Zechariah 12:4

12:4 In that day,” says the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with madness. I will pay close attention to the house of Judah, but will strike all the horses ¹  of the nations ²  with blindness.

Jude 1:22

1:22 And have mercy on those who waver;

Jude 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Jude, ³  a slave ⁴  of Jesus Christ and brother of James, ⁵  to those who are called, wrapped in the love of ⁶  God the Father and kept for ⁷  Jesus Christ.

Jude 1:15-23

1:15 to execute judgment on ⁸  all, and to convict every person ⁹  of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds ¹⁰  that they have committed, ¹¹  and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ¹²  1:16 These people are grumblers and ¹³  fault-finders who go ¹⁴  wherever their desires lead them, ¹⁵  and they give bombastic speeches, ¹⁶  enchanting folks ¹⁷  for their own gain. ¹⁸ 

Exhortation to the Faithful

1:17 But you, dear friends – recall the predictions ¹⁹  foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁰  1:18 For they said to you, “In the end time there will come ²¹  scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires.” ²²  1:19 These people are divisive, ²³  worldly, ²⁴  devoid of the Spirit. ²⁵  1:20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, ²⁶  1:21 maintain ²⁷  yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating ²⁸  the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life. ²⁹  1:22 And have mercy on those who waver; 1:23 save ³⁰  others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy ³¹  on others, coupled with a fear of God, ³²  hating even the clothes stained ³³  by the flesh. ³⁴ 

Jude 1:2

1:2 May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you! ³⁵ 

Jude 1:22-24

1:22 And have mercy on those who waver; 1:23 save ³⁶  others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy ³⁷  on others, coupled with a fear of God, ³⁸  hating even the clothes stained ³⁹  by the flesh. ⁴⁰ 

Final Blessing

1:24 Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, ⁴¹  and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, ⁴²  without blemish ⁴³  before his glorious presence, ⁴⁴ 

Ezekiel 38:21

38:21 I will call for a sword to attack ⁴⁵  Gog ⁴⁶  on all my mountains, declares the sovereign Lord; every man’s sword will be against his brother.

Revelation 17:12-17

17:12 The ⁴⁷  ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive ruling authority ⁴⁸  as kings with the beast for one hour. 17:13 These kings ⁴⁹  have a single intent, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 17:14 They will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those accompanying ⁵⁰  the Lamb are the called, chosen, and faithful.”

17:15 Then ⁵¹  the angel ⁵²  said to me, “The waters you saw (where the prostitute is seated) are peoples, multitudes, ⁵³  nations, and languages. 17:16 The ⁵⁴  ten horns that you saw, and the beast – these will hate the prostitute and make her desolate and naked. They ⁵⁵  will consume her flesh and burn her up with fire. ⁵⁶  17:17 For God has put into their minds ⁵⁷  to carry out his purpose ⁵⁸  by making ⁵⁹  a decision ⁶⁰  to give their royal power ⁶¹  to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. ⁶² 

[12:4]  ¹ tn Heb “every horse.”

[12:4]  ² tn Or “peoples” (so NAB, NRSV).

[1:1]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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.

[1:15]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Or “soul.”

[1:15]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn “And” is not in Greek, but is supplied for the sake of English style.

[1:16]  ¹⁴ tn Or “going.” Though the participle is anarthrous, so also is the subject. Thus, the participle could be either adverbial or adjectival.

[1:16]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “(who go/going) according to their own lusts.”

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

[1:16]  ¹⁷ sn Enchanting folks (Grk “awing faces”) refers to the fact that the speeches of these false teachers are powerful and seductive.

[1:16]  ¹⁸ tn Or “to their own advantage.”

[1:17]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “words.” In conjunction with προεῖπον (proeipon), however, the meaning of the construction is that the apostles uttered prophecies.

[1:17]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Grk “be.”

[1:18]  ²² tn Grk “going according to their own desires of ungodliness.”

[1:19]  ²³ tn Grk “these are the ones who cause divisions.”

[1:19]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Grk “not having [the] Spirit.”

[1:20]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ tn Or “keep.”

[1:21]  ²⁸ tn Or “waiting for.”

[1:21]  ²⁹ tn Grk “unto eternal life.”

[1:23]  ³⁰ tn Grk “and save.”

[1:23]  ³¹ tn Grk “and have mercy.”

[1:23]  ³² 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]  ³³ sn The imagery here suggests that the things close to the sinners are contaminated by them, presumably during the process of sinning.

[1:23]  ³⁴ 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.

[1:2]  ³⁵ tn Grk “may mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.”

[1:23]  ³⁶ tn Grk “and save.”

[1:23]  ³⁷ tn Grk “and have mercy.”

[1:23]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ sn The imagery here suggests that the things close to the sinners are contaminated by them, presumably during the process of sinning.

[1:23]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “without blemish” is the adjectival complement.

[1:24]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “in the presence of his glory,” “before his glory.”

[38:21]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “against.”

[38:21]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Gog, cf. v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:12]  ⁴⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:12]  ⁴⁸ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[17:13]  ⁴⁹ tn The word “kings” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to clarify the referent.

[17:14]  ⁵⁰ tn See BDAG 636 s.v. μετά A.2.a.α.

[17:15]  ⁵¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[17:15]  ⁵² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:15]  ⁵³ tn Grk “and multitudes,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here and before the following term since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[17:16]  ⁵⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:16]  ⁵⁵ tn A new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:16]  ⁵⁶ tn The final clause could also be turned into an adverbial clause of means: “They will consume her flesh by burning her with fire.”

[17:17]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “hearts.”

[17:17]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “his intent.”

[17:17]  ⁵⁹ tn The infinitive ποιῆσαι (poihsai) was translated here as giving the logical means by which God’s purpose was carried out.

[17:17]  ⁶⁰ tn On this term BDAG 203 s.v. γνώμη 4 states, “declaration, decision, resolution…of God Rv 17:17.”

[17:17]  ⁶¹ tn For this translation see BDAG 168 s.v. βασιλεία 1.a, “kingship, royal power, royal rule.”

[17:17]  ⁶² tn Or “completed.”