Discovery BoxActs 27:20-25 
Context27:20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and a violent 1 storm continued to batter us, 2 we finally abandoned all hope of being saved. 3
27:21 Since many of them had no desire to eat, 4 Paul 5 stood up 6 among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me 7 and not put out to sea 8 from Crete, thus avoiding 9 this damage and loss. 27:22 And now I advise 10 you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only the ship will be lost. 11 27:23 For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong 12 and whom I serve 13 came to me 14 27:24 and said, 15 ‘Do not be afraid, Paul! You must stand before 16 Caesar, 17 and God has graciously granted you the safety 18 of all who are sailing with you.’ 27:25 Therefore keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God 19 that it will be just as I have been told.
1 tn Grk “no small storm” = a very great storm.
2 tn Grk “no small storm pressing on us.” The genitive absolute construction with the participle ἐπικειμένου (epikeimenou) has been translated as parallel to the previous genitive absolute construction (which was translated as temporal). BDAG 373 s.v. ἐπίκειμαι 2.b states, “of impersonal force confront χειμῶνος ἐπικειμένου since a storm lay upon us Ac 27:20.” L&N 14.2, “‘the stormy weather did not abate in the least’ or ‘the violent storm continued’ Ac 27:20.” To this last was added the idea of “battering” from the notion of “pressing upon” inherent in ἐπίκειμαι (epikeimai).
3 tn Grk “finally all hope that we would be saved was abandoned.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one to simplify the translation. This represents a clearly secular use of the term σῴζω (swzw) in that it refers to deliverance from the storm. At this point those on board the ship gave up hope of survival.
4 tn Or “Since they had no desire to eat for a long time.” The genitive absolute construction with the participle ὑπαρχούσης (Juparcoush") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle. It could also be translated temporally (“When many of them had no desire to eat”). The translation of πολλῆς (pollhs) as a substantized adjective referring to the people on board the ship (“many of them”) rather than a period of time (“for a long time”; so most modern versions) follows BDAG 143 s.v. ἀσιτία, which has “πολλῆς ἀ. ὑπαρχούσης since almost nobody wanted to eat because of anxiety or seasickness…Ac 27:21.” This detail indicates how turbulent things were on board the ship.
5 tn Here τότε (tote) is redundant (pleonastic) according to BDAG 1012-13 s.v. τότε 2; thus it has not been translated.
6 tn Grk “standing up…said.” The participle σταθείς (staqeis) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
7 tn L&N 36.12 has “πειθαρχήσαντάς μοι μὴ ἀνάγεσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς Κρήτης ‘you should have listened to me and not have sailed from Crete’ Ac 27:21.”
sn By saying “you should have listened to me and not put out to sea from Crete” Paul was not “rubbing it in,” but was reasserting his credibility before giving his next recommendation.
8 tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”
9 tn The infinitive κερδῆσαι (kerdhsai) has been translated as resultative.
10 tn The same verb is used for Paul’s original recommendation in Ac 27:9.
11 tn Grk “except the ship.” Here “but” is used to translate the improper preposition πλήν (plhn; see BDAG 826 s.v. πλήν 2) since an exception like this, where two different categories of objects are involved (people and a ship), is more naturally expressed in contemporary English with an adversative (“but”). The words “will be lost” are also supplied for clarity.
sn The “prophecy” about the ship serves to underscore Paul’s credibility as an agent of God. Paul addressed his audience carefully and drew attention to the sovereign knowledge of God.
12 tn Grk “of whom I am.” The relative clause with its possessive was translated following L&N 15.86 s.v. παρίσταμαι.
13 tn Or “worship.”
14 tn Or “stood by me.” BDAG 778 s.v. παρίστημι/παριστάνω 2.a.α states, “approach, come τινί (to) someone…Ac 9:39; 27:23.”
15 tn Grk “came to me saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
16 tn BDAG 778 s.v. παρίστημι/παριστάνω 2.a.α states, “Also as a t.t. of legal usage appear before, come before…Καίσαρι σε δεῖ παραστῆναι you must stand before the Emperor (as judge) Ac 27:24.” See Acts 23:11. Luke uses the verb δεῖ (dei) to describe what must occur.
17 tn Or “before the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
18 tn Grk “God has graciously granted you all who are sailing with you.” The words “the safety of” have been supplied to clarify the meaning of the verb κεχάρισται (kecaristai) in this context.
sn The safety of all who are sailing with you. In a sense, Paul’s presence protects them all. For Luke, it serves as a picture of what the gospel does through Christ and through the one who brings the message.
19 tn BDAG 817 s.v. πιστεύω 1.c states, “w. pers. and thing added π. τινί τι believe someone with regard to someth….W. dat. of pers. and ὅτι foll…. πιστεύετέ μοι ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρί J 14:11a. Cp. 4:21; Ac 27:25.”
