ጳውሎስ በመርከብ ወደ ሮም ተወሰደ
1ወደ ኢጣሊያ እንድንሄድ በተወሰነ ጊዜ፣ ጳውሎስንና ሌሎቹን እስረኞች የንጉሠ ነገሥቱ ክፍለ ጦር አባል ለሆነው፣ ዩልዮስ ለተባለ የመቶ አለቃ አስረከቧቸው። 2ከአድራሚጢስ ተነሥቶ በእስያ አውራጃ ባሕር ዳርቻ ላይ ወዳሉት ወደቦች በሚሄደው መርከብ ተሳፍረን የባሕር ጕዞ ጀመርን፤ በተሰሎንቄ ይኖር የነበረው የመቄዶንያ ሰው፣ አርስጥሮኮስም ከእኛ ጋር ነበረ።
3በሚቀጥለው ቀን ሲዶና ደረስን፤ ዩልዮስም ለጳውሎስ ደግነት በማሳየት ወደ ወዳጆቹ ሄዶ ርዳታ እንዲቀበል ፈቀደለት። 4ከዚያም ተነሥተን በባሕር ተጓዝን፤ ነፋስ ከፊት ለፊት ስለ ገጠመን፣ የቆጵሮስን ደሴት ተገን አድርገን ዐለፍን። 5በኪልቅያና በጵንፍልያ ዳርቻ ያለውን ባሕር ከተሻገርን በኋላ በሉቅያ አገር ሙራ የተባለ ቦታ ደረስን። 6ከዚያም የመቶ አለቃው ወደ ኢጣሊያ የሚሄድ የእስክንድርያ መርከብ አግኝቶ አሳፈረን። 7ብዙ ቀን በዝግታ እየተጓዝን ቀኒዶስ አካባቢ በጭንቅ ደረስን፤ ነፋሱም ወደ ፊት እንዳንሄድ በከለከለን ጊዜ፣ በሰልሙና አጠገብ አድርገን በቀርጤስ ተተግነን ሄድን፤ 8ጥግ ጥጉንም ይዘን፣ በላሲያ ከተማ አጠገብ ወዳለው፣ “መልካም ወደብ” ወደ ተባለ ስፍራ በጭንቅ ደረስን።
9ብዙ ጊዜ ባክኖ፤ የጾሙ ጊዜ ስላለፈ27፥9 የስርየትን ዕለት ያሳያል። በመርከብ መጓዙ አደገኛ ሆኖ ነበርና ጳውሎስ፣ 10“እናንት ሰዎች፤ ጕዞው አደገኛ እንደሚሆን፣ በመርከቡና በጭነቱ እንዲሁም በእኛ በራሳችን ላይ እንኳ ትልቅ ጕዳት እንደሚደርስ ይታየኛል” ብሎ አስጠነቀቃቸው። 11የመቶ አለቃው ግን ከጳውሎስ ምክር ይልቅ የመርከቡ መሪና የመርከቡ ባለቤት ያሉትን ይሰማ ነበር። 12ክረምቱንም በዚያ ለማሳለፍ ወደቡ አመቺ ስላልነበረ፣ አብዛኛዎቹ ፍንቄ ወደተባለው ወደብ ደርሰው በዚያ ለመክረም ተስፋ በማድረግ ጕዟችንን እንድንቀጥል ውሳኔ አስተላለፉ፤ ወደቡም በቀርጤስ ደቡብ ምዕራብና ሰሜን ምዕራብ ትይዩ የሚገኝ ነበር።
የባሕሩ ማዕበል
13መጠነኛ የደቡብ ነፋስ በነፈሰ ጊዜም እንዳሰቡት የሆነላቸው መስሏቸው መልሕቁን ነቅለው፣ የቀርጤስን ዳርቻ በመያዝ ተጓዙ። 14ብዙም ሳይቈይ ግን፣ “ሰሜናዊ ምሥራቅ” የሚሉት ኀይለኛ ዐውሎ ነፋስ ከደሴቲቱ ተነሥቶ ቍልቍል መጣባቸው። 15መርከቢቱም በማዕበሉ ስለ ተያዘች፣ ወደ ነፋሱ መግፋት አልቻለችም፤ ስለዚህ መንገድ ለቅቀን በነፋሱ ተነዳን። 16ቄዳ የተባለችውን ትንሽ ደሴት ተገን አድርገን በማለፍ፣ የመርከቧን ሕይወት አድን ጀልባ በብዙ ድካም ለማትረፍ ቻልን፤ 17ጀልባዋንም ወደ ላይ ጐትተው ካወጧት በኋላ መርከቧ እንዳትፈራርስ ዙሪያዋን በገመድ ጠምጥመው አሰሯት፤ ስርቲስ ከተባለው አሸዋማ ደለል ጋር ሄደው እንዳይላተሙ ስለ ፈሩም፣ የመርከቧን ሸራ አውርደው እንዲሁ በዘፈቀደ እንድትነዳ አደረጉ። 18ማዕበሉም ክፉኛ ስላንገላታን፣ በማግስቱም ጭነቱን እያነሡ ወደ ባሕር ይጥሉ ጀመር፤ 19በሦስተኛውም ቀን፣ የመርከቧን ሸራ ማውጫና ማውረጃ መሣሪያ በገዛ እጃቸው ነቃቅለው ወደ ባሕር ጣሉት። 20ብዙ ቀን፣ ፀሓይንም ከዋክብትንም ማየት ስላልተቻለና ነፋስ ስለ በረታብን፣ ለመትረፍ የነበረን ተስፋ ሁሉ ተሟጠጠ።
21ሰዎቹ እህል ሳይቀምሱ ብዙ ቀን ከቈዩ በኋላ፣ ጳውሎስ በመካከላቸው ቆሞ እንዲህ አለ፤ “እናንት ሰዎች ሆይ፤ የነገርኋችሁን ሰምታችሁ ቢሆን ኖሮ፣ ከቀርጤስ ባልተነሣችሁና ይህ ጕዳትና ጥፋት ባልደረሰባችሁ ነበር። 22አሁንም ቢሆን አይዟችሁ፤ መርከቧ እንጂ ከእናንተ አንዲት ነፍስ እንኳ አትጠፋምና። 23በትላንትናዋ ሌሊት፣ የእርሱ የሆንሁትና የማመልከው እግዚአብሔር የላከው መልአክ በአጠገቤ ቆሞ፣ 24‘ጳውሎስ ሆይ፤ አትፍራ፤ በቄሳር ፊት መቆም ይገባሃል፤ ከአንተ ጋር የሚጓዙትንም ሰዎች ሕይወት እግዚአብሔር አትርፎልሃል’ አለኝ። 25ስለዚህ፣ እናንት ሰዎች ሆይ፤ አይዟችሁ እርሱ እንደ ነገረኝ እንደዚያው እንደሚሆን በእግዚአብሔር አምናለሁና። 26ይሁን እንጂ፣ ወደ አንዲት ደሴት በነፋስ ተወስደን እዚያ መጣላችን አይቀርም።”
