60 Bible Verses about Seafaring

Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for a haven of ships; and his border shall be to Zidon.

Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea-shore, and abode in his breaches.

And say to Tyre, O thou that art situated at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyre, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty. Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty. They have made all thy ship-boards of fir-trees of Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee.read more.
Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thy oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim. Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee. The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyre, that were in thee, were thy pilots. The ancients of Gebal and its wise men were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise.

And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all whom they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.read more.
There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them: the same became mighty men, who were of old, men of renown. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD repented that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created, from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping animal, and the fowls of the air; for I repent that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir, and imported from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.

And Huram sent to him by the hands of his servants, ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.

The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market; and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas.

And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones.

For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: once every three years came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab to Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not.

And after this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly: And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Ezion-geber. Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way of which I have said to thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold to your enemies for bond-men and bond-women, and no man shall buy you.

And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all vessels of ivory, and all vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odors, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Ashur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.

In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Cushites afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for lo, it cometh.

For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.

Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, to the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.

But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare of it, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

And he entered into a boat, and passed over, and came into his own city.

So they being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, departed to Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.

When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence in a boat, into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard of it, they followed him on foot out of the cities.

And he sent away the multitude, and took a boat, and came into the borders of Magdala.

And he spoke to his disciples, that a small boat should wait on him, because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.

Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.

And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been commended to the grace of God, for the work which they fulfilled.

And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed, separating one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed to Cyprus.

Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis;

And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.

But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return to you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.

And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia.

And it came to pass, that after we were separated from them, and had lanched, we came with a straight course to Coos, and the day following to Rhodes, and from thence to Patara: And finding a ship sailing over to Phenicia, we went aboard, and set forth. Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden.

And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus' band. And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we lanched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia, one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us. And the next day we touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously treated Paul, and gave him liberty to go to his friends to refresh himself.read more.
And when we had lanched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Mira, a city of Lycia. And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy; and he put us therein. And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce had come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone: And hardly passing it, came to a place which is called, The fair havens; nigh to which was the city of Lasea.

And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux. And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days. And from thence we made a circuit, and came to Rhegium: and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli:

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business on great waters; These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up its waves.read more.
They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. Then they cry to the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves of the sea are still. Then are they glad because they are quiet; so he bringeth them to their desired haven.

Thrice was I beaten with rods, once I was stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;

Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber.

Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare of it, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was in danger of being broken. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man to his god, and cast the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah had gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.read more.
So the ship-master came to him, and said to him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, it may be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they to him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thy occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? And he said to them, I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who hath made the sea and the dry land. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said to him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. Then said they to him, What shall we do to thee, that the sea may be calm to us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. And he said to them, Take me, and cast me into the sea; so shall the sea be calm to you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. Wherefore they cried to the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. So they took Jonah, and cast him into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.

And when he had entered into a boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the boat was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.read more.
And he saith to them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

And the same day, when the evening was come, he saith to them, Let us pass over to the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the boat. And there were also with him other small boats. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was now full.read more.
And he was in the hinder part of the boat, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say to him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still: and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said to them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a boat with his disciples: and he said to them, Let us go over to the other side of the lake. And they lanched forth. But as they sailed, he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind, and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.read more.
And he said to them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid, wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him. And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.

And immediately Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a boat, and to go before him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he ascended a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the boat was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.read more.
And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it is thou, bid me come to thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said to him, O thou of little faith, Why didst thou doubt? And when they had come into the boat, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, In truth thou art the son of God.

And immediately he constrained his disciples to get into the boat, and to go to the other side before to Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And when he had dismissed them, he departed to a mountain to pray. And when evening was come, the boat was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.read more.
And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary to them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh to them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out. (For they all saw him, and were troubled.) And immediately he talked with them, and saith to them, Be of good cheer: It is I; be not afraid. And he went up to them into the boat; and the wind ceased: and they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves; for their heart was hardened. And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore.

And when evening had now come, his disciples went down to the sea, And entered into a boat, and went over the sea towards Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.read more.
So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh to the boat: and they were afraid. But he saith to them, It is I; be not afraid. Then they willingly received him into the boat: and immediately the boat was at the land whither they were going.

Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them. And said to them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives. Nevertheless, the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship more than the things which were spoken by Paul.read more.
And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the greater part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and there to winter; which is a haven of Crete, and lieth towards the south-west and north-west. And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete. But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. And running under a certain isle which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat: Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, struck sail, and so were driven. And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. But after long abstinence, Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened to me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Cesar: and lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it will be even as it was told to me. But we must be cast upon a certain isle. When the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen suspected that they drew near to some country: And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms. Then fearing lest we should fall upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under color as though they would cast anchors out of the foreship, Paul said to the centurion, and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off. And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take food, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried, and continued fasting, having taken nothing. Wherefore I pray you to take some food; for this is for your health: for there shall not a hair fall from the head of any of you. And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all; and when he had broken it, he began to eat. Then they were all of good cheer, and they also took food. And we were in all in the ship two hundred and seventy six souls. And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast the wheat into the sea. And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they discovered a certain creek with a shore, into which they purposed, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship. And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves to the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoisted the mainsail to the wind, and made towards the shore. And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained immovable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves. And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that they who could swim, should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land: And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship: And so it came to pass, that they all escaped safe to land.

The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.

And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.

Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.

But there the glorious LORD will be to us a place of broad rivers and streams; in which shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass through it. For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us. Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey.

Thus saith the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.

Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas. Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy military men, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin. The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots.read more.
And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land; And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes: And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird themselves with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing. And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyre, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea? When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise. In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall. All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be terribly afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance. The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more.

For in one hour so great riches is come to naught. And every ship-master, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, in which were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her opulence! for in one hour is she made desolate.

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, by which they lie in wait to deceive:

Holding faith and a good conscience; which some having put away, concerning faith have made shipwreck:

Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the vail;

Behold also the ships, which though they are so great, and are driven by fierce winds, yet they are turned about with a very small helm, withersoever the governor willeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.

She is like the merchant's ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

Who formerly were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing, in which few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water.