Jude 1–7

Salutation

¹Jude,^a a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,

To those who are called, who are beloved^b in^c God the Father and kept safe for^d Jesus Christ:^*

²May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.

Occasion of the Letter

³Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once and for all handed on to the saints.^{* 4}For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designated for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into debauchery and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.^e*

Judgment on False Teachers

⁵Now I desire to remind you, though you are fully informed, once and for all, that Jesus, who saved^f a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.^{* 6}And the angels who did not keep their own position but deserted their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deepest darkness for the judgment of the great day.^{* 7}Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which, in the same manner as they, indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural lust,^g serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.^*