Fearing that we would run aground on rocky ground, they let go four anchors from the stern, and wished for daylight.
Parallel Translations
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Fearing that we would run aground on rocky ground, they let go four anchors from the stern, and wished for daylight.
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Then fearinge lest they shuld have fallen on some Rocke they cast.iiii. ancres out of the sterne and wysshed for the daye.
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Then fearing least they should haue fallen into some rough places, they cast foure ancres out of the sterne, and wished that the day were come.
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to Acts 27:29 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Acts 27:17 After they had hoisted it up, they used cables to help reinforce the ship. Fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis sand bars, they lowered the sea anchor, and so were driven along.
- Hebrews 6:19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and entering into that which is within the veil;
- Deuteronomy 28:67 In the morning you will say, “I wish it were evening!” and at evening you will say, “I wish it were morning!” for the fear of your heart which you will fear, and for the sights which your eyes will see.
- Psalms 130:6 My soul longs for the Lord more than watchmen long for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.
- Acts 27:26 But we must run aground on a certain island.”
- Acts 27:30 As the sailors were trying to flee out of the ship, and had lowered the boat into the sea, pretending that they would lay out anchors from the bow,
- Acts 27:40-41 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. 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.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 29 Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon…
29 Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.
Ver. 29. Wished for the day] Wish we as much for the day of redemption, when after much tossing on this glassy sea, we shall safely land at the haven of happiness, at the quay of Canaan, the kingdom of heaven.
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" Discupio solvl, tecumque, o Christe, manere;
Portio fac regni sim quotacunque tui."
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Fallen upon rocks; of which there are very many…
Fallen upon rocks; of which there are very many in these seas, especially about the islands.
Cast four anchors; which show how great the tempest was, that they needed so many anchors.
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Wished for the day; that they might the better discover whereabouts they were.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And as the shipmen were about to flee out…
And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship,.... To save their lives, concluding that it was in the utmost danger, and that it would quickly, notwithstanding the anchors cast out, break away, and fall upon the rocks, and split to pieces:
when they had let down the boat into the sea; which before they had taken up into the ship, Act 27:16 and now they let it down, in order to get into it, and make their escape:
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under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship; the foremost part of the ship, the prow of it; their pretence in attempting to get out of the ship, and into the boat, was, that whereas there were anchors cast out of the stern, or hinder part of the ship, so they would cast out others, from the fore part of it; and "stretch" them "out", as the word signifies, or carry them further out into the sea, for the security of the ship; and to do which, it was necessary to use the boat.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 29. Cast four anchors out of the stern]…
Verse 29. Cast four anchors out of the stern] By this time the storm must have been considerably abated; though the agitation of the sea could not have subsided much. The anchors were cast out of the stern to prevent the vessel from drifting ashore, as they found that, the farther they stood in, the shallower the water grew; therefore they dropped the anchor astern, as even one ship's length might be of much consequence.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain They cast four anchors - On account of the…
They cast four anchors - On account of the violence of the storm and waves, to make, if possible, the ship secure.
And wished for the day - To discern more accurately their situation and danger.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain they cast four anchors out of the stern--The ordinary…
they cast four anchors out of the stern--The ordinary way was to cast the anchor, as now, from the bow: but ancient ships, built with both ends alike, were fitted with hawseholes in the stern, so that in case of need they could anchor either way. And when the fear was, as here, that they might fall on the rocks to leeward, and the intention was to run the ship ashore as soon as daylight enabled them to fix upon a safe spot, the very best thing they could do was to anchor by the stern [SMITH]. In stormy weather two anchors were used, and we have instances of four being employed, as here.
and wished--"anxiously" or "devoutly wished."
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for day--the remark this of one present, and with all his shipmates alive to the horrors of their condition. "The ship might go down at her anchors, or the coast to leeward might be iron-bound, affording no beach on which they could land with safety. Hence their anxious longing for day, and the ungenerous but natural attempt, not peculiar to ancient times, of the seamen to save their own lives by taking to the boat" [SMITH].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 29. Four anchors—The ancient anchors, being lighter than the…
29. Four anchors—The ancient anchors, being lighter than the modern, were used in large numbers, from four to eight in a ship, both at bow and at stern. These anchors were flung from the stern, because if the bow were fast and the stern loose the waves might whirl the stern upon rocks. The modern Greek caiques are often anchored at stern.
Wished for the day— Well they might. In total darkness, beaten by the rain, chilled by the blasts, with the breakers resounding in their ears, and the seas threatening at any moment to dash their shattered craft in pieces! These were hours of horror.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 29. lest we should have fallen upon rocks] [R.V.…
29. lest we should have fallen upon rocks] [R.V. should be cast ashore on rocky ground]. That rocks were near was evident from the dashing of the waves. But the morning, even with the faint light which appeared through the dark clouds, might enable them to make for a part where the coast was not so full of danger.
out of the stern] Thus trying as best they might to keep the head of the vessel towards the land and yet let her come no nearer to it, until they could make out what it was like.
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wished for the day] Or the verb may be rendered “prayed.” The similarity of the circumstances to those in Jonah’s voyage would thus be made still greater, for then the heathen sailors prayed to their own gods.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (29) Fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks.—Literally,…
(29) Fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks.—Literally, upon rough places—the reefs of rock which were indicated by the breakers and by the diminished depth of water.
They cast four anchors out of the stern.—It was no unusual thing for a ship to be furnished with this complement of anchors. So Cæsar describes his ships as being secured with four anchors each (Bell. Civ. i. 25). In ancient navigation, as in modern, the anchors were commonly cast from the bow. In the battles of the Nile and of Copenhagen, however, Nelson had his ships anchored at the stern, and the fact derives a peculiar interest from the statement that he had been reading Acts 27 on the morning of the engagement. The result of this operation was that the ship was no longer in motion, and would be found, when the morning came, with her head to the shore. The tension of hope and fear, the suspense which made men almost cry—
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“And if our fate be death, give light, and let us die,”
is vividly brought before us in St. Luke’s few words, “they were praying for the day.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And for then, A.V.; lest haply for lest, A.V.;…
And for then, A.V.; lest haply for lest, A.V.; be cast ashore on rocky ground for have fallen upon rocks, A.V.; let go for east, A.V.; from for out of, A.V.. Cast ashore (see ver. 17, note). Rocky ground (traceiv topouv); kth Luk_3:5. The region of Trachonitis was so called from the rocky nature of the country a traceia, a rocky shore, Four anchors, "Naves quaternis anchoris destinabat no fluctibus moveretur" (Caesar, "De Bell. Cir.," 1:25). From the stern. Anchors are usually dropped from the bow, but under certain circumstances ships anchor from the stern. The British navy so anchored at the battles of the Nile, Algiers, and Copenhagen, and it is an earn-men practice of the Levantine caiques at the present day; and an ancient picture of a ship (at Herculaneum) distinctly represents "hawse-holes aft to fit them for anchoring by the stern." They did so in the present case, to obviate the danger of the ship swinging round and getting into breakers, and also that she might be in the best position for running on to the beach as soon as daylight came.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 29. “And fearing lest they may fall on rough…
29. “And fearing lest they may fall on rough places, casting forth four anchors from the stern, they prayed that the day might come.”
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain See notes on verse 27
See notes on verse 27
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.