OET interlinear YUD (JUD) 1:12

12–13

In these two verses, Jude illustrated the wickedness of the fake Christians by comparing them to objects from nature.

12a

These men: Jude referred here to the same fake Christians whom he mentioned in verses 4, 8a, and 10–11. The Greek pronoun that the BSB translates here as These men did not necessarily refer only to males. Many English versions use a more general expression. For example:

These people… (REB)

They… (NCV)

Other notes that discuss this matter are “certain men” in 4a and “these men” in 10a.

are hidden reefs: The Greek word that the BSB translates here as hidden reefs is used here as a figure of speech. Scholars have interpreted the word in two different ways in this context:

1. It means dangerous rocks or reefs. Jude compared the fake Christians to rocks or reefs hidden in the water that are dangerous to ships that might come too close and hit them. For example:

   These men are dangerous reefs at your love feasts. (NET) (BSB, JBP, NASB, NET, NJB, NLT, REB)

2. It refers to dirty spots or stains. Jude indicated that the behavior of the fake Christians at the love feasts disgraced or dishonored the true Christians. For example:

   With their shameless carousing they are like dirty spots in your fellowship meals. (GNT) (CEV, GW, KJV, NCV, NIV, NRSV, RSV, GNT)

Both interpretations are possible. You may want to use the same interpretation that the Bible of the major language in your area uses. It is recommended that you place the other interpretation in a footnote.

hidden reefs: In some cultures, where people live far from the sea, they may not understand clearly how rocks in the sea would be dangerous. If this illustration would not be clear to your readers, here are other options:

• Use a different figure of speech that readers in your culture will understand to mean dangerous.

• Translate without using a figure of speech. For example:

  They are a dangerous hazard. (NJB)

love feasts: Early in the history of the church, Christians gathered together often and had a meal. At these meals they celebrated the Lord’s SupperSome passages in the New Testament that speak about the Lord’s Supper are: Matthew 26:26–30, Mark 14:22–26, Luke 22:19–20, I Corinthians 10:15–16, I Corinthians 11:23–26. (sometimes referred to as the Eucharist or Communion). They called these meals love feasts. Other ways to say this include:

fellowship meals (NLT, GNT)

special Christian meals you share (NCV)

See love, Meaning 2, in the Glossary.

12b

shamelessly feasting with you: This refers to the attitude of the fake Christians. In this context, the Greek word that the BSB translates as shamelessly expresses two aspects of their attitude:

1. They were not ashamed, even though they should have felt ashamed.

2. They were without fear. They were bold, even though they should have felt afraid.

Scholars have different opinions about how this Greek word relates to the other parts of this verse. There are two possibilities:

1. It is connected to the first part of 12b, feasting with you. For example:

   They eat with you and don’t feel ashamed. (GW)

   they eat in your company without a qualm. (JBP) (BSB, GW, JBP, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NRSV, REB, GNT)

2. It is connected to 12c, “shepherds who are shepherding only themselves.” For example:

   ^12b…and quite shamelessly ^12c only looking after themselves. (NJB) (KJV, NJB, NLT)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), as most English versions do. The fake Christians behaved badly at the fellowship meals. They should have felt ashamed of how they acted, but they did not feel ashamed. Their behavior showed that they did not respect the love feasts as a time of fellowship. It also showed that they did not respect the real Christians with whom they ate, or God.

12c

but shepherding only themselves: Leaders of the Christian church were often called “shepherds.” Jude implied that the fake Christians were leaders in the church to which Jude wrote. Instead of shepherding the real believers by teaching them the truth from God’s word, they were only interested in gaining benefit for themselves. This description of the fake Christians is similar to Ezekiel 34:2 where God said:

Disaster is in store for the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Are not shepherds meant to feed a flock? (NJB)

“Shepherds” is a figure of speech that is commonly used in the Bible, so you will want to use it in your translation. In this context it is used as a metaphor. You may need to look for ways to make this metaphor clearer in your language: Here are some possibilities:

• Keep the shepherd metaphor, but use a verb like “look after” or “take care of,” instead of shepherding. For example:

  They are shepherds who only take care only of themselves. (REB)

• Use a simile instead of a metaphor. For example:

  They are like shepherds who only take care of themselves.

• Add implied information to indicate the specific way in which these people were like the selfish shepherds. For example:

  Like shepherds who only feed themselves but do not feed their sheep, these people only help themselves, not other people.

12d

clouds without water, carried along by the wind: The area of the world in which Jude’s readers lived was dry. People needed rain to grow food and to have water for them and their animals to drink. Sometimes clouds appeared, but no rain fell. The wind blew the clouds along quickly, and they passed over without any rain falling. Such clouds were useless and disappointing.Proverbs 25:14 says, “Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of gifts he does not give” (NIV).

These fake Christians also were useless and disappointing. Jude compared them to clouds without water, because they did nothing to help the real Christians to whom Jude wrote.

In some languages this figure of speech may not express this meaning. In that case, it may be necessary to indicate the meaning by adding implied information. For example:

They are like clouds which the wind blows over dry land without rain falling. They promise much but produce/give nothing.

12e

fruitless trees in autumn: The Greek word that the BSB translates as autumn probably referred to late autumn.This is the only place that this Greek word is found in the New Testament. This is the time of year when trees would be expected to have fruit ready to pick.There is another way to interpret this metaphor: Late autumn was after the harvest was over, and the trees had lost their leaves. A tree like that cannot have “fruit.” Therefore, according to this interpretation, the meaning of this expression is “ trees that can have no “fruit” because harvest time is over.” Like “fruit trees” cannot have “fruit” after the harvest is over and their leaves have fallen off, these fake Christians cannot do anything good. Some English versions have translated according to this interpretation without mentioning late autumn. Instead they mention the condition of the “trees” at that time. For example:They are like leafless trees…unable to produce fruit (CEV).-or-they are withered…without any fruit (GW).

The meaning of 12e is almost the same as 12d. In both metaphors, Jude illustrated how useless and unhelpful these people were. They are like fruit trees that should have fruit, but have none. Some ways to say this are:

They are like trees that bear no fruit, even in autumn. (GNT)

They are like fruit trees that have no fruit even at harvest time.

twice dead: Jude described these people as trees that are twice dead. The phrase twice dead meant that they were completely dead. They were useless, totally incapable of producing anything good.Two other interpretations of twice dead are:(1) They were spiritually dead because of their moral corruption, and were already marked/destined to receive the second death on Judgment Day. The phrase twice dead with this interpretation is similar in meaning to “they have been destroyed” in 11d.(2) They were dead in sin prior to conversion, then were brought to life through conversion and baptism, and now were dead a second time because they had become apostates. Other ways to say this include:

completely dead (GNT)

doubly dead (JBP, NASB)

not only dead but doubly dead. (NLT)

after being uprooted: Jude used the metaphor of uprooted trees to illustrate how completely unable the fake Christian were to do good. They were as useless as uprooted trees that can never give fruit. They could not do anything good to please God or help his people.Some scholars interpret uprooted here to mean that God would destroy these people, like a farmer would uproot a fruit tree that never bears fruit. However, Jude did not make this meaning explicit, and there are other reasonable interpretations. It is recommended that you do not follow the interpretation that uprooted means that God would destroy these fake Christians.