29. They were afraid we would crash against the rocks. So they dropped four anchors from the back of the ship. They prayed that daylight would come.
30. The sailors wanted to escape from the ship. So they let the lifeboat down into the sea. They pretended they were going to lower some anchors from the front of the ship.
31. But Paul spoke to the commander and the soldiers. "These men must stay with the ship," he said. "If they don't, you can't be saved."
32. So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat. They let it drift away.
33. Just before dawn Paul tried to get them all to eat. "For the last 14 days," he said, "you have wondered what would happen. You have gone without food. You haven't eaten anything.
34. Now I am asking you to eat some food. You need it to live. Not one of you will lose a single hair from your head."
35. After Paul said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God. He did this where they all could see him. Then he broke it and began to eat.
36. All of them were filled with hope. So they ate some food.
37. There were 276 of us on board.
38. They ate as much as they wanted. They needed to make the ship lighter. So they threw the rest of the grain into the sea.
39. When daylight came, they saw a bay with a sandy beach. They didn't recognize the place. But they decided to run the ship onto the beach if they could.