Jude 1:17-23

Exhortation to the Faithful

1:17 But you, dear friends – recall the predictions ¹  foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²  1:18 For they said to you, “In the end time there will come ³  scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires.” ⁴  1:19 These people are divisive, ⁵  worldly, ⁶  devoid of the Spirit. ⁷  1:20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, ⁸  1:21 maintain ⁹  yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating ¹⁰  the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life. ¹¹  1:22 And have mercy on those who waver; 1:23 save ¹²  others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy ¹³  on others, coupled with a fear of God, ¹⁴  hating even the clothes stained ¹⁵  by the flesh. ¹⁶ 

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

[1:17]  ² 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]  ³ tn Grk “be.”

[1:18]  ⁴ tn Grk “going according to their own desires of ungodliness.”

[1:19]  ⁵ tn Grk “these are the ones who cause divisions.”

[1:19]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “not having [the] Spirit.”

[1:20]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Or “keep.”

[1:21]  ¹⁰ tn Or “waiting for.”

[1:21]  ¹¹ tn Grk “unto eternal life.”

[1:23]  ¹² tn Grk “and save.”

[1:23]  ¹³ tn Grk “and have mercy.”

[1:23]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ sn The imagery here suggests that the things close to the sinners are contaminated by them, presumably during the process of sinning.

[1:23]  ¹⁶ 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.