Jude 1:11-17

1:11 Woe to them! For they have traveled down Cain’s path, ¹  and because of greed ²  have abandoned themselves ³  to ⁴  Balaam’s error; hence, ⁵  they will certainly perish ⁶  in Korah’s rebellion. 1:12 These men are ⁷  dangerous reefs ⁸  at your love feasts, ⁹  feasting without reverence, ¹⁰  feeding only themselves. ¹¹  They are ¹²  waterless ¹³  clouds, carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit ¹⁴  – twice dead, ¹⁵  uprooted; 1:13 wild sea waves, ¹⁶  spewing out the foam of ¹⁷  their shame; ¹⁸  wayward stars ¹⁹  for whom the utter depths of eternal darkness ²⁰  have been reserved.

1:14 Now Enoch, the seventh in descent beginning with Adam, ²¹  even prophesied of them, ²²  saying, “Look! The Lord is coming ²³  with thousands and thousands ²⁴  of his holy ones, 1:15 to execute judgment on ²⁵  all, and to convict every person ²⁶  of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds ²⁷  that they have committed, ²⁸  and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ²⁹  1:16 These people are grumblers and ³⁰  fault-finders who go ³¹  wherever their desires lead them, ³²  and they give bombastic speeches, ³³  enchanting folks ³⁴  for their own gain. ³⁵ 

Exhortation to the Faithful

1:17 But you, dear friends – recall the predictions ³⁶  foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ³⁷ 

Jude 1:6

1:6 You also know that ³⁸  the angels who did not keep within their proper domain ³⁹  but abandoned their own place of residence, he has kept ⁴⁰  in eternal chains ⁴¹  in utter ⁴²  darkness, locked up ⁴³  for the judgment of the great Day.

Jude 1:2

1:2 May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you! ⁴⁴ 

Jude 1:7

1:7 So also ⁴⁵  Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns, ⁴⁶  since they indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire ⁴⁷  in a way similar to ⁴⁸  these angels, ⁴⁹  are now displayed as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire.

Jeremiah 8:2

8:2 They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon and the stars. ⁵⁰  These are things they ⁵¹  adored and served, things to which they paid allegiance, ⁵²  from which they sought guidance, and worshiped. The bones of these people ⁵³  will never be regathered and reburied. They will be like manure used to fertilize the ground. ⁵⁴ 

Jeremiah 9:14

9:14 Instead they have followed the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts. They have paid allegiance to ⁵⁵  the gods called Baal, ⁵⁶  as their fathers ⁵⁷  taught them to do.

Ezekiel 20:13

20:13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness; they did not follow my statutes and they rejected my regulations (the one who obeys them will live by them), and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I decided to pour out ⁵⁸  my rage on them in the wilderness and destroy them. ⁵⁹ 

Ezekiel 20:16

20:16 I did this ⁶⁰  because they rejected my regulations, did not follow my statutes, and desecrated my Sabbaths; for their hearts followed their idols. ⁶¹ 

Ezekiel 20:18

20:18 “‘But I said to their children ⁶²  in the wilderness, “Do not follow the practices of your fathers; do not observe their regulations, ⁶³  nor defile yourselves with their idols.

Ezekiel 20:24

20:24 I did this ⁶⁴  because they did not observe my regulations, they rejected my statutes, they desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on ⁶⁵  their fathers’ idols.

Ezekiel 20:30

20:30 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves like your fathers ⁶⁶  and engage in prostitution with detestable idols?

Ezekiel 20:1

Israel’s Rebellion

20:1 In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, ⁶⁷  some of the elders ⁶⁸  of Israel came to seek ⁶⁹  the Lord, and they sat down in front of me.

Ezekiel 1:18

1:18 Their rims were high and awesome, ⁷⁰  and the rims of all four wheels were full of eyes all around.

[1:11]  ¹ tn Or “they have gone the way of Cain.”

[1:11]  ² tn Grk “for wages.”

