Rulers, officials and religious leaders

Julius

Centurion of the Augustan band

Editorial summary

The centurion in charge of Paul on the voyage to Italy. He treated Paul kindly and stopped the soldiers from killing the prisoners at the shipwreck.

Scripture

Handed to the centurion Julius
When it was decided that they should sail for Italy, Paul and other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, and they put to sea in a ship of Adramyttium.
Visiting friends at Sidon
At Sidon, Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends to be cared for.
An Alexandrian ship at Myra
Sailing under the shelter of Cyprus because of contrary winds, they came to Myra in Lycia, where the centurion put them aboard a ship of Alexandria bound for Italy.
Paul’s warning at Fair Havens
Sailing had already become dangerous, since the Fast was past. Paul warned that the voyage would bring loss to the cargo, the ship and their lives, but the centurion followed the ship’s master instead, and they set out hoping to winter at Phoenix.
Fourteen days adrift
With no sun or stars for many days, all hope was abandoned. Paul told those on board that an angel had assured him that no life would be lost, and on the fourteenth night they neared land; he urged everyone to eat, and they took courage.
The shipwreck
At daybreak they made for a beach, but the ship ran aground where two seas met; the bow stuck fast and the stern began to break up. The centurion stopped the soldiers from killing the prisoners, and all 276 on board escaped safely to land.