4
In this verse, Jude explained the problem that faced the Christians to whom he was writing. People who did not really believe the truth about God were gathering with the real Christians. They were fake Christians. (In verse 4, Jude first mentioned the people who had secretly slipped into the Christian congregation. Jude mentioned them many more times in this letter, but he referred to them with a pronoun, not a name or descriptive phrase. In order to refer to them clearly in these Notes, they are called fake Christians. This matches Jude’s distinctive description of them here in verse 4.) (Other writers have referred to these people as “false teachers,” “ungodly men,” or “ungodly people.” Each of these has some difficulty:False teachers: While the texts from which Jude chose his illustrations may imply that these people were teachers or leaders, Jude nowhere directly described them as such. The people Jude had in mind may have included some people who were not teachers or leaders.Ungodly men: Were there no women among these fake Christians? Jude does not say specifically.Ungodly men and ungodly people: To call these fake Christians “ungodly men” or “ungodly people” does not distinguish them from other groups of people in this letter. Jude also referred to ungodly people who were not part of this group, for example, the “ungodly” in verse 15.Therefore, in these Notes, “fake Christians” refers to the people whom Jude described as people who had secretly slipped in among the true believers.)
In some languages it may be more natural to reorder 4a–c as shown in the Display. The Notes will use this order in the discussion that follows.
4a_
For: The Greek conjunction gar that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as For connects verse 4 with verse 3. It indicates that verse 4 is a reason for an idea (There are two interpretations as to what this was in verse 3:(1) The presence of these fake Christians was the reason Jude wrote this letter.(2) The presence of these fake Christians was the reason why the true believers needed to contend for the Christian faith.Most English versions are ambiguous, allowing for either interpretation. For languages that must select one of the two interpretations, interpretation (1) is recommended in the Notes, because it implies both interpretations. Because Jude said in verse 3 that he wrote this letter in order to encourage the readers to contend for the Christian faith, translating according to interpretation (1) implies interpretation (2) as well.) in verse 3. If your language requires you to say what that idea is, the context shows that it is the reason that Jude wrote this letter. In order to make this connection clear, you may need to make this explicit. For example:
I am writing these things to you because there are certain men among you…
For languages that normally place the reason first, it may be more natural to change the order of verses 3 and 4. See the general comment on 3–4 at the end of the notes for 4f for an example.
certain men: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as men can also refer to people in general. For example:
Certain people (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
certain persons (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
Some people (God’s Word, New Century Version)
4bhave crept in among you unnoticed: This is a metaphor. Jude used it to describe how the fake Christians had deceived the true Christians. When the fake Christians joined the church, the true Christians were unaware that these fake Christians did not really believe the truth.
unnoticed: Jude indicated here that the fake Christians hid their wrong beliefs when they joined this group of believers. It was not a secret that they had joined the group. Jude’s readers did not realize that these fake Christians did not really believe the truth. Some ways to say this are:
4acertain people 4bhave infiltrated your group.
-or-
4acertain people 4bwho pretend to believe have joined your group.
-or-
4acertain people, 4bwho say they believe, but who really do not, have joined your group.
A general comment at the end of the notes for 4f shows that 4a–f may be reordered, with 4d placed earlier in the verse. In some languages, this may be more natural.
4c
ungodly ones: Jude described the fake Christians as ungodly, because they did not respect God or his authority. Because these people did not respect God’s authority over them, they lived sinful lives. Other ways to say this include:
They do not respect God.
-or-
They do not respect the authority of God over them.
ones: The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the word ones to refer to people in general. For example:
godless people (Good News Translation)
-or-
ungodly persons (New American Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version)
4dwho were designated long ago for condemnation: Jude described the people he had mentioned in 4a as people who were designated long ago for condemnation.
were designated: In this context there are several ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as were designated:
(1) It means written about. For example:
the prophets wrote about these people (New Century Version)
(Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, New Century Version, New International Version (2011 Revision), Good News Translation)
(2) It means that either the people or their punishment was designated or determined. For example:
The fate of such people was determined long ago. (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
-or-
who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation. (New American Standard Bible)
(Berean Standard Bible, King James Version, New Living Translation (2004 Revision), New Revised Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, New Jerusalem Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Jude probably meant that their condemnation was written about in the Old Testament. This interpretation is used in the Meaning Lines of the Display.
In the main section of this letter, verses 5–19, Jude used many examples from the Old Testament. However, he also used some examples that are not from the Old Testament (see verses 9, 14–15, 17–18). Therefore, it is best not to specify where the condemnation of these people was written about. However, if your language requires you to make explicit where this was written, you may use your key term for “scripture.” For example:
scripture (Revised English Bible)
the Scriptures (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version)
Jude did not mean that the scriptures contained a list of the names of these people. Instead, he meant that God had said in the scriptures that he would punish people who sinned like these people did.
condemnation: The word condemnation refers here to God judging (From the parallel passage of 2 Peter 2:9, Jude was apparently referring to the judgment which God will speak against them on the last day. This is true regardless of which letter was written first.) these people and condemning them. This condemnation implies two ideas:
(a) God would judge them and pronounce them “guilty” of certain sins. Jude listed these sins in 4e–f.
