Jude 1

Jude · Chapter 1

Jude 1:13

1Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:2Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.3Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.4For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.5I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.6And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.7Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.8Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.9Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.10But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.11Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.12These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;13Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.14And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,15To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.16These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.17But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;18How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.19These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.20But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,21Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.22And of some have compassion, making a difference:23And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.24Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,25To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
13Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved for ever.

In context

AI-assisted, sourced

Jude is describing ungodly men who had slipped into the church unnoticed. This verse continues a chain of pictures from nature begun in verse 12: they are like wild sea waves that throw up foam, and like stars that wander off course, and deep darkness is kept for them for ever. Jude 1:4Jude 1:12Jude 1:13

SpeakingJude, who calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James. Traditionally he is the Judas named among Jesus' brothers. Jude 1:1Jude overview

ToBelievers who are "sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called." The letter does not say where they lived. Jude 1:1Jude overview

Also involvedThe "certain men crept in unawares": ungodly men who turned God's grace into an excuse for immorality and denied the Lord. They shared the church's love feasts. Jude 1:4Jude 1:12

Two pictures describe the ungodly men. Like raging waves that cast up foam, they spill out their own shame. Like wandering stars, they go astray, and the blackness of darkness is reserved for them. Jude 1:13Strong's G0152Strong's G4107Isaiah 57:20

The letter does not say where it was written or where its readers lived. The images come from the sea and the night sky, not from a named place. Jude overviewJude 1:13

SYRIAJerusalemNazarethEGYPTSodomGomorrahSalt SeaCaesarea

The eventsThe false teachers were already among the believers, taking part in their feasts. Jude says the apostles had warned that such mockers would come "in the last time." Jude 1:4Jude 1:12Jude 1:18

WrittenTraditional view: about AD 65-80, by Jude the brother of James and of Jesus. Scholarly view: dates range from the 50s to the early second century, and some think a later follower wrote in Jude's name, while others defend Jude's authorship. Jude overview

HereJude wants his readers to see these men clearly, so they will "earnestly contend for the faith" and not be misled. The vivid pictures expose how empty and dangerous the men are. Jude 1:3Jude 1:4Jude overview

In the whole of ScriptureThe verse belongs to Jude's section on God's past judgments and his portrait of the ungodly. The same word "reserved" is used of the angels kept in darkness for judgment in verse 6. 2 Peter 2:17 uses a very similar picture: "to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever." Jude overviewJude 1:6Strong's G5083H2 Peter 2:17

For readersIn contrast to these men, the readers are told to keep themselves in the love of God. God is the one able to keep them from falling. Jude 1:20Jude 1:21Jude 1:24

  • raging (wild)ἄγριος
    Greek · agrios · G0066

    The word means wild, and here savage or fierce. Elsewhere it describes the wild honey John the Baptist ate, so it pictures the sea at its most untamed. Strong's G0066

  • foaming outἐπαφρίζω
    Greek · epaphrizō · G1890

    It means to foam up, used here as a picture. The lexicon lists no other New Testament use. It echoes Isaiah 57:20, where the wicked are like a troubled sea that casts up mire and dirt. Strong's G1890Isaiah 57:20

  • shameαἰσχύνη
    Greek · aischunē · G0152

    In this verse the word is plural and means shameful deeds. The waves throw up the men's actual shameful acts, not just a feeling of embarrassment. Strong's G0152

  • wanderingπλανήτης
    Greek · planētēs · G4107

    It means a wanderer. With "stars" it means wandering stars, which the lexicon notes were what the ancients called the planets. Strong's G4107Strong's G0792

  • is reservedτηρέω
    Greek · tēreō · G5083H

    It means to keep, guard, or preserve. Jude uses it of the angels kept for judgment (v. 6) and of believers keeping themselves in God's love (v. 21), setting the two kinds of keeping side by side. Strong's G5083HJude 1:6Jude 1:21

Takeaway

Jude paints false teachers as restless, shameful, and unreliable, and certain to face God's judgment. His point is to warn believers so they stay anchored in the faith and in God's love. Jude 1:13Jude 1:3Jude 1:21

Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-23.

The world around the text

About AD 65-80. Roman emperors: Nero, then Vespasian and Titus (AD 54-68, 69-79, 79-81).

Who ruled
  • Roman emperorsNero, then Vespasian and TitusAD 54-68, 69-79, 79-81

    Nero's death in AD 68 was followed by civil war. Vespasian, the general fighting in Judea, won the throne in AD 69, and his son Titus finished the war and later succeeded him. Suetonius, Vespasian 4-6Tacitus, Histories 1.2Josephus, Jewish War 4.588-604

  • Jewish client kingHerod Agrippa IIc. AD 50-90s

    Ruled territories north and east of Galilee under Rome. He tried to talk Jerusalem out of revolt in AD 66 and stayed on Rome's side. Acts 25:13Josephus, Jewish War 2.345-407

  • Rulers of the provinceRoman governors of JudeaAD 44-66, then from AD 70

    Judea was ruled by Roman governors until the revolt. After AD 70 it became a separate province with a Roman legion stationed in ruined Jerusalem. Josephus, Jewish War 2.271-308Josephus, Jewish War 7.1-5

