1I, Jude, am writing this letter. I serve Jesus Christ. I am a brother of James.
I am sending this letter to you who have been chosen by God. You are loved by God the Father. You are kept safe for Jesus Christ.
2May more and more mercy, peace and love be given to you.
A Warning Against the Sin of Ungodly People
3Dear friends, I really wanted to write to you about the salvation we share. But now I feel I should write and ask you to stand up for the faith. God’s holy people were trusted with it once and for all time. 4Certain people have secretly slipped in among you. Long ago it was written that they would be judged. They are ungodly people. They misuse the grace of our God as an excuse for sexual sins. They say no to Jesus Christ, our only Lord and King.
5I want to remind you about some things you already know. The Lord saved his people. At one time he brought them out of Egypt. But later he destroyed those who did not believe. 6Some of the angels didn’t stay where they belonged. They didn’t keep their positions of authority. The Lord has kept those angels in darkness. They are held by chains that last forever. On judgment day, God will judge them. 7The people of Sodom and Gomorrah and the towns around them also did evil things. They freely committed sexual sins. They committed sins of the worst possible kind. There is a fire that never goes out. Those people are an example of those who are punished with it.
8In the very same way, these ungodly people act on their evil dreams. So they make their own bodies impure. They don’t accept authority. And they say evil things against heavenly beings. 9But even Michael, the leader of the angels, didn’t dare to say these things. He didn’t even say these things when he argued with the devil about the body of Moses. Michael didn’t dare to judge the devil. He didn’t say the devil was guilty of saying evil things. Instead, Michael said, “May the Lord judge you!” 10But these people say evil things against whatever they don’t understand. And the very things they do understand will destroy them. That’s because they are like wild animals that can’t think for themselves. Instead, they do what comes naturally to them.
11How terrible it will be for them! They have followed the way of Cain. They have rushed into the same mistake Balaam made. They did it because they loved money. They are like Korah. He turned against his leaders. These people will certainly be destroyed, just as Korah was.
12These ungodly people are like stains at the meals you share. They have no shame. They are shepherds who feed only themselves. They are like clouds without rain. They are blown along by the wind. They are like trees in the fall. Since they have no fruit, they are pulled out of the ground. So they die twice. 13They are like wild waves of the sea. Their shame rises up like foam. They are like falling stars. God has reserved a place of very black darkness for them forever.
14Enoch was the seventh man in the family line of Adam. He gave a prophecy about these people. He said, “Look! The Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy ones. 15He is coming to judge everyone. He is coming to sentence all of them. He will judge them for all the ungodly acts they have done. They have done them in ungodly ways. He will sentence ungodly sinners for all the things they have said to oppose him.” 16These people complain and find fault with others. They follow their own evil desires. They brag about themselves. They praise others to get what they want.
Remain in God’s Love
17Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ said would happen. 18They told you, “In the last days, some people will make fun of the truth. They will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19They are the people who separate you from one another. They do only what comes naturally. They are not led by the Holy Spirit.
20But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith. Let the Holy Spirit guide and help you when you pray. 21And by doing these things, remain in God’s love as you wait. You are waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.
22Show mercy to those who doubt. 23Save others by pulling them out of the fire. To others, show mercy mixed with fear of sin. Hate even the clothes that are stained by the sins of those who wear them.
Praise to God
24Give praise to the God who is able to keep you from falling into sin. He will bring you into his heavenly glory without any fault. He will bring you there with great joy. 25Give praise to the only God our Savior. Glory, majesty, power and authority belong to him. Give praise to him through Jesus Christ our Lord. His praise was before all time, continues now, and will last forever. Amen.
Pozdrav od Jude
1Od Jude, sluge Isusa Krista i Jakovljeva brata.
Pišem svima koji su pozvani živjeti u ljubavi Boga Oca i u skrbi Isusa Krista.
2Želim vam obilje Božje milosti, mira i ljubavi!
Opasnost od lažnih učitelja
3Ljubljeni prijatelji, kanio sam vam pisati o našemu zajedničkom spasenju, ali sada vidim da moram pisati o nečemu drugome: potaknuti vas da se borite za istinu Radosne vijesti.1:3 U grčkome: da se borite za vjeru. Tu nepromjenljivu istinu Bog je zauvijek dao svojemu svetom narodu. 4Kažem to zato što su se među vas uvukli neki bezbožnici koji govore da nam milost Božjega praštanja dopušta živjeti poročnim životom. Propast takvih već je odavno zapisana jer su se okrenuli protiv našega jedinoga Gospodara i Gospodina, Isusa Krista.