(b) This condemnation also included the punishment that they would receive because of these sins.
Some English versions also imply both of these ideas. For example:
…long ago the Scriptures warned that these godless people were doomed (Contemporary English Version)
4e–f
In 4e–f, Jude mentioned two ways in which these people showed that they did not respect God.
4e
They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality: These fake Christians were using God’s grace as an excuse to do whatever they wanted to do. They were saying that since God is kind and forgives people when they sin, it was therefore acceptable to continue to behave immorally. (Paul spoke against this false teaching in Romans 5:20–6:2.)
the grace: In this context, grace refers to God’s kindness towards human beings and his desire to forgive their sins. God showed this kindness by sacrificing his Son, Jesus Christ, to enable people to have fellowship with God. The grace of God made Jesus willing to suffer and die to save human beings from being damned because of their sins. For example, the New Living Translation (2004 Revision) translates the grace as:
God’s forgiveness (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
our God:
Several versions omit
our (Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, New Living Translation (2004 Revision)). The Greek text includes this idea.) Jude referred to God as our God, to indicate the close relationship that he and the true believers had with God.
However, in some languages, using a pronoun like our with God might communicate a wrong meaning, such as:
(a) God belonged to Jude and his readers like a possession.
(b) There is another god.
(c) The fake Christians claimed to worship a different god, other than the true God.
If saying our God might communicate wrong meaning (a), you could say:
the God we worship
-or-
God, whom we worship
If saying our God might communicate wrong meaning (b) or (c), you could omit our.
a license for immorality: The fake Christians acted as if they could sin freely. Some other ways this has been translated are:
to excuse their immoral ways (Good News Translation)
-or-
an opportunity for immorality (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
a reason for sexual sin (New Century Version)
-or-
allows us to live immoral lives (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
immorality: The immorality to which Jude referred included sexual sin, but also other sins. If your language has a word, phrase, or idiom that definitely includes sexual sin but could also include other sins, it may be a good choice here.
4f
and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ:
It is recommended that you do not use the King James Version as a model for translating 4f. The King James Version followed some copies of the Greek text that contain the word “God” in 4f. However, we can tell from other better copies that “God” was not part of what Jude wrote in 4f.
) In 4f, Jude mentioned another way that the fake Christians showed that they did not respect God: they denied Jesus Christ.
deny: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as deny means “reject [someone] or refuse to accept [him].” Some ways to translate this are:
reject (New Jerusalem Bible)
refuse to accept (New Century Version)
disowning (Revised English Bible)
The manner in which these fake Christians were denying Jesus Christ may have been:
(a) by what they said, in words only.
(b) by their actions, by what they did.
(c) by both their words and their actions.
From what Jude wrote in this letter, it is obvious that the fake Christians denied and rejected Jesus by both their words and their actions. Therefore, it is good to use an expression that includes both words and actions. However, if you need to choose between words and actions, it is recommended that you refer to sinful actions.
Christ: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as Christ is part of the name, Jesus Christ, so it should be translated as a name.
Master and Lord: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as Master described the someone over the servants or slaves, the head of a household, or a ruler with absolute authority.
The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Lord is the word that New Testament writers normally used to speak of Jesus as leader or chief.
The two Greek words, translated Master and Lord, have almost the same meaning. Jude used them together to emphasize that Jesus has total or absolute authority.
Try to find two words or phrases in your language that speak about the highest authorities. If possible, make sure that one of these is how you normally refer to Jesus as Lord. However, if you can find only one suitable word or phrase, then translate these two Greek words with one expression.
General Comment on 3–4
As the notes for 4a mentioned, verse 4 gives the reason for verse 3. Because of the fake Christians, Jude felt that he needed to write this letter urging his readers to defend the faith.
In many languages, it is normal to put the reason for an action first. If this is true in your language, you may need to reorder verses 3 and 4. For example:
4aBecause certain people 4bwho pretend to believe have joined your group, 3dI felt the need to write this letter to you 3eto urge you to defend the faith….
-or-
4aHowever, certain people 4bwho say they believe in God, but who really do not, have joined your group. 3dTherefore, I must write 3eto ask you to contend for the faith….
General Comment on 4a–f
In some languages it is more natural to reorder 4a–f, placing 4d later in the verse. There are two options:
• 4d may be placed right after 4b. For example:
4aFor certain persons 4bhave crept in unnoticed, 4dthose who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, 4cungodly persons 4ewho turn the grace of our God into licentiousness 4fand deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (New American Standard Bible)
• 4d may be placed after 4f. For example:
4aFor some 4cgodless people 4bhave slipped in unnoticed among us, 4epersons who distort the message about the grace of our God in order to excuse their immoral ways, 4fand who reject Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord. 4dLong ago the Scriptures predicted the condemnation they have received. (Good News Translation)
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