Acts 21-28

Contemporary English Version

Paul Goes to Jerusalem

21 After saying goodbye, we sailed straight to Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and from there sailed on to Patara. ² We found a ship going to Phoenicia, so we got on board and sailed off.

³ We came within sight of Cyprus and then sailed south of it on to the port of Tyre in Syria, where the ship was going to unload its cargo. ⁴ We found the Lord's followers and stayed with them for a week. The Holy Spirit had told them to warn Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵ But when the week was over, we started on our way again. All the men, together with their wives and children, walked with us from the town to the seashore. We knelt on the beach and prayed. ⁶ Then after saying goodbye to each other, we got into the ship, and they went back home.

⁷ We sailed from Tyre to Ptolemais, where we greeted the followers and stayed with them for a day. ^8 (A) The next day we went to Caesarea and stayed with Philip, the preacher. He was one of the seven men who helped the apostles, ⁹ and he had four unmarried^[a] daughters who prophesied.

^10 (B) We had been in Caesarea for several days, when the prophet Agabus came to us from Judea. ¹¹ He took Paul's belt, and with it he tied up his own hands and feet. Then he told us, “The Holy Spirit says that some of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will tie up the man who owns this belt. They will also hand him over to the Gentiles.” ¹² After Agabus said this, we and the followers living there begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem.

¹³ But Paul answered, “Why are you crying and breaking my heart? I am not only willing to be put in jail for the Lord Jesus, but I am even willing to die for him in Jerusalem!”

¹⁴ Since we could not get Paul to change his mind, we gave up and prayed, “Lord, please make us willing to do what you want.”

¹⁵ Then we got ready to go to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Some of the followers from Caesarea went with us and took us to stay in the home of Mnason. He was from Cyprus and had been a follower from the beginning.

Paul Visits James

¹⁷ When we arrived in Jerusalem, the Lord's followers gladly welcomed us. ¹⁸ Paul went with us to see James^[b] the next day, and all the church leaders were present. ¹⁹ Paul greeted them and told how God had used him to help the Gentiles. ²⁰ Everyone who heard this praised God and said to Paul:

My friend, you can see how many tens of thousands of our people have become followers! And all of them are eager to obey the Law of Moses. ²¹ But they have been told that you are teaching those who live among the Gentiles to disobey this Law. They claim that you are telling them not to circumcise their sons or to follow our customs.

²² What should we do now that our people have heard you are here? ^23 (C) Please do what we ask, because four of our men have made special promises to God. ²⁴ Join with them and prepare yourself for the ceremony that goes with the promises. Pay the cost for their heads to be shaved. Then everyone will learn that the reports about you are not true. They will know you do obey the Law of Moses.

^25 (D) Some while ago we told the Gentile followers what we think they should do. We instructed them not to eat anything offered to idols. They were told not to eat any meat with blood still in it or the meat of an animal that has been strangled. They were also told not to commit any terrible sexual sins.^[c]

²⁶ The next day Paul took the four men with him and got himself ready at the same time they did. Then he went into the temple and told when the final ceremony would take place and when an offering would be made for each of them.

Paul Is Arrested

²⁷ When the period of seven days for the ceremony was almost over, some of the Jewish people from Asia saw Paul in the temple. They got a large crowd together and started attacking him. ²⁸ They were shouting, “Friends, help us! This man goes around everywhere, saying bad things about our nation and about the Law of Moses and about this temple. He has even brought shame to this holy temple by bringing in Gentiles.” ^29 (E) Some of them thought that Paul had brought Trophimus from Ephesus into the temple, because they had seen them together in the city.

³⁰ The whole city was in an uproar, and the people turned into a mob. They grabbed Paul and dragged him out of the temple. Then suddenly the doors were shut. ³¹ The people were about to kill Paul when the Roman army commander heard that all Jerusalem was starting to riot. ³² So he quickly took some soldiers and officers and ran to where the crowd had gathered.

As soon as the mob saw the commander and soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³ The army commander went over and arrested him and had him bound with two chains. Then he tried to find out who Paul was and what he had done. ³⁴ Part of the crowd shouted one thing, and part of them shouted something else. But they were making so much noise that the commander could not find out a thing. Then he ordered Paul to be taken into the fortress. ³⁵ As they reached the steps, the crowd became so wild that the soldiers had to lift Paul up and carry him. ³⁶ The crowd followed and kept shouting, “Kill him! Kill him!”