What was happening, AD 62 to AD 81
  1. AD 62
    The churchJames, Jude's brother, is killed

    The high priest Ananus had "James, the brother of Jesus who was called Christ" stoned in Jerusalem. Jude names himself "brother of James." Josephus, Antiquities 20.197-203Jude 1:1Galatians 1:19

  2. AD 64
    The churchNero blames the Christians for Rome's fire

    After the Great Fire of Rome, Nero put a "vast multitude" of Christians to death. Tacitus, Annals 15.38-44

  3. AD 66
    WarThe Jewish revolt begins

    Jerusalem rose against Rome after the governor Florus seized money from the temple treasury. Josephus, Jewish War 2.293-308, 2.409-410

  4. AD 68-69
    RulersThe Year of the Four Emperors

    After Nero's suicide, Galba, Otho and Vitellius each seized power and fell within months, until Vespasian won. Tacitus, Histories 1.1-2Suetonius, Galba, Otho, Vitellius

  5. AD 70
    WarJerusalem and its temple destroyed

    Titus took Jerusalem after a five-month siege and the temple was burned, as Jesus had foretold. Josephus, Jewish War 6.249-287Luke 19:41-44Luke 21:20-24

  6. AD 73 or 74
    WarThe fall of Masada

    The last rebels held out on the desert fortress of Masada above the Dead Sea until a Roman siege ramp reached its walls. Josephus, Jewish War 7.252-406

  7. August AD 79
    DisasterVesuvius buries Pompeii

    The eruption of Vesuvius buried Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy. Pliny the Younger, Letters 6.16, 6.20

  8. AD 80
    BuildingThe Colosseum opens

    Titus opened the great amphitheater in Rome, built partly with spoils from the Jewish war. Suetonius, Titus 7.3Cassius Dio, Roman History 66.25

  9. c. AD 81-96
    The churchJude's grandsons before Domitian

    An early church historian records that Domitian summoned two grandsons of Jude, "the brother of the Lord," as descendants of David. Finding them poor farmers with hard hands, he let them go. Eusebius, Church History 3.19-20 (citing Hegesippus)

The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient writers on these years (Josephus, Tacitus, Suetonius, Eusebius) and on the Jewish writings Jude draws on. Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.

Original Greek words

EnglishGreekSay itStrong'sMeaning
wavesκύματαkumataG2949
a wave

κῦμα (kuma) κῦμα, -τος, τό (κύω, to be pregnant, to swell) [in LXX chiefly for גַּל ;] a wave: pl., Mat.8:24 14:24, Mrk.4:37; κ. θαλάσσης, figuratively, Ju 13.† SYN.: κλύδων, q.v (AS)

wildἄγριαagriaG0066
wild

ἄγριος (agrios) ἄγριος, -α, -ον (ἀγρός), [in LXX for שָׂדֶה, etc. ;] 1. living in fields, wild: μέλι. Mat.3:4, Mrk.1:6. 2. savage, fierce: Ju 13. (Cf. usage in π. of a malignant wound; MM, VGT, see word) † (AS)

of [the] seaθαλάσσηςthalassēsG2281
sea

θάλασσα (thalassa) θάλασσα, -ης, ἡ [in LXX chiefly for יָם ;] the sea: Mat.23:15, Mrk.11:23, Luk.21:25, Rom.9:27, Heb.11:12, Jas.1:6, Ju 13, Rev.7:1, al.; τὸ πέλαγος τῆς θ. (see Tr., ut infr.), Mat.18:6; ὁ οὐρανὸς κ. ἡ γῆ κ. ἡ θ., of the whole world, Act.4:24, al. (Hag.2:7); θ. ὑαλίνη, Rev.4:6 15:2; of the Mediterranean, Act.10:6, 32 17:14; of the Red Sea, ἐρυθρὰ θ., Act.7:36, 1Co.10:1-2, Heb.11:20; of an inland lake (as Heb. יָם), θ. τ. Γαλιλαίας, Mat.4:18 15:29, Mrk.1:16 7:31; τ. Τιβεριάδος, Jhn.21:1; τ. Γ. τ. T., Jhn.6:1; of the same, simply ἡ θ., Mat.4:15, Mrk.2:13, al …

foaming outἐπαφρίζονταepaphrizontaG1890
to foam up

ἐπαφρίζω (epaphrizō) ἐπ-αφρίζω to foam up: metaphorically, τ. αἰσχύνας, Ju 13.† (AS)

their ownἑαυτῶνhe'autōnG1438
/him/herself

αὑτοῦ (ahutou) αὑτοῦ, -ῆς, -οῦ = ἑαυτοῦ (which see), Mat.6:34, Luk.12:17, al. (MM, see word) (AS)

shame,αἰσχύνας,aischunasG0152
shame

αἰσχύνη (aischunē) αἰσχύνη, -ης, ἡ (αἶσχος, shame, disgrace), [in LXX chiefly for בּשֶׁת ;] shame (MM, VGT, see word): subjectively, Luk.14:19, 2Co.4:2; objectively, Php.3:19, Heb.12:2; as something to be ashamed of, Rev.3:18; pl. (Bl., §32, 6), shameful deeds, Ju 13.† SYN.: αἰδώς, which see (AS)

