Jude 1:19-25

1:19 These people are divisive, ¹  worldly, ²  devoid of the Spirit. ³  1:20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, ⁴  1:21 maintain ⁵  yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating ⁶  the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life. ⁷  1:22 And have mercy on those who waver; 1:23 save ⁸  others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy ⁹  on others, coupled with a fear of God, ¹⁰  hating even the clothes stained ¹¹  by the flesh. ¹² 

Final Blessing

1:24 Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, ¹³  and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, ¹⁴  without blemish ¹⁵  before his glorious presence, ¹⁶  1:25 to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.

Jude 1:4-10

1:4 For certain men ¹⁷  have secretly slipped in among you ¹⁸  – men who long ago ¹⁹  were marked out ²⁰  for the condemnation I am about to describe ²¹  – ungodly men who have turned the grace of our God into a license for evil ²²  and who deny our only Master ²³  and Lord, ²⁴  Jesus Christ.

1:5 Now I desire to remind you (even though you have been fully informed of these facts ²⁵  once for all ²⁶ ) that Jesus, ²⁷  having saved the ²⁸  people out of the land of Egypt, later ²⁹  destroyed those who did not believe. 1:6 You also know that ³⁰  the angels who did not keep within their proper domain ³¹  but abandoned their own place of residence, he has kept ³²  in eternal chains ³³  in utter ³⁴  darkness, locked up ³⁵  for the judgment of the great Day. 1:7 So also ³⁶  Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns, ³⁷  since they indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire ³⁸  in a way similar to ³⁹  these angels, ⁴⁰  are now displayed as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire.

1:8 Yet these men, ⁴¹  as a result of their dreams, ⁴²  defile the flesh, reject authority, ⁴³  and insult ⁴⁴  the glorious ones. ⁴⁵  1:9 But even ⁴⁶  when Michael the archangel ⁴⁷  was arguing with the devil and debating with him ⁴⁸  concerning Moses’ body, he did not dare to bring a slanderous judgment, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!” 1:10 But these men do not understand the things they slander, and they are being destroyed by the very things that, like irrational animals, they instinctively comprehend. ⁴⁹ 

Jude 1:14-20

1:14 Now Enoch, the seventh in descent beginning with Adam, ⁵⁰  even prophesied of them, ⁵¹  saying, “Look! The Lord is coming ⁵²  with thousands and thousands ⁵³  of his holy ones, 1:15 to execute judgment on ⁵⁴  all, and to convict every person ⁵⁵  of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds ⁵⁶  that they have committed, ⁵⁷  and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ⁵⁸  1:16 These people are grumblers and ⁵⁹  fault-finders who go ⁶⁰  wherever their desires lead them, ⁶¹  and they give bombastic speeches, ⁶²  enchanting folks ⁶³  for their own gain. ⁶⁴ 

Exhortation to the Faithful

1:17 But you, dear friends – recall the predictions ⁶⁵  foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁶⁶  1:18 For they said to you, “In the end time there will come ⁶⁷  scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires.” ⁶⁸  1:19 These people are divisive, ⁶⁹  worldly, ⁷⁰  devoid of the Spirit. ⁷¹  1:20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, ⁷² 

Jude 1:19

1:19 These people are divisive, ⁷³  worldly, ⁷⁴  devoid of the Spirit. ⁷⁵ 

Jude 1:2

1:2 May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you! ⁷⁶ 

Jude 1:7-11

1:7 So also ⁷⁷  Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns, ⁷⁸  since they indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire ⁷⁹  in a way similar to ⁸⁰  these angels, ⁸¹  are now displayed as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire.

1:8 Yet these men, ⁸²  as a result of their dreams, ⁸³  defile the flesh, reject authority, ⁸⁴  and insult ⁸⁵  the glorious ones. ⁸⁶  1:9 But even ⁸⁷  when Michael the archangel ⁸⁸  was arguing with the devil and debating with him ⁸⁹  concerning Moses’ body, he did not dare to bring a slanderous judgment, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!” 1:10 But these men do not understand the things they slander, and they are being destroyed by the very things that, like irrational animals, they instinctively comprehend. ⁹⁰  1:11 Woe to them! For they have traveled down Cain’s path, ⁹¹  and because of greed ⁹²  have abandoned themselves ⁹³  to ⁹⁴  Balaam’s error; hence, ⁹⁵  they will certainly perish ⁹⁶  in Korah’s rebellion.

Job 42:10

42:10 So the Lord ⁹⁷  restored what Job had lost ⁹⁸  after he prayed for his friends, ⁹⁹  and the Lord doubled ¹⁰⁰  all that had belonged to Job.

