27. When the fourteenth night had come, while we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected they were approaching some land.
28. They took soundings and found the water was twenty fathoms deep; when they had sailed a little farther they took soundings again and found it was fifteen fathoms deep.
29. Because they were afraid that we would run aground on the rocky coast, they threw out four anchors from the stern and wished for day to appear.
30. Then when the sailors tried to escape from the ship and were lowering the ship’s boat into the sea, pretending that they were going to put out anchors from the bow,
31. Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.”
32. Then the soldiers cut the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it drift away.
33. As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have been in suspense and have gone without food; you have eaten nothing.
34. Therefore I urge you to take some food, for this is important for your survival. For not one of you will lose a hair from his head.”
35. After he said this, Paul took bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat.
36. So all of them were encouraged and took food themselves.
37. (We were in all two hundred seventy-six persons on the ship.)
38. When they had eaten enough to be satisfied, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea.
39. When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could.
40. So they slipped the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the linkage that bound the steering oars together. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and steered toward the beach.
41. But they encountered a patch of crosscurrents and ran the ship aground; the bow stuck fast and could not be moved, but the stern was being broken up by the force of the waves.
42. Now the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners so that none of them would escape by swimming away.
43. But the centurion, wanting to save Paul’s life, prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land,