Jude 1:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.

NIV: Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.

NASB: But these people disparage all the things that they do not understand; and all the things that they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.

CSB: But these people blaspheme anything they do not understand. And what they do understand by instinct—like irrational animals—by these things they are destroyed.

NLT: But these people scoff at things they do not understand. Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and so they bring about their own destruction.

KJV: But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

NKJV: But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.

Jude is in the process of describing the sins of apostates and false teachers. Instead of submitting to the truth and trying to understand it, skeptics and non-believers often mock the truth. Proverbs 14:7 advises: "Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge." The apostates Jude refers to are most likely from a sect known as the Gnostics. The Greek word for Gnostics is derived from gnosko, meaning, to know, and this group claimed salvation on the basis of unique awareness. However, it is clear they knew nothing about spiritual matters. Their reasoning was no more advanced than that of animals' instincts. So Jude's comments uncover and destroy the Gnostics' claim to knowledge. Their faulty philosophy allowed them to pollute their bodies and it prepared them for divine judgment.

Jude 1:5–16 describes the nature, errors, and fate of false teachers plaguing the Christian church. Jude's readers seem to have been acquainted with Israel's history. This passage references Old Testament events to help explain the apostates' sins, the danger they pose, and how the Lord will punish them. Jude references the unbelief of Israel after the Lord delivered them from slavery in Egypt, rebellious angels, the ungodly people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the dangers of allowing such people to mingle with other believers.

Jude's brief letter describes men at their worst and God at His best. Believers are already on the victorious side! Those who mock God's truth and who follow their own desires all while claiming to be Christians, are the most dangerous kind of unbelievers. These persons pose a danger to themselves and to any Christians they might influence. In response, Christians need to focus on understanding the truth of God's written Word and submitting to His will.

Jude is a single-chapter letter which reflects earlier warnings about apostates and their false teachings. Other passages of Scripture describe evil men who taught that Jesus was not fully human or fully God (1 John 2:22; 4:1–3), that God's grace allowed them to live immorally (2 Peter 2; Romans 6:1, 15), that Jesus blood was not an adequate sacrifice (Galatians 1:6–9; Hebrews 3:12–19; 10:19), and sinners gain a right standing in God's sight by keeping the law of Moses (Galatians 5:4, 7–9). Jude's letter combats false teaching and exhorts readers to remain faithful to the Lord.

The book of Jude is a letter written by a half-brother of Jesus, likely later than AD 66–67, which was after 2 Peter was written. Its placement immediately before the book of Revelation is appropriate. This letter warns about false religion and evil men, whom Revelation describes as maliciously affecting political and religious conditions.