[1:11]  ³ tn The verb ἐκχέω (ekcew) normally means “pour out.” Here, in the passive, it occasionally has a reflexive idea, as BDAG 312 s.v. 3. suggests (with extra-biblical examples).

[1:11]  ⁴ tn Or “in.”

[1:11]  ⁵ tn Grk “and.” See note on “perish” later in this verse.

[1:11]  ⁶ tn The three verbs in this verse are all aorist indicative (“have gone down,” “have abandoned,” “have perished”). Although the first and second could be considered constative or ingressive, the last is almost surely proleptic (referring to the certainty of their future judgment). Although it may seem odd that a proleptic aorist is so casually connected to other aorists with a different syntactical force, it is not unparalleled (cf. Rom 8:30).

[1:12]  ⁷ tn Grk “these are the men who are.”

[1:12]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Cf. 2 Pet 2:17. Jude’s emphasis is slightly different (instead of waterless springs, they are waterless clouds).

[1:12]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “having died twice.”

[1:13]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “wild waves of the sea.”

[1:13]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “foaming, causing to foam.” The verb form is intensive and causative. BDAG 360 s.v. ἐπαφρίζω suggests the meaning “to cause to splash up like froth, cause to foam,” or, in this context, “waves casting up their own shameless deeds like (dirty) foam.”

[1:13]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “shames, shameful things.” It is uncertain whether shameful deeds or shameful words are in view. Either way, the picture has taken a decided turn: Though waterless clouds and fruitless trees may promise good things, but deliver nothing, wild sea-waves are portents of filth spewed forth from the belly of the sea.

[1:13]  ¹⁹ sn The imagery of a star seems to fit the nautical theme that Jude is developing. Stars were of course the guides to sailors at night, just as teachers are responsible to lead the flock through a benighted world. But false teachers, as wayward stars, are not fixed and hence offer unreliable, even disastrous guidance. They are thus both the dangerous reefs on which the ships could be destroyed and the false guides, leading them into these rocks. There is a special irony that these lights will be snuffed out, reserved for the darkest depths of eternal darkness.

[1:13]  ²⁰ tn Grk “utter darkness of darkness for eternity.” See note on the word “utter” in v. 6.

[1:14]  ²¹ tn Grk “the seventh from Adam.”

[1:14]  ²² tn Grk “against them.” The dative τούτοις (toutois) is a dativus incommodi (dative of disadvantage).

[1:14]  ²³ tn Grk “has come,” a proleptic aorist.

[1:14]  ²⁴ tn Grk “ten thousands.” The word μυριάς (muria"), from which the English myriad is derived, means “ten thousand.” In the plural it means “ten thousands.” This would mean, minimally, 20,000 (a multiple of ten thousand). At the same time, the term was often used in apocalyptic literature to represent simply a rather large number, without any attempt to be specific.

[1:15]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ tn Or “soul.”

[1:15]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ 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.

[1:16]  ³⁰ tn “And” is not in Greek, but is supplied for the sake of English style.

[1:16]  ³¹ tn Or “going.” Though the participle is anarthrous, so also is the subject. Thus, the participle could be either adverbial or adjectival.

[1:16]  ³² tn Grk “(who go/going) according to their own lusts.”

[1:16]  ³³ tn Grk “and their mouth speaks bombastic things.”

[1:16]  ³⁴ sn Enchanting folks (Grk “awing faces”) refers to the fact that the speeches of these false teachers are powerful and seductive.

[1:16]  ³⁵ tn Or “to their own advantage.”

[1:17]  ³⁶ tn Grk “words.” In conjunction with προεῖπον (proeipon), however, the meaning of the construction is that the apostles uttered prophecies.

[1:17]  ³⁷ 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.

[1:6]  ³⁸ tn Grk “and.” Verse 6 is a continuation of the same sentence begun in v. 5. Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:6]  ³⁹ tn Grk “who did not keep their own domain.”

