Greeting to the Twelve Tribes

1 James, ^(A)a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:

Greetings.

Profiting from Trials

² My brethren, ^(B)count it all joy ^(C)when you fall into various trials, ^3 (D)knowing that the testing of your faith produces ^[a]patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be ^[b]perfect and complete, lacking nothing. ^5 (E)If any of you lacks wisdom, ^(F)let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and ^(G)it will be given to him. ^6 (H)But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is ^(I)a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

The Perspective of Rich and Poor

⁹ Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, ¹⁰ but the rich in his humiliation, because ^(J)as a flower of the field he will pass away. ¹¹ For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.

Loving God Under Trials

^12 (K)Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive ^(L)the crown of life ^(M)which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. ¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, ^(N)when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, ^(O)brings forth death.

¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. ^17 (P)Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, ^(Q)with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. ^18 (R)Of His own will He brought us forth by the ^(S)word of truth, ^(T)that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

Qualities Needed in Trials

^19 [c]So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, ^(U)slow to speak, ^(V)slow to wrath; ²⁰ for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Doers—Not Hearers Only

²¹ Therefore ^(W)lay aside all filthiness and ^[d]overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, ^(X)which is able to save your souls.

²² But ^(Y)be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For ^(Z)if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵ But ^(AA)he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, ^(AB)this one will be blessed in what he does.

²⁶ If anyone ^[e]among you thinks he is religious, and ^(AC)does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. ^27 (AD)Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: ^(AE)to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, ^(AF)and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Beware of Personal Favoritism

2 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^(AG)the Lord of glory, with ^(AH)partiality. ² For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in ^[f]fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in ^[g]filthy clothes, ³ and you ^[h]pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” ⁴ have you not ^[i]shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵ Listen, my beloved brethren: ^(AI)Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be ^(AJ)rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom ^(AK)which He promised to those who love Him? ⁶ But ^(AL)you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you ^(AM)and drag you into the courts? ⁷ Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are ^(AN)called?

⁸ If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ^(AO)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; ⁹ but if you ^[j]show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as ^(AP)transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet ^(AQ)stumble in one point, ^(AR)he is guilty of all. ¹¹ For He who said, ^(AS)“Do not commit adultery,” also said, ^(AT)“Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹² So speak and so do as those who will be judged by ^(AU)the law of liberty. ¹³ For ^(AV)judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown ^(AW)no ^(AX)mercy. ^(AY)Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith Without Works Is Dead^(AZ)

^14 (BA)What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? ^15 (BB)If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶ and ^(BC)one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? ¹⁷ Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” ^(BD)Show me your faith without ^[k]your works, ^(BE)and I will show you my faith by ^[l]my works. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! ²⁰ But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is ^[m]dead? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works ^(BF)when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? ²² Do you see ^(BG)that faith was working together with his works, and by ^(BH)works faith was made ^[n]perfect? ²³ And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ^(BI)“Abraham believed God, and it was ^[o]accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called ^(BJ)the friend of God. ²⁴ You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

²⁵ Likewise, ^(BK)was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

²⁶ For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

The Untamable Tongue

3 My brethren, ^(BL)let not many of you become teachers, ^(BM)knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. ² For ^(BN)we all stumble in many things. ^(BO)If anyone does not stumble in word, ^(BP)he is a ^[p]perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. ^3 [q]Indeed, ^(BQ)we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. ⁴ Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. ⁵ Even so ^(BR)the tongue is a little member and ^(BS)boasts great things.

See how great a forest a little fire kindles! ⁶ And ^(BT)the tongue is a fire, a world of ^[r]iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it ^(BU)defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of ^[s]nature; and it is set on fire by ^[t]hell. ⁷ For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. ⁸ But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, ^(BV)full of deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made ^(BW)in the ^[u]similitude of God. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. ¹¹ Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? ¹² Can a ^(BX)fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? ^[v]Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

Heavenly Versus Demonic Wisdom

^13 (BY)Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you have ^(BZ)bitter envy and ^[w]self-seeking in your hearts, ^(CA)do not boast and lie against the truth. ^15 (CB)This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. ¹⁶ For ^(CC)where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. ¹⁷ But ^(CD)the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, ^(CE)without partiality ^(CF)and without hypocrisy. ^18 (CG)Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Pride Promotes Strife

4 Where do ^[x]wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure ^(CH)that war in your members? ² You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and ^[y]war. ^[z]Yet you do not have because you do not ask. ^3 (CI)You ask and do not receive, ^(CJ)because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. ^4 [aa]Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that ^(CK)friendship with the world is enmity with God? ^(CL)Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, ^(CM)“The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

⁶ But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

Humility Cures Worldliness

⁷ Therefore submit to God. ^(CO)Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ^8 (CP)Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. ^(CQ)Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and ^(CR)purify your hearts, you double-minded. ^9 (CS)Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ^10 (CT)Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Do Not Judge a Brother

^11 (CU)Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother ^(CV)and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. ¹² There is one ^[ab]Lawgiver, ^(CW)who is able to save and to destroy. ^(CX)Who^[ac] are you to judge ^[ad]another?

