Section 28:11–16

Paul and others traveled from Malta to Rome

In this section, Paul, Luke, other Christians traveling with Paul, and the soldiers sailed on a ship that landed at Syracuse, Rhegium and finally Puteoli. They probably then walked to Rome, which was about 210 kilometers (130 miles) away. This is usually a five-day walk. Or they may have traveled by wagon or cart. Believers met them part way at the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns. When they arrived in Rome, the official in charge of foreign prisoners allowed Paul to live in a place he could rent himself rather than putting him in prison. But a soldier still guarded him.

Other examples of headings for this section are:

Paul Goes to Rome (New Century Version)
-or-
We(excl) went to Rome

Paragraph 28:11–16

28:11a

After three months: This refers to three months after the shipwreck. If you moved this time phrase up to 28:10, you should not repeat it here.

we set sail: This refers to leaving the place where the ship was tied and begin traveling on the sea. See how you translated this clause in 27:2 (“put out to sea”).

The context implies that they sailed from Malta. In some languages it is clearer to include that implied information in your translation. For example:

we set sail ⌊from Malta⌋

we: This pronoun probably refers to Paul, Luke, Aristarchus, the centurion, the other soldiers, and the other prisoners.

28:11b

an Alexandrian ship: The ship’s home port was Alexandria, a city in Egypt. See how you translated this phrase in 27:6.

28:11c

that had wintered: The winter season is cold and has many storms. The verb wintered refers to waiting at a safe place until the time of storms passed. See how you translated these words in 27:12.

in the island: The ship stayed at a safe harbor on the island. It was probably Valletta, the main port of Malta, rather than the beach of the shipwreck. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

at the island
-or-
in ⌊the port of⌋ the island

28:11d

It had the Twin Brothers as a figurehead: The Greek words are literally “marked by the sons of Zeus.” It refers to stories that were told about two brothers named Castor and Pollux who were thought to be the twin sons of the god named Zeus and a woman named Leda. Some people believed that Castor and Pollux were gods themselves and helped sailors. So the owner of this ship had carved either a picture or a symbol of these brothers on the front of his ship to give it their protection. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

which had the Twin Brothers for its figurehead (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
The ship had the gods Castor and Pollux carved on its front. (God’s Word)
-or-
On the front of the ship was the sign of the twin gods. (New Century Version)

General Comment on 28:10a–11d

The time phrase “After three months” in 28:11a also refers to the events of 28:10b–c. Some languages must have this time phrase before all the events it refers to. To indicate that, you will need to reorder 28:10a–11d and combine the verse numbers 10–11. For example:

10–11The people on the island gave us many honors. When we were ready to leave, three months later, they gave us the things we needed. (New Century Version)

Paul Goes to Rome

We got on a ship from Alexandria that had stayed on the island during the winter. On the front of the ship was the sign of the twin gods.

Note the section heading in the middle of the combined verses.

© 2001, 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.