LUKE
Taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (C) 1978 by the New
York Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
LUK 1:1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have
been fulfilled among us,
2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were
eyewitnesses and servants of the word.
3 Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from
the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for
you, most excellent Theophilus,
4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
ACT 1:1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began
to do and to teach
2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions
through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
16:10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for
Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and
the next day on to Neapolis.
12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city
of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we
expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the
women who had gathered there.
20:5 These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas.
6 But we sailed from Philippi after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and
five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.
21:1 After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and
sailed straight to Cos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to
Patara.
2 We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail.
3 After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to
Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo.
4 Finding the disciples there, we stayed with them seven days. Through the
Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.
5 But when our time was up, we left and continued on our way. All the
disciples and their wives and children accompanied us out of the city, and
there on the beach we knelt to pray.
6 After saying good-by to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they
returned home.
7 We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we
greeted the brothers and stayed with them for a day.
8 Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of
Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven.
9 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.
10 After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came
down from Judea.
11 Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet
with it and said, "The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem
will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'"
12 When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go
up to Jerusalem.
13 Then Paul answered, "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am
ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of
the Lord Jesus."
14 When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, "The Lord's will
be done."
15 After this, we got ready and went up to Jerusalem.
16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to
the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one
of the early disciples.
17 When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers received us warmly.
18 The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the
elders were present.
27:1 When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other
prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the
Imperial Regiment.
2 We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the
coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a
Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.
3 The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul,
allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs.
4 From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus
because the winds were against us.
5 When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and
Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia.
6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put
us on board.
7 We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off
Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the
lee of Crete, opposite Salmone.
8 We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair
Havens, near the town of Lasea.
9 Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous
because by now it was after the Fast. So Paul warned them,
10 "Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring
great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also."
11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the
advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship.
12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that
we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a
harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.
13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained
what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of
Crete.
14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the "northeaster,"
swept down from the island.
15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so
we gave way to it and were driven along.
16 As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly
able to make the lifeboat secure.
17 When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship
itself to hold it together. Fearing that they would run aground on the
sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven
along.
18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they
began to throw the cargo overboard.
19 On the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own
hands.
20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm
continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
21 After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before
them and said: "Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from
Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss.
22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will
be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.
23 Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside
me
24 and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar;
and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.'
25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will
happen just as he told me.
26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island."
27 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic
Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land.
28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty
feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was
ninety feet deep.
29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four
anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight.
30 In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat
down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from
the bow.
31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men
stay with the ship, you cannot be saved."
32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it fall
away.
33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. "For the last fourteen
days," he said, "you have been in constant suspense and have gone without
food--you haven't eaten anything.
34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of
you will lose a single hair from his head."
35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front
of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat.
36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.
37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board.
38 When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by
throwing the grain into the sea.
39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay
with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they
could.
40 Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same
time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail
to the wind and made for the beach.
41 But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and
would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the
surf.
42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from
swimming away and escaping.
43 But the centurion wanted to spare Paul's life and kept them from
carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard
first and get to land.
44 The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this
way everyone reached land in safety.
28:1 Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta.
2 The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed
us all because it was raining and cold.
11 After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the
island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods
Castor and Pollux.
12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days.
13 From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south
wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli.
14 There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them.
And so we came to Rome.
15 The brothers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as
far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight
of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged.
16 When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a
soldier to guard him.
COL 4:14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings.
2TI 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he
is helpful to me in my ministry.
PHM 1:24 And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.
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