Acts 27:27

THE MESSAGE

On the fourteenth night, adrift somewhere on the Adriatic Sea, at about midnight the sailors sensed that we were approaching land. Sounding, they measured a depth of 120 feet, and shortly after that ninety feet. Afraid that we were about to run aground, they threw out four anchors and prayed for daylight.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When the fourteenth night came, we were drifting in the Adriatic Sea, and about midnight the sailors thought they were approaching land.

King James Version (1611)
But when the fourteenth night was come, as wee were driuen vp and downe in Adria about midnight, the shipmen deemed that they drew neere to some countrey:

King James Version
But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country;

English Standard Version
When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land.

New American Standard Bible
But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to suspect that they were approaching some land.

New Century Version
On the fourteenth night we were still being carried around in the Adriatic Sea. About midnight the sailors thought we were close to land,

Amplified Bible
The 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.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to surmise that they were approaching some land.

Legacy Standard Bible
But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being carried about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to suspect that some land was approaching them.

Berean Standard Bible
On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea. About midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land.

Contemporary English Version
For fourteen days and nights we had been blown around over the Mediterranean Sea. But about midnight the sailors realized that we were getting near land.

Complete Jewish Bible
It was the fourteenth night, and we were still being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, when around midnight the sailors sensed that we were nearing land.

Darby Translation
And when the fourteenth night was come, we being driven about in Adria, towards the middle of the night the sailors supposed that some land neared them,

Easy-to-Read Version
On the fourteenth night we were still being blown around in the Adriatic Sea. The sailors thought we were close to land.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And when ye fourteenth night was come, as we were caried to and fro in the Adriaticall sea about midnight, the shipmen deemed that some countrey approched vnto them,

George Lamsa Translation
And after fourteen days of being lost and weary in the sea of A''dri-a, about midnight the sailors thought they were drawing near to land.

Good News Translation
It was the fourteenth night, and we were being driven in the Mediterranean by the storm. About midnight the sailors suspected that we were getting close to land.

Lexham English Bible
And when the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven in the Adriatic Sea about the middle of the night, the sailors suspected they were approaching some land.

Literal Translation
And when the fourteenth night came, we being carried about in the Adriatic Sea, toward the middle of the night the sailors supposed us to come near some country.

American Standard Version
But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven to and fro in the sea of Adria, about midnight the sailors surmised that they were drawing near to some country:

Bible in Basic English
But when the fourteenth day came, while we were going here and there in the Adriatic sea, about the middle of the night the sailors had an idea that they were getting near land;

Hebrew Names Version
But when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven back and forth in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors surmised that they were drawing near to some land.

International Standard Version
It was the fourteenth night, and we were drifting through the Adriatic Sea when about midnight the sailors suspected that land was near.

Etheridge Translation
AND after fourteen days (in) which we had wandered and been beaten in the sea of Hadrios, in the dividing of the night, the mariners thought that we drew nigh to land.

Murdock Translation
And after the fourteen days of our roaming and tossing on the Adriatic sea, at midnight, the sailors conceived that they approached land.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But when the fourtenth nyght was come, as we were saylyng in Adria, about mydnyght the shypmen deemed that there appeared some countrey vnto them:

English Revised Version
But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven to and fro in the sea of Adria, about midnight the sailors surmised that they were drawing near to some country;

World English Bible
But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven back and forth in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors surmised that they were drawing near to some land.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea, the sailors suspected, that they drew nigh some land.

Weymouth's New Testament
It was now the fourteenth night, and we were drifting through the Sea of Adria, when, about midnight, the sailors suspected that land was close at hand.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But aftirward that in the fourtenthe dai the niyt cam on vs seilinge in the stony see, aboute mydniyt the schipmen supposiden sum cuntre to appere to hem.

Update Bible Version
But when the fourteenth night came, as we were driven to and fro in the [sea of] Adria, about midnight the sailors surmised that they were drawing near to some country:

Webster's Bible Translation
When the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen suspected that they drew near to some country:

New English Translation
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.

