Acts 27:21-32

21After they had gone a long time without food [because of seasickness and stress], Paul stood up before them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice and should not have set sail from Crete, and brought on this damage and loss.

22But even now I urge you to keep up your courage and be in good spirits, because there will be no loss of life among you, but only loss of the ship.

23For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me,

24and said, ‘Stop being afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has given you [the lives of] all those who are sailing with you.’

25So keep up your courage, men, for I believe God and have complete confidence in Him that it will turn out exactly as I have been told;

26but we must run [the ship] aground on some island.”

27The fourteenth night had come and we were drifting and being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors began to suspect that they were approaching some land.

28So they took soundings [using a weighted line] and found [the depth to be] twenty fathoms (120 feet); and a little farther on they sounded again and found [the depth to be] fifteen fathoms (90 feet).

29Then fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern [to slow the ship] and kept wishing for daybreak to come.

30But as the sailors were trying to escape [secretly] from the ship and had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending that they were going to lay out anchors from the bow,

31Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain on the ship, you cannot be saved.”

32Then the soldiers cut away the ropes that held the skiff and let it fall and drift away.