15to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all the deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
The Greek that is translated as “sinner” in English is translated as “people with bad hearts” (“it is not enough to call them ‘people who do bad things,’ for though actions do reflect the heart, yet it is the hearts with which God is primarily concerned — see Matt. 15:19“) in Western Kanjobal, “people who are doing wrong things in their hearts” in San Blas Kuna (source: Nida 1952, p. 148), “people with bad stomachs” in Q’anjob’al (source: Newberry and Kittie Cox in The Bible Translator1950, p. 91ff. ), “those others who don’t fully obey our laws” in Tagbanwa (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation), or “people with dirty hearts” or “people who are called ‘bad'” in Mairasi (source: Enggavoter 2004).
In Central Mazahua and Teutila Cuicatec it is translated as “those who owe sin.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated as Gottlose or “those without (or: “who don’t know”) God.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Jude 1:15:
Uma: “He comes to judge [lit., sit-on] the cases of all people, and punish all rebellious people because of all their rebellion. He will punish those sinners who rebel-against Him, he will pay back on them all their disparaging words disparaging him." Like that the words of Henokh long ago foretelling the God’s punishing people who rebel-against him.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “to judge all people. He will pass sentence on all who do not fear God because they did things hateful to God and because they always speak evil things of God.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “for he will investigate the activity of every person. He will punish every wicked person who has no respect for God because of the wicked deeds they have done and because of their speaking in rejection against God.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “to go and judge all people. He will condemn all sinners who have no thoughts toward God because of all the evil they have done and all the offensive-things that they have said in their opposing him.’ That is what Enok prophesied.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “He will sentence all people to judgment. He will punish all who don’t acknowledge him, because of all the evil which they have done, which they did with a mind/inner-being which is very far from God’s will. And he will punish those who have no fear of him, because of all the insulting/belittling things they said about him.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “He will come to judge all people. He will punish all the evil people who do not believe in God because of all the evil they do and because of all the evil words they have spoken against God.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The purpose of the Lord’s coming is now stated, namely to execute judgment on all people and to punish them for their evil deeds.
The meaning of judgment here depends on how we understand the word all. If all refers to all people, both good and bad, then to execute judgment means to judge all people in the sense of determining whether they are innocent or guilty. The next two clauses then refer to judgment or punishment given to the guilty. Another way of putting it is that the first part of the verse talks of universal judgment, whereas the next two clauses refer to the punishment inflicted on those judged to be wicked. This is the interpretation found in some translations; for example, Translator’s New Testament “to bring universal judgment, and to convict all the ungodly ones…”; Jerusalem Bible “to pronounce judgment on all mankind and to sentence the wicked….” In some languages to execute judgment in this sense is rendered idiomatically; for example, “to tie the words of.” In other languages people may say “to decide the right or wrong of.”
If, however, all is understood as referring to the godless, then “to execute judgment” is equivalent to bringing about conviction and punishment. This will also mean that the godless are the objects of judgment throughout the verse.
A third interpretation is to understand to execute judgment as including the punishment, and that the object of judgment for the whole verse is all of humanity. This is the interpretation followed by Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation; in both translations it is clear that the object of judgment is the same throughout the verse. While this interpretation does not seem as logical as the first alternative, it is the one that is closest to the Greek text, which can be translated literally: “to do (or, bring about) judgment (or, justice) on all and to convict every life (or, soul) concerning all their godless works that they have committed in a godless way, and concerning all the hard (or, defiant) things (or, words) that godless sinners spoke against him.”
For ungodly see comments on Jude 1.4. This word and related forms seem to be a favorite word in Jude. In the present verse it is repeated three times, and the repetition is a very effective rhetorical device, emphasizing the wickedness of the ones he is referring to. Such a device can be retained in translation, provided that it is natural in the language, and that such repetition will have the same function as it has in the biblical text, namely, to highlight and focus on the godlessness of these people. However, if repetition results in an unnatural expression, or weakens rather than strengthens the point that the verse wants to emphasize, namely, the godlessness of the false teachers, then repetition as a rhetorical device should not be used. In this case rhetorical devices with equivalent functions should be employed. For example, in some languages a series of different words of similar meaning will have such a function of emphasis and focus.