Psalms 6:8

6:8 Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly, ¹⁰¹ 

for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping! ¹⁰² 

Psalms 6:2

6:2 Have mercy on me, ¹⁰³  Lord, for I am frail!

Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking! ¹⁰⁴ 

Colossians 1:9-10

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ¹⁰⁵  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ¹⁰⁶  to fill ¹⁰⁷  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live ¹⁰⁸  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ¹⁰⁹  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

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

[1:19]  ² 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]  ³ tn Grk “not having [the] Spirit.”

[1:20]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “keep.”

[1:21]  ⁶ tn Or “waiting for.”

[1:21]  ⁷ tn Grk “unto eternal life.”

[1:23]  ⁸ tn Grk “and save.”

[1:23]  ⁹ tn Grk “and have mercy.”

[1:23]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ sn The imagery here suggests that the things close to the sinners are contaminated by them, presumably during the process of sinning.

[1:23]  ¹² 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.

[1:24]  ¹³ tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “free from falling” is the adjectival complement.

[1:24]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “with rejoicing.” The prepositional clause is placed after “his glorious presence” in Greek, but most likely goes with “cause you to stand.”

[1:24]  ¹⁵ tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “without blemish” is the adjectival complement.

[1:24]  ¹⁶ tn Or “in the presence of his glory,” “before his glory.”

[1:4]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “people.” However, if Jude is indeed arguing that Peter’s prophecy about false teachers has come true, these are most likely men in the original historical and cultural setting. See discussion of this point in the note on the phrase “these men” in 2 Pet 2:12.

[1:4]  ¹⁸ tn “Among you” is not in the Greek text, but is obviously implied.

[1:4]  ¹⁹ tn Or “in the past.” The adverb πάλαι (palai) can refer to either, though the meaning “long ago” is more common.

[1:4]  ²⁰ tn Grk “written about.”

[1:4]  ²¹ tn Grk “for this condemnation.” τοῦτο (touto) is almost surely a kataphoric demonstrative pronoun, pointing to what follows in vv. 5-18. Otherwise, the condemnation is only implied (in v. 3b) or is merely a statement of their sinfulness (“ungodly” in v. 4b), not a judgment of it.

[1:4]  ²² tn Grk “debauchery.” This is the same word Peter uses to predict what the false teachers will be like (2 Pet 2:2, 7, 18).

[1:4]  ²³ tc Most later witnesses (P Ψ Ï sy) have θεόν (qeon, “God”) after δεσπότην (despothn, “master”), which appears to be a motivated reading in that it explicitly links “Master” to “God” in keeping with the normal NT pattern (see Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24; 2 Tim 2:21; Rev 6:10). In patristic Greek, δεσπότης (despoth") was used especially of God (cf. BDAG 220 s.v. 1.b.). The earlier and better witnesses (Ì^72,78 א A B C 0251 33 81 323 1241 1739 al co) lack θεόν; the shorter reading is thus preferred on both internal and external grounds.

[1:4]  ²⁴ tn The terms “Master and Lord” both refer to the same person. The construction in Greek is known as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point. For more discussion see ExSyn 270-78. See also Titus 2:13 and 2 Pet 1:1

[1:5]  ²⁵ tn Grk “knowing all things.” The subject of the participle “knowing” (εἰδότας, eidota") is an implied ὑμᾶς (Jumas), though several ancient witnesses actually add it. The πάντα (panta) takes on an adverbial force in this context (“fully”), intensifying how acquainted the readers are with the following points.

[1:5]  ²⁶ tc ‡ Some translations take ἅπαξ (Japax) with the following clause (thus, “[Jesus,] having saved the people once for all”). Such a translation presupposes that ἅπαξ is a part of the ὅτι (Joti) clause. The reading of NA²⁷, πάντα ὅτι [ὁ] κύριος ἅπαξ (panta {oti [Jo] kurio" {apax), suggests this interpretation (though with “Lord” instead of “Jesus”). This particle is found before λαόν (laon) in the ὅτι clause in א C* Ψ 630 1241 1243 1505 1739 1846 1881 pc co. But ἅπαξ is found before the ὅτι clause in most witnesses, including several important ones (Ì⁷² A B C² 33 81 623 2344 Ï vg). What seems best able to explain the various placements of the adverb is that scribes were uncomfortable with ἅπαξ referring to the readers’ knowledge, feeling it was more appropriate to the theological significance of “saved” (σώσας, swsas).

