17After hoisting it up they took measures to undergird the ship; then, fearing that they would run on the Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and so were driven.
The Greek in Acts 27:17 that is translated as “lowered the sea anchor” in English is translated in Elhomwe as “lowered the cloth” “because of what follows about drifting” (see also Translation commentary on Acts 27:17). (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translates as Treibanker, eine Art Floß, dass die Fahrt des im Sturm treibenden Schiffs verlangsamte or “drift anchor, a kind of raft that slowed the speed of the ship drifting in the storm.”
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated “boat” or “ship” in English is translated in Chichimeca-Jonaz as “that with which we can walk on water” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.), in Chitonga as a term in combination with bwato or “dugout canoe” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 72), and in Tangale as inj am or “canoe-of water” (inj — “canoe” — on its own typically refers to a traditional type of carved-out log for sleeping) (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
In Kouya it is translated as ‘glʋ ‘kadʋ — “big canoe.”
Philip Saunders (p. 231) explains how the Kouya team arrived at that conclusion:
“Acts chapter 27 was a challenge! It describes Paul’s sea voyage to Italy, and finally Rome. There is a storm at sea and a shipwreck on Malta, and the chapter includes much detailed nautical vocabulary. How do you translate this for a landlocked people group, most of whom have never seen the ocean? All they know are small rivers and dugout canoes.
“We knew that we could later insert some illustrations during the final paging process which would help the Kouya readers to picture what was happening, but meanwhile we struggled to find or invent meaningful terms. The ‘ship’ was a ‘big canoe’ and the ‘passengers’ were ‘the people in the big canoe’; the ‘crew’ were the ‘workers in the big canoe’; the ‘pilot’ was the ‘driver of the big canoe’; the ‘big canoe stopping place’ was the ‘harbour’, and the ‘big canoe stopping metal’ was the ‘anchor’!”
In Lokạạ it is translated as ukalangkwaa, lit. “English canoe.” “The term was not coined for the Bible translation, but rather originated in colonial times when the English arrived in Nigeria on ships. The indigenous term for a canoe was modified to represent the large, ocean-going ship of the English.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
The Greek that is translated as “to fear” or “to be afraid” or similar in English is translated in Ashe as agõõi iwei or “hearing fear.” (Source: David Rowbory)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 27:17:
Uma: “After we had pulled up that small boat on to the ship, we tied it well so that it would not be lost. After that, the ship also was just tied-around with ropes so that it would be strong. From there, because the workers on the ship were afraid lest our ship hit sand in shallow water that was close to the land of Libia, that’s why they lowered the sail and they allowed the ship to be blown by the wind.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “They took the lifeboat on board the ship and then they bound the body of the ship with ropes so it would not break open. They also lowered the sail because they were afraid the ship might run aground in the shallow water there near Libiya. And they already allowed/abandoned the ship to be carried along by the wind.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “They lifted it up and put it on the ship. And then they tied up the ship with some ropes so that it might not fall apart, and since they were afraid that the ship might break apart if it hit the shallow land which is near the shore of the land of Libya, they took down its sail, and they just never minded the ship as to where the wind would carry it.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “That being finished, they wrapped the ship with large ropes so that its planks would not come-apart. They also lowered the sail (Ilo. loan layag) so that the ship would be blown slowly, because they were worried lest it hit/land-on ridged sand/gravel across-from Sirtis.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “After having pulled it up, what they did next was, they put big ropes right around what we were sailing in. And then because they were afraid of being driven by the wind on to the big pebble-ridge which was opposite Libia, they the took down their wide sail, and as there was nothing more which could be done, just allowed themselves to be driven by the wind.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
In order to make the ship’s boat safe from the waves, they pulled it aboard. In some languages one must specify pulled it aboard in terms of two different events: “raise it up and put it on top of the ship” or “put it on the deck of the ship.”
The word rendered ropes is of uncertain meaning in Greek, and there are at least two possible meanings. (1) The word may refer to the ship’s tackle which was used to pull the ship’s boat aboard (see Lake “they lifted it up by using their tackle”). (2) On the other hand, most scholars understand this is in the sense of ropes (perhaps made from the ship’s tackle, see New English Bible) that were fastened tight around the ship in order to keep it from coming apart in the storm. It may be necessary in some languages to be quite specific about the placement of these ropes around the ship—for example, “they placed ropes underneath the ship and tied them right.”
Sandbanks off the coast of Libya is literally “Syrtis” in the Greek text. As the Good News Translation has made clear, the reference is to the dangerous quicksands along the coast of Libya towards which they feared the ship might drift (see Jerusalem Bible “on the Syrtis banks”; New English Bible “the shallows of Syrtis”). Sandbanks may be rendered as “sand just beneath the water” or “dangerous sand just beneath the water.”
