Section 3–4
Jude urged believers to defend the true teaching that they believed
In this section Jude expressed his reason for writing this particular letter. Because ungodly people had come into their church, the Christians to whom Jude was writing had to defend what they believed. These ungodly people were especially dangerous because the true believers had not recognized that the ungodly people were not really Christians. They were “fake” Christians.
3a
Beloved: Jude used this word to address his readers whom he loved. He used it in this way three times—in 3a, 17a and 20a. (Most recent English versions translate it as something similar to “Dear friends.” (New International Version (2011 Revision), Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, New Century Version, New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation (2004 Revision), Revised English Bible, Good News Translation).)
Languages may have different types of direct address that would be natural in this context. For example:
Dearly loved friends (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
Look for the most natural way in your language to express the idea.
Languages differ in the most natural placement for a direct address. In some languages it may be most natural to begin the sentence with a direct address like this. In other languages, it is natural to put the direct address after the verb. In your translation, look for the position that is most natural for your language.
3b
I made every effort to write to you: This clause probably indicates that Jude had been planning to write another letter, but that he had not yet started it. (The Good News Translation seems to favor the interpretation that Jude had actually started writing the other letter, but then he changed his mind and wrote this letter instead.) Some ways to say this are:
I very much wanted to write to you.
-or-
I had been eagerly planning to write to you.
-or-
I earnestly intended to write to you.
3c
about the salvation we share: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as about the salvation we share is literally, “about our common salvation.” Jude’s readers had salvation in common, that is, each person had experienced the same salvation. Jude implied that he could have written a letter about the way that God had saved them and what this salvation meant for them.
In some languages it may not be natural to say that people share something like salvation. If that is true in your language, it may be helpful to express this idea in a different way. For example:
about what we(incl) have in common, which is that God saved us(incl)
-or-
about the salvation that unites us(incl)
salvation: Through the sacrifice of his son, Jesus Christ (25a, 25c), God had saved Jude and his readers from sin and death and had given them new life.
3d
I felt it necessary to write: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as I felt it necessary to is literally, “I had a necessity to.” Jude felt that he must write a different letter than he had first planned to write (3b–c). Some ways to translate this phrase are:
I felt compelled to write
-or-
I realized that I must write
-or-
I realized that it was/is necessary for me to write
3e
and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith: Jude encouraged his readers to contend…for the faith. The word faith here does not refer to the act of believing, but to what Jude and his readers believed. Jude meant that they were to struggle hard to defend from error the true Christian teaching that they had been taught and had believed. He also meant they were to promote the faith by living according to what it taught them (see verses 20–23).
urge you: Jude told the readers what he wanted them to do in a polite way. He was encouraging them to follow his advice. For example:
to encourage you (New Century Version)
-or-
encouraging you (New Jerusalem Bible)
You may be able to translate this as a request. For example:
and ask you (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
to appeal to you
you: In Greek there is no pronoun (you) after the verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates here in 3e as “urge.” In the Greek text, the pronoun (literally “to you”) occurs after the verb “write” in 3d. Literally, it is “write to you.” However, the Berean Standard Bible chose to place the pronoun after the verb “urge” in 3e. You should place the pronoun where it is most natural in your language. It may be necessary to use a pronoun with both “write” and “urge.”
to contend earnestly: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to contend is translated by many English versions as “fight.” (Modern English versions with a form of “fight” are God’s Word, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, New Century Version, New Jerusalem Bible, and Good News Translation.) For example:
to fight hard (New Jerusalem Bible)
However, Jude did not mean that his readers should fight physically. He was urging them to use all their strength and ability to resist, counteract, and defeat false teaching. Specifically, Jude wanted them to resist the false teaching of the ungodly people whom he would write about in verse 4. He did not want his readers to be harmed by participating in the sinful actions of those ungodly people.
the faith: Here Jude referred to the true Christian teaching as the faith. He called it the faith, because it is what Jude and his readers believed.
3f
entrusted once for all to the saints: This part of the verse further describes the “faith,” which Jude mentioned in 3e.
once for all: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as once for all may also be translated as “one time for all times” (see Jude 1:3 in UBS Handbook). It indicates that “the faith” is unique and that it does not change. (Someone might try to change the faith, the true teaching. The Contemporary English Version and New Living Translation (2004 Revision) imply this when they use “to defend” to translate the Greek word which the Berean Standard Bible translates as “contend.” (See the note above for “contend.”) ) No one is allowed to change it.
To translate once for all, you may be able to find a word or phrase that communicates the three parts of its meaning:
(a) God only had to give this faith to the believers one time.
(b) Its teachings would never change throughout the rest of time.
(c) They were adequate for all times.
Other ways to say this are:
once to last forever
-or-
unique and unchangeable throughout all time
entrusted: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible (Other versions that translate this as “entrusted” are New International Version (2011 Revision), God’s Word, NET Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Revised Standard Version and Revised English Bible.) translates as entrusted can also be translated as:
delivered (Revised Standard Version)
committed (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
given (Good News Translation)
The verb implies that the first Christians received the true teachings, and they had the responsibility pass these true teachings faithfully to other people. The text does not say who entrusted the teachings to the first Christians. It could have been God or Jesus or the apostles. If you need to specify who entrusted the teachings to the Christians, it is recommended that you say God.
the saints: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the saints is literally “the holy (ones)” and means “the holy people.” This expression was used by many New Testament authors to refer to Christians, the people who believe in Jesus Christ. When used in this way, it refers to all Christians, including Jude and his readers. Some ways to translate this phrase are:
God’s holy people.
-or-
those who believe/trust in Jesus Christ.
-or-
people dedicated to God.
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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.