| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ. | 1From Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, wrapped in the love of God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ. |
| 2May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love. The Danger of False Teachers | 2May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you! |
| 3Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. | 3Dear friends, although I have been eager to write to you about our common salvation, I now feel compelled instead to write to encourage you to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. |
| 4I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. | 4For certain men have secretly slipped in among you--men who long ago were marked out for the condemnation I am about to describe--ungodly men who have turned the grace of our God into a license for evil and who deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. |
| 5So I want to remind you, though you already know these things, that Jesus first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt, but later he destroyed those who did not remain faithful. | 5Now I desire to remind you (even though you have been fully informed of these facts once for all) that Jesus, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, later destroyed those who did not believe. |
| 6And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment. | 6You also know that the angels who did not keep within their proper domain but abandoned their own place of residence, he has kept in eternal chains in utter darkness, locked up for the judgment of the great Day. |
| 7And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment. | 7So also Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns, since they indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire in a way similar to these angels, are now displayed as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire. |
| 8In the same way, these people—who claim authority from their dreams—live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings. | 8Yet these men, as a result of their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and insult the glorious ones. |
| 9But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (This took place when Michael was arguing with the devil about Moses’ body.) | 9But even when Michael the archangel was arguing with the devil and debating with him concerning Moses' body, he did not dare to bring a slanderous judgment, but said, "May the Lord rebuke you!" |
| 10But these people scoff at things they do not understand. Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and so they bring about their own destruction. | 10But these men do not understand the things they slander, and they are being destroyed by the very things that, like irrational animals, they instinctively comprehend. |
| 11What sorrow awaits them! For they follow in the footsteps of Cain, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they deceive people for money. And like Korah, they perish in their rebellion. | 11Woe to them! For they have traveled down Cain's path, and because of greed have abandoned themselves to Balaam's error; hence, they will certainly perish in Korah's rebellion. |
| 12When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots. | 12These men are dangerous reefs at your love feasts, feasting without reverence, feeding only themselves. They are waterless clouds, carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit--twice dead, uprooted; |
| 13They are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness. | 13wild sea waves, spewing out the foam of their shame; wayward stars for whom the utter depths of eternal darkness have been reserved. |
| 14Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones | 14Now Enoch, the seventh in descent beginning with Adam, even prophesied of them, saying, "Look! The Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy ones, |
| 15to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” | 15to execute judgment on all, and to convict every person of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds that they have committed, and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him." |
| 16These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want. A Call to Remain Faithful | 16These people are grumblers and fault-finders who go wherever their desires lead them, and they give bombastic speeches, enchanting folks for their own gain. |
| 17But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ predicted. | 17But you, dear friends--recall the predictions foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 18They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. | 18For they said to you, "In the end time there will come scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires." |
| 19These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them. | 19These people are divisive, worldly, devoid of the Spirit. |
| 20But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, | 20But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, |
| 21and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love. | 21maintain yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life. |
| 22And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. | 22And have mercy on those who waver; |
| 23Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives. A Prayer of Praise | 23save others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy on others, coupled with a fear of God, hating even the clothes stained by the flesh. |
| 24Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. | 24Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, without blemish before his glorious presence, |
| 25All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen. | 25to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen. |
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