1:9 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Tyre has committed three crimes 8 –
make that four! 9 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 10
They sold 11 a whole community 12 to Edom;
they failed to observe 13 a treaty of brotherhood. 14
1:10 So I will set fire to Tyre’s city wall; 15
fire 16 will consume her fortresses.”
1:14 So I will set fire to Rabbah’s 17 city wall; 18
fire 19 will consume her fortresses.
War cries will be heard on the day of battle; 20
a strong gale will blow on the day of the windstorm. 21
2:2 So I will set Moab on fire, 22
and it will consume Kerioth’s 23 fortresses.
Moab will perish 24 in the heat of battle 25
amid war cries and the blaring 26 of the ram’s horn. 27
2:5 So I will set Judah on fire,
and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.” 28
1 tn Heb “into the midst of” (so KJV, ASV). This phrase has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
2 tn Grk “against” (κατά [kata] + genitive). English usage is satisfied with “on” at this point, but the parallel is lost in the translation to some degree, for the end of v. 15 says that this judgment is meted out on these sinners because they spoke against him (κατά + genitive).
3 tn Or “soul.”
4 tn Grk “of all their works of ungodliness.” The adverb “thoroughly” is part of the following verb “have committed.” See note on verb “committed” later in this verse.
5 tn The verb in Greek does not simply mean “have committed,” but “have committed in an ungodly way.” The verb ἀσεβέω (asebew) is cognate to the noun ἀσέβεια (asebeia, “ungodliness”). There is no easy way to express this in English, since English does not have a single word that means the same thing. Nevertheless, the tenor of v. 15 is plainly seen, regardless of the translation.
6 sn An apparent quotation from 1 En. 1:9. There is some doubt as to whether Jude is actually quoting from the text of 1 Enoch; the text here in Jude differs in some respects from the extant text of this pseudepigraphic book. It is sometimes suggested that Jude may instead have been quoting from oral tradition which had roots older than the written text.
7 tn The participles in v. 20 have been variously interpreted. Some treat them imperativally or as attendant circumstance to the imperative in v. 21 (“maintain”): “build yourselves up…pray.” But they do not follow the normal contours of either the imperatival or attendant circumstance participles, rendering this unlikely. A better option is to treat them as the means by which the readers are to maintain themselves in the love of God. This both makes eminently good sense and fits the structural patterns of instrumental participles elsewhere.
8 tn Traditionally, “transgressions” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV) or “sins” (NIV). For an explanation of the atrocities outlined in this oracle as treaty violations of God’s mandate to Noah in Gen 9:5-7, see the note on the word “violations” in 1:3.
9 tn Heb “Because of three violations of Tyre, even because of four.”
10 tn Heb “I will not bring it [or “him”] back.” The translation understands the pronominal object to refer to the decree of judgment that follows; the referent (the decree) has been specified in the translation for clarity. For another option see the note on the word “judgment” in 1:3.
11 tn Heb “handed over.”
12 tn Heb “[group of] exiles.” A similar phrase occurs in v. 6.
13 tn Heb “did not remember.”
14 sn A treaty of brotherhood. In the ancient Near Eastern world familial terms were sometimes used to describe treaty partners. In a treaty between superior and inferior parties, the lord would be called “father” and the subject “son.” The partners in a treaty between equals referred to themselves as “brothers.” For biblical examples, see 1 Kgs 9:13; 20:32-33.
15 sn The city wall symbolizes the city’s defenses and security.
16 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 sn Rabbah was the Ammonite capital.
18 sn The city wall symbolizes the city’s defenses and security.
19 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 tn Heb “with a war cry in the day of battle.”
21 tn Heb “with wind in the day of the windstorm.”
22 sn The destruction of Moab by fire is an example of a judgment in kind – as the Moabites committed the crime of “burning,” so the
23 sn Kerioth was an important Moabite city. See Jer 48:24, 41.
24 tn Or “die” (KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV); NAB “shall meet death.”
25 tn Or “in the tumult.” This word refers to the harsh confusion of sounds that characterized an ancient battle – a mixture of war cries, shouts, shrieks of pain, clashes of weapons, etc.
26 tn Heb “sound” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).
27 sn The ram’s horn (used as a trumpet) was blown to signal the approaching battle.
28 map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
29 tn Grk “For this reason, her plagues will come.”
30 tn Grk “death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).
31 tn This is the same Greek word (πένθος, penqo") translated “grief” in vv. 7-8.
32 tn Here “burned down” was used to translate κατακαυθήσεται (katakauqhsetai) because a city is in view.