60 Bible Verses about Seafaring

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

Gilead remained on the other side of the Jordan, and why did Dan remain next to the ships? Asher continued on the sea shore and remained in his breaches.

And say unto Tyre, O thou that dwelleth at the ports of the sea, who art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus hath the Lord GOD said; O Tyre, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty. In the heart of the seas are thy border; thy builders have completed 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 they have made thine oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim. Of fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was thy curtain, that it might serve to be thy sail; ; of blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was thy pavilion. The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy rowers; thy wise men, O Tyre, were in thee; they were thy pilots. The elders of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee to repair thy breaches: all the galleys of the sea with their rowers were in thee to negotiate thy business dealings.

And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair, and they took for themselves wives of all whom they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for certainly he is flesh; yet his days shall be one 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 unto the daughters of men, and they bore sons 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 of having 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 animals and the fowls of the air; for I repent of having 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 slaves, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the slaves of Solomon. And they went to Ophir and brought gold from there, four hundred and twenty talents and brought it to king Solomon.

For Hiram had sent him ships by the hands of his slaves and slaves that had knowledge of the sea, and they had gone with the slaves of Solomon to Ophir and had taken from there four hundred and fifty talents of gold and brought them to King Solomon.

The ships of Tarshish, thy squadrons, went forth on thy behalf: and thou wast full, and wast multiplied greatly in the midst of the seas.

And the navy of Hiram, that had brought the gold from Ophir, also brought in from Ophir a great plenty of brazil wood and precious stones.

For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the slaves of Hiram, and every three years the ships came from Tarshish bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

Jehoshaphat had made ships in Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were broken at Eziongeber. Then Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, said unto Jehoshaphat, Let my slaves go with thy slaves in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not.

After these things, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, joined himself with Ahaziah, king of Israel, who was given over to wickedness; he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Eziongeber. Then Eliezer, the son of Dodavah of Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD shall destroy thy works. And the ships were broken, and they were not able to go to Tarshish.

And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again in ships by the way of which I spoke unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again; and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for menslaves and womenslaves, and there shall be no one to buy you.

And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: The merchandise of gold and of silver and of precious stones and of pearls and of fine linen and of purple and of silk and of scarlet and of all thyine wood and of all manner vessels of ivory and of all manner vessels of most precious wood and of brass and of iron and of marble and cinnamon and odours and ointments and frankincense and wine and oil and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and of sheep, and of horses, and of chariots and of bodies and souls of men.

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

In that time messengers shall go forth from me in ships to make the confident Ethiopians afraid, and great fear shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, behold, it comes.

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 an understanding with those that have forsaken the holy covenant.

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

But Jonah rose up to flee unto 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 thereof and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish fleeing from the presence of the LORD.

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

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

When Jesus heard of it, he departed from there by ship 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 ship and came into the borders of Magdala.

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

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

and from there sailed to Antioch, where they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.

And the contention was so sharp between them that they departed asunder one from the other, and so Barnabas took Mark and sailed unto 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 then took his leave of the brethren and sailed from there 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 comes in Jerusalem, but I will return again unto you, if God wills. And he sailed from Ephesus.

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

And it came to pass that after we had left them and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from there unto Patara; and finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard and set forth. Now when we had sighted Cyprus, we left it on the left hand and sailed into Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload her cargo.

But when it was determined that we should sail unto Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustus company. And entering into the ship, Adramyttium, we launched, 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 entreated Paul and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself.read more.
And when we had launched from there, we sailed under Cyprus because the winds were contrary. And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy, and he put us in it. And when we had sailed slowly many days and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not allowing us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone, and, passing it with difficulty, came unto a place which is called The Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.

And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose ensign was Castor and Pollux. And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days. And having gone around, we came to Rhegium, and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli,

Those that go down to the sea in ships that do work in many waters, these have seen the works of the LORD and his wonders in the deep. For he commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves.read more.
They mount up to the heavens; 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 all of their knowledge is of no avail. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivers them out of their afflictions. He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are at rest; so he brings them into the haven of his will.

Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned; three times I suffered shipwreck, night and day I have been in the deep;

Jehoshaphat had made ships in Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.

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

But Jonah rose up to flee unto 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 thereof and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish fleeing from the presence of the LORD. But the LORD caused a great wind to rise up in the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship thought she would be broken. And the mariners were afraid, and everyone called unto his god, and they cast forth the vessels that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; he lay and was fast asleep.read more.
So the shipmaster came to him and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that he will have compassion upon us that we not perish. And each one said 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 they said unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, why this evil is come upon us; What is thine occupation? and from where dost thou come? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? And he said unto them, I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, God of the heavens, who has made the sea and the dry land. Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said unto 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 they said unto him, What shall we do unto thee that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea rose higher and was wroth. And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you; for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. Nevertheless the men rowed hard to turn the ship to land, but they could not; for the sea rose higher and was wroth against them. And they cried unto the LORD and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for the soul of this man, and do not lay upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. So they took up Jonah and cast him forth into the sea; and the sea ceased from her raging.

