Job 18:16

18:16 Below his roots dry up,

and his branches wither above.

Job 29:19

29:19 My roots reach the water,

and the dew lies on my branches all night long.

Isaiah 5:24

5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire ¹  devours straw,

and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,

so their root will rot,

and their flower will blow away like dust. ² 

For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,

they have spurned the commands ³  of the Holy One of Israel. ⁴ 

Isaiah 40:24

40:24 Indeed, they are barely planted;

yes, they are barely sown;

yes, they barely take root in the earth,

and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up,

and the wind carries them away like straw.

Jeremiah 12:1-2

12:1 Lord, you have always been fair

whenever I have complained to you. ⁵ 

However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice. ⁶ 

Why are wicked people successful? ⁷ 

Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?

12:2 You plant them like trees and they put down their roots. ⁸ 

They grow prosperous and are very fruitful. ⁹ 

They always talk about you,

but they really care nothing about you. ¹⁰ 

Mark 11:20

The Withered Fig Tree

11:20 In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots.

Jude 1:12

1:12 These men are ¹¹  dangerous reefs ¹²  at your love feasts, ¹³  feasting without reverence, ¹⁴  feeding only themselves. ¹⁵  They are ¹⁶  waterless ¹⁷  clouds, carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit ¹⁸  – twice dead, ¹⁹  uprooted;

[5:24]  ¹ tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.

[5:24]  ² sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.

[5:24]  ³ tn Heb “the word.”

[5:24]  ⁴ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[12:1]  ⁵ tn Or “Lord, you are fair when I present my case before you.”

[12:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “judgments” or “matters of justice.” For the nuance of “complain to,” “fair,” “disposition of justice” assumed here, see BDB 936 s.v. רִיב Qal.4 (cf. Judg 21:22); BDB 843 s.v. צַדִּיק 1.d (cf. Ps 7:12; 11:7); BDB 1049 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 1.f (cf. Isa 26:8; Ps 10:5; Ezek 7:27).

[12:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “Why does the way [= course of life] of the wicked prosper?”

[12:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “You planted them and they took root.”

[12:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “they grow and produce fruit.” For the nuance “grow” for the verb which normally means “go, walk,” see BDB 232 s.v. חָלַךְ Qal.I.3 and compare Hos 14:7.

[12:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “You are near in their mouths, but far from their kidneys.” The figure of substitution is being used here, “mouth” for “words” and “kidneys” for passions and affections. A contemporary equivalent might be, “your name is always on their lips, but their hearts are far from you.”

[1:12]  ¹¹ tn Grk “these are the men who are.”

[1:12]  ¹² tn Though σπιλάδες (spilades) is frequently translated “blemishes” or “stains,” such is actually a translation of the Greek word σπίλοι (spiloi). The two words are quite similar, especially in their root or lexical forms (σπιλάς [spila"] and σπίλος [spilos] respectively). Some scholars have suggested that σπιλάδες in this context means the same thing as σπίλοι. But such could be the case only by a stretch of the imagination (see BDAG 938 s.v. σπιλάς for discussion). Others suggest that Jude’s spelling was in error (which also is doubtful). One reason for the tension is that in the parallel passage, 2 Pet 2:13, the term used is indeed σπίλος. And if either Jude used 2 Peter or 2 Peter used Jude, one would expect to see the same word. Jude, however, may have changed the wording for the sake of a subtle wordplay. The word σπιλάς was often used of a mere rock, though it normally was associated with a rock along the shore or one jutting out in the water. Thus, the false teachers would appear as “rocks” – as pillars in the community (cf. Matt 16:18; Gal 2:9), when in reality if a believer got too close to them his faith would get shipwrecked. Some suggest that σπιλάδες here means “hidden rocks.” Though this meaning is attested for the word, it is inappropriate in this context, since these false teachers are anything but hidden. They are dangerous because undiscerning folks get close to them, thinking they are rocks and pillars, when they are really dangerous reefs.

[1:12]  ¹³ tc Several witnesses (A C^vid 1243 1846 al), influenced by the parallel in 2 Pet 2:13, read ἀπάταις (apatai", “deceptions”) for ἀγάπαις (agapai", “love-feasts”) in v. 12. However, ἀγάπαις has much stronger and earlier support and should therefore be considered original.

[1:12]  ¹⁴ tn Or “fearlessly.” The term in this context, however, is decidedly negative. The implication is that these false teachers ate the Lord’s Supper without regarding the sanctity of the meal. Cf. 1 Cor 11:17-22.

[1:12]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “shepherding themselves.” The verb ποιμαίνω (poimainw) means “shepherd, nurture [the flock].” But these men, rather than tending to the flock of God, nurture only themselves. They thus fall under the condemnation Paul uttered when writing to the Corinthians: “For when it comes time to eat [the Lord’s Supper,] each one goes ahead with his own meal” (1 Cor 11:21). Above all, the love-feast was intended to be a shared meal in which all ate and all felt welcome.

[1:12]  ¹⁶ tn “They are” is not in Greek, but resumes the thought begun at the front of v. 12. There is no period before “They are.” English usage requires breaking this into more than one sentence.

[1:12]  ¹⁷ tn Cf. 2 Pet 2:17. Jude’s emphasis is slightly different (instead of waterless springs, they are waterless clouds).

[1:12]  ¹⁸ sn The imagery portraying the false teachers as autumn trees without fruit has to do with their lack of productivity. Recall the statement to the same effect by Jesus in Matt 7:16-20, in which false prophets will be known by their fruits. Like waterless clouds full of false hope, these trees do not yield any harvest even though it is expected.

[1:12]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “having died twice.”