24 to tell me, “Paul, don't be afraid! You will stand trial before the Emperor. And because of you, God will save the lives of everyone on the ship.”
25 Cheer up! I am sure that God will do exactly what he promised.
26 But we will first be shipwrecked on some island.
27 For 14 days and nights we had been blown around over the Mediterranean Sea. But about midnight the sailors realized we were getting near land.
28 They measured and found that the water was about 40 meters deep. A little later they measured again and found it was only about 30 meters.
29 The sailors were afraid that we might hit some rocks, and they let down four anchors from the back of the ship. Then they prayed for daylight.
30 The sailors wanted to escape from the ship. So they lowered the lifeboat into the water, pretending that they were letting down some anchors from the front of the ship.