Section 27:27–44

The storm drove/blew the ship to an island

In this section, Luke told us that the storm blew for fourteen days. On the fourteenth night the sailors could tell by the changes in the noises that they were coming near land. They lowered a rope with a weight to measure how deep the sea was. They saw that the sea was getting shallower, so they dropped anchors to delay reaching land until daylight.

Some sailors tried to escape on the small boat, but Paul warned that no one should leave the ship. So the soldiers caused the small boat to float away.

Paul encouraged everyone to eat and reminded them that God had promised that all would survive. Then they threw the grain overboard, because a lighter ship floats higher and they wanted to get as close as possible to land before swimming.

In the morning they saw the land but no one recognized where they were. They saw a bay and beach and tried to sail for it, but the ship hit ground in the shallow water and stopped. The waves started breaking the ship to pieces. The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners, because if any of the prisoners escaped the soldiers would be punished. But the leader of the soldiers stopped them from killing the prisoners. Everyone from the ship swam to shore safely.

Other examples of headings for this section are:

The Shipwreck (New International Version)
-or-
We finally came to land
-or-
The waves destroyed the ship, but the passengers arrived on land

Paragraph 27:27–29

27:27a

we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. The wind and storm pushed the ship. For example:

⌊the storm⌋ was driving/pushing our ⌊ship⌋ across the Mediterranean

we were still being driven: Here the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as driven refers to pushing something in a particular direction. The trip from Cauda to Malta is generally west and slightly north. The wind was from the northeast at first. So the ship probably traveled somewhat southwest, then west, and then northwest as the winds changed direction. The verse does not tell us those details. In some languages it is more natural to indicate a general direction. If so, refer to westward. For example:

we were still being pushed ⌊westward⌋

across the Adriatic Sea: This phrase in Greek is literally “in the Adria.” At that time the Roman name “Adria” referred to the sea east of Italy continuing south to Africa. But the sea south of Italy near Malta is now called the Mediterranean Sea. The English name Adriatic now refers only to the sea east of Italy. You may want to:

• Use the Roman name. For example:

across the sea of Adria (Revised Standard Version)

You may then want a footnote to explain the Roman name. An example footnote is:

Roman name “Adria” referred to the sea east of Italy continuing south to Africa. The sea surrounding Malta is now called the Mediterranean Sea.

• Use the modern name. For example:

in the Mediterranean (Good News Translation)

You may then want a footnote to explain the literal name. An example footnote is:

Literally “Adria.” This was the Roman name that referred to the sea east of Italy continuing south to Africa. The sea surrounding Malta is now called the Mediterranean Sea.

27:27b

the sailors sensed they were approaching land: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sensed refers to believing something might be true but not being certain. The sailors probably heard in the distance what they thought were waves breaking on a shore. But it was dark and so they could not see anything to confirm what they heard. Other ways to translate this clause are:

the sailors suspected that they were nearing land (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
the sailors thought we were close to land (New Century Version)
-or-
the sailors guessed that land was near
-or-
the sailors said ⌊to one another⌋, “It seems as though we(incl) are getting close to land”

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