Paul Speaks to the Crowd

³⁷ When Paul was about to be taken into the fortress, he asked the commander, “Can I say something to you?”

“How do you know Greek?” the commander asked. ³⁸ “Aren't you that Egyptian who started a riot not long ago and led 4,000 terrorists into the desert?”

³⁹ “No!” Paul replied. “I am a Jew from Tarsus, an important city in Cilicia. Please let me speak to the crowd.”

⁴⁰ The commander told him he could speak, so Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the people. When they were quiet, he spoke to them in Aramaic:^[d]

22 “My friends and leaders of our nation, listen as I explain what happened!” ² When the crowd heard Paul speak to them in Aramaic, they became even quieter. Then Paul said:

^3 (F) I am a Jew, born in the city of Tarsus in Cilicia. But I grew up here in Jerusalem where I was a student of Gamaliel and was taught to follow every single law of our ancestors. In fact, I was just as eager to obey God as any of you are today.

^4 (G) I made trouble for everyone who followed the Lord's Way,^[e] and I even had some of them killed. I had others arrested and put in jail. I didn't care if they were men or women. ⁵ The high priest and all the council members can tell you this is true. They even gave me letters to the Jewish leaders in Damascus, so that I could arrest people there and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished.

^6 (H) One day about noon I was getting close to Damascus, when a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice asking, “Saul, Saul, why are you so cruel to me?”

⁸ “Who are you?” I answered.

The Lord replied, “I am Jesus from Nazareth! I am the one you are so cruel to.” ⁹ Those who were traveling with me saw the light, but did not hear the voice.

¹⁰ I asked, “Lord, what do you want me to do?”

Then he told me, “Get up and go to Damascus. When you get there, you will be told what to do.” ¹¹ The light had been so bright that I couldn't see. And the others had to lead me by the hand to Damascus.

¹² In that city there was a man named Ananias, who faithfully obeyed the Law of Moses and was well liked by all the Jewish people living there. ¹³ He came to me and said, “Saul, my friend, you can now see again!”

At once I could see. ¹⁴ Then Ananias told me, “The God that our ancestors worshiped has chosen you to know what he wants done. He has chosen you to see the One Who Obeys God^[f] and to hear his voice. ¹⁵ You must tell everyone what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized, and wash away your sins by praying to the Lord.”

¹⁷ After this I returned to Jerusalem and went to the temple to pray. There I had a vision ¹⁸ of the Lord who said to me, “Hurry and leave Jerusalem! The people won't listen to what you say about me.”

¹⁹ I replied, “Lord, they know that in many of our synagogues I arrested and beat people who had faith in you. ^20 (I) Stephen was killed because he spoke for you, and I stood there and cheered them on. I even guarded the clothes of the men who murdered him.”

²¹ But the Lord told me to go, and he promised to send me far away to the Gentiles.

²² The crowd listened until Paul said this. Then they started shouting, “Get rid of this man! He doesn't deserve to live.” ²³ They kept shouting. They waved their clothes around and threw dust into the air.

Paul and the Roman Army Commander

²⁴ The Roman commander ordered Paul to be taken into the fortress and beaten with a whip. He did this to find out why the people were screaming at Paul.

²⁵ While the soldiers were tying Paul up to be beaten, he asked the officer standing there, “Is it legal to beat a Roman citizen before he has been tried in court?”

²⁶ When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and said, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen!”

²⁷ The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes,” Paul answered.

²⁸ The commander then said, “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.”^[g]

But Paul replied, “I was born a Roman citizen.”

²⁹ The men who were about to beat and question Paul quickly backed off. And the commander himself was frightened when he realized that he had put a Roman citizen in chains.

Paul Is Tried by the Council

³⁰ The next day the commander wanted to know the real reason why the Jewish leaders had brought charges against Paul. So he had Paul's chains removed, and he ordered the chief priests and the whole council to meet. Then he had Paul led in and made him stand in front of them.

23 Paul looked straight at the council members and said, “My friends, to this day I have served God with a clear conscience!”

² Then Ananias the high priest ordered the men standing beside Paul to hit him on the mouth. ^3 (J) Paul turned to the high priest and said, “You whitewashed wall!^[h] God will hit you. You sit there to judge me by the Law of Moses. But at the same time you order men to break the Law by hitting me.”

⁴ The men standing beside Paul asked, “Don't you know you are insulting God's high priest?”