[1:5]  ²⁷ tc ‡ The reading ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsous, “Jesus”) is deemed too hard by several scholars, since it involves the notion of Jesus acting in the early history of the nation Israel. However, not only does this reading enjoy the strongest support from a variety of early witnesses (e.g., A B 33 81 1241 1739 1881 2344 pc vg co Or^1739mg), but the plethora of variants demonstrate that scribes were uncomfortable with it, for they seemed to exchange κύριος (kurios, “Lord”) or θεός (qeos, “God”) for ᾿Ιησοῦς (though Ì⁷² has the intriguing reading θεὸς Χριστός [qeos Cristos, “God Christ”] for ᾿Ιησοῦς). In addition to the evidence supplied in NA²⁷ for this reading, note also {88 322 323 424^c 665 915 2298 eth Cyr Hier Bede}. As difficult as the reading ᾿Ιησοῦς is, in light of v. 4 and in light of the progress of revelation (Jude being one of the last books in the NT to be composed), it is wholly appropriate.

[1:5]  ²⁸ tn Or perhaps “a,” though this is less likely.

[1:5]  ²⁹ tn Grk “the second time.”

[1:6]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ tn Grk “who did not keep their own domain.”

[1:6]  ³² 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]  ³³ sn In 2 Pet 2:4 a less common word for chains is used.

[1:6]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ 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”).

[1:7]  ³⁶ tn Grk “as.”

[1:7]  ³⁷ tn Grk “the towns [or cities] surrounding them.”

[1:7]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn Or “in the same way as.”

[1:7]  ⁴⁰ tn “Angels” is not in the Greek text; but the masculine demonstrative pronoun most likely refers back to the angels of v. 6.

[1:8]  ⁴¹ tn The reference is now to the false teachers.

[1:8]  ⁴² tn Grk “dreaming.” The participle ἐνυπνιαζόμενοι (enupniazomenoi, “dreaming”) is adverbial to the pronoun οὗτοι (|outoi, “these”), though the particular relationship is not clear. It could mean, “while dreaming,” “by dreaming,” or “because of dreaming.” This translation has adopted the last option as Jude’s meaning, partially for syntactical reasons (the causal participle usually precedes the main verb) and partially for contextual reasons (these false teachers must derive their authority from some source, and the dreams provide the most obvious base). The participle ἐνυπνιαζόμενοι was sometimes used of apocalyptic visions, both of true and false prophets. This seems to be the meaning here.

[1:8]  ⁴³ tn Most likely, the authority of the Lord is in view. This verse, then, echoes the indictment of v. 4: “they deny our Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

[1:8]  ⁴⁴ tn The construction with the three verbs (“defile, “reject,” and “insult”) involves the particles μέν, δέ, δέ (men, de, de). A more literal (and pedantic) translation would be: “on the one hand, they defile the flesh, on the other hand, they reject authority, and on another hand, they insult the glorious ones.”

[1:8]  ⁴⁵ sn The glorious ones refers to angelic beings rather than mere human beings, just as in 2 Pet 2:10 (on which this passage apparently depends). Whether the angelic beings are good or evil, however, is difficult to tell (hence, the translation is left ambiguous). However, both in 2 Pet 2:11 and here, in Jude 9, the wicked angels seem to be in view (for not even Michael insults them).

[1:9]  ⁴⁶ tn The word “even” is not in Greek; it is implied by the height of the contrast.

[1:9]  ⁴⁷ sn According to Jewish intertestamental literature (such as 1 En. 20), Michael was one of seven archangels.

[1:9]  ⁴⁸ tn The sentence structure is a bit different in Greek. Literally it reads: “But Michael the archangel, when arguing with the devil and disputing.”

[1:10]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “they should naturally comprehend.” The present tense in this context may have a conative force.

[1:14]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “the seventh from Adam.”

[1:14]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “against them.” The dative τούτοις (toutois) is a dativus incommodi (dative of disadvantage).

[1:14]  ⁵² tn Grk “has come,” a proleptic aorist.

[1:14]  ⁵³ 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]  ⁵⁴ 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]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “soul.”

[1:15]  ⁵⁶ 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]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ 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]  ⁵⁹ tn “And” is not in Greek, but is supplied for the sake of English style.

[1:16]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “going.” Though the participle is anarthrous, so also is the subject. Thus, the participle could be either adverbial or adjectival.

[1:16]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “(who go/going) according to their own lusts.”

[1:16]  ⁶² tn Grk “and their mouth speaks bombastic things.”

[1:16]  ⁶³ sn Enchanting folks (Grk “awing faces”) refers to the fact that the speeches of these false teachers are powerful and seductive.

[1:16]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “to their own advantage.”

[1:17]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “words.” In conjunction with προεῖπον (proeipon), however, the meaning of the construction is that the apostles uttered prophecies.

[1:17]  ⁶⁶ 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]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “be.”

[1:18]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “going according to their own desires of ungodliness.”

[1:19]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “these are the ones who cause divisions.”

[1:19]  ⁷⁰ 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]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “not having [the] Spirit.”

