And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now I exhort you to cheer up, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.
- BSB But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because you will not experience any loss of life, but only of the ship.
- NKJV And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.
- NASB And yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.
- NLT But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down.
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
Paul exhorts them to take heart, for no life will be lost—only the ship.
Overview
Paul brings a word of comfort grounded not in optimism but in divine revelation. Though the vessel will be lost, every person will survive. This assurance shifts the mood from despair to hope, demonstrating that God's servant is the bearer of good news even in the midst of disaster.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Acts 27:36Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat.
- Acts 27:25Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.
- Isa 43:1–2But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
- 2 Cor 4:8–9We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
- Acts 27:34Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.
- Ps 112:7He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.
- 1 Sam 30:6And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
- Acts 27:44And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.
- Acts 23:11And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
- Job 2:4And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
- 2 Cor 1:4–6Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
- Job 22:29–30When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.
- Acts 27:31Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.
- Ezra 10:2And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.
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 27:22 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.