Genesis 9:6

9:6 “Whoever sheds human blood, ¹ 

by other humans ² 

must his blood be shed;

for in God’s image ³ 

God ⁴  has made humankind.”

Jude 1:7

1:7 So also ⁵  Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns, ⁶  since they indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire ⁷  in a way similar to ⁸  these angels, ⁹  are now displayed as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire.

Matthew 7:2

7:2 For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive. ¹⁰ 

James 2:13

2:13 For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over ¹¹  judgment.

Revelation 16:5-7

16:5 Now ¹²  I heard the angel of the waters saying:

“You are just ¹³  – the one who is and who was,

the Holy One – because you have passed these judgments, ¹⁴ 

16:6 because they poured out the blood of your saints and prophets,

so ¹⁵  you have given them blood to drink. They got what they deserved!” ¹⁶ 

16:7 Then ¹⁷  I heard the altar reply, ¹⁸  “Yes, Lord God, the All-Powerful, ¹⁹  your judgments are true and just!”

[9:6]  ¹ tn Heb “the blood of man.”

[9:6]  ² tn Heb “by man,” a generic term here for other human beings.

[9:6]  ³ sn See the notes on the words “humankind” and “likeness” in Gen 1:26, as well as J. Barr, “The Image of God in the Book of Genesis – A Study of Terminology,” BJRL 51 (1968/69): 11-26.

[9:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “as.”

[1:7]  ⁶ tn Grk “the towns [or cities] surrounding them.”

[1:7]  ⁷ tn Grk “strange flesh.” This phrase has been variously interpreted. It could refer to flesh of another species (such as angels lusting after human flesh). This would aptly describe the sin of the angels, but not easily explain the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. It could refer to the homosexual practices of the Sodomites, but a difficulty arises from the use of ἕτερος ({etero"; “strange,” “other”). When this is to be distinguished from ἄλλος (allos, “another”) it suggests “another of a different kind.” If so, would that properly describe homosexual behavior? In response, the language could easily be compact: “pursued flesh other than what was normally pursued.” However, would this find an analogy in the lust of angels (such would imply that angels normally had sexual relations of some sort, but cf. Matt 22:30)? Another alternative is that the focus of the parallel is on the activity of the surrounding cities and the activity of the angels. This is especially plausible since the participles ἐκπορνεύσασαι (ekporneusasai, “having indulged in sexual immorality”) and ἀπελθοῦσαι (apelqousai, “having pursued”) have concord with “cities” (πόλεις, poleis), a feminine plural noun, rather than with Sodom and Gomorrah (both masculine nouns). If so, then their sin would not necessarily have to be homosexuality. However, most likely the feminine participles are used because of constructio ad sensum (construction according to sense). That is, since both Sodom and Gomorrah are cities, the feminine is used to imply that all the cities are involved. The connection with angels thus seems to be somewhat loose: Both angels and Sodom and Gomorrah indulged in heinous sexual immorality. Thus, whether the false teachers indulge in homosexual activity is not the point; mere sexual immorality is enough to condemn them.

[1:7]  ⁸ tn Or “in the same way as.”

[1:7]  ⁹ tn “Angels” is not in the Greek text; but the masculine demonstrative pronoun most likely refers back to the angels of v. 6.

[7:2]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “by [the measure] with which you measure it will be measured to you.”

[2:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “boasts against, exults over,” in victory.

[16:5]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the somewhat parenthetical nature of the remarks that follow.

[16:5]  ¹³ tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.

[16:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or “because you have judged these things.” The pronoun ταῦτα (tauta) is neuter gender.

[16:6]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that this judgment is the result of what these wicked people did to the saints and prophets.

[16:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “They are worthy”; i.e., of this kind of punishment. By extension, “they got what they deserve.”

[16:7]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[16:7]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “the altar saying.”

[16:7]  ¹⁹ tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”