^5 (K) Paul replied, “Oh! I didn't know he was the high priest. The Scriptures do tell us not to speak evil about a leader of our people.”

^6 (L) When Paul saw that some of the council members were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he shouted, “My friends, I am a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee. I am on trial simply because I believe that the dead will be raised to life.”

⁷ As soon as Paul said this, the Pharisees and the Sadducees got into a big argument, and the council members started taking sides. ^8 (M) The Sadducees do not believe in angels or spirits or that the dead will rise to life. But the Pharisees believe in all of these, ⁹ and so there was a lot of shouting. Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses were Pharisees. Finally, they became angry and said, “We don't find anything wrong with this man. Maybe a spirit or an angel really did speak to him.”

¹⁰ The argument became fierce, and the commander was afraid that Paul would be pulled apart. So he ordered the soldiers to go in and rescue Paul. Then they took him back into the fortress.

¹¹ That night the Lord stood beside Paul and said, “Don't worry! Just as you have told others about me in Jerusalem, you must also tell about me in Rome.”

A Plot To Kill Paul

^12-13 The next morning more than 40 Jewish men got together and vowed that they would not eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul. ¹⁴ Then some of them went to the chief priests and the nation's leaders and said, “We have promised God that we would not eat a thing until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ You and everyone in the council must go to the commander and pretend that you want to find out more about the charges against Paul. Ask for him to be brought before your court. Meanwhile, we will be waiting to kill him before he gets there.”

¹⁶ When Paul's nephew heard about the plot, he went to the fortress and told Paul about it. ¹⁷ So Paul said to one of the army officers, “Take this young man to the commander. He has something to tell him.”

¹⁸ The officer took him to the commander and said, “The prisoner named Paul asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something to tell you.”

¹⁹ The commander took the young man aside and asked him in private, “What do you want to tell me?”

²⁰ He answered, “Some men are planning to ask you to bring Paul down to the Jewish council tomorrow. They will claim they want to find out more about him. ²¹ But please don't do what they say. More than 40 men are going to attack Paul. They have made a vow not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him. Even now they are waiting to hear what you decide.”

²² The commander sent the young man away after saying to him, “Don't let anyone know you told me this.”

Paul Is Sent to Felix the Governor

²³ The commander called in two of his officers and told them, “By nine o'clock tonight have 200 soldiers ready to go to Caesarea. Take along 70 men on horseback and 200 foot soldiers with spears. ²⁴ Get a horse ready for Paul and make sure he gets safely through to Felix the governor.”

²⁵ The commander wrote a letter that said:

²⁶ Greetings from Claudius Lysias to the Honorable Governor Felix:

²⁷ Some Jews grabbed this man and were about to kill him. But when I found out that he was a Roman citizen, I took some soldiers and rescued him.

²⁸ I wanted to find out what they had against him. So I brought him before their council ²⁹ and learned that the charges concern only their religious laws. This man isn't guilty of anything for which he should die or even be put in jail.

³⁰ As soon as I learned that there was a plot against him, I sent him to you and told their leaders to bring charges against him in your court.

³¹ The soldiers obeyed the commander's orders, and that same night they took Paul to the city of Antipatris. ³² The next day the foot soldiers returned to the fortress and let the soldiers on horseback take him the rest of the way. ³³ When they came to Caesarea, they gave the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him.

³⁴ The governor read the letter. Then he asked Paul and found out that he was from Cilicia. ³⁵ The governor said, “I will listen to your case as soon as the people come to bring their charges against you.” After saying this, he gave orders for Paul to be kept as a prisoner in Herod's palace.^[i]

Paul Is Accused in the Court of Felix

24 Five days later Ananias the high priest, together with some of their leaders and a lawyer named Tertullus, went to the governor to present their case against Paul. ² So Paul was called in, and Tertullus stated the case against him:^[j]

Honorable Felix, you have brought our people a long period of peace, and because of your concern our nation is much better off. ³ All of us are always grateful for what you have done. ⁴ I don't want to bother you, but please be patient with us and listen to me for just a few minutes.

⁵ This man has been found to be a real pest and troublemaker for our people all over the world. He is also a leader of a group called Nazarenes. ^6-8 When he tried to disgrace the temple, we arrested him.^[k] If you question him, you will find out for yourself that our charges are true.

⁹ The Jewish crowd spoke up and agreed with what Tertullus had said.

Paul Defends Himself

¹⁰ The governor motioned for Paul to speak, and he began:

I know that you have judged the people of our nation for many years, and I am glad to defend myself in your court.

