Acts 27:20. When neither sun nor stars in many days appeared. This was a most serious aggravation of the danger. The great reason which made ancient navigation perilous in the winter was, that the sky is then more overcast than at other seasons. See note above (Acts 27:9), on the special necessity of taking observations from the sun and stars, when the compass is not available.

All hope was now taken away. Two stages in the progress of growing fear have been mentioned in the two preceding verses. Now we come to the third stage, which is absolute despair. We should note that it was precisely at this time, when no escape through human means seemed possible, that St. Paul interposed with Divine encouragement.

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Old Testament