በመርከቡ አደጋ መድረሱ
27በዐሥራ አራተኛው ሌሊት በአድርያ27፥27 በጥንት ጊዜ ይህ ስም ሰፊውን የኢጣሊያ ደቡባዊ ክፍል ያመለክታል። ባሕር ላይ ከወዲያ ወዲህ ስንገላታ፣ እኩለ ሌሊት ገደማ መርከበኞቹ ወደ መሬት የተቃረቡ መሰላቸው፤ 28የጥልቀት መለኪያውን ገመድ ወደ ታች ጥለው ሲመለከቱት የውሃው ጥልቀት አርባ ሜትር ያህል ሆኖ አገኙት፤ ከጥቂት ጊዜ በኋላም ደግመው ሲጥሉ ጥልቀቱ፣ ሠላሳ ሜትር ያህል ሆነ። 29ከቋጥኞቹም ጋር እንዳንላተም በመፍራት፣ አራት መልሕቆች ከመርከቡ በስተ ኋላ ጣሉ፤ ምነው በነጋ እያሉም ይለምኑ ነበር። 30መርከበኞቹም ከመርከቡ በስተ ፊት መልሕቅ የሚጥሉ መስለው፣ ትንሿን ጀልባ በማውረድ ከመርከቧ ሊያመልጡ ሞከሩ። 31ጳውሎስም የመቶ አለቃውንና ወታደሮቹን፣ “እነዚህ ሰዎች መርከቡ ላይ ካልቈዩ እናንተም ልትተርፉ አትችሉም” አላቸው። 32በዚህ ጊዜ ወታደሮቹ ገመዶቹን ቈርጠው ትንሿ ጀልባ ባሕሩ ላይ ተንሳፍፋ እንድትቀር ለቀቋት።
33ልክ ሊነጋጋ ሲል፣ ጳውሎስ ሁሉም ምግብ እንዲበሉ እንዲህ ሲል ለመናቸው፤ “ዐሥራ አራት ቀን ሙሉ ልባችሁ ተንጠልጥሎ ምንም ሳትቀምሱ ጦማችሁን ሰነበታችሁ፤ 34ስለዚህ፣ ስለሚያበረታችሁ አሁን እህል እንድትቀምሱ እለምናችኋላሁ፤ ከእናንተ መካከል ከራሱ ጠጕር አንዲት እንኳ የሚነካበት ማንም የለምና።” 35ይህን ካለ በኋላም፣ እንጀራ ይዞ በሁሉም ፊት እግዚአብሔርን አመሰገነ፤ ቈርሶም ይበላ ጀመር። 36ሁሉም ተበራቱና እንጀራውን ራሳቸው ወስደው በሉ። 37በመርከቡም ላይ በአጠቃላይ ሁለት መቶ ሰባ ስድስት ሰዎች ነበርን። 38በልተውም ከጠገቡ በኋላ ስንዴውን ወደ ባሕር በመጣል የመርከቡን ክብደት አቃለሉ።
39በነጋም ጊዜ፣ ወደ የብስ መቅረባቸውን አላወቁም ነበር፤ ነገር ግን ዳር ዳሩ አሸዋማ የሆነ የባሕር ሰርጥ አይተው፣ ቢቻላቸው መርከቡን ገፍተው ወደዚያ ለማድረስ ወሰኑ። 40ከዚያም መልሕቆቹን ቈርጠው ባሕር ውስጥ ጥለው ሄዱ፤ የመቅዘፊያውንም ገመድ በዚያው ጊዜ ፈቱ፤ የፊተኛውንም ሸራ ለነፋስ ከፍ አድርገው ወደ ባሕሩ ዳርቻ አቀኑ። 41ነገር ግን መርከቡ ከአሸዋ ቍልል ጋር ተላትሞ መሬት ነካ፤ የፊተኛው ክፍሉም አሸዋው ውስጥ ተቀርቅሮ አልነቃነቅ አለ፤ የኋለኛው ክፍሉም በማዕበሉ ክፉኛ ስለ ተመታ ይሰባበር ጀመር።
42ወታደሮቹም ከእስረኞች ማንም ዋኝቶ ለማምለጥ ቢሞክር ለመግደል ተስማሙ። 43የመቶ አለቃው ግን ጳውሎስ እንዲተርፍ ስለ ፈለገ፣ ያሰቡትን እንዳይፈጽሙ ከለከላቸው፤ መዋኘት የሚችሉ ከመርከብ እየዘለሉ አስቀድመው ከባሕሩ ወደ ምድር እንዲወጡ፣ 44የተቀሩት ደግሞ በሳንቃዎች ወይም በመርከቡ ስብርባሪ እየተንጠላጠሉ እንዲወጡ አዘዘ። በዚህ መንገድ ሁሉም በደኅና ወደ ምድር ደረሱ።
1And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus’ band. 2And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us. 3And the next day we touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself. 4And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. 5And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. 6And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy; and he put us therein. 7And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone; 8And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The fair havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea.
9Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them, 10And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives. 11Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul. 12And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south west and north west. 13And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete. 14But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. 15And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. 16And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat: 17Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven. 18And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; 19And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. 20And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. 21But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. 22And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. 23For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, 24Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Cæsar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. 25Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. 26Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island. 27But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country; 28And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms. 29Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. 30And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, 31Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. 32Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off. 33And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. 34Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you. 35And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat. 36Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat. 37And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. 38And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea. 39And 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. 40And 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. 41And 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. 42And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. 43But 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: 44And 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.
