And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing.

And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take some food, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye wait and continue fasting, having taken nothing.

And when it began to be light, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying: This day is the fourteenth day that you have waited, and continued fasting, taking nothing.

And while it was drawing on to daylight, Paul exhorted them all to partake of food, saying, Ye have passed the fourteenth day watching in expectation without taking food.

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.

And till the day was about to be, Paul was calling upon all to partake of nourishment, saying, 'Fourteen days to-day, waiting, ye continue fasting, having taken nothing,

And while the day was coming on, Paul sought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that you have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing.

And continually, up till daybreak, Paul kept urging all on board to take some food. "This is the fourteenth day," he said, "that you have been anxiously waiting for the storm to cease, and have fasted, eating little or nothing.

And when dawn was near, Paul gave them all orders to take food, saying, This is the fourteenth day you have been waiting and taking no food.

And when it began to be light, Paul requested that they all take food, saying: "This is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and continuing to fast, taking nothing.

In the interval before daybreak Paul kept urging them all to take something to eat. "It is a fortnight today," he said, "that, owing to your anxiety, you have gone without food, taking nothing.

And when the day began. Whatsoever the mariners think, Paul's faith doth not quail; [1] but he leaneth steadfastly to the promise which was made to him. For he doth not only exhort them to take meat, as did he who, in extreme despair, uttered these words, Dine, soldiers, we shall sup in hell; [2] but continuing steadfast in his prophecy, he willeth them to be of good courage. The force of faith doth therein show itself, when as it armeth us unto patience, and doth valiantly bear off and beat back those assaults wherewith Satan goeth about to shake it. But whereas he saith, that they continued fasting for the space of fourteen days, it may seem absurd and false. There may some one man be found which can abide to fast long, but it is scarce credible of so great a multitude. We may easily answer, That their unwonted abstinence from meat is improperly called fasting; because they had never filled their belly during all that time; because those who are in sorrow and heaviness do almost loathe meat. And because despair was the cause of this their loathing of meat, he affirmeth again that they shall live, so they be of good courage. For a faithful minister of the word must not only bring abroad the promises, but also counsel men to follow God whithersoever he calleth them; and that they be not slothful and sluggish. Furthermore, the meaning of the words is this, God hath determined to save you, this confidence ought to animate you, and to make you merry, [3] that you be not negligent in your own business.

Footnotes

1 - "Vacillat," waver.

2 - "Apud inferos," with the dead.

3 - "Alacres," alert, active.

And while the day was coming on - At daybreak. It was before they had sufficient light to discern what they should do.
To take meat - Food. The word "meat" was formerly used to denote "food" of any kind.
That ye have tarried - That you have remained or been fasting.
Having taken nothing - No regular meal. It cannot mean that they had lived entirely without food, but that they had been in so much danger, were so constantly engaged, and had been so anxious about their safety, that they had taken no regular meal, or that what they had taken had been at irregular intervals, and had been a scanty allowance. "Appian speaks of an army which for 20 days together had neither food nor sleep; by which he must mean that they neither made full meals nor slept whole nights together. The same interpretation must be given to this phrase" (Doddridge). The effect of this must have been that they would be exhausted, and little able to endure the fatigues which yet remained.

While the day was coining on - It was then apparently about day-break.
This day is the fourteenth day that ye have - continued fasting - Ye have not had one regular meal for these fourteen days past. Indeed we may take it for granted that, during the whole of the storm, very little was eaten by any man: for what appetite could men have for food, who every moment had death before their eyes?

(10) And while the day was coming on, Paul besought [them] all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing.
(10) When the world trembles, the faithful alone are not only at peace, but strengthen and encourage others by their example.

And while the day was coming on,.... Between midnight and break of day: Paul besought them all to take meat; to sit down and eat a meal together:
saying, this day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried; or have been waiting for, or expecting; that is, as the Arabic version expresses it, a shipwreck; for fourteen days past, ever since the storm begun, they had expected nothing but shipwreck and death:
and continued fasting, having taken nothing: not that they had neither ate nor drank all that while, for without a miracle they could never have lived so long without eating something; but the meaning is, they had not eaten anyone regular meal all that while, had only caught up a bit now and then, and ate it, and that but very little.

while day was coming on--"until it should be day"; that is, in the interval between the cutting off of the boat and the approach of day, which all were "anxiously looking for" (Acts 27:29).
Paul--now looked up to by all the passengers as the man to direct them.
besought them all to take meat--"partake of a meal."
saying, This is the fourteenth day ye have tarried--"waited for a breathing time."
having eaten nothing--that is, taken no regular meal. The impossibility of cooking, the occupation of all hands to keep down leakage, &c., sufficiently explain this, which is indeed a common occurrence in such cases.

Paul besought them all to take meat. At dawn of day. He seems to have really had charge in this hour of peril. They needed the strength of the food for the work before them.
Having taken nothing. The thought is, that for fourteen days they had had no regular meals.
This is for your health. Essential to your welfare and safety.
There shall not a hair, etc. A promise of absolute safety.
He took bread and gave thanks. As Paul was wont to do before eating; as Christ himself did (Matthew 14:19; John 6:11).
Began to eat. To encourage them by his example. It had its effect, for "they were all of good cheer, and they also took meat."
We were . . . two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. It can be seen from this fact that merchant vessels of that period were of large size.
They lightened the ship. It was needful to beach it in just as shallow water as possible, and hence the cargo was thrown overboard. As might be expected in an Alexandrian ship, the cargo was wheat. Egypt was then the granary of Rome.

Ye continue fasting, having taken nothing - No regular meal, through a deep sense of their extreme danger. Let us not wonder then, if men who have a deep sense of their extreme danger of everlasting death, for a time forget even to eat their bread, or to attend to their worldly affairs. Much less let us censure that as madness, which may be the beginning of true wisdom.