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Jude 10-12
New Catholic Bible
Jude 10-12
New Catholic Bible
10 However, these people pour abuse on anything they do not understand, and the very things that they know by instinct, like irrational animals, lead to their destruction.
11 Woe to them! They have followed in the footsteps of Cain; they have abandoned themselves to the error of Balaam for the sake of gain; and they have perished in the rebellion of Korah.[a] 12 [b]They are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without fear. They are shepherds who feed only themselves. They are like clouds blown about by winds without giving rain, or like trees in autumn barren and uprooted and so twice dead.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Jude 1:11 The author gives three Old Testament personalities who each in some way illustrate the character of the false teachers: (1) footsteps of Cain: selfishness and hatred for a brother (see Gen 4:3f); (2) error of Balaam: surrendering integrity as a spiritual leader because of consuming greed (see note on 2 Pet 2:15); (3) rebellion of Korah: rebelling against God’s appointed leadership (see Num 16). Thus, the false teachers are loveless, greedy, and insubordinate—and destruction is sure to overtake them.
- Jude 1:12 Jude now characterizes the false teachers by the use of six graphic metaphors: (1) blemishes at your love feasts: see notes on 1 Cor 11:17-34; 11:27-34; and 2 Pet 2:13; (2) shepherds who feed only themselves: instead of caring for their sheep (see Ezek 34:8-10; Jn 10:12f); (3) clouds blown about by winds without giving rain: the false teachers promise much but give nothing; (4) trees in autumn barren and uprooted and so twice dead: once again, a figure of empty promises; (5) wild sea waves whose foam reflects their shameless deeds: their product is like the foam or scum at the seashore; (6) wandering stars: as these provide no guidance for navigation, neither do the false teachers give any reliable guide to the Christian life.