[1:6]  ⁴⁰ sn There is an interesting play on words used in this verse. Because the angels did not keep their proper place, Jesus has kept them chained up in another place. The same verb keep is used in v. 1 to describe believers’ status before God and Christ.

[1:6]  ⁴¹ sn In 2 Pet 2:4 a less common word for chains is used.

[1:6]  ⁴² tn The word ζόφος (zofos, “utter, deepest darkness”) is used only five times in the NT: two in 2 Peter, two in Jude, and one in Hebrews. Jude 6 parallels 2 Pet 2:4; Jude 13 parallels 2 Pet 2:17.

[1:6]  ⁴³ tn The words “locked up” are not in Greek, but is expressed in English as a resumptive point after the double prepositional phrase (“in eternal chains in utter darkness”).

[1:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “may mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.”

[1:7]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “as.”

[1:7]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “the towns [or cities] surrounding them.”

[1:7]  ⁴⁷ 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]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “in the same way as.”

[1:7]  ⁴⁹ tn “Angels” is not in the Greek text; but the masculine demonstrative pronoun most likely refers back to the angels of v. 6.

[8:2]  ⁵⁰ tc MT, 4QJer^a and LXX read “the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven,” but 4QJer^c reads “the sun and all the stars.”

[8:2]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “the sun, moon, and host of heaven which they…”

[8:2]  ⁵² tn Heb “followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.

[8:2]  ⁵³ tn Heb “they will not” but the referent is far enough removed that it might be ambiguous.

[8:2]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “like dung/manure on the surface of the ground.”

[9:14]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “they have gone/followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.

[9:14]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “the Baals,” referring either to the pagan gods called “Baals” or the images of Baal (so NLT).

[9:14]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “forefathers,” or “ancestors.” Here the referent could be the immediate parents or, by their example, more distant ancestors.

[20:13]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”

[20:13]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “to bring them to an end.”

[20:16]  ⁶⁰ tn The words “I did this” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons. Verses 15-16 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text. The translation divides this sentence into two for stylistic reasons.

[20:16]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “for after their idols their heart was going.” The use of the active participle (“was going”) in the Hebrew text draws attention to the ongoing nature of their idolatrous behavior.

[20:18]  ⁶² tn Heb “sons,” reflecting the patriarchal idiom of the culture.

[20:18]  ⁶³ tn Or “standard of justice.” See Ezek 7:27.

[20:24]  ⁶⁴ tn The words “I did this” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons. Verses 23-24 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text. The translation divides this sentence into two for stylistic reasons.

[20:24]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “they worshiped” (NCV, TEV, CEV); Heb “their eyes were on” or “were after” (cf. v. 16).

[20:30]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “in the way of your fathers.”

[20:1]  ⁶⁷ sn The date would be August 14th, 591 b.c. The seventh year is the seventh year of Jehoiachin’s exile.

[20:1]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “men from the elders.”

[20:1]  ⁶⁹ tn See the note at 14:3.

[1:18]  ⁷⁰ tc The MT reads וְיִרְאָה לָהֶם (vÿyir’ah lahem, “and fear belonged to them”). In a similar vision in 10:12 the wheels are described as having spokes (יִדֵיהֶם, yideyhem). That parallel would suggest יָדוֹת (yadot) here (written יָדֹת without the mater). By positing both a ד/ר (dalet/resh) confusion and a ת/ה (hey/khet) confusion the form was read as וְיָרֵה (vÿyareh) and was then misunderstood and subsequently written as וְיִרְאָה (vÿyir’ah) in the MT. The reading וְיִרְאָה does not seem to fit the context well, though in English it can be made to sound as if it does. See W. H. Brownlee, Ezekiel 1-19 (WBC), 8-9. The LXX reads καὶ εἶδον αὐτά (kai eidon auta, “and I saw”), which assumes וָאֵרֶא (va’ere’). The existing consonants of the MT may also be read as “it was visible to them.”