because people like that are serving their own appetites, not our Lord Jesus Christ. With smooth talk and flattery they fool people who don’t know any better.
But these people say insulting things even when they don’t know what they’re talking about. They’re like wild animals that can’t think and just live by instinct, that are born only to be caught and destroyed. These people will die like animals too.
Some of us were Jewish by birth, while others have converted to the Jewish faith. There are even Cretans and Arabs here. We all hear these people speaking about God’s wonders in our own languages!”
We didn’t make much progress for many days, and we had trouble getting to Cnidus. The wind wasn’t letting us stay on course, so we went along the calmer side of Crete, opposite Salmone.
That harbor wasn’t a good place for ships to stay through the winter, so most of the people wanted to sail on. They hoped we could reach Phoenix and spend the winter there. That was a harbor in Crete that faced both southwest and northwest.
A gentle south wind began to blow, and the ship’s crew thought that gave them a chance to leave safely. So they pulled up the anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.
I left you on the island of Crete because I wanted you to take care of some unfinished business. I wanted you to appoint elders in every town, and I told you how to do that.