Ὡς δὲ ἐκρίθη τοῦ ἀποπλεῖν ἡμᾶς εἰς τὴν Ἰταλίαν, παρεδίδουν τόν τε Παῦλον καί τινας ἑτέρους δεσμώτας ἑκατοντάρχῃ ὀνόματι Ἰουλίῳ σπείρης Σεβαστῆς.
Acts 27
Paul Sails for Rome
1When it was decided that we were to sail for Italy, they transferred Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort, named Julius.
The Greek that is translated as “centurion” in English is translated in Noongar as “boss of the Roman soldiers (lit.: ‘men of fighting’)” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), in Uma as “Roman army warchief” (source: Uma Back Translation), in Western Bukidnon Manobo as “a person who was not a Jew, the captain of a hundred soldiers” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation), and in Mairasi “leader of Roman warriors” (source: Enggavoter 2004).
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Roman Centurion .
The term that is transliterated as “Paul” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that signifies the many letters he wrote. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Paul” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting putting away a sword, referring to his conversion from a persecutor of Christians to a Christian leader. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
“Paul (and Saul)” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
Following is a Georgian Orthodox icon of Paul the Apostle from the 14th century (located in the Art Museum of Georgia, Tbilisi).
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
The following is a contemporary stained glass window from the Messiah Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minnesota by Peter Dohmen. Individual glass pieces were made in Germany in accordance with Dohmen’s design, using a technique first developed by Irish monks in the 9th and 10th centuries.
Source for the image and description below: The Stained Glass Windows of Messiah Episcopal Church
“This window is dedicated to St. Paul, the great apostle and missionary, for whom our city is named. At the top of the window is a ship which symbolizes the many missionary journeys of Paul — the Church is our ship, which carries us over the way of life. In the lower section we see Paul on the road to Damascus when he saw a great light and heard our Lord’s voice, which called him to discipleship.”
Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Paul .
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (excluding the addressee).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 27:1:
By his use of we, the author of Acts evidently includes himself among those who went with Paul from Caesarea to Rome. But, as in other instances of the so-called “we” passages in Acts, the form should be exclusive for those languages which make a distinction between inclusive and exclusive first person plural. This use of the exclusive form is necessary, since Luke is addressing this entire account to Theophilus.
Neither the subject of the passive verb it was decided nor the subject of the impersonal third person plural they handed … over is made explicit by Luke. Perhaps Governor Festus is intended to be the subject of the verb it was decided, while the Roman authorities were the ones who handed Paul … over to Julius. Accordingly, if is necessary to stipulate who does the deciding and who hands Paul over, one can employ Festus in the first instance and “Roman officers” in the second instance. To translate handed … over one may say: “put Paul and some other prisoners in the charge of Julius,” “gave Julius authority over Paul and some other prisoners,” or even “said to Julius, You are responsible to see that Paul and some other prisoners get to Rome.”
The Emperor’s was an honorary title frequently given to auxiliary troops. An army regiment is in some languages simply “a large number of soldiers,” though in most parts of the world a group of soldiers such as a regiment is relatively well known. However, it is important to indicate that this army regiment did not necessarily consist of Romans. It was simply an army regiment under the command of Rome or which “fought for Rome.” The expression The Emperor’s Regiment may be translated as “the regiment which belonged to the Emperor.”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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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