And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great moving in the sea, insomuch that the ship 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 said unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then, awake, he rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him!

And that same day, when evening was come, he said unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.read more.
And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow; and they awoke him and said unto him, Master, dost thou not care that we perish? And as he arose, he rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly and said one to another, Who 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 ship with his disciples, and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. But as they sailed, he fell asleep; and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were being 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 unto them, Where is your faith? And they, being afraid, wondered, saying one to another, Who is this! for he even commands the winds and the water, and they obey him. And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.

And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship and to go before him unto the other side while he sent the multitude away. And when he had sent the multitude away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray; and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship 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 unto them, walking upon the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking upon the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spoke unto them, saying, Trust that I AM; be not afraid. Then Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me to come unto thee upon the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked upon the water to go to Jesus. But seeing that the wind was strong, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto him, O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then those that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Truly thou art the Son of God.

And straightway he told his disciples to get quickly into the ship and to go to the other side before him unto Bethsaida while he dispatched the people. And when he had dispatched them, he departed into the mountain to pray. And when night was come, the ship 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 unto them; and about the fourth watch of the night he came unto 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 ghost and cried out, For they all saw him and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them and said unto them, Be of good cheer; I AM; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship, and the wind ceased; and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure and wondered. For they had not yet derived understanding in the loaves, for their hearts were blind. And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret and drew to the shore.

And when evening was come, his disciples went down unto the sea and entered into a ship and were crossing the sea toward 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 twenty-five or thirty furlongs, they saw Jesus walking upon the sea and drawing nigh unto the ship, and they were afraid. But he said unto them, I AM; be not afraid. Then they willingly received him into the ship, and immediately the ship was at the land where they went.

Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them, saying, 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 those things which were spoken by Paul.read more.
And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, many were in agreement to depart from there also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice and winter there, which is a port of Crete and lies toward Africa and the west. And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, raising sails, they sailed close by Crete. But not long after, there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. And when the ship was caught up by it and could not resist against the wind, the ship was taken by the wind and drifted. And running under a certain island 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 Syrtis, , 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 with our own hands we cast off the dead works 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 lost. Then after long abstinence, Paul stood forth in the midst of them and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me and not have loosed from Crete to have avoided this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any person's life among you, but only of the ship. For the angel of God stood by me this night, whose I am and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar; and, behold, God has given thee all those that sail with thee. Therefore, sirs, be of good cheer; for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. However we must be cast upon a certain island. And when the fourteenth night was come as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic sea, about midnight the shipmen deemed 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 colour as though they would have 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 waited and continued fasting, having taken nothing. Therefore I pray you to take some food, for this is for your salvation and health, for there shall not one 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 some 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 out the grain into the sea. And when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they discovered a certain gulf with a shore, into which they decided, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship. And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea and loosed the rudder bands and hoisted up the mainsail to the wind and made toward shore. But falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast and remained unmovable, 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, desiring to save Paul, frustrated this counsel and commanded that those 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 were all saved by making it 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.

For the LORD shall surely be strong unto us there, a place of broad rivers and wide streams in which no galley with oars shall go, neither shall any great ship pass thereby. For the LORD shall be our judge, the LORD shall be our lawgiver, the LORD shall be our king; he himself will save us. Thy tacklings are loosed; they did not strengthen well their mast, nor could they spread the sail: : then the prey of a great spoil shall be divided; even the lame shall take prey.

Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon and caused fugitives to descend unto all of them and the clamour of Chaldeans in the ships.

In many waters they overcame thy rowers; the east wind has broken thee in the midst of the seas. Thy riches, and thy markets, thy business, thy rowers, and thy pilots, those that repair thy breaches, and the agents of thy business, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, with 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 rowers, 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 upon thee and shall cry bitterly and shall cast up dust upon their heads; they shall wallow themselves in the ashes. And they shall pull out their hair for thee and gird themselves with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of soul and bitter wailings. And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee and lament over thee, saying, Who is like Tyre, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea? When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou didst fill many peoples; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy contracts. In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy commerce 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 sore afraid; they shall be troubled in their countenance. The merchants among the peoples 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 nought. And every shipmaster and all the company in ships and sailors and as many as trade by sea stood afar off and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city was like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, in which all that had ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her riches! for in one hour is she made desolate.

That we no longer be 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 fast faith and a good conscience, which some, having cast away, have shipwrecked in their faith,

which we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters even into that which is within the veil,

Behold also the ships, which though they are so great are driven of fierce winds, yet they are governed with a very small rudder, wherever the governor desires. In the same manner, the tongue is a very small member and boasts of great things. Behold, how great a forest a little fire kindles!

Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.

He She was like the merchants' ships; she brings her food from afar.

But ask in faith, not doubting anything. For he that doubts is like the wave of the sea which is driven of the wind and is tossed from one side to another.

which in the time past were disobedient, when once the patience of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being made ready, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.