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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT ESA WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Yud C1
Yud 1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25
OET (OET-LV) Youdas/(Yəhūdāh), slave of_Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa) chosen_one/messiah, and brother of_Yakōbos/(Yaˊₐqoⱱ), to_the ones called having_been_loved by god the_father, and having_been_kept in_Yaʸsous chosen_one/messiah:
OET (OET-RV) This letter is from Yudas, a slave of Yeshua the messiah, and brother of Yacob. It’s written to all those who have been called and loved by God the father and who have kept believing in Yeshua the messiah.
In New Testament times the common way to begin a letter was to put the writer’s name first, then to mention something about the people who would receive the letter. After that, the writer included a prayer or blessing for their well-being. Jude followed this pattern.
Although Jude did not say where his readers lived, he did say three things about them. These three things are true of all believers:
God had called them,
God the Father loved them,
God would keep them safe for the time when Jesus Christ would return.
In these two verses Jude identified himself as the author of the letter and identified his readers by some of the things that God had done for them. Then he prayed that God would bless them. Jude chose a blessing which related well to the rest of the letter.
Jude,
¶ Jude writes this letter to you(plur).
¶ I, Jude, write this letter to you(plur).
¶ This letter comes from me, Jude.
Jude: The BSB, like the Greek text, begins with the name of the writer and does not follow it with a verb. This was the common way to start a letter in New Testament times. In many languages today, including English, the writer’s name does not appear until the end of the letter. However, even if this is also true in your language, you should still include Jude’s name in this first verse. You may need to add a verb. For example:
Jude writes this letter to you.
In some languages, like Greek, it is acceptable for a writer to identify himself in the third person, as Jude did here. If this is not natural in your language, you could add a first person pronoun. For example,
It is I, Jude, who write this letter to you.
a servant of Jesus Christ
I am a servant of Jesus Christ,
I work for Jesus Christ,
a servant of Jesus Christ: Even though Jude was the brother of Jesus, he described himself as a servant of Jesus Christ. His brother James wrote the same thing about himself (James 1:1). This was a common way for followers of Jesus to describe themselves. It is often found at the beginning of the letters in the New Testament. (Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:1; James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1.)
servant: The Greek word that the BSB translates as servant is doulos. This word may also be translated as “slave.” If your language does not have a noun for servant, you may use a verb instead. For example:
I serve Jesus Christ.
who works for Jesus Christ.
Christ: The Greek word that the BSB translates here as Christ may be translated as part of the name, Jesus Christ. See Christ in the Glossary.
and a brother of James,
and I am a brother of James.
and James is my brother.
and a brother of James: We do not know which of the brothers was older, JamesIn these Notes, James refers to an important leader of the church at Jerusalem (Acts 12:17), the James who was the brother of Jesus (as Paul says in Galatians 2:19). Jude was another brother of Jesus. or Jude. If your language requires that you say which brother was older, you may say that Jude is the younger brother of James. It is likely that James was older, because he was an important leader of the Christians in Jerusalem.
brother: The Greek word that the BSB translates here as brother can be used for different relationships. In some languages it is necessary to use a different expression for each of these relationships. James and Jude had the same mother and father.
James: This James was a leader of the church at Jerusalem (Acts 12:17). He was also the brotherSome Christians believe that Jude and James were children born to both Joseph and Mary. Jesus would then be their older half-brother, since Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father. Others believe that Jude and James were the children of Joseph by a wife who had died before he married Mary. This would make Jesus their younger stepbrother. Still others believe that the “brother” relationship was by adoption or as part of an extended family. Those who believe in the perpetual virginity of Mary do not believe that Jude and James were born to Mary. of Jesus (as Paul says in Galatians 1:19). Jude was another brother of Jesus. In some languages it may be helpful to include this information in a footnote in your translation.
To those who are called,
I write to those people who have been called by God to believe in him.
I write to you(plur) people whom God has invited/asked to believe in him.
To those who are called: Here Jude began to say something about the people to whom he was writing. In some languages it may be necessary to introduce this clause by a phrase like:
I write to you, those who….
called: Jude used the Greek word that the BSB translates as called to refer to the Christian people to whom he was writing. He described them as called, because God had called them to believe in him. This can be translated as:
To those people who have been called by God to believe in him
To you people whom God has called to believe in him.
See the general comment at the end of the notes for 1f for other suggestions on using active verbs to translate the ideas in this verse.
loved by God the Father,
You(plur) are united/joined with God the Father because you(plur) have been loved by him.
God the Father loves you(plur) with the result that you(plur) are united/joined with him,
loved by God the Father: A literal translation of the Greek text here is “having been loved in (en) God the Father.” This phrase includes two ideas:
God the Father loved these Christians.
These Christians experienced God’s love in their relationship to him, united with him.John 17 has other examples where “in” has this meaning. Jude expressed the same idea again in 21a where he encouraged his readers “to keep yourselves in the love of God.”
If possible, it is best to include both ideas in your translation. For example:
who live in the love of God the Father (GNT)
You are united with God the Father because you have been loved by him.