The expression which they have committed in such an ungodly way translates a single Greek verb, which is the verb form of the word “ungodliness” or “godlessness.” There seems to be no way, in English at least, of translating this in a natural way. Good News Translation has restructured the whole clause in order to make it more natural; it has translated the verb simply as “performed,” leaving the quality of godlessness to be understood from the context, since such information is also present in the previous expression “godless deeds.” Some other translations have similar solutions; for example, Jerusalem Bible “the wicked things they have done,” New English Bible “the godless deeds they have committed.” One other way is simply to omit translating the verb altogether, since the expression “godless deeds” already includes the element of doing (as, for example, Translator’s New Testament “their ungodly deeds”). While this solution results in a very natural translation in many languages, it has the problem of not retaining the rhetorical device of repetition that is employed in the Greek text, and also of not compensating for such a device through the use of an equivalent rhetorical device in the translation. One can partially retain these devices by translating “to condemn all those people who do not worship God, for all the evil deeds they have performed against him.”
The last part of this verse deals with things, which means “words.” The word translated harsh can also mean “hard,” “rough,” “stiff,” “defiant” (Jerusalem Bible), “unpleasant,” “terrible” (Good News Translation), or “insolent.” These words are spoken by “ungodly sinners,” who should be identified with the “ungodly” in the second part of the verse, except that now they are also described as “sinners.” This identification should be made clear in translation, otherwise the meaning may come out that the “ungodly” are being punished for the harsh words that other people, namely “godless sinners,” are saying. An example of identifying the two is that of Translator’s New Testament: “the harsh things which they, godless sinners, have said against him.” In all languages there is a natural way of marking old information, and this should be done with “ungodly sinners” here. One way of doing this is to say “for all the terrible words (hard to hear) that these godless sinners….”
Him refers back to “the Lord” at the beginning of the quotation in verse 14.
In many languages it is more natural to put “words” before “deeds,” and some translators may want to reverse the order here. However, there is a further consideration: the next verse (verse 16) deals primarily with words, and the connection of the two verses may be much clearer if the present order is retained. This of course does not prevent a translator from reversing the order, provided the connection between the two verses can still be established clearly.
Alternative translation models for this verse are:
• to bring judgment on all people; to condemn those godless sinners for all the terrible words they have spoken against him and for the godless deeds they have performed (against him).
Reversing the order of the final clauses:
• to bring judgment on all people; to condemn them all for the evil deeds they have performed against God and for all the terrible words that they have spoken against him.
In both these models the phrases “against God” or “against him” bring out the idea of ungodly.
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Letter from Jude. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
In this verse, Jude continued to quote a prophecy made by Enoch. This quotation started at 14c and ends at 15d.
This verse repeats the word for “ungodly” several times for emphasis. See the general comment at the end of the notes for 15d for translation suggestions.
15a
to execute judgment on everyone: The prophecy indicates here that the Lord will execute judgment on everyone when he returns. However, he will “convict” (15b) only the “ungodly” people (15b–d).
to execute judgment: In this context, the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as to execute judgment means “to say publicly whether someone is guilty or not guilty.” It does not include the idea of deciding punishment. Here are some other ways to translate the word execute:
declare
-or-
pronounce/announce
-or-
proclaim
everyone: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as everyone is literally “all.” It refers to all human beings. This includes both righteous people and unrighteous people.
15b
and to convict: In this context, the Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to convict means “to declare someone to be guilty and to sentence the guilty person to be punished.” Some other ways that English versions translate this include:
to sentence (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
to condemn (Good News Translation)
-or-
to punish (New Century Version)
all the ungodly: Copies of the Greek text differ about the phrase that is used here:
(1) Some copies have a phrase that means all the ungodly. Most English versions follow these copies. (Some of these versions leave the idea all implicit.) For example:
all the godless (Revised English Bible)
-or-
all the ungodly (New American Standard Bible)
(Berean Standard Bible, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation (2004 Revision), Revised English Bible, Revised Standard Version, New Century Version)
(2) Some other copies have a phrase that means “every soul.” Some English versions follow these copies. For example:
every person (NET Bible)
(NET Bible, New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation)
It is recommended that you follow option (1).
ungodly: The Greek word asebeias, which the Berean Standard Bible translates here as ungodly, is the same word that was used in 4c. This Greek adjective described people who did not respect God or his authority. Because they did not respect God’s authority over them, they lived sinful lives. Ways to translate this include: (Although the word “ungodly” includes the English word for God, this is not true in Greek (The Greek word is asebeis.) It is not necessary in other languages to include a word for “god” in the expression that is used to translate this idea. Some examples of ways to translate without using a word for god are: “impious,” “irreverent,” “immoral,” or “irreligious.”)
impious
-or-
irreverent
-or-
do not respect God
In English an adjective like ungodly implies a noun like “people.” In some languages it may be necessary to include a word to clarify what ungodly describes. For example:
ungodly people (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
ungodly sinners (God’s Word)
Jude used other forms of this Greek word several times in this verse, and once in 18d.
15c
of every ungodly act of wickedness: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as of every ungodly act of wickedness can also be translated literally as “concerning all of the/their ungodly works.” These ungodly works are everything that they have done to disobey or disrespect God.
Again, Jude used another form of the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as ungodly in 15b. These people did not just disobey and disrespect God, but they did it in ways that showed their disrespect of him. Some ways to say this include:
they have done in rebellion (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
-or-
which they have committed in an ungodly manner
15d
Enoch had prophesied that the Lord would convict ungodly people also for the harsh words they spoke against him. Jude had already stated that Enoch’s prophecy applied to the fake Christians that he wrote about in this letter (14b). Jude had already mentioned that these fake Christians were guilty of disrespectful speech against the Lord Jesus (8d, 10a).
and every harsh word: The Greek term that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as harsh word refers to talk which is disrespectful, defiant, insulting, or hurtful.
spoken against Him: This phrase refers specifically to the words they have spoken against the Lord. Enoch indicated that sinners would be punished for what they said against the Lord, not only for what they did (15c).
Him: The Greek pronoun that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as Him refers to the Lord. This pronoun refers back to “the Lord” in 14c.
by ungodly sinners: The Greek adjective that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as sinners can also be translated literally as “sinful.” Here Jude added sinful to his description of the ungodly people. This emphasized that they were guilty and deserved to be punished.
In some languages the words ungodly and sinners may be too similar to translate separately. If that is true in your language, you may need to use only one term here instead of two.
ungodly: Here Jude again used another form of the Greek word which the Berean Standard Bible translates as ungodly in 15b.
General Comment on 15a–d
In this verse, Jude repeated the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “ungodly” several times. He also used the word “sinners.” He did this to emphasize that the fake Christians were very guilty, and they deserved for the Lord to punish them. Repetition is a natural way to express this emphasis in Greek.
In some languages it may not be natural to repeat a word so many times in such a short verse. If this is true in your language, look for the most natural way to emphasize their guilt. You may be able to do this by using several different words to express the idea. For example:
to convict all ungodly people for all the immoral and evil things that they have done, and for all the harsh words sinners have spoken against him.
-or-
He will sentence/condemn all ungodly people for all of their evil and impious actions, and for everything disrespectful that immoral and sinful people have spoken against him.
General Comment on 14–15
The Berean Standard Bible text of 14a–b has reordered the phrases to be more natural English. In the Greek text, Jude began the verse by referring to the fake Christians as the ones whom Enoch prophesied about. The Revised Standard Version follows the Greek order more closely here. For example:
14bIt was of these also that 14aEnoch in the seventh generation from Adam 14bprophesied, saying… (Revised Standard Version)
In some languages it may not be natural or possible to introduce the information in that order. It may help to reorder verses 14–15. Reordering may also help to connect these verses to verse 16. For example:
14a Enoch, born in the seventh generation from Adam, 14bprophesied, 14c“See, the Lord will certainly come with many thousands of his holy angels. 15aWhen he comes, he will judge everyone, 15band he will sentence all ungodly people. 15cHe will condemn them for all the immoral and evil things they have done, 15dand for everything disrespectful that ungodly and sinful people have spoken against him.” 14bEnoch’s prophecy applies also to the people who have infiltrated your church. 16aThese men are…
If you use this order, you may need to use a more specific phrase at the end of 14–15 to refer to the fake Christians. Since “These men” in 16a resumes the description of the fake Christians, it may be helpful at the end of 14–15 to use a clear phrase in your language. You can consider using the one which you used in 4c. In the example above, these people are referred to as “the people who have infiltrated your church.”
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
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.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.