Gevurot 27

1. And when it was decided that we set sail to Italy, they were handing over both Rav Sha’ul and some other prisoners to a centurion, Julius by name, of the Imperial Cohort.

2. And having embarked in an oniyah of Adramyttium about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we set sail, Aristarchus a Macedonian of Thessalonica being with us.

3. The next day, we put in at a harbor in Tzidon; and Julius treated Rav Sha’ul with kindness, permitting him to be cared for by his chaverim.

4. And from there, having put out to sea, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.

5. Then having sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came down to Myra of Lycia.

6. And there the centurion found an Alexandrian oniyah sailing to Italy and put us on board.

7. But for many yamim we sailed slowly and with difficulty along the coast of Cnidus, and as the wind was not permitting us to go vaiter (farther), we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone.

8. And with difficulty sailing past it, we came to a certain place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.

9. And since considerable time had been lost and it was already unsafe for a voyage, because Yom Kippur had already come and gone; therefore, Rav Sha’ul gave them this eitza (suggestion),

10. Saying to them, "Anashim, I see that the voyage will be hardship and much peril, not only of the cargo and the oniyah, but also of our lives."

11. But the centurion was persuaded by the pilot and the owner rather than by the dvarim of Rav Sha’ul.

12. But the port being unfavorably situated for spending the winter, the majority decided to set sail from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix to spend the winter. It was a harbor of Crete, facing southwest and northwest.

13. And a gentle south wind began to blow, and they thought they could attain their matarah (objective), so they weighed anchor and they were sailing past Crete, close by the shore.

14. After not much time a violent, typhoon force wind rushed down from Crete, the so called Euraquilo, the Northeaster.

15. And the oniyah, having been caught in it, and not being able to directly face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven.

16. By running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were able only with difficulty to get the lifeboat secured.

17. After hoisting it up, they were using frapping cables, passing them underneath the oniyah; then, fearing lest on the shallows of Syrtis they might run aground, they lowered the sea anchor, and so they were being driven along.

18. And we were being violently tossed by the storm, so much so that the next day they were throwing the cargo overboard.

19. And on the Yom Shlishi, with their own hands, they threw out the tackle of the oniyah.

20. And neither shemesh (sun) nor kochavim appeared for many yamim and no small tempest assailed us. Lemaskana (finally) all tikvateinu for yeshu’ah was being abandoned.

21. And after having much loss of appetite, then Rav Sha’ul stood up in the midst of them, and said, "Anashim, you should have obeyed me and not put out to sea from Crete and thereby spared yourselves this hardship and this loss.

22. "And now I advise you to have ometz lev (courage), for there will be no loss of life among you, except the oniyah.

23. "For a malach Hashem stood by me during lailah hazeh, of the G-d whom I serve,

24. "Saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Sha’ul. It is necessary for you to stand before Caesar; and, hinei, Hashem has given to you all the ones sailing with you.'

25. "Therefore have lev same’ach, Anashim. For I have emunah in Hashem that it will be exactly as he has told me.

26. "But it is necessary for us to run aground on some island."

27. Now when the fourteenth night had come, while we being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, toward chatzot halailah (midnight), the sailors were suspecting that we were getting close to land.

28. And having taken soundings, they found twenty fathoms and, having sailed a little vaiter (farther), again they took soundings, and they found fifteen fathoms.

29. And fearing lest somehow against the rough places we might run aground, they threw four anchors off the stern, and they were praying for the dawn to break.

30. Now when the sailors sought to flee from the oniyah and to let down the lifeboat into the sea on the pretext of casting out anchors,

31. Rav Sha’ul said to the centurion and to the chaiyalim, "Unless these remain in the oniyah, you cannot be saved."

32. Then the chaiyalim cut away the ropes of the lifeboat, and let it fall away, setting it adrift.

33. Just before boker, Rav Sha’ul was urging everyone to take okhel (food), saying, "Today is the 14th day you have been held in suspense and are continuing without eating, having taken nothing.

34. "Therefore, I encourage you to take okhel, for it is for your deliverance, for none of you will lose a hair from your heads."

35. And having said these things, and having taken lechem, Rav Sha’ul said the HaMotzi before all, and, after the Betzi’at HaLechem, he began to eat.

36. And receiving ometz lev, they all took okhel.

37. Now there were in all two hundred and seventy-six nefashot in the oniyah.

38. And having eaten enough okhel (food), they were lightening the oniyah by throwing the wheat overboard into the sea.

39. And when it became day, they were not recognizing the land, but a certain bay they were noticing, having a shore onto which they were wanting, if possible, to run aground the oniyah.

40. And the anchors they cast off and they left them in the sea. At the same time they loosened the ropes of the rudders and raised the sail to the wind and were steering toward the shore.

41. But having fallen into a channel, a place between two seas, they ran the oniyah aground, and, while the bow had stuck and remained immovable, the stern was being destroyed by the force of the waves.

42. Now the kesher (plan, plot) of the chaiyalim was that they should kill the prisoners, lest anyone, having swum away, should escape.

43. But the centurion, desiring to save Rav Sha’ul, kept them from carrying out the kesher, and he ordered the ones able to swim to throw themselves overboard first and to make for the shore.

44. As for the rest, some were on planks, others on pieces from the oniyah. And so everyone was brought safely onto the land.