God the Father loves you with the result that you are united with him.
loved: Copies of the Greek text are slightly different from each other. The KJV has “sanctified” instead of “loved,” because it followed different copies than most other English versions followed. The best evidence supports “loved,” so it is recommended that you use the idea “loved” in your translation. However, if the major language version in your area uses “sanctified,” you may include a footnote to say that “sanctified” can be found in some Greek copies, but that the best evidence supports “loved.” God had much affection for these Christians and great concern for their well-being. See Love, Meaning 1, in the Glossary.
and kept in Jesus Christ:
He/God has kept you(plur) safe for Jesus Christ.
and he keeps you(plur) safe to give/present you(plur) to Jesus Christ when he returns.
kept in Jesus Christ: In this context there are two ways to interpret the Greek expressionDifferences in interpretation arise, in part, because the Greek text has no preposition. In English, a preposition is required. that the BSB translates as kept in Jesus Christ:
It means kept for Jesus Christ. For example:
kept safe for Jesus Christ (NJB) (GW, NASB, NET, NJB, NRSV, REB, RSV)
It means kept by Jesus Christ. For example:
kept safe by Jesus Christ (CEV) (CEV, JBP, NIV, GNT)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).Similar ideas are expressed in John chapter 17, especially in John 17:9 and John 17:15. It is likely that Jude meant that God was the one who was keeping the readers for Jesus Christ. Jude may be implying “for Jesus Christ when he returns.” Here is an example of how to make this explicit:
are kept safe for the coming of Jesus Christ.(REB)
Jude may also imply:
who are kept safe by God to give/present to Jesus Christ at his return.
kept: Jude frequently used the Greek verb, tēreō, which the BSB translates here as kept. He used a form of tēreō in 1f, 6a, 6c, 13d (where the BSB uses the verb “reserved”), and 21a. Though it was possible for Jude to use one verb in all these places, the meanings translated into natural English require the use of more than one English verb. They were being kept safe.
In some languages it may be necessary to use more active verbs to translate 1d–f. For example:
God has called you to believe in him. You are united with God the Father because he loves you. God keeps you safe to present you to Jesus Christ when he returns.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person
Ἰούδας
Jude
In this culture, letter writers would give their own names first, and they would refer to themselves in the third person. If that would be confusing in your language, you could use the first person. If your language has a particular way of introducing the author of a letter, you could also use that. Alternate translation: [I, Jude, am writing this letter] or [From Jude]
Note 2 topic: translate-names
Ἰούδας
Jude
Jude is the name of a man, the brother of James. See the information about him in Part 1 of the Introduction to Jude.
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / distinguish
Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ δοῦλος, ἀδελφὸς δὲ Ἰακώβου
˱of˲_Jesus Christ slave ˱in˲_Jesus (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἰούδας Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ δοῦλος ἀδελφός δέ Ἰακώβου τοῖς ἐν Θεῷ Πατρί ἠγαπημένοις καί Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ τετηρημένοις κλητοῖς)
These phrases give further information about Jude. He describes himself as being both a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. This distinguishes him from the two other men named Jude in the New Testament, which English translations usually distinguish from Jude by translating their names as “Judas”.
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἀδελφὸς & Ἰακώβου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἰούδας Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ δοῦλος ἀδελφός δέ Ἰακώβου τοῖς ἐν Θεῷ Πατρί ἠγαπημένοις καί Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ τετηρημένοις κλητοῖς)
James and Jude were half brothers of Jesus. Joseph was their physical father, but he was not the physical father of Jesus. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this relationship explicitly. Alternate translation: [a brother of James, both being half brothers of Jesus]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person
τοῖς
˱to˲_the_‹ones›
In this culture, after giving their own names, letter writers would then say to whom they were writing, naming those people in the third person. If that would be confusing in your language, you could use the second person. Alternate translation: [to you who are]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
κλητοῖς
called
That these people have been called implies that God has called and saved them. Alternate translation: [and whom God has called and saved]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἐν Θεῷ Πατρὶ ἠγαπημένοις
by God (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἰούδας Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ δοῦλος ἀδελφός δέ Ἰακώβου τοῖς ἐν Θεῷ Πατρί ἠγαπημένοις καί Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ τετηρημένοις κλητοῖς)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express this with an active form. Alternate translation: [whom God the Father loves]
Note 8 topic: guidelines-sonofgodprinciples
Θεῷ Πατρὶ
God (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἰούδας Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ δοῦλος ἀδελφός δέ Ἰακώβου τοῖς ἐν Θεῷ Πατρί ἠγαπημένοις καί Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ τετηρημένοις κλητοῖς)
Father is an important title for God.
Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ τετηρημένοις κλητοῖς
˱of˲_Jesus ˱in˲_Jesus Christ ˓having_been˒_kept called
If your language does not use the passive form kept and called, you could express this with an active form. Alternate translation: [those whom Jesus Christ keeps and calls]
OET (OET-LV) Youdas/(Yəhūdāh), slave of_Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa) chosen_one/messiah, and brother of_Yakōbos/(Yaˊₐqoⱱ), to_the ones called having_been_loved by god the_father, and having_been_kept in_Yaʸsous chosen_one/messiah:
OET (OET-RV) This letter is from Yudas, a slave of Yeshua the messiah, and brother of Yacob. It’s written to all those who have been called and loved by God the father and who have kept believing in Yeshua the messiah.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.