Paragraph 11–13

In this paragraph, Jude compared the fake Christians to three men from the Old Testament (verse 11). These three men were Cain, Balaam, and Korah. They were famous because they had sinned greatly. Jude used these three men to show that the Lord would condemn the fake Christians, because they had sinned like these three men had sinned. Jude also illustrated the wickedness of the fake Christians by comparing them to objects from nature (verses 12–13).

11

In this verse, Jude used a style of writing called a “woe oracle.” (Woe oracles are common in the Old Testament and in the Gospels. Writers used them to announce punishment for sin, and that was Jude’s purpose here.) This woe oracle has three parts. They are:

(a) the woe,

(b) the sins committed,

(c) judgment against the fake Christians.

11a

Woe to them!: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as Woe to them is often used in the Bible when people are in trouble because of their sin(s). Ways to translate this include:

How terrible it will be for them! (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
-or-
They are doomed.
-or-
Trouble is coming to them.
-or-
Their sins doom them.

11b

The Greek text of 11b begins with the conjunction, hoti. Here this conjunction means “because.” It introduces the reasons that the fake Christians would be judged and punished.

Many English versions, (English versions that make hoti implicit here include: Berean Standard Bible, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, New Century Version, New International Version (2011 Revision), New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, Good News Translation.) like the Berean Standard Bible, do not use a connector here. Instead, they make the connection implicit. If you translate hoti, try to make it clear that it connects 11a with 11b–d, not just with 11b. The New Jerusalem Bible shows one way to translate this connection:

^11aAlas for them, ^11b–dbecause they have followed Cain…. (New Jerusalem Bible)

They have traveled the path of Cain: In the Bible, words like path, “road,” or “way” often refer to the type of life that a person lives, that is, to his behavior. So They have traveled the path of Cain means:

they have chosen to behave like Cain.

In Genesis chapter 4, Cain and his brother Abel offered sacrifices to God. God accepted Abel’s sacrifice, but he did not accept Cain’s sacrifice. Because of this, Cain became very angry and murdered his brother. Although Cain’s sin of murder was emphasized, he became known more generally to the Jews as someone who was selfish and who led others to sin. (Cain is mentioned in the New Testament in 1 John 3:12 as an example that we should not follow. Non-biblical Jewish literature also used Cain as an example of sinful behavior.)

Jude used Cain as an example of someone who sinned throughout his life, so your translation should not be too specific. A translation should not say or imply that Jude was referring only to Cain’s murder of his brother Abel. The idea here is of a lifetime of sin. Ways to say this include:

because they behave/live wickedly like Cain did.
-or-
because they sin the way Cain did.

If the people who will read your translation do not know who Cain is, you can tell them more about him in a footnote or perhaps in a glossary.

11c

they have rushed headlong: The fake Christians were eager to get what they wanted, and this made them very willing to sin. (Several English versions use rushed to describe the complete willingness of these fake Christians to sin in order to get what they wanted (Berean Standard Bible, God’s Word, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, New American Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision)).) In fact, the Greek expression literally indicates that they were “carried along” by the sin. This is a figure of speech, and in some languages there may be other figures to express this idea. Other ways to express it in English include:

they have plunged into (Revised English Bible)
-or-
abandon themselves to (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
they have given themselves (New Century Version, Good News Translation)

If your language has a special way to speak about a person who does something without hesitation and without holding himself back, you may want to use it here.

into the error of Balaam: Balaam was a prophet (Balaam is identified as a prophet in 2 Peter 2:15–16.) who lived during the time of Moses (Numbers 22–24 and Deuteronomy 23:3–6). He was not an Israelite. The leaders of Moab and Midian, (According to Numbers 22:7, the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian went to Balaam.) who were enemies of the Israelites, hired Balaam to curse the Israelites.

God did not allow Balaam to curse the Israelites, so the leaders did not pay Balaam. Because he wanted money, Balaam made a new plan. He told the enemies of the Israelites to send their women to seduce the Israelite men to sin sexually and worship idols (Numbers chapter 25 and Numbers 31:16). Many Israelite men sinned with these women. Later, the Israelites killed Balaam (Numbers 31:8).

error: Balaam’s greed caused his error. His error was sinful, not an error that he made by accident. His error has two main aspects:

(a) His error was the wrong he did, that he led others to sin. For example:

for money they have given themselves to doing the wrong that Balaam did. (New Century Version)

(b) His error was his wrong thinking. His desire for money led him to make the mistake of going against God. (He paid a big price for this mistake—death (Numbers 31:8).) For example:

they have thrown themselves into the same delusion as Balaam for a reward. (New Jerusalem Bible)

The fake Christians erred just like Balaam had erred.

One way to translate 11c that includes both aspects is:

They have wholeheartedly given themselves over to sin. Because they are greedy for money like Balaam was, they have made the mistake that he made of leading other people to sin.

11d

they have perished: The Berean Standard Bible has used a passive verb here. However, the Greek text could also be translated literally as “they have destroyed themselves.” By their rebellion, the fake Christians caused their own destruction. Other ways to say this are:

they have…destroyed themselves (God’s Word, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
they have been ruined by the same rebellion as Korah—and share the same fate. (New Jerusalem Bible)

The Lord is the one who would punish the fake Christians, but this verse focuses on their sinful actions. However, in some languages it may be more natural to use a passive verb. (For translators working in a language that does not use passive verbs, it is especially appropriate to use a reflexive translation like “they have destroyed themselves.” Such a translation would not require a translator to specify “the Lord” or “God” as an agent, thus shifting the focus of the verse away from the motivation and actions of the fake Christians. None of the English versions used in these Notes have changed the expression to an active one in such a way.) For example:

they will…be destroyed (Contemporary English Version, New Century Version)
-or-
they will…perish (NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004 Revision))

have perished: Jude spoke here as though they had already been destroyed or perished. However, he did not mean that the fake Christians had already been punished or had died. Instead, the verb form he used indicates that they had made their destruction certain (The thought is similar to the English idiomatic expression, “They are as good as dead.”) by disobeying God. In some languages it may be more natural to use a future tense. For example:

And like Korah, they will perish because of their rebellion. (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))

in Korah’s rebellion: Korah, along with some other Israelite men, led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron (Numbers chapter 16). By rebelling against the leaders whom God had chosen, Korah and his followers were rebelling against God himself. (God gave just Aaron and his sons the privilege of being priests, and God assigned just the Levites to serve in his house. Korah and his followers rebelled, by saying that Israelites from other tribes and families could also do these things.) God destroyed the leaders of this rebellion by causing the earth to open up and “swallow” them alive. He also sent fire from heaven to destroy the people who followed Korah and the other leaders.

rebellion: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rebellion does not refer to an armed or military conflict. Instead, it refers to disobedience. Korah disobeyed the Lord and also led other people to disobey him. The fake Christians that Jude wrote about also disobeyed the Lord and influenced others to disobey him.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.