¹¹ It was no more than twelve days ago that I went to worship in Jerusalem. You can find this out easily enough. ¹² Never once did the Jews find me arguing with anyone in the temple. I didn't cause trouble in the synagogues or in the city itself. ¹³ There is no way that they can prove these charges they are now bringing against me.

¹⁴ I admit that their leaders think the Lord's Way^[l] which I follow is based on wrong beliefs. But I still worship the same God that my ancestors worshiped. And I believe everything written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets.^{[m] 15} I am just as sure as these people are that God will raise from death everyone, good or evil. ¹⁶ And because I am sure, I try my best to have a clear conscience in whatever I do for God or for people.

^17 (N) After being away for several years, I returned here to bring gifts for the poor people of my nation and to offer sacrifices. ¹⁸ This is what I was doing when I was found going through a ceremony in the temple. I wasn't with a crowd, and there was no uproar.

¹⁹ Some Jews from Asia were there at that time, and if they have anything to say against me, they should be here now. ²⁰ Or ask the ones who are here. They can tell you that they didn't find me guilty of anything when I was tried by their own council. ^21 (O) The only charge they can bring against me is what I shouted out in court, when I said, “I am on trial today because I believe that the dead will be raised to life!”

²² Felix knew a lot about the Lord's Way.^[n] But he brought the trial to an end and said, “I will make my decision after Lysias the commander arrives.” ²³ He then ordered the army officer to keep Paul under guard, but not to lock him up or to stop his friends from helping him.

Paul Is Kept under Guard

²⁴ Several days later Felix and his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, went to the place where Paul was kept under guard. They sent for Paul and listened while he spoke to them about having faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ But Felix was frightened when Paul started talking to them about doing right, about self-control, and about the coming judgment. So he said to Paul, “That's enough for now. You may go. But when I have time I will send for you.” ²⁶ After this, Felix often sent for Paul and talked with him, because he hoped that Paul would offer him a bribe.

²⁷ Two years later Porcius Festus became governor in place of Felix. But since Felix wanted to do the Jewish leaders a favor, he kept Paul in jail.

Paul Asks To Be Tried by the Roman Emperor

25 Three days after Festus had become governor, he went from Caesarea to Jerusalem. ² There the chief priests and some Jewish leaders told him about their charges against Paul. They also asked Festus ³ if he would be willing to bring Paul to Jerusalem. They begged him to do this because they were planning to attack and kill Paul on the way. ⁴ But Festus told them, “Paul will be kept in Caesarea, and I am soon going there myself. ⁵ If he has done anything wrong, let your leaders go with me and bring charges against him there.”

⁶ Festus stayed in Jerusalem for eight or ten more days before going to Caesarea. Then the next day he took his place as judge and had Paul brought into court. ⁷ As soon as Paul came in, the leaders from Jerusalem crowded around him and said he was guilty of many serious crimes. But they could not prove anything. ⁸ Then Paul spoke in his own defense, “I have not broken the Law of my people. And I have not done anything against either the temple or the Emperor.”

⁹ Festus wanted to please the leaders. So he asked Paul, “Are you willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried by me on these charges?”

¹⁰ Paul replied, “I am on trial in the Emperor's court, and that's where I should be tried. You know very well I have not done anything to harm the Jewish nation. ¹¹ If I had done something deserving death, I would not ask to escape the death penalty. But I am not guilty of any of these crimes, and no one has the right to hand me over to these people. I now ask to be tried by the Emperor himself.”

¹² After Festus had talked this over with members of his council, he told Paul, “You have asked to be tried by the Emperor, and to the Emperor you will go!”

Paul Speaks to Agrippa and Bernice

¹³ A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to visit Festus. ¹⁴ They had been there for several days, when Festus told the king about the charges against Paul. He said:

Felix left a man here in jail, ¹⁵ and when I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the Jewish leaders came and asked me to find him guilty. ¹⁶ I told them it isn't the Roman custom to hand a man over to people who are bringing charges against him. He must first have the chance to meet them face to face and to defend himself against their charges.

¹⁷ So when they came here with me, I wasted no time. On the very next day I took my place on the judge's bench and ordered him to be brought in. ¹⁸ But when the men stood up to make their charges against him, they did not accuse him of any of the crimes that I thought they would. ¹⁹ Instead, they argued with him about some of their beliefs and about a dead man named Jesus, who Paul said was alive.

