Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 27:10

"and said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the lading and the ship, but also of our lives." — Acts 27:10 (ASV)

Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt.—The tone is clearly that of a man who speaks more from foresight gained by observation than from a direct supernatural prediction.

St. Paul, it will be remembered, had experienced three shipwrecks (2 Corinthians 11:25). The Epistle to Titus, though probably written later, shows an acquaintance with Crete, suggesting he may have had some knowledge even of the very harbour in which they had found refuge.

His advice, accordingly, was to remain where they were, in comparative safety, despite the drawbacks mentioned in Acts 27:12. The word for “hurt,” which properly means “outrage,” is used here in the sense of a violent calamity.

Not only of the lading.—The cargo probably consisted chiefly of corn coming from Alexandria to Rome. (Compare the notes on Acts 27:18 and Acts 27:38.)

But also of our lives.—No lives were actually lost (Acts 27:44), but the Apostle speaks now, as above, from the standpoint of reasonable opinion. When his counsel was rejected, he gave himself to prayer, and to that prayer (Acts 27:24) he attributes the preservation of his companions no less than his own.