26 EKOBEE

“Lɔgɔ Pepe Naale Ele I Yɛɛ”

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Sɔ̄ fah maā bee egia loo Pɔɔl, a bee tɔgɛ yira sa tɔgɛ wereloo kumaloo pya nɛɛ

Dɛɛa nyɔɔ Doonu 27:1–28:10

1, 2. Amunu kiā na Pɔɔl bee si a, e pya ena a bee ye nɛ taāŋa a?

¹Buū bu English

² Buū bu English

3. Ena Pɔɔl bee biaɛfii lo edoo a, e ena i nɔ bu ekobee ue ama a?

³ Buū bu English

“Efɔp Gaa Bee I Dɔ Mmsī” (Doonu 27:1-7a)

4. Mɛ dua fah maā na Pɔɔl bee yii bu kii ye kiā a, e ba mɛɛ na a bee ye le loo a?

⁴ Buū bu English

SEA TRAVEL AND TRADE ROUTES

In the ancient world, ships were principally used to transport cargo, not to accommodate passengers. Travelers who wanted to make a voyage had to look for a merchant vessel that was about to sail in the desired direction, haggle over the price of passage, and then wait until the ship sailed.

Thousands of vessels crisscrossed the Mediterranean to transport foodstuffs and other merchandise. Many who secured passage on such ships would have to sleep on deck, perhaps under a tentlike shelter that they themselves erected at night and dismantled each morning. They would also have to take with them all that they needed for the journey, including food and bedding.

The duration of voyages depended entirely on the winds. Because of inclement weather during the winter, navigation was generally considered closed from mid-November to mid-March.

5. Ba mɛɛ na a bee su baɛbah suā Pɔɔl bie Saidon a, e ena i dap nɔ aāloo lo ama a?

⁵ Buū bu English

6-8. Sɔ̄ Pɔɔl bee aa Saidon, mɛ kɛ̄ na a bee tɛɛ̄gi lɛɛ a ina Knaidɔs a, e amunu dee a ye kpaānɛ lo ezue ue na Pɔɔl bee ɛrɛ a?

⁶ Buū bu English

⁷ Buū bu English

⁸ Buū bu English

THE CONTRARY WINDS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN

The wind and the season greatly affected where and when ancient merchant ships sailed the Mediterranean, or the Great Sea. On the sea’s eastern end, the wind usually blew from west to east during midyear. This made sailing eastward easier, as Paul experienced while returning from his third missionary tour. He and his companions were on a ship that left Miletus, passed Rhodes, and docked at Patara. It was almost a straight run from there to Tyre, on the coast of Phoenicia. Luke writes that they passed Cyprus on their left, meaning that they sailed to the south of Cyprus.—Acts 21:1-3.

What about sailing in the opposite direction, going westward? Ships might move westward along a similar route if the wind permitted. But sometimes that was virtually impossible. “In winter,” states The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, “the atmosphere is much less stable and powerful cyclones move eastward across the Mediterranean bringing with them strong winds, sometimes of gale force, and often torrential rain or even snow.” Under such conditions, the hazards were great.

In almost any season, vessels close to shore could move northward up the coast of Palestine and continue westward by Pamphylia. On the latter stretch, breezes from the mainland and west-flowing currents could help ships. That was the case with the vessel on which prisoner Paul made the first leg of his trip to Rome. Yet, the winds could turn contrary. (Acts 27:4) The grain ship that figured prominently in Luke’s account may have sailed north from Egypt and then around into the protected waters between Cyprus and Asia Minor. From Myra, the captain intended to keep going westward—around the tip of Greece and up the west coast of Italy. (Acts 27:5, 6) However, the wind and the season held something else in store for that voyage!

“Sɔ̄ Efɔp Gaa I Dɔ Loo Gbɛnɛ” (Doonu 27:7b-26)

9, 10. Amunu e’aga kɛ̄tɔɔ̄ na ba bee kpesī bie barasī loo Krit a?