The meaning of the phrase lowered the sail is ambiguous in Greek. Other than the interpretation rendered in the Good News Translation (also followed basically by New English Bible, An American Translation*, Moffatt, Phillips), there is the possibility that the word rendered sail should be taken in the larger sense as a reference to the ship’s “gear.” This would mean that not only were the sails brought down, but the spars and the rigging as well were lowered to the deck of the ship. A third possibility, and one which does not have much acceptance, is to understand the word in the sense of “sea-anchor” (so Jerusalem Bible). A sea anchor would probably have been a large piece of canvas designed somewhat in funnel shape which would have been tied to the stern of the ship and which would have slowed down the ship’s movement considerably, thus presumably preventing it going ashore off the coast of Libya. However, lowering the sail would have accomplished somewhat the same results, and this alternative is far more likely.
By translating and let the ship be carried by the wind, the Good News Translation has made explicit the meaning of the Greek clause, “in this way they were being carried along,” though others take this to mean “and so let themselves drift” (Jerusalem Bible). This final clause may be rendered in some languages as “let the wind blow the ship along” or “let the wind blow the ship wherever it wanted.”
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 .
hoisting it up: This refers to lifting it out of the water and onto the deck of the ship. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
pulled it aboard (Good News Translation) -or-
brought it onto the ship
27:17b
the crew used ropes to undergird the ship: The Greek clause probably indicates that the sailors dropped a loop of rope at the front of the ship and let the water push it back to the middle of the ship. This would allow them to encircle the ship with rope around its middle. They would do this several times and then tighten it to help hold the ship together during the high waves. If the purpose of undergirding the ship in this way is not clear, you may want to include some of this information as in some of the following translations:
then fastened some ropes tight around the ship (Good News Translation) -or-
they used supporting cables in undergirding the ship (New American Standard Bible) -or-
the sailors bound ropes around the hull of the ship to strengthen it (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
the sailors wrapped ropes around the ship to hold it together (Contemporary English Version)
the crew: This verse in Greek does not say who did this action, but it probably refers to the sailors. So, the Berean Standard Bible adds the phrase the crew. Other ways to translate the Greek phrase are:
they (Revised Standard Version) -or-
the sailors (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
the men (New International Version)
27:17c
run aground on: This refers to the ship hitting the ground under shallow water. Other ways to translate this Greek phrase are:
hit (God’s Word) -or-
land on
the sandbars of Syrtis: The name Syrtis refers to a place near the coast of Libya where sandbars were. So the Berean Standard Bible and some other versions add sandbars of to explain why it was an important place to sailors. They knew about Syrtis and were afraid of it. For example:
the Syrtis banks (New Jerusalem Bible)
sandbars: This refers to a lot of sand just under the surface of the water. The ship could hit a “sandbar” and stop suddenly. This could damage the ship. Waves pounding on it as it was stuck in the sand could also damage the ship. Other ways to translate this word are:
sandbanks (Good News Translation) -or-
shallows (New American Standard Bible)
27:17d
they lowered the sea anchor: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sea anchor can be translated literally as “gear” or “things.” There are three ways to interpret it:
(1) It refers to a sea anchor. For example:
they floated out the sea–anchor (New Jerusalem Bible)
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, Revised Edition, New American Standard Bible, New Living Translation (2004), NET Bible, Revised English Bible)
(2) It refers to the main sail. For example:
they lowered the sail (Good News Translation)
(Good News Translation, King James Version, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version)
(3) Do not interpret the word. For example:
they lowered the gear (Revised Standard Version)
(Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because they traveled very slowly to Malta. To travel that slowly in a gale requires something to slow the ship in deep water. Only a sea anchor can accomplish that. Also they would want the front (or possibly the back) of the boat to point toward the waves, and so sailors put out a sea anchor from the front or back of the ship to accomplish that. Interpretation (1) assumes that the sailors had already gathered and tied the sails so they did not catch the wind and possibly break the mast.
sea anchor: This refers to something that drags in the water to slow the ship. At that time for ships that sailed the Mediterranean Sea, it was probably a large piece of wood tied to a long rope with a weight at one end of the piece of wood and an empty barrel at the other end. The weight caused the wood to sink and the barrel prevented it from sinking too far. The other end of the rope was probably tied to the rear of the ship. The wood would drag through the water and slow the ship. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
drift anchor -or-
the anchor that drags through the water -or-
the device that slows the ship ⌊in a storm⌋
and were driven along: This phrase refers to the wind to pushing the ship in the direction of the wind. The clause were driven is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
let ⌊the wind⌋ drive the ship along -or-
so ⌊the wind⌋ blew the ship ⌊in the direction it was blowing⌋ -or-
so ⌊the wind⌋ pushed the ship ⌊in the direction of the wind⌋
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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