²⁰ Since I did not know how to find out the truth about all this, I asked Paul if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and be put on trial there. ²¹ But Paul asked to be kept in jail until the Emperor could decide his case. So I ordered him to be kept here until I could send him to the Emperor.

²² Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would also like to hear what this man has to say.”

Festus answered, “You can hear him tomorrow.”

²³ The next day Agrippa and Bernice made a big show as they came into the meeting room. High ranking army officers and leading citizens of the town were also there. Festus then ordered Paul to be brought in ²⁴ and said:

King Agrippa and other guests, look at this man! Every Jew from Jerusalem and Caesarea has come to me, demanding for him to be put to death. ²⁵ I have not found him guilty of any crime deserving death. But because he has asked to be judged by the Emperor, I have decided to send him to Rome.

²⁶ I have to write some facts about this man to the Emperor. So I have brought him before all of you, but especially before you, King Agrippa. After we have talked about his case, I will then have something to write. ²⁷ It makes no sense to send a prisoner to the Emperor without stating the charges against him.

Paul's Defense before Agrippa

26 Agrippa told Paul, “You may now speak for yourself.”

Paul stretched out his hand and said:

² King Agrippa, I am glad for this chance to defend myself before you today on all these charges my own people have brought against me. ³ You know a lot about our religious customs and the beliefs that divide us. So I ask you to listen patiently to me.

^4-5 (P) All the Jews have known me since I was a child. They know what kind of life I have lived in my own country and in Jerusalem. And if they were willing, they could tell you I was a Pharisee, a member of a group that is stricter than any other. ⁶ Now I am on trial because I believe the promise God made to our people long ago.

⁷ Day and night our twelve tribes have earnestly served God, waiting for his promised blessings. King Agrippa, because of this hope, some of our leaders have brought charges against me. ^8 (Q) Why should any of you doubt that God raises the dead to life?

^9 (R) I once thought that I should do everything I could to oppose Jesus from Nazareth. ¹⁰ I did this first in Jerusalem, and with the authority of the chief priests I put many of God's people in jail. I even voted for them to be killed. ¹¹ I often had them punished in our synagogues, and I tried to make them give up their faith. In fact, I was so angry with them, that I went looking for them in foreign cities.

¹² King Agrippa, one day I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and permission of the chief priests. ¹³ About noon I saw a light brighter than the sun. It flashed from heaven on me and on everyone traveling with me. ¹⁴ We all fell to the ground. Then I heard a voice say to me in Aramaic,^[o] “Saul, Saul, why are you so cruel to me? It's foolish to fight against me!”

¹⁵ “Who are you?” I asked.

Then the Lord answered, “I am Jesus! I am the one you are so cruel to. ¹⁶ Now stand up. I have appeared to you, because I have chosen you to be my servant. You are to tell others what you have learned about me and what I will show you later.”

¹⁷ The Lord also said, “I will protect you from the Jews and from the Gentiles that I am sending you to. ¹⁸ I want you to open their eyes, so they will turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then their sins will be forgiven, and by faith in me they will become part of God's holy people.”

¹⁹ King Agrippa, I obeyed this vision from heaven. ^20 (S) First I preached to the people in Damascus, and then I went to Jerusalem and all over Judea. Finally, I went to the Gentiles and said, “Stop sinning and turn to God! Then prove what you have done by the way you live.”

²¹ That is why some men grabbed me in the temple and tried to kill me. ²² But all this time God has helped me, and I have preached both to the rich and to the poor. I have told them only what the prophets and Moses said would happen. ^23 (T) I told them how the Messiah would suffer and be the first to be raised from death, so he could bring light to his own people and to the Gentiles.

²⁴ Before Paul finished defending himself, Festus shouted, “Paul, you're crazy! Too much learning has driven you out of your mind.”

²⁵ But Paul replied, “Honorable Festus, I am not crazy. What I am saying is true, and it makes sense. ²⁶ None of these things happened off in a corner somewhere. I am sure that King Agrippa knows what I am talking about. That's why I can speak so plainly to him.”

²⁷ Then Paul said to Agrippa, “Do you believe what the prophets said? I know you do.”

²⁸ Agrippa asked Paul, “In such a short time do you think you can talk me into being a Christian?”

²⁹ Paul answered, “Whether it takes a short time or a long time, I wish you and everyone else who hears me today would become just like me! Except, of course, for these chains.”

