Jude 1
1
Greeting
1Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James.
To those who are called, loved by God the Father and kept safe by Jesus Christ.
2May you have more and more mercy, peace, and love.
Certain judgment of the false teachers
3Dear friends, I wanted very much to write to you concerning the salvation we share. Instead, I must write to urge you to fight for the faith delivered once and for all to God’s holy people. 4Godless people have slipped in among you. They turn the grace of our God into unrestrained immorality and deny our only master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Judgment was passed against them a long time ago.
5I want to remind you of something you already know very well. The Lord, who once saved a people out of Egypt, later destroyed those who didn’t maintain their faith. 6I remind you too of the angels who didn’t keep their position of authority but deserted their own home. The Lord has kept them in eternal chains in the underworld until the judgment of the great day. 7In the same way, Sodom and Gomorrah and neighboring towns practiced immoral sexual relations and pursued other sexual urges. By undergoing the punishment of eternal fire, they serve as a warning.
8Yet, even knowing this, these dreamers in the same way pollute themselves, reject authority, and slander the angels. 9The archangel Michael, when he argued with the devil about Moses’ body, did not dare charge him with slander. Instead, he said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10But these people slander whatever they don’t understand. They are destroyed by what they know instinctively, as though they were irrational animals.
Prophecies about the false teachers
11They are damned, for they follow in the footsteps of Cain. For profit they give themselves over to Balaam’s error. They are destroyed in the uprising of Korah. 12These people are like jagged rocks just below the surface of the water waiting to snag you when they join your love feasts. They feast with you without reverence. They care only for themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by the winds; fruitless autumn trees, twice dead, uprooted; 13wild waves of the sea foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom the darkness of the underworld is reserved forever.
14Enoch, who lived seven generations after Adam, prophesied about these people when he said, “See, the Lord comes with his countless holy ones, 15to execute judgment on everyone and to convict everyone about every ungodly deed they have committed in their ungodliness as well as all the harsh things that sinful ungodly people have said against him.” 16These are faultfinding grumblers, living according to their own desires. They speak arrogant words and they show partiality to people when they want a favor in return.
17But you, dear friends, remember the words spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18They said to you, “In the end time scoffers will come living according to their own ungodly desires.” 19These people create divisions. Since they don’t have the Spirit, they are worldly.
A strategy for the faithful
20But you, dear friends: build each other up on the foundation of your most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, 21keep each other in the love of God, wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will give you eternal life. 22Have mercy on those who doubt. 23Save some by snatching them from the fire. Fearing God, have mercy on some, hating even the clothing contaminated by their sinful urges.
Blessing
24To the one who is able to protect you from falling,
and to present you blameless and rejoicing before his glorious presence,
25to the only God our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
belong glory, majesty, power, and authority,
before all time, now and forever. Amen.
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Jude 1: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Jude 1
1
1I, Jude, am writing this letter. I serve Jesus Christ. I am a brother of James.
I am sending this letter to you who have been chosen by God. You are loved by God the Father. You are kept safe for Jesus Christ.
2May more and more mercy, peace and love be given to you.
A Warning Against the Sin of Ungodly People
3Dear friends, I really wanted to write to you about the salvation we share. But now I feel I should write and ask you to stand up for the faith. God’s holy people were trusted with it once and for all time. 4Certain people have secretly slipped in among you. Long ago it was written that they would be judged. They are ungodly people. They misuse the grace of our God as an excuse for sexual sins. They say no to Jesus Christ, our only Lord and King.
5I want to remind you about some things you already know. The Lord saved his people. At one time he brought them out of Egypt. But later he destroyed those who did not believe. 6Some of the angels didn’t stay where they belonged. They didn’t keep their positions of authority. The Lord has kept those angels in darkness. They are held by chains that last forever. On judgment day, God will judge them. 7The people of Sodom and Gomorrah and the towns around them also did evil things. They freely committed sexual sins. They committed sins of the worst possible kind. There is a fire that never goes out. Those people are an example of those who are punished with it.
8In the very same way, these ungodly people act on their evil dreams. So they make their own bodies impure. They don’t accept authority. And they say evil things against heavenly beings. 9But even Michael, the leader of the angels, didn’t dare to say these things. He didn’t even say these things when he argued with the devil about the body of Moses. Michael didn’t dare to judge the devil. He didn’t say the devil was guilty of saying evil things. Instead, Michael said, “May the Lord judge you!” 10But these people say evil things against whatever they don’t understand. And the very things they do understand will destroy them. That’s because they are like wild animals that can’t think for themselves. Instead, they do what comes naturally to them.
11How terrible it will be for them! They have followed the way of Cain. They have rushed into the same mistake Balaam made. They did it because they loved money. They are like Korah. He turned against his leaders. These people will certainly be destroyed, just as Korah was.
12These ungodly people are like stains at the meals you share. They have no shame. They are shepherds who feed only themselves. They are like clouds without rain. They are blown along by the wind. They are like trees in the fall. Since they have no fruit, they are pulled out of the ground. So they die twice. 13They are like wild waves of the sea. Their shame rises up like foam. They are like falling stars. God has reserved a place of very black darkness for them forever.
14Enoch was the seventh man in the family line of Adam. He gave a prophecy about these people. He said, “Look! The Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy ones. 15He is coming to judge everyone. He is coming to sentence all of them. He will judge them for all the ungodly acts they have done. They have done them in ungodly ways. He will sentence ungodly sinners for all the things they have said to oppose him.” 16These people complain and find fault with others. They follow their own evil desires. They brag about themselves. They praise others to get what they want.
Remain in God’s Love
17Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ said would happen. 18They told you, “In the last days, some people will make fun of the truth. They will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19They are the people who separate you from one another. They do only what comes naturally. They are not led by the Holy Spirit.
20But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith. Let the Holy Spirit guide and help you when you pray. 21And by doing these things, remain in God’s love as you wait. You are waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.
22Show mercy to those who doubt. 23Save others by pulling them out of the fire. To others, show mercy mixed with fear of sin. Hate even the clothes that are stained by the sins of those who wear them.
Praise to God
24Give praise to the God who is able to keep you from falling into sin. He will bring you into his heavenly glory without any fault. He will bring you there with great joy. 25Give praise to the only God our Savior. Glory, majesty, power and authority belong to him. Give praise to him through Jesus Christ our Lord. His praise was before all time, continues now, and will last forever. Amen.
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