English · KJV

Jude 1

Listen to this chapter
0:00 0:00

Salutation and Apostolic Authority 1–2

1
Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: ​
2
Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.

The Urgency to Contend for the Faith 3–4

3
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. ​
4
For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. ​

Historical Examples of Judgment 5–7

5
I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. ​
6
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. ​
7
Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. ​

The Condemnation of False Teachers 8–16

8
Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. ​
9
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. ​
10
But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
11
Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. ​
12
These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; ​
13
Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
14
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, ​
15
To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
16
These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.

Exhortation to Remain Faithful 17–23

17
But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; ​
18
How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
19
These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. ​
20
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, ​
21
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22
And of some have compassion, making a difference: ​
23
And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. ​

Doxology and Benediction 24–25

24
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, ​
25
To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Jude 1

Verse 1

brother of James — The name is Ioudas, Judas, and the ‘servant’ is doulos, bondservant. The brothers of the Lord are listed in Matt 13:55 as ‘James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas’. ‘Preserved’ is tereo, to guard, the verb that returns in vv.6, 13 and 21.

Verse 3

earnestly contend — Epagonizomai, to struggle upon, an athletic word found only here in the New Testament. The faith is ‘once delivered’ (hapax, once for all) and is the ‘common salvation’ of all the saints; it is to be defended, not added to. Compare ‘Fight the good fight of faith’ (1 Tim 6:12).

Verse 4

crept in unawares — Pareisdyno, to slip in alongside by stealth, found only here in the New Testament; compare ‘false brethren unawares brought in’ (Gal 2:4). ‘Lasciviousness’ is aselgeia, licence without restraint. 2 Pet 2:1 describes the same men ‘denying the Lord that bought them’.

Verse 5

afterward destroyed them that believed not — This is the first of three warnings (vv.5–7). Israel was ‘saved… out of the land of Egypt’ and then perished in the wilderness; ‘they could not enter in because of unbelief’ (Heb 3:19). Deliverance did not exempt those who did not believe.

Verse 6

kept not their first estate — ‘Estate’ is arche, beginning or rule, and ‘kept’ is tereo, the verb of v.1: they did not keep, and are now kept. ‘Everlasting’ is aidios, used elsewhere only of God’s ‘eternal power’ (Rom 1:20). A parallel is ‘chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment’ (2 Pet 2:4).

Verse 7

set forth for an example — Deigma, a specimen, found only here, as is ‘giving themselves over to fornication’ (ekporneuo). ‘Strange flesh’ is literally other flesh. The cities were struck when ‘the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire’ (Gen 19:24); 2 Pet 2:6 calls them ‘an ensample’.

Verse 8

filthy dreamers — Enypniazomai, to dream; their visions are the source of the defilement named next. ‘Dominion’ (kyriotes) is lordship, and ‘dignities’ (doxa) is literally glories. A like charge of speaking evil of dignities appears in 2 Pet 2:10.

Verse 9

Michael the archangel — Archangelos, chief angel. The ‘railing accusation’ (blasphemia) was withheld; he answered ‘The Lord rebuke thee’, echoing the words in Zech 3:2, ‘The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan’. Compare 2 Pet 2:11, angels ‘bring not railing accusation’.

Verse 11

the way of Cain… Balaam… Core — These are three warnings: Cain, the murderer of his brother (Gen 4); Balaam, who followed the error ‘for reward’ (misthos, wages; 2 Pet 2:15); and ‘Core’, the Greek form of Korah, who with Dathan and Abiram rose against Moses (Num 16:1). ‘Perished in the gainsaying’ puts the end in the past tense.

Verse 12

spots in your feasts of charity — Agape is love, here the common meal of the church. ‘Spots’ is spilas, a rock hidden in the sea, not a stain. ‘Feeding themselves’ is poimaino, literally to shepherd; the false shepherds tend only themselves. The images are clouds without water, trees twice dead and uprooted.

Verse 14

the seventh from Adam — Genesis counts Enoch as seventh: Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch (Gen 5:3–18). ‘Ten thousands’ is myrias, a myriad. Enoch ‘walked with God’ (Gen 5:24); the Lord’s coming with his saints recalls Deut 33:2.

Verse 17

remember ye the words — Here the address turns from ‘these’ to ‘beloved’. ‘Spoken before’ is proereo, foretold. The apostles’ warning is recorded in 2 Pet 3:3, ‘there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts’, which is the point of v.18.

Verse 19

sensual, having not the Spirit — Psychikos, soulish, rendered ‘natural’ in 1 Cor 2:14, where the natural man ‘receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God’, and ‘sensual’ in Jas 3:15. They ‘separate themselves’ by dividing the church, being without the Spirit who unites it.

Verse 20

praying in the Holy Ghost — Against the ‘sensual’ who lack the Spirit (v.19), believers build ‘on your most holy faith’ (epoikodomeo, to build upon) and pray in the Spirit (Eph 6:18). The Holy Ghost, God and the Lord Jesus Christ are all named in vv.20–21.

Verse 22

making a difference — Diakrino, to discriminate or distinguish; the same verb is rendered ‘contending’ in v.9. Some are to receive compassion (eleeo, mercy), and others a sharper rescue (v.23). The manner is fitted to the person’s state.

Verse 23

pulling them out of the fire — Harpazo, to snatch, as from a blaze; compare ‘a brand plucked out of the fire’ (Zech 3:2). The rescue is made ‘with fear’, and the ‘garment’ (chiton, the tunic next to the skin) spotted by the flesh is to be hated.

Verse 24

able to keep you from falling — Aptaistos, not stumbling, found only here in the New Testament. The verb phylasso, to guard, differs from tereo in v.21’s ‘Keep yourselves’. ‘Faultless’ (amomos) is without blemish; compare ‘unblameable’ (Col 1:22). ‘Exceeding joy’ is agalliasis.