ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Acts 27.41-44

Book: Acts · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV (ASV)

"39. And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they perceived a certain bay with a beach, and they took counsel whether they could drive the ship upon it. 40. And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosing the bands of the rudders; and hoisting up the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach."

"41. But lighting upon a place where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the foreship struck and remained unmoveable, but the stern began to break up by the violence of the waves. 42. And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. 43. But the centurion, desiring to save Paul, stayed them from their purpose; and commanded that they who could swim should cast themselves overboard, and get first to the land; 44. and the rest, some on planks, and some on other things from the ship. And so it came to pass, that they all escaped safe to the land." (Acts 27:39-44, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"39. When it was day, they didn’t recognize the land, but they noticed a certain bay with a beach, and they decided to try to drive the ship onto it. 40. Casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time untying the rudder ropes. Hoisting up the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach."

"41. But coming to a place where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground. The bow struck and remained immovable, but the stern began to break up by the violence of the waves. 42. The soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim out and escape. 43. But the centurion, desiring to save Paul, stopped them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should throw themselves overboard first to go toward the land; 44. and the rest should follow, some on planks, and some on other things from the ship. So they all escaped safely to the land." (Acts 27:39-44, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"39. And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they discovered a certain creek with a shore, into the which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship. 40. And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoised up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore. taken: or, cut the anchors, they left them in the sea"

"41. And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves. 42. And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. 43. But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land: 44. And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land." (Acts 27:39-44, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"39. And when the day came, they were not discerning the land, but a certain creek were perceiving having a beach, into which they took counsel, if possible, to thrust forward the ship, 40. and the anchors having taken up, they were committing [it] to the sea, at the same time, having loosed the bands of the rudders, and having hoisted up the mainsail to the wind, they were making for the shore,"

"41. and having fallen into a place of two seas, they ran the ship aground, and the fore-part, indeed, having stuck fast, did remain immoveable, but the hinder-part was broken by the violence of the waves. 42. And the soldiers' counsel was that they should kill the prisoners, lest any one having swam out should escape, 43. but the centurion, wishing to save Paul, hindered them from the counsel, and did command those able to swim, having cast themselves out first, to get unto the land, 44. and the rest, some indeed upon boards, and some upon certain things of the ship; and thus it came to pass that all came safe unto the land." (Acts 27:39-44, YLT)

Setting

  • Speaker: Luke the physician (traditionally) / narrator + multiple speeches (Peter, Stephen, Paul)
  • Audience: Theophilus + Gentile Christian audience (companion to Luke)
  • Location: Jerusalem → Judea → Samaria → Asia Minor → Greece → Rome
  • Time period: events c. AD 30-62; composed c. AD 62-80

Theological reading

Key words

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.