Genesis 31:19

31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, ¹  Rachel stole the household idols ²  that belonged to her father.

Jude 1:5

1:5 Now I desire to remind you (even though you have been fully informed of these facts ³  once for all ⁴ ) that Jesus, ⁵  having saved the ⁶  people out of the land of Egypt, later ⁷  destroyed those who did not believe.

Jude 1:17-24

Exhortation to the Faithful

1:17 But you, dear friends – recall the predictions ⁸  foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹  1:18 For they said to you, “In the end time there will come ¹⁰  scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires.” ¹¹  1:19 These people are divisive, ¹²  worldly, ¹³  devoid of the Spirit. ¹⁴  1:20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, ¹⁵  1:21 maintain ¹⁶  yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating ¹⁷  the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life. ¹⁸  1:22 And have mercy on those who waver; 1:23 save ¹⁹  others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy ²⁰  on others, coupled with a fear of God, ²¹  hating even the clothes stained ²²  by the flesh. ²³ 

Final Blessing

1:24 Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, ²⁴  and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, ²⁵  without blemish ²⁶  before his glorious presence, ²⁷ 

Jude 1:2

1:2 May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you! ²⁸ 

Jude 1:24

Final Blessing

1:24 Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, ²⁹  and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, ³⁰  without blemish ³¹  before his glorious presence, ³² 

Ezekiel 20:32

20:32 “‘What you plan ³³  will never happen. You say, “We will be ³⁴  like the nations, like the clans of the lands, who serve gods of wood and stone.” ³⁵ 

Ezekiel 21:21

21:21 For the king of Babylon stands at the fork ³⁶  in the road at the head of the two routes. He looks for omens: ³⁷  He shakes arrows, he consults idols, ³⁸  he examines ³⁹  animal livers. ⁴⁰ 

Micah 5:11-14

5:11 I will destroy the cities of your land,

and tear down all your fortresses.

5:12 I will remove the sorcery ⁴¹  that you practice, ⁴² 

and you will no longer have omen readers living among you. ⁴³ 

5:13 I will remove your idols and sacred pillars from your midst;

you will no longer worship what your own hands made.

5:14 I will uproot your images of Asherah ⁴⁴  from your midst,

and destroy your idols. ⁴⁵ 

Zechariah 13:2

13:2 And also on that day,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will remove ⁴⁶  the names of the idols from the land and they will never again be remembered. Moreover, I will remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.

[31:19]  ¹ tn This disjunctive clause (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new scene. In the English translation it may be subordinated to the following clause.

[31:19]  ² tn Or “household gods.” Some translations merely transliterate the Hebrew term תְּרָפִים (tÿrafim) as “teraphim,” which apparently refers to household idols. Some contend that possession of these idols guaranteed the right of inheritance, but it is more likely that they were viewed simply as protective deities. See M. Greenberg, “Another Look at Rachel’s Theft of the Teraphim,” JBL 81 (1962): 239-48.

[1:5]  ³ tn Grk “knowing all things.” The subject of the participle “knowing” (εἰδότας, eidota") is an implied ὑμᾶς (Jumas), though several ancient witnesses actually add it. The πάντα (panta) takes on an adverbial force in this context (“fully”), intensifying how acquainted the readers are with the following points.

[1:5]  ⁴ tc ‡ Some translations take ἅπαξ (Japax) with the following clause (thus, “[Jesus,] having saved the people once for all”). Such a translation presupposes that ἅπαξ is a part of the ὅτι (Joti) clause. The reading of NA²⁷, πάντα ὅτι [ὁ] κύριος ἅπαξ (panta {oti [Jo] kurio" {apax), suggests this interpretation (though with “Lord” instead of “Jesus”). This particle is found before λαόν (laon) in the ὅτι clause in א C* Ψ 630 1241 1243 1505 1739 1846 1881 pc co. But ἅπαξ is found before the ὅτι clause in most witnesses, including several important ones (Ì⁷² A B C² 33 81 623 2344 Ï vg). What seems best able to explain the various placements of the adverb is that scribes were uncomfortable with ἅπαξ referring to the readers’ knowledge, feeling it was more appropriate to the theological significance of “saved” (σώσας, swsas).

[1:5]  ⁵ tc ‡ The reading ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsous, “Jesus”) is deemed too hard by several scholars, since it involves the notion of Jesus acting in the early history of the nation Israel. However, not only does this reading enjoy the strongest support from a variety of early witnesses (e.g., A B 33 81 1241 1739 1881 2344 pc vg co Or^1739mg), but the plethora of variants demonstrate that scribes were uncomfortable with it, for they seemed to exchange κύριος (kurios, “Lord”) or θεός (qeos, “God”) for ᾿Ιησοῦς (though Ì⁷² has the intriguing reading θεὸς Χριστός [qeos Cristos, “God Christ”] for ᾿Ιησοῦς). In addition to the evidence supplied in NA²⁷ for this reading, note also {88 322 323 424^c 665 915 2298 eth Cyr Hier Bede}. As difficult as the reading ᾿Ιησοῦς is, in light of v. 4 and in light of the progress of revelation (Jude being one of the last books in the NT to be composed), it is wholly appropriate.