Do Not Boast About Tomorrow

¹³ Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow ^[ae]we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; ¹⁴ whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? ^(CY)It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. ¹⁵ Instead you ought to say, ^(CZ)“If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ But now you boast in your arrogance. ^(DA)All such boasting is evil.

¹⁷ Therefore, ^(DB)to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

What Was Heard, Seen, and Touched^(A)

1 That ^(B)which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have ^(C)seen with our eyes, ^(D)which we have looked upon, and ^(E)our hands have handled, concerning the ^(F)Word of life— ^2 (G)the life ^(H)was manifested, and we have seen, ^(I)and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was ^(J)with the Father and was manifested to us— ³ that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is ^(K)with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. ⁴ And these things we write to you ^(L)that ^[a]your joy may be full.

Fellowship with Him and One Another

^5 (M)This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that ^(N)God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. ^6 (O)If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we ^(P)walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^(Q)the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we ^(R)confess our sins, He is ^(S)faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to ^(T)cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we ^(U)make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

The Test of Knowing Christ

2 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, ^(V)we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ² And ^(W)He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but ^(X)also for the whole world.

The Test of Knowing Him

³ Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴ He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a ^(Y)liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But ^(Z)whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God ^[b]is perfected ^(AA)in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ^6 (AB)He who says he abides in Him ^(AC)ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

^7 [c]Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had ^(AD)from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard ^[d]from the beginning. ⁸ Again, ^(AE)a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, ^(AF)because the darkness is passing away, and ^(AG)the true light is already shining.

^9 (AH)He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. ^10 (AI)He who loves his brother abides in the light, and ^(AJ)there is no cause for stumbling in him. ¹¹ But he who ^(AK)hates his brother is in darkness and ^(AL)walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Their Spiritual State

Do Not Love the World

^15 (AQ)Do not love the world or the things in the world. ^(AR)If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, ^(AS)the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. ¹⁷ And ^(AT)the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Deceptions of the Last Hour

^18 (AU)Little children, ^(AV)it is the last hour; and as you have heard that ^(AW)the^[e] Antichrist is coming, ^(AX)even now many antichrists have come, by which we know ^(AY)that it is the last hour. ^19 (AZ)They went out from us, but they were not of us; for ^(BA)if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out ^(BB)that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

²⁰ But ^(BC)you have an anointing ^(BD)from the Holy One, and ^(BE)you^[f] know all things. ²¹ I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

^22 (BF)Who is a liar but he who denies that ^(BG)Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. ^23 (BH)Whoever denies the Son does not have the ^(BI)Father either; ^(BJ)he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Let Truth Abide in You

²⁴ Therefore let that abide in you ^(BK)which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, ^(BL)you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. ^25 (BM)And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.

²⁶ These things I have written to you concerning those who try to ^[g]deceive you. ²⁷ But the ^(BN)anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and ^(BO)you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing ^(BP)teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you ^[h]will abide in Him.

The Children of God

²⁸ And now, little children, abide in Him, that ^[i]when He appears, we may have ^(BQ)confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. ^29 (BR)If you know that He is righteous, you know that ^(BS)everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

The Command to Love

3 Behold ^(BT)what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that ^(BU)we should be called children of ^[j]God! Therefore the world does not know ^[k]us, ^(BV)because it did not know Him. ² Beloved, ^(BW)now we are children of God; and ^(BX)it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, ^(BY)we shall be like Him, for ^(BZ)we shall see Him as He is. ^3 (CA)And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Sin and the Child of God

⁴ Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and ^(CB)sin is lawlessness. ⁵ And you know ^(CC)that He was manifested ^(CD)to take away our sins, and ^(CE)in Him there is no sin. ⁶ Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

⁷ Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. ^8 (CF)He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, ^(CG)that He might destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ Whoever has been ^(CH)born of God does not sin, for ^(CI)His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

The Imperative of Love^(CJ)

¹⁰ In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. ¹¹ For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, ^(CK)that we should love one another, ¹² not as ^(CL)Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

¹³ Do not marvel, my brethren, if ^(CM)the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love ^[l]his brother abides in death. ^15 (CN)Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that ^(CO)no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

The Outworking of Love

^16 (CP)By this we know love, ^(CQ)because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. ¹⁷ But ^(CR)whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

¹⁸ My little children, ^(CS)let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. ¹⁹ And by this we ^[m]know ^(CT)that we are of the truth, and shall ^[n]assure our hearts before Him. ^20 (CU)For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. ²¹ Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, ^(CV)we have confidence toward God. ²² And ^(CW)whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments ^(CX)and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. ²³ And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ ^(CY)and love one another, as He gave ^[o]us commandment.

