Paul Sails for Rome
When it is decided they will sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners are placed under Julius the centurion, and they board a ship with Aristarchus traveling along. At Sidon, Julius treats Paul kindly and allows him to visit friends who care for him.
W1hen it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. 2We boarded an Adramyttian ship about to sail for ports along the coast of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us. 3The next day we landed at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul with consideration, allowing him to visit his friends and receive their care.
Because the winds are against them, the travelers make slow and difficult progress under the lee of Cyprus, across the coastlands, and onto an Alexandrian ship bound for Italy. Even then the sailing remains hard until they finally reach Fair Havens in Crete.
4After putting out from there, we sailed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5And when we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. 6There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7After sailing slowly for many days, we arrived off Cnidus. When the wind impeded us, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. 8After we had moved along the coast with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.
With the season already dangerous, Paul warns that the voyage will bring disaster and loss to ship, cargo, and lives. But the centurion trusts the pilot and owner instead, and since the harbor seems poor for wintering, the majority decide to press on toward Phoenix.
9By now much time had passed, and the voyage had already become dangerous because it was after the Fast. So Paul advised them, 10“Men, I can see that our voyage will be filled with disaster and great loss, not only to ship and cargo, but to our own lives as well.” 11But contrary to Paul’s advice, the centurion was persuaded by the pilot and by the owner of the ship. 12Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to sail on, hoping that somehow they could reach Phoenix to winter there. Phoenix was a harbor in Crete facing both southwest and northwest.