably refers to the sailors here. For example:

the crew (New Living Translation (2004))

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