Acts 27:30
What does Acts 27:30 mean?
A plain-English look at Acts 27:30 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Acts 27:30 means
Some sailors attempt to flee, lowering the boat under the pretense of laying out anchors from the bow. In crisis, self-interest can break communal trust. The trained seamen hope to save themselves, leaving soldiers and prisoners without expertise. This would likely doom the rest. The verse exposes a moral hazard in survival situations: those most capable may abandon the many. Luke’s detail shows the fragility of human cohesion under fear, setting up Paul’s critical intervention to preserve both unity and the conditions required for God’s promised deliverance to be realized.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000And as the sailors were seeking to flee out of the ship, and had lowered the boat into the sea, under color as though they would lay out anchors from the foreship,
KJV
King James Version · 1611And 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,
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901And as the sailors were seeking to flee out of the ship, and had lowered the boat into the sea, under color as though they would lay out anchors from the foreship,
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Then the sailors made attempts secretly to get away from the ship, letting down a boat as if they were about to put down hooks from the front of the ship;
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And the sailors seeking to flee out of the ship, and having let down the boat to the sea, in pretence as <FI>if<Fi> out of the foreship they are about to cast anchors,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752But as the shipmen sought to fly out of the ship, having let down the boat into the sea, under colour, as though they would have cast anchors out of the forepart of the ship,
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890But the sailors wishing to flee out of the ship, and having let down the boat into the sea under pretext of being about to carry out anchors from the prow,
Context
As the ship lies at anchor in the darkness near land, tension rises. While waiting for dawn, some sailors plan a clandestine escape that would leave the vessel unmanageable. The next verse features Paul warning the centurion and soldiers that unless these men remain, they cannot be saved. This link between staying together and survival tightens the narrative’s theme: God’s promise shapes necessary human actions and binds the group into a single fate.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Acts 27:32
Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off.
- Acts 27:16
And running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were able, with difficulty, to secure the boat:
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