Jude Chapter 1
Showing all 25 verses for Jude Chapter 1.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: "
"This letter is from Jude, who calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ and is the brother of James. He's writing to people who have been set apart by God the Father, kept safe in Jesus, and called by him."
I love that Jude didn't lean on being my brother to get attention - he led with service instead. That's the posture I want from anyone who claims to follow me: not status, but usefulness to others.
"Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. "
"Jude wishes them an abundant increase of mercy, peace, and love."
Notice the order: I want mercy, peace and love to come first, always, even before hard truths need to be spoken. If you lead with those three things, people can hear correction without feeling attacked.
"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. "
"Jude says he had been eager to write to them about the faith they all share, but instead felt he needed to urgently urge them to fight hard to defend the faith that had been handed down to believers."
Sometimes love means dropping the letter you meant to write and sending the one that's actually needed. I'd rather you tell someone an uncomfortable truth out of care than stay silent to keep things pleasant.
"For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. "
"Certain people have quietly slipped in among the community - people whose corrupt path was recognised long ago. They twist God's free generosity into an excuse for wild wrongdoing, and they reject Jesus as their true master."
Real freedom was never meant to be a licence to hurt people or serve only yourself - true grace makes you more loving, not less careful. I want you to notice when someone uses 'freedom' or 'love' as cover for controlling or using others.
"I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. "
"Jude reminds them of something they already know: God rescued the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, but later destroyed those among them who refused to trust him."
Being rescued once is a beginning, not a finish line - I want your trust in love and goodness to be an ongoing practice, not a one-off event you can coast on afterwards.
"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. "
"And the angels who did not stay within the position given to them, but abandoned their proper place, God has kept bound in darkness, waiting for judgement on the great day."
No one is too important or too powerful to be accountable for how they treat their position and the people under their care - I hold everyone, however high their standing, to that same standard of care.
"Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. "
"In the same way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the towns around them gave themselves over to sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, and they stand as a warning example, having suffered the punishment of everlasting fire."
I care about how people treat each other's bodies and boundaries - not to shame anyone, but because exploitation and unrestrained self-interest always end up hurting real people. Watch for a community that's stopped caring about that.
"Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. "
"In the same way, these people - lost in their own fantasies - corrupt their bodies, reject any authority over them, and speak contemptuously about things they don't actually understand."
Real respect isn't submission to control - it's staying teachable and willing to be questioned. I'm wary of anyone, including religious leaders, who can't be challenged or corrected by anybody.
"Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. "
"Yet even the archangel Michael, when he was arguing with the devil over Moses' body, didn't dare throw insults at him - he simply said, 'The Lord rebuke you.'"
You don't need to win every argument by tearing someone down - real strength can leave judgement to something bigger than your own ego. I'd rather you say 'may this be made right' than throw insults, even at something genuinely wrong.
"But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. "
"But these people mock and belittle things they don't understand at all, and the only things they do understand - by base instinct, like animals - end up corrupting them."
Speak carefully about what you don't understand, and look honestly at what actually drives your own choices - I'd rather you have humility about the first and honesty about the second than confidence in either without the other.
"Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. "
"Disaster is coming to them - they have followed the path of Cain, rushed headlong into Balaam's mistake for the sake of money, and destroyed themselves like Korah did by rebelling against rightful leadership."
Check your own motives when you want to lead or influence others - is it to serve, or for reward and status? I want people drawn to positions of trust for love of others, never for what they can get out of it.
"These are spots in your feasts of when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; "
💡 Highlighted words feature Jacobean 1611 tooltips to clarify shifted 17th-century English terms.
"These people are like hidden hazards at your community meals, feasting alongside you without any shame, looking after only themselves. They're like clouds blown along by the wind with no rain in them, or trees that should bear fruit but are completely dead, torn up by the roots."
I care less about how someone presents themselves and much more about what they actually produce in other people's lives - real love, real fruit. Judge trustworthiness by outcome and consistency, not appearance.
"Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. "
"They're like violent waves crashing on the shore, throwing up their own disgraceful mess as foam, and like stars that have wandered off course - for whom nothing but permanent darkness is waiting."
I'd rather your life left behind something real than just noise and wreckage. Staying close to what's steady and true matters more than being the loudest or most dazzling thing in the room.
"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, "
"Enoch, seven generations after Adam, had also spoken a prophecy about people like this, saying: 'Look, the Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones.'"
I don't need everything wrapped in official language to carry truth - listen for wisdom wherever it's genuinely found, and take seriously the idea that how you treat others eventually catches up with the world.
"To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. "
"He is coming to bring judgement on everyone, and to expose every ungodly person for all the ungodly things they've done, and for all the harsh, defiant words that sinful people have spoken against him."
What you do and what you say both count - I'm not just watching your actions, I care about the words that come out of you too, because both shape the people around you.
"These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage. "
"These people are grumblers and complainers who follow their own selfish desires. They talk big and boastfully, and they flatter important people purely to gain something from them."
Watch how someone treats people who can't do anything for them - that tells you more about their character than how they treat people they're trying to impress. I value consistency and generosity over charm aimed at advantage.
"But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; "
"But you, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ told you beforehand."
I want you to remember what you've already been taught about how people can go wrong, so that when you see it happening, you're not shaken by it - you can recognise it calmly and respond with clarity rather than panic.
"How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. "
"They told you that in the final period of time there would be mockers who live according to their own ungodly desires."
Expect that some people will always try to mock what's good and serve only themselves - that's not a reason to become cynical or hard, just a reason to stay grounded and not be surprised or destabilised when it happens.
"These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. "
"These are the people who cause division, who are ruled by their own instincts and desires, and who do not have God's Spirit in them."
I judge a person's spirit less by what they claim to believe and more by whether their presence brings people together or splits them apart. Choose to be someone who unites, even when you disagree.
"But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, "
"But you, dear friends, keep building yourselves up on your most sacred faith, and keep praying, guided by the Holy Spirit."
The strongest response to seeing manipulation and corruption around you isn't outrage, it's quietly building your own foundation stronger - through honest reflection, prayer, whatever grounds you. I'd rather you grow steady roots than spend all your energy fighting.
"Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. "
"Keep yourselves within God's love, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life."
Staying in love takes ongoing choice, not just good intentions - check in with yourself regularly and ask if you're still choosing kindness and connection, or drifting towards self-interest without noticing. I'll always be pulling you back towards love, not punishing you for drifting.
"And of some have compassion, making a difference: "
"And show compassion to some people, making careful distinctions in how you treat them."
Not everyone who's struggling or confused needs the same response from you - some people just need gentleness and patience while they work things out. I want you to look closely at each person rather than applying a blanket rule to everyone.
"And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. "
"Save others by acting urgently, pulling them out of danger like snatching them from a fire - while still hating the corruption that has touched them, without excusing it."
You can love someone fiercely and still refuse to excuse or go near what's hurting them - rescuing someone and hating what's harming them are not the same as rejecting them. Act urgently for people in real danger, but keep the person and the problem separate in your mind.
"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, "
"Now, to the one who is able to keep you from falling, and to bring you into his presence without fault, full of overwhelming joy."
You don't have to hold yourself together through sheer willpower - let yourself be held. I'm not waiting at the finish line to judge how well you managed alone; I'm the one keeping you from falling in the first place.
"To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. "
"To the only wise God, our Saviour, belongs glory and majesty, power and authority, both now and for all time to come. Amen."
However hard the road, I want your story to end here too - not in fear, but in genuine relief and joy, safely held by something bigger and wiser than anything that tried to threaten you. Let this be the note your own life settles on: gratitude, not dread.