Chapter: 1
INTRODUCTION
1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To those who accepted the heavenly invitation, who have been consecrated by God the Father, and who are abiding in Jesus Christ:
2 Abundant mercy, peace, and love be with you.
3 My dear friends, I am anxious to write you about our common salvation. I urge you to strive earnestly for the faith which was delivered to the saints once for all. 4 For certain men have sneaked into the Church to which they never belonged. They are impious men who have been condemned long ago for their ungodliness. They pervert the divine grace into licentiousness and deny our only Sovereign God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
WARNING
5 Now I want to remind you of what you have already learned, that God saved his people from Egypt at first, but afterwards he destroyed those who did not believe in him.
6 You know how severely he punished some of his Angels who rebelled against his authority and deserted their heavenly homeland. He has put them into everlasting chains. He has imprisoned them in utter darkness to await their final condemnation when the great day comes.
7 Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding cities are another example of divine wrath. They broke the Law of God and pursued ungodly vices. They were punished by eternal fire.
8 Likewise, these men in their nightmares disgrace their bodies, defy their creator, and revile their angels. 9 Yet, when the Archangel Michael contended with the devil about the body of Moses, he did not venture to revile him. He simply said: “May the Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these men revile whatever they cannot understand. Like irrational animals, they can understand only sensual lusts, and they are destroyed by them.
11 Woe to those impious men. For they have followed the path of Cain. They have been led astray by the greed of Balaam. They have perished in the revolt of Corah.
12 These men disgrace your religious meals, carousing shamelessly, and feasting gluttonously. They are waterless clouds driven by the winds. They are fruitless trees of late autumn, uprooted and twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame. They are wandering stars for whom the gloom of the abyss has been reserved forever.
RETRIBUTION
14 Enoch, the descendant of Adam in the seventh degree, prophesied about them, saying: “Listen, the Lord came with his holy myriads, 15 to execute judgment upon all men. He will convict sinners of all the godless misdeeds they have perpetrated and of all the blasphemies they have uttered against him.”
16 They always grumble and complain. They live according to their own passions. They talk arrogantly, but they pay great respect to persons from whom they expect to gain advantage.
17 My dear friends, remember the predictions of the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They foretold you that in the last times impostors would appear living godlessly according to their own passions. 19 These men will create division, because they are sensual and not spiritual.
ADMONITION
20 My dear friends, build yourselves up on the foundation of your most holy faith. Pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Cling to the love of God. Wait for the last day of our Lord Jesus Christ, which will bring you everlasting life. 22 Pity even those about whom you have doubts. 23 Save even those of whom you are afraid. Snatch them from the fire, even if you hate to touch their sin-soaked garments.
24 Glory, majesty, dominion, and power to the only omniscient God and our Savior, 25 who can keep you blameless, who can present you immaculate before his glory, and who can give you eternal blessedness, both now and forever, and for ages to come. Amen.