The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone.
Parallel translations
- WEB When neither sun nor stars shone on us for many days, and no small storm pressed on us, all hope that we would be saved was now taken away.
- KJV And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.
- BSB When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the great storm continued to batter us, we abandoned all hope of being saved.
- NKJV Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.
- NASB Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, from then on all hope of our being saved was slowly abandoned.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
With sun and stars hidden for many days and the storm raging, all hope of being saved is abandoned.
Overview
Without celestial navigation and under relentless tempest, the crew despairs of survival. This nadir of human hopelessness is the dark backdrop against which God's word of rescue, delivered through Paul, will shine. The verse shows that when all earthly hope fails, God's faithful promise remains the only true anchor.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Matt 24:29But immediately after the oppression of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken;
- Matt 8:24–25Behold, a violent storm came up on the sea, so much that the boat was covered with the waves, but he was asleep.
- Eph 2:12that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
- 1 Th 4:13But we don’t want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you don’t grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
- Isa 57:10You were wearied with the length of your ways; yet you didn’t say, ‘It is in vain.’ You found a reviving of your strength; therefore you weren’t faint.
- Jer 2:25“Keep your feet from being bare, and your throat from thirst. But you said, ‘It is in vain. No, for I have loved strangers, and I will go after them.’
- Exod 10:21–23Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.”
- Ezek 37:11Then he said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.
- Jonah 1:11–14Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm to us?” For the sea grew more and more stormy.
- 2 Cor 11:25Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I suffered shipwreck. I have been a night and a day in the deep.
- Jonah 1:4But Yahweh sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty storm on the sea, so that the ship was likely to break up.
- Ps 107:25–27For he commands, and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves.
- Ps 105:28He sent darkness, and made it dark. They didn’t rebel against his words.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 27:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.