I have left you behind in Crete in order that you may set right the things which still require attention, and appoint Elders in every town, as I directed you to do;
and as the harbour was inconvenient for wintering in, the majority were in favour of putting out to sea, to try whether they could get to Phoenix –a harbour on the coast of Crete facing north-east and south-east– to winter there.
And a light breeze from the south sprang up, so that they supposed they were now sure of their purpose. So weighing anchor they ran along the coast of Crete, hugging the shore.
When for a long time they had taken but little food, Paul, standing up among them, said, »Sirs, you ought to have listened to me and not have sailed from Crete. You would then have escaped this suffering and loss.
It took several days of slow sailing for us to come with difficulty off Cnidus; from which point, as the wind did not allow us to get on in the direct course, we ran under the lee of Crete by Salmone.
For this reason I have sent Timothy to you. Spiritually he is my dearly-loved and faithful child. He will remind you of my habits as a Christian teacher–the manner in which I teach everywhere in every Church.
For although, as you say, I am absent from you in body, yet in spirit I am present with you and am delighted to witness your good discipline and the solid front presented by your faith in Christ.
When I was on my journey to Macedonia I begged you to remain on in Ephesus that you might remonstrate with certain persons because of their erroneous teaching
All that you have been taught by me in the hearing of many witnesses, you must hand on to trusty men who shall themselves, in turn, be competent to instruct others also.