Acts 27:31

Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Paul	Παῦλος Paulos	G3972	(little · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
said	εἶπεν eipen	G2036	to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
centurion	ἑκατοντάρχῃ hekatontarchē	G1543	the captain of one hundred men · noun — dative singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
soldiers	στρατιώταις· stratiōtais	G4757	a camper-out · noun — dative plural masculine
Except	ἐὰν ean	G1437	a conditional particle · conditional particle
these	οὗτοι houtoi	G3778	the he (she or it) · demonstrative pronoun — nominative plural masculine
abide	μείνωσιν meinōsin	G3306	to stay (in a given place · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person plural
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
ship	πλοίῳ, ploiō	G4143	a sailer · noun — dative singular neuter
ye	ὑμεῖς hymeîs	G5210	you (as subjective of verb)
cannot	οὐ ou	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
saved	σωθῆναι sōthēnai	G4982	to save · verb — aorist passive infinitive

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvat…
Psalms 91:11-12 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Acts 27:21-24 But 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…
Ezekiel 36:36-37 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the L…
Luke 1:34-35 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
Luke 4:9-12 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down fr…
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 27:21–end

We have here the issue of the distress of Paul and his fellow-travellers; they escaped with their lives and that was all, and that was for Paul's sake. We are here told (Act 27:37) what number there were on board - mariners, merchants, soldiers, prisoners, and other passengers, in all two hundred and seventy-six souls; this is taken notice of to make us the more concerned for them in reading the story, that they were such a considerable number, whose lives were now in the utmost jeopardy, and one Paul among them worth more than all the rest. We left them in despair, giving up themselves for gone. Whether they called every man on his God, as Jonah's mariners did, we are not told; it is well i…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 27:31

Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers--the only parties now to be trusted, and whose own safety was now at stake. except ye abide in the ship ye cannot be saved--The soldiers and passengers could not be expected to possess the necessary seamanship in so very critical a case. The flight of the crew, therefore, might well be regarded as certain destruction to all who remained. In full assurance of ultimate safety, in virtue of a DIVINE pledge, to all in the ship, Paul speaks and acts throughout this whole scene in the exercise of a sound judgment as to the indispensable HUMAN conditions of safety; and as there is no trace of any feeling of inconsistency between these two things in h…

Read the whole note in the console

Adam Clarke on Acts 27:31

Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved - God, who has promised to save your lives, promises this on the condition that ye make use of every means he has put in your power to help yourselves. While, therefore, ye are using these means, expect the co-operation of God. If these sailors, who only understand how to work the ship, leave it, ye cannot escape. Therefore prevent their present design. On the economy of Divine Providence, see the notes on Act 23:35.

John Gill

The Church Fathers

"Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved," etc. Because in the danger of shipwreck, the knowledge of sailors who were experienced in the sea was more beneficial than the weapons of soldiers, they were therefore more likely to control the boat than to let the sailors be cast away.
— Bede, Commentary on Acts

But when he said, "Unless these stay in the ship, you cannot be saved," Paul spoke wisely, so as to hold them and not let the prophecy fail. Therefore when they saw that their lack of resolve had put them in danger, then they began to obey him. For if they had complied under the notion of fate, although they were Gentiles, having ignored the counsel of the holy man they would have permitted the sailors to depart. [AMMONIUS]
— Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts

Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, "Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved": so saying, not on this account, but that he might restrain them, and the prophecy might not fall to the ground. Accordingly observe how the centurion does as he bids him, insomuch that he even let the boat go, and destroyed it. And if the sailors did not as yet comply with his bidding, yet afterwards they do so: for in fact this is a reckless sort of people.
— John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 53

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Centurion — A Roman officer in command of a hundred men (Mark 15:39, 44, 45). Cornelius, the first Gentile convert, was a centurion (Acts 10:1, 22). Other centurions are mentioned in Matt. 8:5, 8, 13; Luke 7:2,…
Crete — Now called Candia, one of the largest islands in the Meditterranean, about 140 miles long and 35 broad. It was at one time a very prosperous and populous island, having a “hundred cities.” The…
Haven — A harbour (Ps. 107:30; Acts 27: 12). The most famous on the coast of Palestine was that of Tyre (Ezek. 27:3). That of Crete, called “Fair Havens,” is mentioned Acts 27:8.
Ships — Early used in foreign commerce by the Phoenicians (Gen. 49:13). Moses (Deut. 28:68) and Job (9:26) make reference to them, and Balaam speaks of the “ships of Chittim” (Num. 24:24). Solomon…
Mariners (Sailors) · Perils of — Perils of
Providence Of God, The · Connected with the use of means — Connected with the use of means
Soldiers · Perform escort duty — Perform escort duty
Trouble · .The people in the shipwreck — .The people in the shipwreck

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Acts 27:31

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 27:21–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 27:31

Adam Clarke on Acts 27:31

John Gill

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Acts 27:31

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 27:21–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 27:31

Adam Clarke on Acts 27:31

John Gill

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Acts 27:21-32

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Acts 27:30-32