Jude 1:17-21

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 

Luke 24:28-29

24:28 So they approached the village where they were going. He acted as though he wanted to go farther, ¹²  24:29 but they urged him, ¹³  “Stay with us, because it is getting toward evening and the day is almost done.” So ¹⁴  he went in to stay with them.

Acts 16:15

16:15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, ¹⁵  “If ¹⁶  you consider me to be a believer in the Lord, ¹⁷  come and stay in my house.” And she persuaded ¹⁸  us.

[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.”

[24:28]  ¹² sn He acted as though he wanted to go farther. This is written in a way that gives the impression Jesus knew they would ask him to stay.

[24:29]  ¹³ tn Grk “urged him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes, “saying”) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.

[24:29]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the disciples’ request.

[16:15]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “urged us, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[16:15]  ¹⁶ tn This is a first class condition in Greek, with the statement presented as real or true for the sake of the argument.

[16:15]  ¹⁷ tn Or “faithful to the Lord.” BDAG 821 s.v. πίστος 2 states concerning this verse, “Of one who confesses the Christian faith believing or a believer in the Lord, in Christ, in God πιστ. τῷ κυρίῳ Ac 16:15.” L&N 11.17 has “one who is included among the faithful followers of Christ – ‘believer, Christian, follower.’”

[16:15]  ¹⁸ tn Although BDAG 759 s.v. παραβιάζομαι has “urge strongly, prevail upon,” in contemporary English “persuade” is a more frequently used synonym for “prevail upon.”