Zephaniah 1:6

1:6 and those who turn their backs on ¹  the Lord

and do not want the Lord’s help or guidance.” ² 

Matthew 12:45

12:45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so ³  the last state of that person is worse than the first. It will be that way for this evil generation as well!”

John 5:14

5:14 After this Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “Look, you have become well. Don’t sin any more, ⁴  lest anything worse happen to you.”

Hebrews 6:4-8

6:4 For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 6:5 tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age, 6:6 and then have committed apostasy, ⁵  to renew them again to repentance, since ⁶  they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again ⁷  and holding him up to contempt. 6:7 For the ground that has soaked up the rain that frequently falls on ⁸  it and yields useful vegetation for those who tend it receives a blessing from God. 6:8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is useless and about to be cursed; ⁹  its fate is to be burned.

Hebrews 10:26-31

10:26 For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins is left for us, ¹⁰  10:27 but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury ¹¹  of fire that will consume God’s enemies. ¹²  10:28 Someone who rejected the law of Moses was put to death ¹³  without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ¹⁴  10:29 How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for ¹⁵  the Son of God, and profanes ¹⁶  the blood of the covenant that made him holy, ¹⁷  and insults the Spirit of grace? 10:30 For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” ¹⁸  and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ¹⁹  10:31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Hebrews 10:2

10:2 For otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers would have been purified once for all and so have ²⁰  no further consciousness of sin?

Hebrews 2:1

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Hebrews 2:1

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Hebrews 5:1

5:1 For every high priest is taken from among the people ²¹  and appointed ²²  to represent them before God, ²³  to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

Jude 1:12-13

1:12 These men are ²⁴  dangerous reefs ²⁵  at your love feasts, ²⁶  feasting without reverence, ²⁷  feeding only themselves. ²⁸  They are ²⁹  waterless ³⁰  clouds, carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit ³¹  – twice dead, ³²  uprooted; 1:13 wild sea waves, ³³  spewing out the foam of ³⁴  their shame; ³⁵  wayward stars ³⁶  for whom the utter depths of eternal darkness ³⁷  have been reserved.

[1:6]  ¹ tn Heb “turn back from [following] after.”

[1:6]  ² tn Heb “who do not seek the Lord and do not inquire of him.” The present translation assumes the first verb refers to praying for divine help and the second to seeking his revealed will through an oracle. Note the usage of the two verbs in 2 Chr 20:3-4.

[12:45]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding point of the story.

[5:14]  ⁴ tn Since this is a prohibition with a present imperative, the translation “stop sinning” is sometimes suggested. This is not likely, however, since the present tense is normally used in prohibitions involving a general condition (as here) while the aorist tense is normally used in specific instances. Only when used opposite the normal usage (the present tense in a specific instance, for example) would the meaning “stop doing what you are doing” be appropriate.

[6:6]  ⁵ tn Or “have fallen away.”

[6:6]  ⁶ tn Or “while”; Grk “crucifying…and holding.” The Greek participles here (“crucifying…and holding”) can be understood as either causal (“since”) or temporal (“while”).

[6:6]  ⁷ tn Grk “recrucifying the son of God for themselves.”

[6:7]  ⁸ tn Grk “comes upon.”

[6:8]  ⁹ tn Grk “near to a curse.”

[10:26]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “is left,” with “for us” implied by the first half of the verse.

[10:27]  ¹¹ tn Grk “zeal,” recalling God’s jealous protection of his holiness and honor (cf. Exod 20:5).

[10:27]  ¹² tn Grk “the enemies.”

[10:28]  ¹³ tn Grk “dies.”

[10:28]  ¹⁴ sn An allusion to Deut 17:6.

[10:29]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “tramples under foot.”

[10:29]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “regarded as common.”

[10:29]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “by which he was made holy.”

[10:30]  ¹⁸ sn A quotation from Deut 32:35.

[10:30]  ¹⁹ sn A quotation from Deut 32:36.

[10:2]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the worshipers, having been purified once for all, would have.”

[5:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “from among men,” but since the point in context is shared humanity (rather than shared maleness), the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) has been translated “people.”

[5:1]  ²² tn Grk “who is taken from among people is appointed.”

[5:1]  ²³ tn Grk “appointed on behalf of people in reference to things relating to God.”

[1:12]  ²⁴ tn Grk “these are the men who are.”

[1:12]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn Cf. 2 Pet 2:17. Jude’s emphasis is slightly different (instead of waterless springs, they are waterless clouds).

[1:12]  ³¹ 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]  ³² tn Grk “having died twice.”

[1:13]  ³³ tn Grk “wild waves of the sea.”

[1:13]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ tn Grk “utter darkness of darkness for eternity.” See note on the word “utter” in v. 6.