Jude
New Matthew Bible
He rebukes such persons as, being blinded by their own lusts, resist the truth; and so that we may know them better, he describes them as such as sin abominably against nature, despise rulers, etc. He exhorts us to build one another up, to pray in the Holy Spirit, to continue in love, to look for the coming of the Lord, and one to help another out of the fire.
1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, the brother of James.
To those who are called and sanctified in God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ. 2 Mercy to you, and peace and love be multiplied.
3 Beloveds, when I gave all diligence to write to you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write to you, to exhort you to labour continually in the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints. 4 For there are certain men who have craftily crept in, who were long ago marked out for such judgment. They are ungodly, and turn the grace of our God into licentiousness, and deny God the only Lord, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
5 My intent is therefore to remind you, since you already know this, that the Lord (after he had delivered the people out of Egypt) destroyed those who afterward did not believe. 6 The angels also who did not keep their first estate, but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day – 7 even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the places around them (which in like manner defiled themselves with fornication and followed unnatural desires), are set forth as an example, and suffer the vengeance of eternal fire.
8 Likewise these dreamers defile the flesh, despise rulers, and speak evil of those who are in authority. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when he strove against the devil and disputed about the body of Moses, dared not give railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke you. 10 But these speak evil of those things that they do not know. And the things they know instinctively, as do animals that are without reason, in those things they corrupt themselves.
11 Woe be to them, for they have followed the way of Cain, and are utterly given to the error of Balaam, for the sake of personal gain, and perish in the treason of Korah. 12 These are spots who of your kindness feast together, without fear feeding themselves. Clouds they are without water, carried about by winds, and trees without fruit at gathering time, twice dead and plucked up by the roots. 13 They are the raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame. They are wandering stars, to whom is reserved the mist of darkness forever.
14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied before of such persons, saying, Behold, the Lord will come with thousands of saints, 15 to give judgment against all men, and to rebuke all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed, and of all the hard words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him. 16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts, whose mouths speak proud things. They have others in great reverence for the sake of advantage.
17 But you, beloveds, remember the words that were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18 how they told you that there would be beguilers in the last time, who would walk after their own ungodly lusts. 19 These are makers of fleshly sects, not having the Spirit. 20 But you, dearly beloveds, build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 and keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And have compassion on some, separating them; 23 and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; and hate the spotted vesture of the flesh.
24 Now to him who is able to keep you so that you do not fall, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with joy – 25 that is to say, to God our Saviour, who alone is wise – be glory, majesty, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.
Hereafter follows
the Apocalypse.
Jude
GOD’S WORD Translation
Greeting
1 From Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James.
To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father, and who are kept safe for Jesus Christ.
2 May mercy, peace, and love fill your lives!
Warnings about False Teachers
3 Dear friends, I had intended to write to you about the salvation we share. But something has come up. It demands that I write to you and encourage you to continue your fight for the Christian faith that was entrusted to God’s holy people once for all time.
4 Some people have slipped in among you unnoticed. Not long ago they were condemned in writing for the following reason: They are people to whom God means nothing. They use God’s kindness [a] as an excuse for sexual freedom and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5 I want to remind you about what you already know: The Lord once saved his people from Egypt. But on another occasion he destroyed those who didn’t believe. 6 He held angels for judgment on the great day. They were held in darkness, bound by eternal chains. These are the angels who didn’t keep their position of authority but abandoned their assigned place. 7 What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities near them is an example for us of the punishment of eternal fire. The people of these cities suffered the same fate that God’s people and the angels did, because they committed sexual sins and engaged in homosexual activities.
8 Yet, in a similar way, the people who slipped in among you are dreamers. They contaminate their bodies with sin, reject the Lord’s authority, and insult his glory. 9 When the archangel Michael argued with the devil, they were arguing over the body of Moses. But Michael didn’t dare to hand down a judgment against the devil. Instead, Michael said, “May the Lord reprimand you!”
10 Whatever these people don’t understand, they insult. Like animals, which are creatures of instinct, they use whatever they know to destroy themselves. 11 How horrible it will be for them! They have followed the path of Cain. They have rushed into Balaam’s error to make a profit. They have rebelled like Korah and destroyed themselves.
12 These people are a disgrace at the special meals you share with other believers. They eat with you and don’t feel ashamed. They are shepherds who care ⌞only⌟ for themselves. They are dry clouds blown around by the winds. They are withered, uprooted trees without any fruit. As a result, they have died twice. 13 Their shame is like the foam on the wild waves of the sea. They are wandering stars for whom gloomy darkness is kept forever.
14 Furthermore, Enoch, from the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about them. He said, “The Lord has come with countless thousands of his holy angels. 15 He has come to judge all these people. He has come to convict all these ungodly sinners for all the ungodly things they have done and all the harsh things they have said about him.”
16 These people complain, find fault, follow their own desires, say arrogant things, and flatter people in order to take advantage of them.
17 Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ told you to expect: 18 “In the last times people who ridicule ⌞God⌟ will appear. They will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who cause divisions. They are concerned about physical things, not spiritual things.
Final Advice
20 Dear friends, use your most holy faith to grow. Pray with the Holy Spirit’s help. 21 Remain in God’s love as you look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you eternal life.
22 Show mercy to those who have doubts. 23 Save others by snatching them from the fire ⌞of hell⌟. Show mercy to others, even though you are afraid that you might be stained by their sinful lives.
24 God can guard you so that you don’t fall and so that you can be full of joy as you stand in his glorious presence without fault. 25 Before time began, now, and for eternity glory, majesty, power, and authority belong to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Footnotes
- 1:4 4 Or “grace.”
Copyright © 2016 by Ruth Magnusson (Davis). Includes emendations to February 2022. All rights reserved.
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