- 1
- ¶ JUDE, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to the Gentiles who have been called and are beloved by God the Father and are protected by Jesus Christ:
- 2
- Mercy and peace, with love, be multiplied to you.
- 3
- ¶ My beloved, I write to you with all diligence concerning our common salvation, and it is needful that I should write and exhort you also to contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to the saints.
- 4
- For certain men have falsely entered among you, and these were foreordained from the very beginning to this condemnation;
they are ungodly men, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
- 5
- I will, therefore, remind you, though you once knew this, that God, having redeemed and saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.
- 6
- And the angels which did not keep their first estate but left their own habitation he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness until the judgment of the great day,
- 7
- Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbouring cities which in like manner gave themselves over to fornication, and followed after other carnal lusts, are condemned to judgment and placed under everlasting fire;
- 8
- ¶ Likewise also, these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise authority, and blaspheme against the glory.
- 9
- Yet Michael, the archangel, when contending with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring railing accusation against him, but said, The Lord rebuke you.
- 10
- But these men blaspheme against those things about which they do not know;
and what they know naturally as dumb beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
- 11
- Woe to them!
For they have gone in the way of Cain, and have run greedily after the error of Balaam for reward and have perished in the rebellion of Korah.
- 12
- These people are those who lead a wasteful, feasting life and are blemished;
they do not conduct themselves in reverence; they are clouds without rain, driven by winds; trees whose blossoms have withered without fruit, having died a second time, being pulled up by the roots,
- 13
- Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame;
wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
- 14
- And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints,
- 15
- ¶ To execute judgment upon all, and to punish all who are ungodly for all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly manner, and for all the harsh words which the ungodly sinners have spoken.
- 16
- These are the ones who murmur and complain, following after their own lusts, and their mouths speak idle flattering words, praising people for the sake of gain.
- 17
- But you, my beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,
- 18
- How they told you there will be mockers until the end of time, and they will always follow their own ungodly lusts.
- 19
- These are those who prefer to associate with selfish people because they do not have the Spirit in them.
- 20
- But you, my beloved, build up yourselves anew in the holy faith through the Holy Spirit, by means of prayer.
- 21
- Let us keep ourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ and for the life which is ours forever.
- 22
- And on some of them whoever they may be, heap coals of fire;
- 23
- And when they repent, have mercy on them with compassion;
despise even a garment which is spotted with the things of the flesh.
- 24
- Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
- 25
- To the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever.
Amen.
|