31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.
31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved."
31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved."
31 Paul saw through their guise and told the centurion and his soldiers, "If these sailors don't stay with the ship, we're all going down."
31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved."
31 But Paul said to the commanding officer and the soldiers, "You will all die unless the sailors stay aboard."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Acts 27:31
Commentary on Acts 27:30-38
(Read Acts 27:30-38)
God, who appointed the end, that they should be saved, appointed the means, that they should be saved by the help of these shipmen. Duty is ours, events are God's; we do not trust God, but tempt him, when we say we put ourselves under his protection, if we do not use proper means, such as are within our power, for our safety. But how selfish are men in general, often even ready to seek their own safety by the destruction of others! Happy those who have such a one as Paul in their company, who not only had intercourse with Heaven, but was of an enlivening spirit to those about him. The sorrow of the world works death, while joy in God is life and peace in the greatest distresses and dangers. The comfort of God's promises can only be ours by believing dependence on him, to fulfil his word to us; and the salvation he reveals must be waited for in use of the means he appoints. If God has chosen us to salvation, he has also appointed that we shall obtain it by repentance, faith, prayer, and persevering obedience; it is fatal presumption to expect it in any other way. It is an encouragement to people to commit themselves to Christ as their Saviour, when those who invite them, clearly show that they do so themselves.