starsἀστέρεςasteresG0792
star

ἀστήρ (astēr) ἀστήρ, -έρος, ὁ [in LXX chiefly for כּוֹכָב ;] a star: Mat.2:2, 7-10 :, Mrk.13:25, 1Co.15:41, Rev.6:13 8:10-12 9:1 12:1, 4; metaphorically, ὁ ἀ. ὁ πρωϊνός Rev.2:28 22:16; ἀ. πλαῆται, Ju 13; ἀ. ἑπτά, symbolizing the angels of the seven churches, Rev.1:16, 20 2:1 3:1 (cf. ἄστρον, and see DCG, ii, 674 f.; MM, see word).† (AS)

wanderingπλανῆταιplanētaiG4107
wandering

πλανήτης (planētēs) πλανήτης, -ου, ὁ (πλανάω), [in LXX: Hos.9:17 (נָדַד) * ;] = πλάνης, a wanderer: ἀστέρες π. (cl. planets), wandering stars, Ju 13 (WH, mg., -τες).† (AS)

to whomοἷςhoisG3739
which

ὅς (hos, hē) ὅς, ἥ, ὅ, the postpositive article (ἄρθρον ὑποτακτικόν). I. As demonstr. pron. = οὗτος, ὅδε, this, that, also for αὐτός, chiefly in nom.: ὅς δέ, but he (cf. ἦ δὲ ὅς, frequently in Plat.), Mrk.15:23, Jhn.5:11; ὃς μὲν . . . ὃς δέ, the one . . . the other, Mat.21:35, 22:5, 25:15, Luk.23:33, Act.27:14, Rom.14:5, 1Co.11:21, 2Co.2:18, Ju 22; neut., ὃ μὲν . . . ὃ δέ, the one . . . the other, some . . . some, Mat.13:8, 23, Rom.9:21; ὃς (ὃ) μὲν . . . (ἄλλος (ἄλλο)) . . . ἕτερος, Mrk.4:4, Luk.8:5, 1Co.12:8-10; οὓς μέν, absol., 1Co.12:28; ὃς μὲν . . . ὁ δέ, Rom.14:2. …

gloomζόφοςzophosG2217
darkness

ζόφος (zophos) ζόφος, -ου, ὁ (akin to γνόφος, which see), [in Sm.: Exo.10:22, Job.28:3, Psa.11:2 91:6, Isa.59:9 * ;] in Hom, the gloom of the under-world; hence, darkness, deep gloom (poët. and late prose writers): Heb.12:18, 2Pe.2:4 2:17, Ju 6 13.† ὁμίχλη, -ης, ἡ, [in LXX for עֲרָפֶל, etc. ;] a mist: 2Pe.2:17 SYN.: νέφος, νεφέλη, both thicker than ὁ (AS)

of darknessσκότουςskotousG4655
darkness

σκότος (skotos) σκότος, -ου, ὁ the more usual cl. form (cf.σ., τό), darkness: Heb.12:18, Rec.† (AS)

toεἰςeisG1519
toward

εἰς (eis) εἰς, prep. with accusative, expressing entrance, direction, limit, into, unto, to, upon, towards, for, among (Lat. in, with accusative). I. Of place. 1. After verbs of motion; (a) of entrance into: Mat.8:23, 9:7, Mrk.1:45, Luk.2:15, 8:31, al.; (b) of approach, to or towards: Mrk.11:1, Luk.6:8, 19:28, Jhn.11:31, 21:6, al.; (with) before pl. and collective nouns, among: Mrk.4:7, 8:19, 20, Luk.11:49, Jhn.21:23, al.; …

ageαἰῶναaiōnaG0165H
an age: age

αἰών (aiōn) αἰών, -ῶνος, ὁ, [in LXX chiefly for עַד ,עוֹלָם ;] 1. in cl., like Lat. aevum (LS, MM, VGT, see word), a space of time, as, a lifetime, generation, period of history, an indefinitely long period; in NT of an indefinitely long period, an age, eternity, usually with prep. (MM, VGT); (a) of the past: ἀπ᾽ αἰ. (cf. Heb. מֵעוֹלָם), Luk.1:70; …

has been reserved.τετήρηται.tetērētaiG5083H
to keep: observe

τηρέω (tēreō) τηρέω, -ῶ [in LXX for שָׁמַר, נָצַר, etc. ;] 1. to watch over, guard, keep, preserve: Mat.27:36, Act.16:23, al.; ἑαυτόν, 2Co.11:9, 1Ti.5:22, Jas.1:27, Ju 21; before εἰς, Jhn.12:7, Act.25:21, 1Pe.1:4, 2Pe.2:4 2:9 3:7, Ju 6; ἐν, Jhn.17:11-12, Ju 21; ἐκ, Jhn.17:15, Rev.3:10; τ. πίστιν, 2Ti.4:7, Rev.14:12; τ. ἑνότητα τ. πνεύματος, Eph.4:3. …

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.