Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.
Parallel translations
- WEB Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these stay in the ship, you can’t be saved.”
- BSB But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain with the ship, you cannot be saved.”
- NKJV Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.”
- NASB Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain on the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.”
- NLT But Paul said to the commanding officer and the soldiers, “You will all die unless the sailors stay aboard.”
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 warns the centurion that unless the sailors stay aboard, no one can be saved.
Overview
Though God had promised all would survive, Paul insists the sailors must remain, teaching that God's certain ends are reached through appointed means. Divine sovereignty does not cancel human responsibility but works through it. Paul's spiritual discernment again guides the company, and his counsel safeguards the very deliverance God had pledged.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 2 Th 2:13–14But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
- Jer 29:11–13For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
- Ps 91:11–12For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
- Acts 27:21–24But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.
- Acts 27:42–43And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.
- John 6:37All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
- Luke 4:9–12And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:
- Ezek 36:36–37Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.
- Acts 27:11Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul.
- Luke 1:34–35Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 27:31 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.