Genesis 32:10

32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love ¹  you have shown ²  your servant. With only my walking stick ³  I crossed the Jordan, ⁴  but now I have become two camps.

Exodus 3:11

3:11 Moses said ⁵  to God, ⁶  “Who am I, that I should go ⁷  to Pharaoh, or that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

Jude 1:15

1:15 to execute judgment on ⁸  all, and to convict every person ⁹  of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds ¹⁰  that they have committed, ¹¹  and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ¹² 

Jude 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Jude, ¹³  a slave ¹⁴  of Jesus Christ and brother of James, ¹⁵  to those who are called, wrapped in the love of ¹⁶  God the Father and kept for ¹⁷  Jesus Christ.

Jude 1:21

1:21 maintain ¹⁸  yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating ¹⁹  the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life. ²⁰ 

Jude 1:17-18

Exhortation to the Faithful

1:17 But you, dear friends – recall the predictions ²¹  foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²²  1:18 For they said to you, “In the end time there will come ²³  scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires.” ²⁴ 

Psalms 8:4

8:4 Of what importance is the human race, ²⁵  that you should notice ²⁶  them?

Of what importance is mankind, ²⁷  that you should pay attention to them, ²⁸ 

Ephesians 3:8

3:8 To me – less than the least of all the saints ²⁹  – this grace was given, ³⁰  to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ

[32:10]  ¹ tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).

[32:10]  ² tn Heb “you have done with.”

[32:10]  ³ tn Heb “for with my staff.” The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally translated “staff,” has been rendered as “walking stick” because a “staff” in contemporary English refers typically to the support personnel in an organization.

[32:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “this Jordan.”

[3:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “And Moses said.”

[3:11]  ⁶ sn When he was younger, Moses was confident and impulsive, but now that he is older the greatness of the task makes him unsure. The remainder of this chapter and the next chapter record the four difficulties of Moses and how the Lord answers them (11-12, 13-22; then 4:1-9; and finally 4:10-17).

[3:11]  ⁷ tn The imperfect tense אֵלֵךְ (’elekh) carries the modal nuance of obligatory imperfect, i.e., “that I should go.” Moses at this point is overwhelmed with the task of representing God, and with his personal insufficiency, and so in honest humility questions the choice.

[1:15]  ⁸ 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).

[1:15]  ⁹ tn Or “soul.”

[1:15]  ¹⁰ 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.

[1:15]  ¹¹ 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.

[1:15]  ¹² 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.

[1:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “Judas,” traditionally “Jude” in English versions to distinguish him from the one who betrayed Jesus. The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ¹⁴ tn Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). At the same time, perhaps “servant” is apt in that the δοῦλος of Jesus Christ took on that role voluntarily, unlike a slave. The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ¹⁵ sn Although Jude was half-brother of Jesus, he humbly associates himself with James, his full brother. By first calling himself a slave of Jesus Christ, it is evident that he wants no one to place stock in his physical connections. At the same time, he must identify himself further: Since Jude was a common name in the 1st century (two of Jesus’ disciples were so named, including his betrayer), more information was needed, that is to say, brother of James.

[1:1]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “loved in.” The perfect passive participle suggests that the audience’s relationship to God is not recent; the preposition ἐν (en) before πατρί (patri) could be taken as sphere or instrument (agency is unlikely, however). Another possible translation would be “dear to God.”

[1:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “by.” Datives of agency are quite rare in the NT (and other ancient Greek), almost always found with a perfect verb. Although this text qualifies, in light of the well-worn idiom of τηρέω (threw) in eschatological contexts, in which God or Christ keeps the believer safe until the parousia (cf. 1 Thess 5:23; 1 Pet 1:4; Rev 3:10; other terms meaning “to guard,” “to keep” are also found in similar eschatological contexts [cf. 2 Thess 3:3; 2 Tim 1:12; 1 Pet 1:5; Jude 24]), it is probably better to understand this verse as having such an eschatological tinge. It is at the same time possible that Jude’s language was intentionally ambiguous, implying both ideas (“kept by Jesus Christ [so that they might be] kept for Jesus Christ”). Elsewhere he displays a certain fondness for wordplays; this may be a hint of things to come.

[1:21]  ¹⁸ tn Or “keep.”

[1:21]  ¹⁹ tn Or “waiting for.”

[1:21]  ²⁰ tn Grk “unto eternal life.”

[1:17]  ²¹ tn Grk “words.” In conjunction with προεῖπον (proeipon), however, the meaning of the construction is that the apostles uttered prophecies.

[1:17]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Grk “be.”

[1:18]  ²⁴ tn Grk “going according to their own desires of ungodliness.”

[8:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “What is man[kind]?” The singular noun אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh, “man”) is used here in a collective sense and refers to the human race.

[8:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “remember him.”

[8:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and the son of man.” The phrase “son of man” is used here in a collective sense and refers to human beings. For other uses of the phrase in a collective or representative manner, see Num 23:19; Ps 146:3; Isa 51:12.

[8:4]  ²⁸ tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 describe God’s characteristic activity.

[3:8]  ²⁹ sn In Pauline writings saints means any true believer. Thus for Paul to view himself as less than the least of all the saints is to view himself as the most unworthy object of Christ’s redemption.

[3:8]  ³⁰ sn The parallel phrases to proclaim and to enlighten which follow indicate why God’s grace was manifested to Paul. Grace was not something just to be received, but to be shared with others (cf. Acts 13:47).