Jude 1:22

1:22 And have mercy on those who waver;

Jude 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Jude, ¹  a slave ²  of Jesus Christ and brother of James, ³  to those who are called, wrapped in the love of ⁴  God the Father and kept for ⁵  Jesus Christ.

Jude 1:16

1:16 These people are grumblers and ⁶  fault-finders who go ⁷  wherever their desires lead them, ⁸  and they give bombastic speeches, ⁹  enchanting folks ¹⁰  for their own gain. ¹¹ 

Jude 1:20

1:20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, ¹² 

Jude 1:2

1:2 May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you! ¹³ 

Jude 1:17

Exhortation to the Faithful

1:17 But you, dear friends – recall the predictions ¹⁴  foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 35:5-6

35:5 May they be ¹⁶  like wind-driven chaff,

as the Lord’s angel ¹⁷  attacks them! ¹⁸ 

35:6 May their path be ¹⁹  dark and slippery,

as the Lord’s angel chases them!

Isaiah 19:2

19:2 “I will provoke civil strife in Egypt, ²⁰ 

brothers will fight with each other,

as will neighbors,

cities, and kingdoms. ²¹ 

Ezekiel 38:21

38:21 I will call for a sword to attack ²²  Gog ²³  on all my mountains, declares the sovereign Lord; every man’s sword will be against his brother.

[1:1]  ¹ tn Grk “Judas,” traditionally “Jude” in English versions to distinguish him from the one who betrayed Jesus. The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ² tn Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). At the same time, perhaps “servant” is apt in that the δοῦλος of Jesus Christ took on that role voluntarily, unlike a slave. The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ³ sn Although Jude was half-brother of Jesus, he humbly associates himself with James, his full brother. By first calling himself a slave of Jesus Christ, it is evident that he wants no one to place stock in his physical connections. At the same time, he must identify himself further: Since Jude was a common name in the 1st century (two of Jesus’ disciples were so named, including his betrayer), more information was needed, that is to say, brother of James.

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “loved in.” The perfect passive participle suggests that the audience’s relationship to God is not recent; the preposition ἐν (en) before πατρί (patri) could be taken as sphere or instrument (agency is unlikely, however). Another possible translation would be “dear to God.”

[1:1]  ⁵ tn Or “by.” Datives of agency are quite rare in the NT (and other ancient Greek), almost always found with a perfect verb. Although this text qualifies, in light of the well-worn idiom of τηρέω (threw) in eschatological contexts, in which God or Christ keeps the believer safe until the parousia (cf. 1 Thess 5:23; 1 Pet 1:4; Rev 3:10; other terms meaning “to guard,” “to keep” are also found in similar eschatological contexts [cf. 2 Thess 3:3; 2 Tim 1:12; 1 Pet 1:5; Jude 24]), it is probably better to understand this verse as having such an eschatological tinge. It is at the same time possible that Jude’s language was intentionally ambiguous, implying both ideas (“kept by Jesus Christ [so that they might be] kept for Jesus Christ”). Elsewhere he displays a certain fondness for wordplays; this may be a hint of things to come.

[1:16]  ⁶ tn “And” is not in Greek, but is supplied for the sake of English style.

[1:16]  ⁷ tn Or “going.” Though the participle is anarthrous, so also is the subject. Thus, the participle could be either adverbial or adjectival.

[1:16]  ⁸ tn Grk “(who go/going) according to their own lusts.”

[1:16]  ⁹ tn Grk “and their mouth speaks bombastic things.”

[1:16]  ¹⁰ sn Enchanting folks (Grk “awing faces”) refers to the fact that the speeches of these false teachers are powerful and seductive.

[1:16]  ¹¹ tn Or “to their own advantage.”

[1:20]  ¹² 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.

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “may mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.”

[1:17]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “words.” In conjunction with προεῖπον (proeipon), however, the meaning of the construction is that the apostles uttered prophecies.

[1:17]  ¹⁵ 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.

[35:5]  ¹⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. See v. 4.

[35:5]  ¹⁷ sn See the mention of the Lord’s angel in Ps 34:7.

[35:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “as the Lord’s angel pushes [them].”

[35:6]  ¹⁹ tn The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive, indicating this is a prayer.

[19:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb I will provoke Egypt against Egypt” (NAB similar).

[19:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “and they will fight, a man against his brother, and a man against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.” Civil strife will extend all the way from the domestic level to the provincial arena.

[38:21]  ²² tn Heb “against.”

[38:21]  ²³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Gog, cf. v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.