31 Bible Verses about Seafaring

And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and chariots; and slaves and human souls.

And getting into a boat, he crossed over and came to his own city.

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a lonely place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

And he sent away the crowds, got into the boat, and went to the region of Magadan.

And he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they should crush him.

Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem.

From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed.

There arose such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

So putting out to sea from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis;

After this Paul stayed many days longer, and then took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, for he had taken a vow.

but on taking leave of them he said, "I will return to you if God wills," and he set sail from Ephesus.

There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia.

When we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. And having found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload its cargo.

When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cohort named Julius. And embarking in a ship from Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put out to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. The next day we put in at Sidon; and Julius treated Paul kindly, and allowed him to go to his friends and be cared for.read more.
We put out to sea from there and sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it. When we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, since the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete, off Salmone. We sailed along it with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.

After three months we set sail in a ship which had wintered in the island, an Alexandrian ship, with the Twin Brothers as figurehead. After we put in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium, and a day later a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli.

Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the open sea.

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, a great storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But he was asleep. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!"read more.
And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?"

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go over to the other side." And leaving the crowd, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. And a great storm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.read more.
But he was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care if we perish?" Then he rose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you no faith?" And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, "Who is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!"

One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, "Let us go over to the other side of the lake." So they set out. As they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" Then he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; and they ceased, and there was a calm.read more.
He said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and water, and they obey him?" Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the multitudes. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them.read more.
And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage! It is I; do not be afraid." And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." So he said, "Come". Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had left them, he went up on the mountain to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on land.read more.
And he saw the disciples straining at the oars, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw him, and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I; do not be afraid." Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves, because their hearts were hardened. When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and anchored there.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea rose because a strong wind was blowing.read more.
So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

As much time had been lost, and the voyage was now dangerous because the fast had already gone by, Paul advised them, and said to them, "Men, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives." But the centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the owner of the ship than by what was being said by Paul.read more.
Because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. When a gentle south wind came up, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began sailing along Crete, close inshore. But before very long there rushed down from the land a violent wind, called the northeaster; and when the ship was caught in it and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. And running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were scarcely able to secure the boat. After they had hoisted it up, they used supporting cables to undergird the ship; and fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and in this way let themselves be driven along. The next day as we were being violently storm-tossed, they began to throw the cargo overboard; and on the third day they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was raging on us, all hope of our being saved was finally abandoned. When they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up among them and said, "Men, you should have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage; for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, and he said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.' So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island." But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to sense that they were approaching land. They took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took soundings again and found it to be fifteen fathoms. Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and prayed for daybreak. But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the lifeboat into the sea, on the pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved." Then the soldiers cut the ropes of the lifeboat and let it fall away. As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, "Today is the fourteenth day that you have been in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. Therefore I urge you to take some food; it will give you strength, since not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you." Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it and began to eat. Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. All of us in the ship were two hundred and seventy-six persons. When they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship by throwing out the wheat into the sea. When day came, they could not recognize the land, but they did observe a bay with a beach, and they resolved to drive the ship onto it if they could. So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders; then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. But striking a sandbar they ran the vessel aground; the bow stuck fast and remained immovable, and the stern was broken up by the pounding of the surf. The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape. But the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land, and the rest on planks or on various pieces of the ship. And so it happened that they were all brought safely to land.

In one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!' And every shipmaster and all passengers and sailors, and all who make their living by the sea, stood far off, and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, 'What city is like the great city?' And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, where all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!'

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.

holding faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and made shipwreck of their faith.

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,

Look at the ships also; though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!

But he must ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

who formerly did not obey, when the patience of God waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.