The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error

²⁴ Now ^(CZ)he who keeps His commandments ^(DA)abides in Him, and He in him. And ^(DB)by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Love for God and One Another

4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but ^(DC)test the spirits, whether they are of God; because ^(DD)many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(DE)Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, ³ and every spirit that does not confess ^[p]that Jesus ^[q]Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

⁴ You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than ^(DF)he who is in the world. ^5 (DG)They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and ^(DH)the world hears them. ⁶ We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. ^(DI)By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Knowing God Through Love^(DJ)

^7 (DK)Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who ^(DL)loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸ He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ^9 (DM)In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten ^(DN)Son into the world, that we might live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(DO)not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son ^(DP)to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, ^(DQ)if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Seeing God Through Love

^12 (DR)No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. ^13 (DS)By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ And ^(DT)we have seen and testify that ^(DU)the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. ^15 (DV)Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and ^(DW)he who abides in love abides in God, and God ^(DX)in him.

The Consummation of Love

¹⁷ Love has been perfected among us in this: that ^(DY)we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. ^19 (DZ)We love ^[r]Him because He first loved us.

Obedience by Faith

^20 (EA)If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, ^[s]how can he love God ^(EB)whom he has not seen? ²¹ And ^(EC)this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

Obedience by Faith

5 Whoever believes that ^(ED)Jesus is the Christ is ^(EE)born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. ² By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and ^(EF)keep His commandments. ^3 (EG)For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And ^(EH)His commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For ^(EI)whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that ^(EJ)has overcome the world—^[t]our faith. ⁵ Who is he who overcomes the world, but ^(EK)he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The Certainty of God’s Witness

⁶ This is He who came ^(EL)by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. ^(EM)And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. ⁷ For there are three that bear witness ^[u]in heaven: the Father, ^(EN)the Word, and the Holy Spirit; ^(EO)and these three are one. ⁸ And there are three that bear witness on earth: ^(EP)the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

⁹ If we receive ^(EQ)the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; ^(ER)for this is the witness of ^[v]God which He has testified of His Son. ¹⁰ He who believes in the Son of God ^(ES)has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God ^(ET)has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ^12 (EU)He who has the Son has ^[w]life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. ¹³ These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, ^[x]and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

Confidence and Compassion in Prayer

¹⁴ Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that ^(EV)if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and ^(EW)He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. ^(EX)There is sin leading to death. ^(EY)I do not say that he should pray about that. ^17 (EZ)All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

Knowing the True—Rejecting the False

¹⁸ We know that ^(FA)whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God ^(FB)keeps^{[y] [z]}himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.

¹⁹ We know that we are of God, and ^(FC)the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

²⁰ And we know that the ^(FD)Son of God has come and ^(FE)has given us an understanding, ^(FF)that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. ^(FG)This is the true God ^(FH)and eternal life.

²¹ Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

Greeting to the Called

¹ Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and ^(A)brother of James,

To those who are ^(B)called, ^[a]sanctified by God the Father, and ^(C)preserved in Jesus Christ:

² Mercy, ^(D)peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Contend for the Faith

³ Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you ^(E)concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting ^(F)you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. ⁴ For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord ^[b]God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Old and New Apostates

⁵ But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that ^(G)the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶ And the angels who did not keep their ^[c]proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; ⁷ as ^(H)Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the ^[d]vengeance of eternal fire.

^8 (I)Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and ^(J)speak evil of ^[e]dignitaries. ⁹ Yet Michael the archangel, in ^[f]contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ^(K)“The Lord rebuke you!” ^10 (L)But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. ¹¹ Woe to them! For they have gone in the way ^(M)of Cain, ^(N)have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished ^(O)in the rebellion of Korah.

Apostates Depraved and Doomed

¹² These are ^[g]spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried ^[h]about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; ^13 (P)raging waves of the sea, ^(Q)foaming up their own shame; wandering stars ^(R)for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

¹⁴ Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, ¹⁵ to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the ^(S)harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

Apostates Predicted

¹⁶ These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they ^(T)mouth great swelling words, ^(U)flattering people to gain advantage. ^17 (V)But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: ¹⁸ how they told you that ^(W)there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. ¹⁹ These are ^[i]sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

Maintain Your Life with God

²⁰ But you, beloved, ^(X)building yourselves up on your most holy faith, ^(Y)praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, ^(Z)looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

²² And on some have compassion, ^[j]making a distinction; ²³ but ^(AA)others save ^[k]with fear, ^(AB)pulling them out of the ^[l]fire, hating even ^(AC)the garment defiled by the flesh.

Glory to God