Bible Strands
Acts 28:12
Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there three days.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator, traveling with Paul, records a routine harbor stop during the final leg of a sea voyage from Malta to Italy. The account addresses readers of Acts at the precise moment the ship leaves the island of Sicily after a brief wintering period.
The words — καταχθέντες (katachthentes) = having put in, and ἐπεμεὸμεν (epemeinamen) = we stayed. These aorist participles and verbs anchor the narrative in a completed, time-bound visit rather than a prolonged mission.
The thread — The first-person plural "we" operates as a literary marker throughout Acts 27:1–28:16, confirming the author’s presence on the journey. The three-day stop also echoes the three-day motif in Jonah 1:17 and Matthew 12:40, where a fixed period precedes a decisive transition.
Why it lands — The text records a logistical pause without commentary, forcing the reader to accept that divine providence operates through ordinary travel schedules. It asks the reader to trust the reliability of the witness by noting exact locations and durations rather than dramatizing the events.
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 landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days.