_Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James_ The question who the writer was who thus describes himself has been discussed in the Introduction. Here it will be enough to note (1) that the use of the term "servant" does not exclude a claim to Apostleship (Romans 1:1; Philippians 1:1); an... [ Continue Reading ]
_Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied_ The salutation corresponds with that of 1Pe 1:2; 2 Peter 1:2, with the substitution of "mercy" for "grace" (the two are united in 1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4), and the addition, as in the latter passages, of "peace.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation_ More accurately, GIVING ALL DILIGENCE, as a present act connected with the time of writing. The word for "diligence," as with the cognate verb in 2Pe 1:10; 2 Peter 1:15; 2 Peter 3:14, implies earnest effort. The term "com... [ Continue Reading ]
_For there are certain men crept in unawares_ More literally, FOR THERE CREPT IN UNAWARES CERTAIN MEN … There is a touch of contempt in the way in which, as in Galatians 2:4; 2 Peter 2:1, the false teachers are referred to without being named. Here also, as there, stress is laid on their making thei... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will therefore put you in remembrance_ More accurately, I WISH TO PUT YOU IN REMEMBRANCE, or, TO REMIND YOU. The language presupposes, like that of 2 Peter 1:12, to which it presents a close parallel, the previous instruction of the readers of the Epistle in the faith once delivered to the saints... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the angels which kept not their first estate_ The two last words answer to a Greek term which may either mean "beginning," i.e. their original constitution, the meaning adopted in the English version, or "sovereignty." The latter sense may mean either that they rejected the sovereignty of God,... [ Continue Reading ]
_But these speak evil of those things which they know not_ The context leaves no doubt that the region of the "things which they know not" is that of good and evil spirits. The false teachers were, though in another spirit, "intruding into those things which they had not seen," like those whom St Pa... [ Continue Reading ]
_Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain_ We ask naturally what was the point of comparison. Probably in the case of those who were in the writer's thoughts, as in most others, "lust" was "hard by hate," and the false teachers were murderous and malignant, as well as sensual. The refere... [ Continue Reading ]
_These are spots in your feasts of charity_ Here also, as in 2 Peter 2:13, the MSS. vary between "deceits" (ἀπάταις) and "feasts of charity, or _love_" (ἀγάπαις), but the evidence preponderates for the latter reading. Some MSS., including the Sinaitic, insert the words "these are murmurers …," which... [ Continue Reading ]
_raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame_ Image follows on image to paint the shameless enormities of the false teachers. In this we trace an echo of the thought, though not of the words, of Isaiah 57:20. The same image meets us, though in a milder form, and to express a different type... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these_ The words that follow are almost a verbal quotation from the Apocryphal Book of Enoch. As that work had probably been in existence for a century before St Jude wrote, and was easily accessible, it is more natural to suppose that he quoted... [ Continue Reading ]
_to execute judgment upon all_ The following is given as a literal translation of the prophecy as it stands in the Book of Enoch: "And He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones, that He may execute judgment upon them and destroy the ungodly, and may plead with all the carnal ones for all the thi... [ Continue Reading ]
_These are murmurers, complainers_ The first noun is not found elsewhere in the New Testament, but the use of cognate verbs and nouns in Matthew 20:11; Luke 5:30; 1 Corinthians 10:10; Acts 6:1 and elsewhere, suggests that it refers primarily to the temper of a rebellious murmuring against human auth... [ Continue Reading ]
_remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles_ The passage stands in close parallelism with 2 Peter 3:2, but differs in speaking only of "apostles" and not of prophets, and apparently also in referring only or chiefly to the predictions of the apostles and not to their commandments... [ Continue Reading ]
_there should be mockers in the last time_ The word for "mockers" is found in 2 Peter 3:3, but the general character of those described agrees with the picture drawn in 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 3:1. St Jude, it will be noted, does not dwell on the specific form of mockery, the taunts as to the delay... [ Continue Reading ]
_These be they who separate themselves_ Many of the better MSS. omit the reflexive pronoun. The verb is not found elsewhere in the New Testament, but a simpler form, with the same meaning, occurs in Leviticus 20:24. It was characteristic of the false teachers and mockers who are spoken of that they... [ Continue Reading ]
_building up yourselves on your most holy faith_ Both the adjective, which is nowhere used of faith in its subjective sense, and St Jude's use of the substantive in Jude 1:3, lead us to take "faith" in the objective sense, as nearly identical with "creed," which attaches to it in the later Epistles... [ Continue Reading ]
_keep yourselves in the love of God_ The words admit equally of being taken of our love for God, or God's love for us, but the latter meaning is more in harmony with the general tenor of Scripture, and, in particular, with our Lord's language ("continue ye in my love") in John 15:9, and probably als... [ Continue Reading ]
_And of some have compassion, making a difference_ The MSS. present a strange variety of readings. Those of most authority give, _Some_ REBUKE (or CONVICT, the same word as that used in John 16:8; Ephesians 5:11) _when they_ DEBATE _with you_(participle in the accusative case). The Received Text res... [ Continue Reading ]
_and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire_ Here again the MSS. present a striking variation, those of most authority giving "others save, snatching them out of the fire, AND HAVE COMPASSION ON OTHERS WITH FEAR." If we adopt this reading we have two classes of offenders brought before... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling_ Better, ABLE TO KEEP YOU FROM STUMBLING. See note on the difference between "stumbling" and "falling," on 2 Peter 1:10. The form of the concluding doxology is determined naturally by the thoughts that have led up to it. The writer had been dwellin... [ Continue Reading ]
_to the only wise God our Saviour_ The form of the doxology in the Received Text presents a parallelism to that of 1 Timothy 1:17. The word "wise" is, however, omitted in many of the best MSS. In the use of the word "Saviour" as applied to God we have a parallelism with 1 Timothy 2:3. The Father, no... [ Continue Reading ]