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Acts 27:29

in Acts 27

Fearing that we would run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daybreak.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And fearing lest haply we should be cast ashore on rocky ground, they let go four anchors from the stern, and wished for the day.

KJV

Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.

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This verse in Acts 27

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
Then fearing lest they should have fallen upon rocks,.... Or rough places, as shelves, rocks, or sands, as they might well fear, when the water shallowed so fast, from 20 to 15 fathoms: they cast four anchors out of the stern; or hinder part of the ship; the Ethiopic version calls it, "the head of the ship": and adds, "where the governor sat"; that is, at the helm, to steer it.

This site's exposition

the fourteenth night

on Acts 27:27-29

The fourteenth night, driven up and down in Adria, the sea between Crete and Sicily, and about midnight the shipmen deem they draw near some country, hearing breakers no landsman would parse. The soundings confirm it, twenty fathoms, then fifteen, a shoaling bottom in the dark, and Smith's study found the bearings and depths fit the approach to Malta's traditional St. Paul's Bay with striking exactness. Four anchors out of the stern, an unusual seamanship the situation explains since anchoring by the stern kept her head to shore for the morning run, and wished for the day: the bench lets that clause carry the whole night's prayer.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

The defeating of the sailors' attempt to quit the ship; here was a new danger added to their distress, which they narrowly escaped. The treacherous design of the seamen, and that was to leave the sinking ship, which, though a piece of wisdom in others, yet in those that were entrusted with the care of it was the basest fraud that could be (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

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].

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

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.
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.

The words behind it

16 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

7 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Hebrews 6:19We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,6 worksActs 27:17After hoisting it up, the crew used ropes to undergird the ship. And fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and were driven along.4 worksActs 27:30Meanwhile, the sailors attempted to escape from the ship. Pretending to lower anchors from the bow, they let the lifeboat down into the sea.2 worksPsalms 130:6My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning— more than watchmen wait for the morning.2 worksDeuteronomy 28:67In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and in the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning!’—because of the dread in your hearts of the terrifying sights you will see.2 worksActs 27:26However, we must run aground on some island.”2 works
The other 1 cross-references, with their words ▾
Acts 27:40–41Cutting away the anchors, they left them in the sea as they loosened the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Hebrews 6:19

    We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,

    it leads to

    • Psalms 43:5

      Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.

    • Romans 5:5–10

      And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

    • Romans 8:28–39

      And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

    • Hebrews 9:7

      But only the high priest entered the second room, and then only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.

    • Leviticus 16:2

      And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he…

  • Through

    Psalms 130:6

    My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning— more than watchmen wait for the morning.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 63:6

      When I remember You on my bed, I think of You through the watches of the night.

    • Psalms 119:147

      I rise before dawn and cry for help; in Your word I have put my hope.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 28:67

    In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and in the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning!’—because of the dread in your hearts of the terrifying sights you…

    it leads to

Where this verse is studied

About Acts

The Ascension, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Ascension, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Acts: the study guide →Read Acts 27 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); J. A. Alexander, The Acts of the Apostles Explained; James Smith, The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Acts 27 →