[1:5]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps “a,” though this is less likely.

[1:5]  ⁷ tn Grk “the second time.”

[1:17]  ⁸ tn Grk “words.” In conjunction with προεῖπον (proeipon), however, the meaning of the construction is that the apostles uttered prophecies.

[1:17]  ⁹ sn This verse parallels 2 Pet 3:2 both conceptually and in much of the verbiage. There is one important difference, however: In 2 Pet 3:2 the prophets and apostles speak; here, just the apostles speak. This makes good sense if Jude is using 2 Peter as his main source and is urging his readers to go back to the authoritative writings, both OT and now especially NT.

[1:18]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “be.”

[1:18]  ¹¹ tn Grk “going according to their own desires of ungodliness.”

[1:19]  ¹² tn Grk “these are the ones who cause divisions.”

[1:19]  ¹³ tn Or “natural,” that is, living on the level of instincts, not on a spiritual level (the same word occurs in 1 Cor 2:14 as a description of nonbelievers).

[1:19]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “not having [the] Spirit.”

[1:20]  ¹⁵ 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.

[1:21]  ¹⁶ tn Or “keep.”

[1:21]  ¹⁷ tn Or “waiting for.”

[1:21]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “unto eternal life.”

[1:23]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and save.”

[1:23]  ²⁰ tn Grk “and have mercy.”

[1:23]  ²¹ tn Grk “with fear.” But as this contrasts with ἀφόβως (afobw") in v. 12 (without reverence), the posture of the false teachers, it most likely refers to reverence for God.

[1:23]  ²² sn The imagery here suggests that the things close to the sinners are contaminated by them, presumably during the process of sinning.

[1:23]  ²³ tn Grk “hating even the tunic spotted by the flesh.” The “flesh” in this instance could refer to the body or to the sin nature. It makes little difference in one sense: Jude is thinking primarily of sexual sins, which are borne of the sin nature and manifest themselves in inappropriate deeds done with the body. At the same time, he is not saying that the body is intrinsically bad, a view held by the opponents of Christianity. Hence, it is best to see “flesh” as referring to the sin nature here and the language as metaphorical.

[1:24]  ²⁴ tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “free from falling” is the adjectival complement.

[1:24]  ²⁵ tn Grk “with rejoicing.” The prepositional clause is placed after “his glorious presence” in Greek, but most likely goes with “cause you to stand.”

[1:24]  ²⁶ tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “without blemish” is the adjectival complement.

[1:24]  ²⁷ tn Or “in the presence of his glory,” “before his glory.”

[1:2]  ²⁸ tn Grk “may mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.”

[1:24]  ²⁹ tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “free from falling” is the adjectival complement.

[1:24]  ³⁰ tn Grk “with rejoicing.” The prepositional clause is placed after “his glorious presence” in Greek, but most likely goes with “cause you to stand.”

[1:24]  ³¹ tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “without blemish” is the adjectival complement.

[1:24]  ³² tn Or “in the presence of his glory,” “before his glory.”

[20:32]  ³³ tn Heb “what comes upon your mind.”

[20:32]  ³⁴ tn The Hebrew could also read: “Let us be.”

[20:32]  ³⁵ tn Heb “serving wood and stone.”

[21:21]  ³⁶ tn Heb “mother.”

[21:21]  ³⁷ sn Mesopotamian kings believed that the gods revealed the future through omens. They employed various divination techniques, some of which are included in the list that follows. A particularly popular technique was the examination and interpretation of the livers of animals. See R. R. Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel, 90-110.

[21:21]  ³⁸ tn This word refers to personal idols that were apparently used for divination purposes (Gen 31:19; 1 Sam 19:13, 16).

[21:21]  ³⁹ tn Heb “sees.”

[21:21]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the liver.”

[5:12]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “magic charms” (so NCV, TEV); NIV, NLT “witchcraft”; NAB “the means of divination.” The precise meaning of this Hebrew word is uncertain, but note its use in Isa 47:9, 12.

[5:12]  ⁴² tn Heb “from your hands.”

[5:12]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and you will not have omen-readers.”

[5:14]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “Asherah poles.”

[5:14]  ⁴⁵ tn The MT reads “your cities,” but many emend the text to צִרֶיךָ (tsirekha, “your images”) or עֲצַבֶּיךָ (’atsbbekha, “your idols”).

[13:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “cut off” (so NRSV); NAB “destroy”; NIV “banish.”