⁹ Buū bu English

¹⁰ Buū bu English

11. Amunu zuurabahtɔ̄ na Pɔɔl bee nɛ pya le ɛɛ bee le bu lo fah a, kerewo amunu biaɛfii na ba bee doo a?

¹¹ Buū bu English

12. Amunu kɛ̄tɔɔ̄ a yere bɔɔ na ba bee kpesī sɔ̄ ba aa Krit a, e ena pya a bee le gaa ɔp lo fah bee doo lokwa ba naa yii bu taāŋa a?

¹² Buū bu English

13. Dum bee mɛā loo Pɔɔl le pya le ɛɛ bee le bu lo fah doodoo wa sɔ̄ lo gbɛnɛ fii efɔp gaa bee dɔ?

¹³ Buū bu English

14, 15. (a) Ena anua Pɔɔl bee kɔ nu akiiloo zuurabahtɔ̄ a bee nɛ tua sɔ̄, sɔ̄ aa kɔ ue nɛ pya nɛɛ a le bu lo fah maā a? (b) Ena i dap nɔ aāloo yereue bɛābu Pɔɔl bee kɔ a?

¹⁴ Buū bu English

¹⁵ Buū bu English

“Dɛ̄dɛɛ̄ Aba Bee Lu Ekpɔā Mmɛ Nyɔuwe” (Doonu 27:27-44)

“He . . . gave thanks to God before them all.”—Acts 27:35

16, 17. (a) Mɛ sɔ̄ na Pɔɔl bee su yeā kara a, e ena a sira aabu a? (b) Bu mɛ sīdee na zuurabahtɔ̄ Pɔɔl bee nɛ dooa a?

¹⁶ Buū bu English

¹⁷ Buū bu English

Ba “Bee Su Le Beenyiɛ I Daā Bu Sīdee I Sii Muɛ Lɔgɔ Sɔ̄” (Doonu 28:1-10)

18-20. Bu mɛ sīdee na pya nɛɛ Mɛlita bee “su le beenyiɛ . . . daā bu sīdee [ba] sii bee muɛ lɔgɔ sɔ̄” a, e amunu nyɛŋia tam na Bari bee si tɛ̄maloo Pɔɔl a?

¹⁸ Buū bu English

¹⁹ Buū bu English

²⁰ Buū bu English

21. (a) Amunu ue alu kaka ale ue a lera na i muɛ bu e’ɛma Luk a? (b) Amunu nyɛŋia tam na Pɔɔl bee doo a, e amunu pah na a bee ɛrɛ nyɔɔ pya nɛɛ Mɛlita a?

²¹ Buū bu English

22. (a) Bu mɛ sīdee na ziī nɛɛ enɔā gbɛnɛ kpa bee leera e’ɛma Luk a kɔ nu akiiloo kiā kii Rom a? (b) Ena i kɔnia bu lo ekobee ue enyɔɔnɛ a?

²² Buū bu English

MALTA—WHERE?

Various islands have at times been suggested as the “Malta” where Paul was shipwrecked. One theory singled out an island near Corfu, off the western coast of Greece. Another suggestion is based on the word for “Malta” used in Acts. That Greek word is Me·liʹte. Therefore, some have pointed to Melite Illyrica, now known as Mljet, located off the coast of Croatia, in the Adriatic Sea.

Granted, Acts 27:27 does mention “the Sea of Adria,” but in Paul’s day “Adria” applied to an area larger than the present Adriatic Sea. It included the Ionian Sea and waters east of Sicily and west of Crete, thus encompassing the sea near modern-day Malta.

The ship on which Paul traveled was forced southward from Cnidus to below Crete. In view of the prevailing winds in that storm, it is hardly likely that the ship then turned and sailed as far northward as Mljet or an island near Corfu. So a more likely location for Malta would be farther to the west. That makes the island of Malta, south of Sicily, the probable location where the shipwreck occurred.

PYA EKPO KPA LE NWĪEKPO KPA