Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul and the ship’s crew steer toward the beach after cutting loose the anchors, immediately before the soldiers decide to kill the prisoners to prevent escape.
The words — The Greek ἐπέκειλαν (epekeilan) literally means “ran aground,” while διθάλασσον (dithalasson) locates the wreck “between two seas.”
The thread — This stranding parallels the wrecked fleet in 1 Kings 22:48, Paul’s recorded shipwrecks in 2 Corinthians 11:25, and the prophetic shattering of a maritime vessel in Ezekiel 27:26.
Why it lands — The verse records the physical reality of a vessel trapped between bow and stern, requiring the reader to confront the sudden collapse of human control and the immediate shift to survival.
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
And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 27:26 Your oarsmen have brought you onto the high seas, but the east wind will shatter you in the heart of the sea.
- 2 Corinthians 11:25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea.
- 1 Kings 22:48 Jehoshaphat built ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail, because they were wrecked at Ezion-geber.
- 2 Chronicles 20:37 Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” So the ships were wrecked and were unable to sail to Tarshish.
- Ezekiel 27:34 Now you are shattered by the seas in the depths of the waters; your merchandise and the people among you have gone down with you.
- 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.
- Acts 27:26 However, we must run aground on some island.”