Bible Strands
Acts 27:17
After 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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul and the ship’s crew act on a vessel caught in a Mediterranean storm, immediately after securing the lifeboat near Cauda and before the violent tossing that will force them to jettison cargo.
The words — ὑποζωννύντες (hupozōnnuntes) translates literally to “undergirding,” describing the crew’s use of ropes to brace the hull, while φοβούμενοι (phoboumenoi) means “fearing,” indicating their dread of striking the Syrtis sandbars.
The thread — The crew’s fear of running aground echoes the warning in Acts 27:26 that they must strike an island, and it parallels their later action in Acts 27:29 when they drop anchors to avoid rocks, culminating in the actual grounding on a sandbar in Acts 27:41.
Why it lands — The text records a practical maritime response to imminent danger, requiring the reader to observe how human precaution operates alongside the unbroken narrative of survival without offering comfort or commentary.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven.
Cross-references
- Acts 27:29 Fearing that we would run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daybreak.
- Acts 27:26 However, we must run aground on some island.”
- Acts 27:41 But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was being broken up by the pounding of the waves.