Discovery BoxActs 27:30-36 
Context27:30 Then when the sailors tried to escape from the ship and were lowering the ship’s boat into the sea, pretending 1 that they were going to put out anchors from the bow, 27:31 Paul said to the centurion 2 and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you 3 cannot be saved.” 27:32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes 4 of the ship’s boat and let it drift away. 5
27:33 As day was about to dawn, 6 Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have been in suspense 7 and have gone 8 without food; you have eaten nothing. 9 27:34 Therefore I urge you to take some food, for this is important 10 for your survival. 11 For not one of you will lose a hair from his head.” 27:35 After he said this, Paul 12 took bread 13 and gave thanks to God in front of them all, 14 broke 15 it, and began to eat. 27:36 So all of them were encouraged and took food themselves.
1 tn BDAG 889 s.v. πρόφασις 2 states, “προφάσει ὡς under the pretext that, pretending that…Ac 27:30.” In other words, some of the sailors gave up hope that such efforts would work and instead attempted to escape while pretending to help.
2 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
3 sn The pronoun you is plural in Greek.
4 sn The soldiers cut the ropes. The centurion and the soldiers were now following Paul’s advice by cutting the ropes to prevent the sailors from escaping.
5 tn Or “let it fall away.” According to BDAG 308 s.v. ἐκπίπτω 1 and 2 the meaning of the verb in this verse could be either “fall away” or “drift away.” Either meaning is acceptable, and the choice between them depends almost entirely on how one reconstructs the scene. Since cutting the boat loose would in any case result in it drifting away (whether capsized or not), the meaning “drift away” as a nautical technical term has been used here.
6 tn BDAG 160 s.v. ἄχρι 1.b.α has “ἄ. οὗ ἡμέρα ἤμελλεν γίνεσθαι until the day began to dawn 27:33.”
7 tn Or “have waited anxiously.” Grk “waiting anxiously.” The participle προσδοκῶντες (prosdokwnte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
8 tn Or “continued.”
9 tn Grk “having eaten nothing.” The participle προσλαβόμενοι (proslabomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb (with subject “you” supplied) due to requirements of contemporary English style.
10 tn Or “necessary.” BDAG 873-74 s.v. πρός 1 has “πρ. τῆς σωτηρίας in the interest of safety Ac 27:34”; L&N 27.18 has “‘therefore, I urge you to take some food, for this is important for your deliverance’ or ‘…for your survival’ Ac 27:34.”
11 tn Or “deliverance” (‘salvation’ in a nontheological sense).
12 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Grk “taking bread, gave thanks.” The participle λαβών (labwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
14 tn Or “before them all,” but here this could be misunderstood to indicate a temporal sequence.
15 tn Grk “and breaking it, he began.” The participle κλάσας (klasas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