New King James Version
Now when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing near some land.

New Living Translation
About midnight on the fourteenth night of the storm, as we were being driven across the Sea of Adria, the sailors sensed land was near.

New Life Bible
It was now the fourteenth night. We were going with the wind on the Adriatic Sea. At midnight the sailors thought land was near.

New Revised Standard
When the fourteenth night had come, as we were drifting across the sea of Adria, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, when, the fourteenth night, had come, and we were being driven to and fro in the Adriatic, about midnight, the sailors suspected that some country was, nearing, them;

Douay-Rheims Bible
But after the fourteenth night was come, as we were sailing in Adria, about midnight, the shipmen deemed that they discovered some country.

Revised Standard Version
When the fourteenth night had come, as we were drifting across the sea of A'dria, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
But when ye fourtethe nyght was come as we were caryed in Adria about mydnyght the shipmen demed that ther appered some countre vnto the:

Young's Literal Translation
And when the fourteenth night came -- we being borne up and down in the Adria -- toward the middle of the night the sailors were supposing that some country drew nigh to them;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But whan the fourtenth night came, as we were caried in Adria aboute mydnight, ye shipmen demed that there appeared some countre vnto them,

Mace New Testament (1729)
It was the fourteenth night that we had been driving up and down in the Adriatick sea, when the ship's crew about midnight suspected they were making to land:

Simplified Cowboy Version
It was the fourteenth consecutive day of stormy weather. We were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, and at about midnight, the sailors knew we were close to land.

Contextual Overview

²¹With our appetite for both food and life long gone, Paul took his place in our midst and said, "Friends, you really should have listened to me back in Crete. We could have avoided all this trouble and trial. But there's no need to dwell on that now. From now on, things are looking up! I can assure you that there'll not be a single drowning among us, although I can't say as much for the ship—the ship itself is doomed. ²³"Last night God's angel stood at my side, an angel of this God I serve, saying to me, ‘Don't give up, Paul. You're going to stand before Caesar yet—and everyone sailing with you is also going to make it.' So, dear friends, take heart. I believe God will do exactly what he told me. But we're going to shipwreck on some island or other." ²⁷On the fourteenth night, adrift somewhere on the Adriatic Sea, at about midnight the sailors sensed that we were approaching land. Sounding, they measured a depth of 120 feet, and shortly after that ninety feet. Afraid that we were about to run aground, they threw out four anchors and prayed for daylight. ³⁰Some of the sailors tried to jump ship. They let down the lifeboat, pretending they were going to set out more anchors from the bow. Paul saw through their guise and told the centurion and his soldiers, "If these sailors don't stay with the ship, we're all going down." So the soldiers cut the lines to the lifeboat and let it drift off. ³³With dawn about to break, Paul called everyone together and proposed breakfast: "This is the fourteenth day we've gone without food. None of us has felt like eating! But I urge you to eat something now. You'll need strength for the rescue ahead. You're going to come out of this without even a scratch!" ³⁵He broke the bread, gave thanks to God, passed it around, and they all ate heartily—276 of us, all told! With the meal finished and everyone full, the ship was further lightened by dumping the grain overboard. ³⁹At daybreak, no one recognized the land—but then they did notice a bay with a nice beach. They decided to try to run the ship up on the beach. They cut the anchors, loosed the tiller, raised the sail, and ran before the wind toward the beach. But we didn't make it. Still far from shore, we hit a reef and the ship began to break up. ⁴²The soldiers decided to kill the prisoners so none could escape by swimming, but the centurion, determined to save Paul, stopped them. He gave orders for anyone who could swim to dive in and go for it, and for the rest to grab a plank. Everyone made it to shore safely.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the fourteenth: Acts 27:18-20

