Acts 27:18-19

27:18 The next day, because we were violently battered by the storm, ¹  they began throwing the cargo overboard, ²  27:19 and on the third day they threw the ship’s gear ³  overboard with their own hands.

Acts 27:43

27:43 But the centurion, ⁴  wanting to save Paul’s life, ⁵  prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land, ⁶ 

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¹ tn BDAG 980 s.v. σφόδρῶς states, “very much, greatly, violently…σφ. χειμάζεσθαι be violently beaten by a storm Ac 27:18.”

² tn Or “jettisoning [the cargo]” (a nautical technical term). The words “the cargo” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

sn The desperation of the sailors in throwing the cargo overboard is reminiscent of Jonah 1:5. At this point they were only concerned with saving themselves.

³ tn Or “rigging,” “tackle”; Grk “the ship’s things.” Here the more abstract “gear” is preferred to “rigging” or “tackle” as a translation for σκεῦος (skeuos) because in v. 40 the sailors are still able to raise the (fore)sail, which they could not have done if the ship’s rigging or tackle had been jettisoned here.

⁴ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

⁵ tn Or “wanting to rescue Paul.”

sn Thanks to the centurion who wanted to save Paul’s life, Paul was once more rescued from a potential human threat.

⁶ tn BDAG 347 s.v. I. ἔξειμι has “ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν get to land Ac 27:43.”