³⁰ Then King Agrippa, Governor Festus, Bernice, and everyone who was with them got up. ³¹ But before they left, they said, “This man isn't guilty of anything. He doesn't deserve to die or to be put in jail.”

³² Agrippa told Festus, “Paul could have been set free, if he had not asked to be tried by the Roman Emperor.”

Paul Is Taken to Rome

27 When it was time for us to sail to Rome, Captain Julius from the Emperor's special troops was put in charge of Paul and the other prisoners. ² We went aboard a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to some ports along the coast of Asia. Aristarchus from Thessalonica in Macedonia sailed on the ship with us.

³ The next day we came to shore at Sidon. Captain Julius was very kind to Paul. He even let him visit his friends, so they could give him whatever he needed. ⁴ When we left Sidon, the winds were blowing against us, and we sailed close to the island of Cyprus to be safe from the wind. ⁵ Then we sailed south of Cilicia and Pamphylia until we came to the port of Myra in Lycia. ⁶ There the army captain found a ship from Alexandria that was going to Italy. So he ordered us to board that ship.

⁷ We sailed along slowly for several days and had a hard time reaching Cnidus. The wind would not let us go any farther in that direction, so we sailed past Cape Salmone, where the island of Crete would protect us from the wind. ⁸ We went slowly along the coast and finally reached a place called Fair Havens, not far from the town of Lasea.

⁹ By now we had already lost a lot of time, and sailing was no longer safe. In fact, even the Great Day of Forgiveness^[p] was past. ¹⁰ Then Paul spoke to the crew of the ship, “Men, listen to me! If we sail now, our ship and its cargo will be badly damaged, and many lives will be lost.” ¹¹ But Julius listened to the captain of the ship and its owner, rather than to Paul.

¹² The harbor at Fair Havens wasn't a good place to spend the winter. Because of this, almost everyone agreed that we should at least try to sail along the coast of Crete as far as Phoenix. It had a harbor that opened toward the southwest and northwest,^[q] and we could spend the winter there.

The Storm at Sea

¹³ When a gentle wind from the south started blowing, the men thought it was a good time to do what they had planned. So they pulled up the anchor, and we sailed along the coast of Crete. ¹⁴ But soon a strong wind called “The Northeaster” blew against us from the island. ¹⁵ The wind struck the ship, and we could not sail against it. So we let the wind carry the ship.

¹⁶ We went along the island of Cauda on the side that was protected from the wind. We had a hard time holding the lifeboat in place, ¹⁷ but finally we got it where it belonged. Then the sailors wrapped ropes around the ship to hold it together. They lowered the sail and let the ship drift along, because they were afraid it might hit the sandbanks in the gulf of Syrtis.

¹⁸ The storm was so fierce that the next day they threw some of the ship's cargo overboard. ¹⁹ Then on the third day, with their bare hands they threw overboard some of the ship's gear. ²⁰ For several days we could not see either the sun or the stars. A strong wind kept blowing, and we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

²¹ Since none of us had eaten anything for a long time, Paul stood up and told the men:

You should have listened to me! If you had stayed on in Crete, you would not have had this damage and loss. ²² But now I beg you to cheer up, because you will be safe. Only the ship will be lost.

²³ I belong to God, and I worship him. Last night he sent an angel ²⁴ to tell me, “Paul, don't be afraid! You will stand trial before the Emperor. And because of you, God will save the lives of everyone on the ship.” ²⁵ Cheer up! I am sure that God will do exactly what he promised. ²⁶ But we will first be shipwrecked on some island.

²⁷ For 14 days and nights we had been blown around over the Mediterranean Sea. But about midnight the sailors realized we were getting near land. ²⁸ They measured and found that the water was about 40 meters deep. A little later they measured again and found it was only about 30 meters. ²⁹ The sailors were afraid that we might hit some rocks, and they let down four anchors from the back of the ship. Then they prayed for daylight.

³⁰ The sailors wanted to escape from the ship. So they lowered the lifeboat into the water, pretending that they were letting down some anchors from the front of the ship. ³¹ But Paul said to Captain Julius and the soldiers, “If the sailors don't stay on the ship, you won't have any chance to save your lives.” ³² The soldiers then cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it fall into the sea.

³³ Just before daylight Paul begged the people to eat something. He told them, “For 14 days you have been so worried that you haven't eaten a thing. ³⁴ I beg you to eat something. Your lives depend on it. Do this and not one of you will be hurt.”

³⁵ After Paul had said this, he took a piece of bread and gave thanks to God. Then in front of everyone, he broke the bread and ate some. ³⁶ They all felt encouraged, and each of them ate something. ³⁷ There were 276 people on the ship, ³⁸ and after everyone had eaten, they threw the cargo of wheat into the sea to make the ship lighter.

The Shipwreck

³⁹ Morning came, and the ship's crew saw a coast they did not recognize. But they did see a cove with a beach. So they decided to try to run the ship aground on the beach. ⁴⁰ They cut the anchors loose and let them sink into the sea. At the same time they untied the ropes that were holding the rudders. Next, they raised the sail at the front of the ship and let the wind carry the ship toward the beach. ⁴¹ But it ran aground on a sandbank. The front of the ship stuck firmly in the sand, and the rear was being smashed by the force of the waves.

⁴² The soldiers decided to kill the prisoners to keep them from swimming away and escaping. ⁴³ But Captain Julius wanted to save Paul's life, and he did not let the soldiers do what they had planned. Instead, he ordered everyone who could swim to jump into the water and head for shore. ⁴⁴ Then he told the others to hold on to planks of wood or parts of the ship. At last, everyone safely reached shore.

On the Island of Malta

28 When we came ashore, we learned that the island was called Malta. ² The local people were very friendly, and they welcomed us by building a fire, because it was rainy and cold.

³ After Paul had gathered some wood and had put it on the fire, the heat caused a snake to crawl out, and it bit him on the hand. ⁴ When the local people saw the snake hanging from Paul's hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer! He didn't drown in the sea, but the goddess of justice will kill him anyway.”

⁵ Paul shook the snake off into the fire and wasn't harmed. ⁶ The people kept thinking that Paul would either swell up or suddenly drop dead. They watched him for a long time, and when nothing happened to him, they changed their minds and said, “This man is a god.”

⁷ The governor of the island was named Publius, and he owned some of the land around there. Publius was very friendly and welcomed us into his home for three days. ⁸ His father was in bed, sick with fever and stomach trouble, and Paul went to visit him. Paul healed the man by praying and placing his hands on him.

⁹ After this happened, everyone on the island brought their sick people to Paul, and they were all healed. ¹⁰ The people were very respectful to us, and when we sailed, they gave us everything we needed.

From Malta to Rome

¹¹ Three months later we sailed in a ship that had been docked at Malta for the winter. The ship was from Alexandria in Egypt and was known as “The Twin Gods.”^{[r] 12} We arrived in Syracuse and stayed for three days. ¹³ From there we sailed to Rhegium. The next day a south wind began to blow, and two days later we arrived in Puteoli. ¹⁴ There we found some of the Lord's followers, who begged us to stay with them. A week later we left for the city of Rome.

¹⁵ Some of the followers in Rome heard about us and came to meet us at the Market of Appius and at the Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged.

Paul in Rome

¹⁶ We arrived in Rome, and Paul was allowed to live in a house by himself with a soldier to guard him.

¹⁷ Three days after we got there, Paul called together some of the Jewish leaders and said:

My friends, I have never done anything to hurt our people, and I have never gone against the customs of our ancestors. But in Jerusalem I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans. ¹⁸ They looked into the charges against me and wanted to release me. They found that I had not done anything deserving death. ^19 (U) The Jewish leaders disagreed, so I asked to be tried by the Emperor.

But I don't have anything to say against my own nation. ²⁰ I am bound by these chains because of what we people of Israel hope for. This is why I have called you here to talk about this hope of ours.

²¹ The leaders replied, “No one from Judea has written us a letter about you. And not one of them has come here to report on you or to say anything against you. ²² But we would like to hear what you have to say. We understand that people everywhere are against this new group.”

²³ They agreed on a time to meet with Paul, and many of them came to his house. From early morning until late in the afternoon, Paul talked to them about God's kingdom. He used the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets^[s] to try to win them over to Jesus.

²⁴ Some of the leaders agreed with what Paul said, but others did not. ²⁵ Since they could not agree among themselves, they started leaving. But Paul said, “The Holy Spirit said the right thing when he sent Isaiah the prophet ^26 (V) to tell our ancestors,

^28-29 Paul said, “You may be sure that God wants to save the Gentiles! And they will listen.”^[t]

³⁰ For two years Paul stayed in a rented house and welcomed everyone who came to see him. ³¹ He bravely preached about God's kingdom and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ, and no one tried to stop him.