The Early Church

And the third day we cast out with our owne hands the tackling of the ship.

And when neither sunne nor starres in many dayes appeared, and no small tempest lay vpon vs, all hope that we should be saued, was then taken away.

But after long abstinece, Paul stood forth in the mids of them, and said, Syrs, ye should haue hearkened to me, and not haue loosed from Candie: so should ye haue gained this hurt and losse.

But now I exhort you to be of good courage: for there shalbe no losse of any mans life among you, saue of the ship onely.

For there stood by me this night the Angel of God, whose I am, and whome I serue,

Saying, Feare not, Paul: for thou must be brought before Cesar: and lo, God hath giuen vnto thee freely all that sayle with thee.

Wherefore, sirs, be of good courage: for I beleeue God, that it shall be so as it hath bene tolde me.

Howbeit, we must be cast into a certaine Iland.

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

And sounded, and found it twentie fathoms: and when they had gone a litle further, they sounded againe, and found fifteene fathoms.

Then fearing least they should haue fallen into some rough places, they cast foure ancres out of the sterne, and wished that the day were come.

Nowe as the mariners were about to flee out of the ship, and had let downe the boat into the sea vnder a colour as though they would haue cast ankers out of the foreship,

Paul sayde vnto the Centurion and the souldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye can not be safe.

Then the souldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let it fall away.

And when it began to be day, Paul exhorted them all to take meate, saying, This is the fourteenth day that ye haue taried, and continued fasting, receiuing nothing:

Wherefore I exhort you to take meate: for this is for your safegarde: for there shall not an heare fall from the head of any of you.

And when he had thus spoken, hee tooke bread and gaue thankes to God, in presence of them all, and brake it, and began to eate.

Then were they all of good courage, and they also tooke meate.

Nowe we were in the ship in all two hundreth three score and sixteene soules.

And whe they had eaten ynough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea.

And when it was day, they knewe not the countrey, but they spied a certaine creeke with a banke, into the which they were minded (if it were possible) to thrust in the ship.

So when they had taken vp the ankers, they committed the ship vnto the sea, and loosed the rudder bonds, and hoised vp the maine saile to the winde, and drewe to the shore.

And when they fell into a place, where two seas met, they thrust in the ship: and the forepart stucke fast, and could not be moued, but the hinderpart was broken with the violence of the waues.

Then the souldiers counsell was to kill the prisoners, least any of them, when he had swomme out, should flee away.

But the Centurion willing to saue Paul, stayed them from this counsell, and commanded that they that coulde swimme, shoulde cast them selues first into the sea, and goe out to land: