7Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which, in the same manner as they, indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
The Greek that is translated as “sexual immorality” or “fornication” or similar is translated much more specifically in some languages. Morelos Nahuatl has “let a man not yield himself to another woman except only to his wife. Also let a woman not yield herself to another man except only to her husband” or in Lalana Chinantec as “not proper for them to mix themselves with other women. The same is true of women for other men also.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
In Low German as Hurenkram or “things related to prostitution (and/or sleeping around)” (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006) and in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) typically as Sexgier or “sex cravings” (exceptions: Acts 15:10 and 15:29).
The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is transliterated as “Gomorrah” in English is transliterated in Mandarin Chinese as émólā (蛾摩拉) in the Protestant tradition. This is an interesting transliteration because the first character é (蛾) has a negative connotation with the meaning of “moth.” This character is only used here in the Protestant Chinese Bible. For many other transliterations the more neutral character 俄 with the same pronunciation is used. (Source: Zetzsche)
The Greek, Hebrew and Ge’ez that is typically translated as “eternity,” “forever,” or “forever and ever” in English are translated in Mairasi as “mashed out infinitely.” Lloyd Peckham explains: “Bark cloth required pounding. It got longer and wider as it got pounded. Similarly, life gets pounded or mashed to lengthen it into infinity. Tubers also get mashed into the standard way of serving the staple food, like the fufu of Uganda, or like poi of Hawaii. It spreads out into infinity.” (Source: Lloyd Peckham)
In Lisu the phrase “forever and ever” is translated as ꓕꓲꓽ ꓞꓲꓼ ꓕꓲ ꓑ — thi tsi thi pa, verbatim translated as “one – lifetime – one – world.” This construction follows a traditional four-couplet construct in oral Lisu poetry that is usually in the form ABAC or ABCB. (Source: Arrington 2020, p. 57f.)
In Makonde it is often translated as navyaka or “years and years.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
Following are a number of back-translations of Jude 1:7:
Uma: “Remember also the towns of Sodom and Gomora long ago with the towns around them. Those townspeople did evil deeds like what was done by the angels [we talked about] earlier. They behaved wrong [implies sexual behavior], and they did deeds that were so evil, to the point that their towns were wiped-out with fire. God’s punishing of the people of Sodom and Gomora is/became an example to all people, and can be compared to the fire of hell that never dies-down, that punishes all God’s enemies.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Remember also the people in Sodom and Gomora and in the surrounding towns. They were like those angels because their doings were not right/fitting. It wasn’t just women who were their companions in ‘doing-things’ (immoral things understood) but even with their fellow males did they do dirty things. They were sent unextinguishable fire to punish them, so that all mankind would have an example.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Consider also the inhabitants in the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah and the towns nearby them. They became like those angels, for their doings were excessively evil. As for the men there, it was not only women that they meddled with, but rather, they lusted for each other being completely male, and because of that they were punished with fire. And that became a warning of God to all in the future whom he will punish with fire which cannot be extinguished.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Remember also those who resided in Sodoma and Gomorra and the neighboring (lit. mutually-across-the-way) towns. Their sins, they were similar to the sinning of those-aforementioned angels who slept-with those whom they had no right to sleep-with, because they were-sleeping-with those who were not their spouses, and the men among them, they were craving to sleep-with their fellow men. Therefore God burned them and their towns, and that is what serves-as-a-warning to us that those who don’t believe, God will punish them in/with fire that is never extinguished.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Consider also what happened to the people of Sodoma and Gomorra and their neighboring towns, for they sinned like those angels. Because they really got themselves used to immoral-behavior with ones who were not their spouse, and far more disgusting, being unnatural. Those towns and all the people from there were all burned up, because that was their punishment. Well as for that, it’s like a dissuasion for us, for it’s an illustration of the fire that never dies down, which is the certain punishment which will be arrived at by the sinful.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “And remember what God did to the inhabitants of the city of Sodom and the city of Gomorrah along with other cities round about them. People lived in them who committed adultery like the people who are among you commit adultery. There were some of them who committed sexual acts with other men as though they were women. But the cities burned in order that all who commit sin would know that there is a punishment with fire forever.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
A third example is now given, namely, the account of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which is regarded by biblical writers as the best example of divine judgment of the wicked. The Gospels contain references to Jesus using this illustration (for example, Matt 10.15; 11.24; Mark 7.11; Luke 10.12; 17.29). The reference here is to Gen 19.11-28, which relates how the men of Sodom had demanded that Lot should surrender to them the angels who had visited him, so that the men of Sodom could have sexual relations with them. This story has similarities with that in verse 6: the presence of angels, sexual immorality, and eternal punishment.
The surrounding cities include Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar, but Zoar was spared God’s punishment (see Gen 19.20-22). In some cultures there are no human settlements that are the equivalent of cities and “towns” (Good News Translation), but people live in villages or small groups of houses. In such cases it will be necessary to refer to a city or town as “a large group of houses surrounded by a strong wall,” or perhaps as “the large (or, chief) village.” There are small island cultures, however, which have only one word for “place” or “land.” In cases like this the equivalent for “city” will be “a place where many people live surrounded by a strong fence.” The first clause of this verse can then be rendered as “Remember the big places of Sodom and Gomorrah surrounded by high fences, and the other places nearby where many people lived.”
Acted immorally can be understood in a general sense as referring to all forms of sexual sin. The first meaning of immorally is “not conforming to established patterns of social conduct and ethics,” which is the sin for which Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, according to (Ezekiel 16.48-51); the secondary sin of excessive sexual misconduct occurs in addition to the primary sin of immorality, and should carry no more weight than that (in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah), while indulged in unnatural lust can be understood as referring to a particular kind of sexual immorality. Likewise refers back to the angels in verse 6 and indicates that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are being compared to the angels; that is, they indulged in the same evil acts that were committed by the angels, a fact made clear in Good News Translation. Translators need to investigate the range of vocabulary in their language in so far as “sexual immorality” is concerned. Possible models are “licentious sexual behavior” or “unlawful sexual intercourse.”
But what does the expression unnatural lust refer to? The Greek simply has “other flesh,” or “different flesh.” Some scholars have understood this to mean having sexual relations with people of the same sex, as, for example, men with men (see Rom 1.26-27; 1 Cor 6.9). Others take the position that the focus here is not on homosexual acts but on the parallel between the angels and the men of Sodom and Gomorrah; in much the same way that the angels had sexual relations with human beings, so also the men of Sodom wanted to have sexual relations with angels. This latter point of view seems preferable because of the close relation between these two verses. However, it seems that in most languages, as in Good News Translation, unnatural lust will be rendered as “sexual perversion,” “perverted sexual activity,” or “abnormal sexual activity,” without being more specific as to the nature of the sexual activity.
The result of such sexual immorality is now revealed as undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. The verb for undergoing is in the present tense, which means that the inhabitants of Sodom are at the moment going through their punishment. Some scholars suggest that there may be a reference here to the Dead Sea, which is 30 miles from Jerusalem and 1,280 feet below sea level. In Jewish tradition the Dead Sea is a result of the destruction by fire of Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities; it is even believed that these cities continue to burn underground. This is easy to explain, since the Dead Sea is very hot, with the water getting hotter because of hot springs from the bottom. While it is possible and even likely that Jude had this tradition of the Dead Sea in mind, yet he is primarily referring here to the eternal fires of hell, where the people of these cities continue to suffer; this again relates verse 7 with verse 6, which speaks of the “nether gloom.” The word translated example is literally “sample”; that is, here is an actual case of sinners being punished; this serves both as proof and as warning to future generations of the reality of divine punishment (note Good News Translation “plain warning”).
Eternal fire is the same expression used in some literature of the period leading up to the New Testament (for example, 4 Maccabees 12.12) and in the New Testament itself (for example, Matt 18.8; 25.41). There is a problem of interpretation with regard to the positioning of this expression. The problem can be put simply: does eternal fire go with example or with punishment? In other words, is Jude saying that the burning of the cities is an example of how the wicked will be punished with eternal fire, or that the eternal burning of the cities is an example of how the wicked are going to be punished? Either of these interpretations is possible. Some translations follow the first interpretation, as, for example, Moffatt, “exhibited as a warning of the everlasting fire.” But more translations reflect the position taken by Good News Translation, “they suffer the punishment of eternal fire as a plain warning to all.” This relates this statement to the tradition that these cities continue to burn. Another possible translation model is “They undergo punishment by being burned with fire eternally (or, forever), as an example to warn other people what can happen to them.”
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 verse 7, Jude gave a third example of a group who sinned against God, and as a result, suffered terrible punishment. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah sinned sexually. The Lord destroyed them by fire.
In some languages, it may be helpful to use an introductory phrase (As mentioned in the note for 6–7, this is also true for the start of verse 6.) at the beginning of verse 7. You may use a phrase that is similar to the phrase, “I want to remind you,” in 5a.
The notes for verse 7 are based on a literal translation of the Greek text, instead of on the Berean Standard Bible. (Notice the abbreviation “lit.” before the words and phrases in the notes below.) Some of the parts of the verse have been reordered to give the notes a more natural order for English. The letters of the verse parts will follow the new order, which is indicated here:
7aIn a similar way to these, 7bSodom and Gomorrah and the towns around them 7care exhibited as an example of eternal fire, 7dthe penalty they experience, 7ehaving committed sexual sin and gone after different flesh.
7a (reordered)
Verse 7 begins with the Greek word, hōs. It can be translated in a variety of ways, including “that” and “how.” In this context Jude used hōs to mark the beginning of this third example of punishment for sin. (Lenski (page 621) thought that Jude used hos here, instead of the hoti (5a) that governs both 5 and 6, because the evidence of what had happened to Sodom and Gomorrah could still be seen. The examples in 5 and 6 were known only through their stories being written or told. However, Jude’s readers could still find evidence of God’s punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah at the south end of the Dead Sea. As the Greek present tense verb prokeintai implies, Sodom and Gomorrah are an example that has observable evidence.) It indicates that it should be considered along with the first two examples in verse 5 and verse 6. Some ways to express this include:
Also consider that…
-or-
You also know how…
-or-
I want to remind you that…
(lit.) In a similar way to these: In order to translate verse 7, a translator must decide two issues of interpretation:
Issue 1:
Scholars have different opinions about who these refers to. The two main possibilities are: (Two other interpretations that are sometimes suggested are:(3) It refers to either the men of Sodom and Gomorrah or to the men of the surrounding towns, one of these groups being compared to the other.(4) It refers to the fake Christians (verse 4).In the Greek text, “these” is marked for both gender and number as masculine and plural. Interpretation (3) is unlikely because the Greek words for “Sodom and Gomorrah” and also for “towns” are not masculine. While some scholars suggest that “these” refers to the men in the towns, there is no compelling reason to assume this. It would require Jude to have linked the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah with the sin of the surrounding towns in a very indirect and unnecessarily complicated way. Finally, interpretation (4) is not correct. In verse 8, Jude definitely wrote about the same fake Christians as in verse 4. If “these” in verse 7 also referred to these same people, then Jude would have been repeating himself in verse 8 for no apparent reason.)
(1) It refers to both the angels whom Jude mentioned in verse 6 and to the Israelites who did not believe and were destroyed (verse 5).
(2) It refers to just the angels (verse 6).
Greek grammar would allow either interpretation, (In the Greek text, “these” is marked for both gender and number as masculine and plural. “Angels” is the closest preceding noun that is marked as masculine and plural. The unbelieving Israelites are also marked as masculine and plural.) but interpretation (1) is more likely because the conjunction used to join verses 5 and 6 indicates a close relationship between these verses. If there is a natural way to include both the angels and unbelieving Israelites in your translation, then it is recommended that you use it here. For example:
In a similar way to these unbelieving Israelites and angels
Issue 2:
Another interpretation issue is to decide in what way the people of Sodom and Gomorrah (7b) were similar to the preceding two groups, (This assumes that interpretation (1) above is correct.) which were:
(a) the angels who rebelled (verse 6),
(b) the unbelieving Israelites (verse 5).
The two main possibilities are:
(1) The three groups were similar because all were examples and warnings that the Lord punishes sinners. For example:
We should also be warned by what happened to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah…. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah…is an example…of the punishment…. The people of these cities suffered the same fate that God’s people and the angels did…. (God’s Word)
(Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
(2) The sexual sin committed by the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, was similarin nature to the sins that the angels (Scholars who accept this view interpret Genesis 6:1–4 as talking about angelic beings taking human wives. No clear biblical evidence exists that angels are capable of having sexual relations with human beings or that angels and human beings have had children together.) and the unbelieving Israelites (While the Israelites who left Egypt did commit sexual sin (Exodus 32:6, Numbers 25:1), verse 5 probably referred to what happened to the Israelites who refused to follow the advice of Joshua and Caleb. They died in the desert because they refused to enter the land that God was giving to them.) had committed. According to this interpretation, Jude used three examples of sexual sin. For example:
Sodom and Gomorrah…which, in the same manner as they, indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural lust… (New Revised Standard Version (It is possible that the New Revised Standard Version is comparing the people of Sodom and Gomorrah only to the angels, and not to the Israelites that Jude mentioned. Other English versions that clearly compare the people of Sodom and Gomorrah to the angels but not to the Israelites, are the NET Bible, Revised English Bible and Good News Translation. All four of these versions imply that Jude was indicating sexual immorality as a similarity between the people of Sodom and Gomorrah and the angels.))
(New Revised Standard Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).
7b (reordered)
(lit.) Sodom and Gomorrah: Jude reminded his readers of what happened to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. God destroyed these cities with fire because of the sexually immoral behavior of the people who lived there. You may read about this in Genesis 18:20–22, 19:1–29.
It was not just the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah themselves (with the buildings and possessions) that were destroyed. All the people who lived there were killed. In some languages it may help to make this explicit. For example:
the people of Sodom and Gomorrah
(lit.) and the towns around them: This phrase refers to the towns near Sodom and Gomorrah that God destroyed at the same time. (The names of two of these towns were Admah and Zeboiim (Deuteronomy 29:23). Another nearby town named Zoar was spared.) Some ways to say this include:
and the neighboring towns
-or-
and the surrounding towns
-or-
and the towns that were nearby
7c–d (reordered)
(lit.) are exhibited as an example of eternal fire, the penalty they experience: Scholars have different opinions about how the expression eternal fire relates to the other words in this verse. The two main interpretations are:
(1) eternal fire relates primarily to the word example in 7c. What happened to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah was an example and warning that sinful people will be punished by eternal fire in hell. For example:
are a warning of the eternal fire that will punish all who are evil. (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
(God’s Word, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
(2) Eternal fire relates primarily to the word penalty in 7d. Sodom and Gomorrah and the towns were experiencing the penalty of eternal fire. (Many scholars who accept interpretation (2) do not think that Jude meant the eternal fire of hell. According to them, the eternal fire is the fire whose smoke could still be seen at the south end of the Dead Sea, where these cities once stood.) For example:
are put before us as an example since they are paying the penalty of eternal fire. (New Jerusalem Bible)
(Berean Standard Bible, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Century Version, NET Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation)
The Greek grammar of this verse allows for either or both to be correct. It is recommended that, if possible, you translate as if both interpretations (Jude and his readers were very aware that these cities were destroyed by fire. Implicit in his example is the manner in which God destroyed these cities. The horrible fire that God used in this destruction made Sodom and Gomorrah especially fitting as an illustration or example of what the end will be for all who continue in willful sin—the eternal fire of hell.) are correct. However, if you must choose between them, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), which has more support in the commentaries.
The following examples show how this verse may be translated with both interpretations.
Like these people and angels, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns are a warning of eternal fire, the penalty they suffer because they committed sexual sin and went after different flesh.
-or-
In a similar way to these unbelieving Israelites and angels, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns are exhibited as an example of the punishment of eternal fire. Their people suffer the penalty of eternal fire, because they committed sexual sin and went after different flesh.
7c (reordered)
(lit.) are exhibited as an example: Other ways to translate this include:
they are an apparent/clear example.
-or-
they…are now displayed as an example. (NET Bible)
-or-
By looking at them, people can see that…
In some languages, it may be better to say explicitly that this type of example is a warning. For example:
Those cities…are a warning… (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
-or-
as a plain warning… (Good News Translation)
(lit.) eternal fire: This expression refers to the eternal fire of hell. It is recommended that you not indicate explicitly that this refers to hell, unless that is necessary in your language.
7d (reordered)
(lit.) the penalty they experience: Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns were destroyed by fire. At the time when Jude wrote this letter, people could still see evidence of this punishment. They could go to the Dead Sea and see signs of destruction where those cities had been.
However, the penalty for the people who lived there involved more than their death at the time when the cities were destroyed. They were also to spend eternity in the fire of hell. That is an even greater penalty, and Jude may have been thinking of it also.
(lit.) penalty: Their penalty was punishment for their sins (7e).
(lit.) they experience: What they experience is punishment. In some languages, it may be more natural to indicate explicitly that this is an experience of punishment or suffering. For example:
they suffer the punishment (Good News Translation)
-or-
undergoing a punishment (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
they are paying the penalty (New Jerusalem Bible)
7e (reordered)
(lit.) having committed sexual sin and gone after different flesh: Jude gave the information in this part of the verse as the reason that God punished the people of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns. They were guilty of sexual sin. Their sexual immorality was so bad that God caused them and their cities to be destroyed. Some ways to indicate this reason are:
because they committed sexual sins and… (God’s Word)
-or- since they indulged in sexual immorality and… (NET Bible)
Jude was probably referring to sexual sin that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah did regularly. It was the habit of these people to sin sexually. If your language normally marks habitual action, you may do so here. For example:
habitually/regularly committed sexual sin
(lit.) having committed sexual sin: This phrase is a literal translation of one Greek word. It could refer to any kind of sexual sin. Look for the most natural way in your language to refer to sexual sinin general, rather than to a specific type of sexual sin.
(lit.) gone after different flesh: Pursuing different flesh was the way that Jude referred to homosexual acts; (Scholars have different opinions concerning what sin Jude described as “having gone after different flesh.” The main interpretations are:(1) It refers to homosexual acts; that is, men having sex with men.(2) It refers to bestiality.(3) It refers to the men of Sodom trying to have sex with the two angels who visited Lot (Genesis chapter 19).It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Many scholars say that this going after different flesh was homosexual acts, and they are probably correct.The last interpretation is unlikely, because God had already decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding town before the incident with the angels at Lot’s house happened. Also, only the men of Sodom tried to have sex with the angels, and God destroyed more than Sodom. In addition, there is no evidence that the men of Sodom knew that the two visitors to Lot’s house were angels. Another reason to reject this last opinion is that Jude said that these men went after different “flesh,” and angels are spirit beings who do not have “flesh.”) that is, men having sex with other men. Some ways that English versions have translated this include:
engaged in homosexual activities. (God’s Word)
-or-
indulged in unnatural lust (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
sexual relations that God does not allow. (New Century Version)
Languages often have more than one way to refer to this type of sexual activity. Look for the most natural way in your language that is suitable for reading in worship meetings where people of all ages and both sexes may be present.
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.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.