Adria: Adria strictly speaking, was the name of the Adriatic gulf, now the Gulf of Venice, an arm of the Mediterranean, about 400 miles long and 140 broad, stretching along the eastern shores of Italy on one side, and Dalmatia, Sclavonia, and Macedonia on the other. But the term Adria was extended far beyond the limits of this gulf, and appears to have been given to an indeterminate extent of sea, as we say, generally, the Levant. It is observable, that the sacred historian does not say "in the Adriatic gulf," but "in Adria," (that is, the Adriatic sea, נוכבדןע [Strong's G99] being understood); which, says Hesychius, was the same as the Ionian sea; and Strabo says that the Ionian gulf "is a part of that now called the Adriatic." But not only the Ionian, but even the Sicilian sea, and part of that which washes Crete, were called the Adriatic. Thus the scholiast on Dionysius Periegetis says, "they call this Sicilian sea Adria." And Ptolemy says that Sicily was bounded on the east by the Adriatic, ץנן [Strong's G5259], הסיןי [Strong's G99], and that Crete was bounded on the west by the Adriatic sea, ץנן [Strong's G5259], פןץ [Strong's G5120], הסיבפיךןם נוכבדןע [Strong's G3989].

the shipmen: Acts 27:30, 1 Kings 9:27, Jonah 1:6, Revelation 18:17

Reciprocal: Acts 27:15 - we Acts 27:33 - This

Cross-References

Genesis 26:12
Isaac planted crops in that land and took in a huge harvest. God blessed him. The man got richer and richer by the day until he was very wealthy. He accumulated flocks and herds and many, many servants, so much so that the Philistines began to envy him. They got back at him by throwing dirt and debris into all the wells that his father's servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham, clogging up all the wells.

Genesis 27:11
"But Mother," Jacob said, "my brother Esau is a hairy man and I have smooth skin. What happens if my father touches me? He'll think I'm playing games with him. I'll bring down a curse on myself instead of a blessing."

Genesis 27:13
"If it comes to that," said his mother, "I'll take the curse on myself. Now, just do what I say. Go and get the goats."

Genesis 27:14
So he went and got them and brought them to his mother and she cooked a hearty meal, the kind his father loved so much.

Song of Solomon 2:13
class="poetry"> I'm just a wildflower picked from the plains of Sharon, a lotus blossom from the valley pools.

The Man

A lotus blossoming in a swamp of weeds— that's my dear friend among the girls in the village.

The Woman

As an apricot tree stands out in the forest, my lover stands above the young men in town. All I want is to sit in his shade, to taste and savor his delicious love. He took me home with him for a festive meal, but his eyes feasted on me! Oh! Give me something refreshing to eat—and quickly! Apricots, raisins—anything. I'm about to faint with love! His left hand cradles my head, and his right arm encircles my waist! Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem, by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer: Don't excite love, don't stir it up, until the time is ripe—and you're ready. Look! Listen! There's my lover! Do you see him coming? Vaulting the mountains, leaping the hills. My lover is like a gazelle, graceful; like a young stag, virile. Look at him there, on tiptoe at the gate, all ears, all eyes—ready! My lover has arrived and he's speaking to me!

The Man

Get up, my dear friend, fair and beautiful lover—come to me! Look around you: Winter is over; the winter rains are over, gone! Spring flowers are in blossom all over. The whole world's a choir—and singing! Spring warblers are filling the forest with sweet arpeggios. Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed, and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms. Oh, get up, dear friend, my fair and beautiful lover—come to me! Come, my shy and modest dove— leave your seclusion, come out in the open. Let me see your face, let me hear your voice. For your voice is soothing and your face is ravishing.

The Woman

Then you must protect me from the foxes, foxes on the prowl, Foxes who would like nothing better than to get into our flowering garden. My lover is mine, and I am his. Nightly he strolls in our garden, Delighting in the flowers until dawn breathes its light and night slips away. Turn to me, dear lover. Come like a gazelle. Leap like a wild stag on delectable mountains!