[1:20]  ⁷² 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.

[1:19]  ⁷³ tn Grk “these are the ones who cause divisions.”

[1:19]  ⁷⁴ 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]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “not having [the] Spirit.”

[1:2]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “may mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.”

[1:7]  ⁷⁷ tn Grk “as.”

[1:7]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “the towns [or cities] surrounding them.”

[1:7]  ⁷⁹ 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]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “in the same way as.”

[1:7]  ⁸¹ tn “Angels” is not in the Greek text; but the masculine demonstrative pronoun most likely refers back to the angels of v. 6.

[1:8]  ⁸² tn The reference is now to the false teachers.

[1:8]  ⁸³ tn Grk “dreaming.” The participle ἐνυπνιαζόμενοι (enupniazomenoi, “dreaming”) is adverbial to the pronoun οὗτοι (|outoi, “these”), though the particular relationship is not clear. It could mean, “while dreaming,” “by dreaming,” or “because of dreaming.” This translation has adopted the last option as Jude’s meaning, partially for syntactical reasons (the causal participle usually precedes the main verb) and partially for contextual reasons (these false teachers must derive their authority from some source, and the dreams provide the most obvious base). The participle ἐνυπνιαζόμενοι was sometimes used of apocalyptic visions, both of true and false prophets. This seems to be the meaning here.

[1:8]  ⁸⁴ tn Most likely, the authority of the Lord is in view. This verse, then, echoes the indictment of v. 4: “they deny our Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

[1:8]  ⁸⁵ tn The construction with the three verbs (“defile, “reject,” and “insult”) involves the particles μέν, δέ, δέ (men, de, de). A more literal (and pedantic) translation would be: “on the one hand, they defile the flesh, on the other hand, they reject authority, and on another hand, they insult the glorious ones.”

[1:8]  ⁸⁶ sn The glorious ones refers to angelic beings rather than mere human beings, just as in 2 Pet 2:10 (on which this passage apparently depends). Whether the angelic beings are good or evil, however, is difficult to tell (hence, the translation is left ambiguous). However, both in 2 Pet 2:11 and here, in Jude 9, the wicked angels seem to be in view (for not even Michael insults them).

[1:9]  ⁸⁷ tn The word “even” is not in Greek; it is implied by the height of the contrast.

[1:9]  ⁸⁸ sn According to Jewish intertestamental literature (such as 1 En. 20), Michael was one of seven archangels.

[1:9]  ⁸⁹ tn The sentence structure is a bit different in Greek. Literally it reads: “But Michael the archangel, when arguing with the devil and disputing.”

[1:10]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “they should naturally comprehend.” The present tense in this context may have a conative force.

[1:11]  ⁹¹ tn Or “they have gone the way of Cain.”

[1:11]  ⁹² tn Grk “for wages.”

[1:11]  ⁹³ 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]  ⁹⁴ tn Or “in.”

[1:11]  ⁹⁵ tn Grk “and.” See note on “perish” later in this verse.

[1:11]  ⁹⁶ 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).

[42:10]  ⁹⁷ tn The paragraph begins with the disjunctive vav, “Now as for the Lord, he….”

[42:10]  ⁹⁸ sn The expression here is interesting: “he returned the captivity of Job,” a clause used elsewhere in the Bible of Israel (see e.g., Ps 126). Here it must mean “the fortunes of Job,” i.e., what he had lost. There is a good deal of literature on this; for example, see R. Borger, “Zu sub sb(i)t,” ZAW 25 (1954): 315-16; and E. Baumann, ZAW 6 (1929): 17ff.

[42:10]  ⁹⁹ tn This is a temporal clause, using the infinitive construct with the subject genitive suffix. By this it seems that this act of Job was also something of a prerequisite for restoration – to pray for them.

[42:10]  ¹⁰⁰ tn The construction uses the verb “and he added” with the word “repeat” (or “twice”).

[6:8]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “all [you] workers of wickedness.” See Ps 5:5.

[6:8]  ¹⁰² sn The Lord has heard. The psalmist’s mood abruptly changes because the Lord responded positively to the lament and petition of vv. 1-7 and promised him deliverance.

[6:2]  ¹⁰³ tn Or “show me favor.”

[6:2]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Normally the verb בָּהַל (bahal) refers to an emotional response and means “tremble with fear, be terrified” (see vv. 3, 10). Perhaps here the “bones” are viewed as the seat of the psalmist’s emotions. However, the verb may describe one of the effects of his physical ailment, perhaps a fever. In Ezek 7:27 the verb describes how the hands of the people will shake with fear when they experience the horrors of divine judgment.

[1:9]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ¹⁰⁶ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ¹⁰⁷ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[1:10]  ¹⁰⁸ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ¹⁰⁹ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”