Greetings

1From Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James.v1: Mt 13.55; Mk 6.3.

To all who are chosen and loved by God the Father and are kept safe by Jesus Christ.

2I pray that God will greatly bless you with kindness, peace, and love!

Defending the faith against false teachers

3My dear friends, I really wanted to write to you about God's saving power at work in our lives. But instead, I must write and ask you to defend the faith that God has once for all given to his people. 4Some godless people have sneaked in among us and are saying, “God treats us much better than we deserve, and so it is all right to be immoral.” They even deny that we must obey Jesus Christ as our only Master and Lord. But long ago the Scriptures warned that these godless people were doomed.

5Don't forget what happened to those people that the Lord rescued from Egypt. Some of them did not have faith, and he later destroyed them.v5: a Ex 12.51; b Nu 14.29,30. 6You also know about the angelsv6 angels: This may refer to the angels who liked the women on earth so much that they came down and married them (see Genesis 6.2). who didn't do their work and left their proper places. God chained them with everlasting chains and is now keeping them in dark pits until the great day of judgment. 7We should also be warned by what happened to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrahv7 Sodom and Gomorrah: During the time of Abraham the Lord destroyed these cities because the people there were so evil. and the nearby towns. Their people became immoral and did all sorts of sexual sins. Then God made an example of them and punished them with eternal fire.v7: Gn 19.1-24.

8The people I am talking about are behaving just like those dreamers who destroyed their own bodies. They reject all authority and insult angels. 9Even Michael, the chief angel, didn't dare to insult the devil, when the two of them were arguing about the body of Moses.v9 Michael…the body of Moses: This refers to what was said in an ancient Jewish book about Moses. All Michael said was, “The Lord will punish you!”v9: a Dn 10.13,21; 12.1; Rev 12.7; b Dt 34.6; c Zec 3.2.

10But these people insult powers they don't know anything about. They are like senseless animals that end up getting destroyed, because they live only by their feelings. 11Now they are in for real trouble. They have followed Cain's examplev11 Cain's example: Cain murdered his brother Abel. and have made the same mistake that Balaamv11 Balaam: According to the biblical account, Balaam refused to curse the people of Israel for profit (see Numbers 22.18; 24.13), though he led them to be unfaithful to the Lord (see Numbers 25.1-3; 31.16). But by New Testament times, some Jewish teachers taught that Balaam was greedy and did accept money to curse them. did by caring only for money. They have also rebelled against God, just as Korah did.v11 just as Korah did: Together with Dathan and Abiram, Korah led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron (see Numbers 16.1-35; 26.9,10). Because of all this, they will be destroyed.v11: a Gn 4.3-8; b Nu 22.1-35; c Nu 16.1-35.

12These people are filthy minded, and by their shameful and selfish actions they spoil the meals you eat together. They are like clouds blown along by the wind, but never bringing any rain. They are like leafless trees, uprooted and dead, and unable to produce fruit. 13Their shameful deeds show up like foam on wild ocean waves. They are like wandering stars for ever doomed to the darkest pits of hell.

14Enoch was the seventh person after Adam, and he was talking about these people when he said:v14: Gn 5.18,21-24.

Look! The Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of holy angels 15to judge everyone. He will punish all those ungodly people for all the evil things they have done. The Lord will punish those ungodly sinners for every evil thing they have ever said about him.

16These people grumble and complain and live by their own selfish desires. They boast about themselves and flatter others to get what they want.

More warnings

17My dear friends, remember the warning you were given by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18They told you that near the end of time, selfish and godless people would start making fun of God.v18: 2 P 3.3. 19And now these people are already making you turn against each other. They think only about this life, and they don't have God's Spirit.

20Dear friends, keep building on the foundation of your most holy faith, as the Holy Spirit helps you to pray. 21And keep in step with God's love, as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to show how kind he is by giving you eternal life. 22Be helpful tov22 Be helpful to: Some manuscripts have “Correct”. all who may have doubts. 23Rescue any who need to be saved, as you would rescue someone from a fire. Then with fear in your own hearts, have mercy on everyone who needs it. But hate even the clothes of those who have been made dirty by their filthy deeds.

Final prayer

24-25Offer praise to God our Saviour because of our Lord Jesus Christ! Only God can keep you from falling and make you pure and joyful in his glorious presence. Before time began and now and for evermore, God is worthy of glory, honour, power, and authority. Amen.