Hebrews 11:20
By an act of faith, Isaac reached into the future as he blessed Jacob and Esau.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But when the fourteenth night was come,.... From their setting out from the Fair Havens in Crete, or from the beginning of the storm:

as they were driven up and down in Adria: or "in the Adriatic sea", as the Syriac version renders it: the Adriatic sea is now called by the Turks the gulf of Venice, and the straits of Venice, and sometimes the Venetian sea i; but formerly the Adriatic sea included more than the Venetian gulf; it took in the Ionian and Sicilian seas, and had its name from the city Adria, a colony of the Tuscans k. It is called by Ptolomy l Hadria, and reckoned a city of the Picenes. Pliny m places it near the river Padus, and calls it Atriae, a town of the Tuscans, which had a famous port, from whence the sea was before called Atriatic, which is now Adriatic. Adria, Justin n says, which is near to the Illyrian sea, and gave name to the Adriatic sea, is a Grecian city; and from this place the ancestors of Adrian, the Roman emperor, originally came; and all the sea between Illyricum and Italy is called the Adriatic; and from the beginning of it, which is at the city of Venice, unto Garganus, a mountain in Italy, and Dyrrachium, a city of Macedonia, it is 600 miles in length, and its largest breadth is 200, and the least 150, and the mouth of it 60. The other part of the sea, which washes Macedonia and Epirus, is called the Ionian sea. Moreover, this whole sea is called the superior sea, with respect to the Tyrrhenian, which dashes the other shore of Italy, and is called the inferior o. In this same sea, Josephus p, the historian, was shipwrecked as he was on a voyage to Rome: his account is this;

"I came to Rome, having gone through many dangers by sea, for our ship being sunk in the middle of Adria, being in number about six hundred, we swam all night; and about break of day, by the providence of God, a ship of Cyrene appeared to us, in which I, and some others, in all eighty, getting before the rest, were received into it, and so got safe to Dicearchia, which the Italians call Puteoli;''

a place afterwards mentioned, where the apostle also arrived. And the sea itself is often, by the poets q called Adria, as here, and is represented as a very troublesome sea; and here Paul, and the ship's company, were driven to and fro by the storm,

when about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country: about the middle of the night the mariners thought, by some observations they made, that they were nigh land; or, as it is in the Greek text, "that some country drew near to them"; which well agrees with the language and sense of seafaring persons, to whose sight the land seems to draw near them, or depart from them, when they draw near, or depart from that: the Ethiopic version is, "they thought they should have seen a city"; they had a notion of some city near; and the Arabic version, "they thought to know in what country, or place" they were; and therefore did as follows.

i Hyde not. in Peritzol. Itinera Mundi, p. 53, 54. k Alex. ab. Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 3. c. 28. l Geograph. l. 3. c. 1. m Nat. Hist. l. 3. c. 16. n Hist ex Trogo, l. 20. c. 1. o Pausanias, Eliac. 1. sive, l. 5. p. 337. p In Vita sua, sect. 3. p. 905. q Horat. Carnin. l. 1. ode 3. & l. 3. ode. 3. 9. Ovid. Trist, l. 1, eleg. 11.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The fourteenth night - From the time when the tempest commenced.

In Adria - In the Adriatic Sea. This sea is situated between Italy and Dalmatia, now called the Adriatic Gulf. But among the ancients the name was given not only to that gulf, but to the whole sea lying between Greece, Italy, and Africa, including the Sicilian and Ionian Sea. It is evident from the narrative that they were not in the Adriatic Gulf, but in the vicinity of Malta.

Deemed - Judged. Probably by the appearance of the sea.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Acts 27:27. Driven up and down in Adria — Acts 27:17; Acts 27:17.

Deemed that they drew near to some country — They judged so, either by the smell of land, which those used to the sea can perceive at a considerable distance, or by the agitation of the sea, rippling of the tide, flight of sea-birds, &c.