5Želim vas podsjetiti na to—iako to i sami dobro znate—da je Gospodin, pošto je iz Egipta izbavio cijeli izraelski narod, poslije uništio one koji mu nisu ostali vjerni. 6Sjetite se anđela koji su pogazili granicu ovlasti koju im je Bog dao te napustili svoje boravište. Bog ih drži okovane u paklenoj tami, gdje čekaju Dan suda. 7Ne zaboravite Sodomu i Gomoru te obližnje gradove u kojima su se ljudi toliko odavali izopačenu bludu da su pošli i za tijelom druge vrste. Ti su gradovi uništeni ognjem kao primjer kazne vječnim ognjem kojim će biti kažnjeni zlikovci.
8Tako i ti lažni učitelji, sanjari, i dalje žive pokvarenim životom, kaljaju svoje tijelo i ne priznaju Božju vlast te vrijeđaju Slavne.1:8 Vjerojatno zla nebeska bića. 9Čak ni arkanđeo Mihael, jedan od najmoćnijih anđela, nije se u prepirci s đavlom za Mojsijevo tijelo usudio izreći uvredljivu osudu, nego je samo rekao: “Gospodin te ukorio!” 10Ali ti se ljudi rugaju i vrijeđaju ono što ne razumiju. Kao nerazumne životinje, čine sve na što ih potiču tjelesni nagoni i tako srljaju u propast. 11Teško njima jer slijede primjer Kajina koji je ubio svojega brata, jer su, kao i Bileam, spremni učiniti sve za novac te će, poput Koraha, propasti zbog svoje pobune.
12Oni kaljaju vaša zajednička blagovanja kojima proslavljate ljubav Gospodnju i opasni su za vas jer na njima bestidno ugađaju sebi. Poput oblaka su koji suhoj zemlji ne donose kišu. Mnogo obećavaju, ali ništa ne daju. Oni su kao voćke koje u jesen ne donesu ploda. Već mrtve, i drugi put umiru kad se s korijenom iščupaju. 13Poput mahnitih su morskih valova što se pjene vlastitim sramotama, poput lutajućih zvijezda koje će završiti u vječitoj, mračnoj tmini.
14Patrijarh Henok, koji je živio sedam naraštaja nakon Adama, prorokovao je o takvim ljudima:
“Gle, Gospodin dolazi
s desettisućama svojih svetih.
15Osudit će bezbožnike za sva zlodjela
koja su počinili u svojoj pobuni i za sve uvrede što su ih bezbožni grešnici
izgovorili protiv njega.”
16Takvi su ljudi nezadovoljnici koji uvijek prigovaraju, a čine što god im se prohtije. Razmetljivi su hvalisavci i drugima laskaju da bi od njih izvukli korist.
Poziv na vjernost
17Dragi moji, sjetite se što su prorekli apostoli našega Gospodina Isusa Krista: 18Na koncu vremena doći će izrugivači koji će živjeti prema svojim bezbožnim požudama. 19Takvi među vama prave razdore. Žive prema tjelesnim nagonima jer nemaju u sebi Božjeg Duha.
20Ali vi, ljubljeni prijatelji, morate izgrađivati svoj život na temelju svoje svete vjere. Molite se kako vas upućuje Sveti Duh.1:20 U grčkome: molite se u Svetome Duhu. 21Očuvajte sebe u Božjoj ljubavi očekujući milosrđe našega Gospodina Isusa Krista za vječni život! 22Budite milosrdni prema onima koji se kolebaju u vjeri. 23Spašavajte ljude jer ih tako otimate iz samoga paklenog ognja. Ima i takvih kojima treba oprezno iskazivati milosrđe pazeći da njihovi grijesi i vas ne okaljaju.1:23 U grčkome: mrzeći i samu haljinu okaljanu njihovim tijelom.
Hvalospjev Bogu
24Sva slava Bogu, koji vas može očuvati da ne posrnete, koji će vas, čiste od grijeha i radosne, dovesti u svoju slavnu nazočnost. 25Sva slava jedinom Bogu Spasitelju kroz našega Gospodina Isusa Krista. Slava, veličanstvo, sila i vlast pripadali su mu prije početka vremena, pa mu tako pripadaju i danas, i zauvijek. Amen.