Psalms 119:134

119:134 Deliver me ¹  from oppressive men,

so that I can keep ²  your precepts.

Jude 1:15-16

1:15 to execute judgment on ³  all, and to convict every person ⁴  of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds ⁵  that they have committed, ⁶  and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ⁷  1:16 These people are grumblers and ⁸  fault-finders who go ⁹  wherever their desires lead them, ¹⁰  and they give bombastic speeches, ¹¹  enchanting folks ¹²  for their own gain. ¹³ 

Matthew 1:21

1:21 She will give birth to a son and you will name him ¹⁴  Jesus, ¹⁵  because he will save his people from their sins.”

Titus 2:14

2:14 He ¹⁶  gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, ¹⁷  who are eager to do good. ¹⁸ 

Titus 3:4-8

3:4 ¹⁹  But “when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 3:5 he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, 3:6 whom he poured out on us in full measure ²⁰  through Jesus Christ our Savior. 3:7 And so, ²¹  since we have been justified by his grace, we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life.” ²² 

Summary of the Letter

3:8 This saying ²³  is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on such truths, ²⁴  so that those who have placed their faith in God may be intent on engaging in good works. These things are good and beneficial for all people.

¹ tn Or “redeem me.”

² tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

³ 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).

⁴ tn Or “soul.”

⁵ 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.

⁶ 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.

⁷ 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.

⁸ tn “And” is not in Greek, but is supplied for the sake of English style.

⁹ tn Or “going.” Though the participle is anarthrous, so also is the subject. Thus, the participle could be either adverbial or adjectival.

¹⁰ tn Grk “(who go/going) according to their own lusts.”

¹¹ tn Grk “and their mouth speaks bombastic things.”

¹² sn Enchanting folks (Grk “awing faces”) refers to the fact that the speeches of these false teachers are powerful and seductive.

¹³ tn Or “to their own advantage.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “you will call his name.”

¹⁵ sn The Greek form of the name Ihsous, which was translated into Latin as Jesus, is the same as the Hebrew Yeshua (Joshua), which means “Yahweh saves” (Yahweh is typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT). It was a fairly common name among Jews in 1st century Palestine, as references to a number of people by this name in the LXX and Josephus indicate.

¹⁶ tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).

¹⁷ tn Or “a people who are his very own.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “for good works.”

¹⁹ tn Verses 4-7 are set as poetry in NA²⁶/NA²⁷. These verses probably constitute the referent of the expression “this saying” in v. 8.

²⁰ tn Or “on us richly.”

²¹ tn This is the conclusion of a single, skillfully composed sentence in Greek encompassing Titus 3:4-7. Showing the goal of God’s merciful salvation, v. 7 begins literally, “in order that, being justified…we might become heirs…”

²² tn Grk “heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

²³ sn This saying (Grk “the saying”) refers to the preceding citation (Titus 3:4-7). See 1 Tim 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim 2:11 for other occurrences of this phrase.

²⁴ tn Grk “concerning these things.”