Jude 1:13
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They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Raging--wild. Jude has in mind Isa 57:20. shame--plural in Greek, "shames" (compare Phi 3:19). wandering stars--instead of moving on in a regular orbit, as lights to the world, bursting forth on the world like erratic comets, or rather, meteors of fire, with a strange glare, and then doomed to fall back again into the blackness of gloom.
Open source ↗We have here, I. An account of the penman of this epistle, a character of the church, the blessings and privileges of that happy society (Jde 1:1, Jde 1:2). II. The occasion of writing this epistle (Jde 1:3). III. A character of evil and perverse men, who had already sprung up in that infant state of the church, and would be succeeded by others of the like evil spirit and temper in after-times (Jde 1:4). IV. A caution against hearkening to and following after such, from the severity of God towards the unbelieving murmuring Israelites at their coming out of Egypt, the angels that fell, the sin and punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah (Jde 1:5-7). V. To these the apostle likens the seducers against whom he was warning them, and describes them at large, (Jde 1:8-10, inclusive). VI. Then (as specially suitable to his argument) he cites an ancient prophecy of Enoch foretelling and describing the future judgment (Jde 1:14, Jde 1:15). VII. He enlarges on the seducers' character, and guards against the offence which honest minds might be apt to take at the so early permission of such things, by showing that it was foretold long before that so it must be (Jde 1:16-19). VIII. Exhorts them to perseverance in the faith, fervency in prayer, watchfulness against falling from the love of God, and a lively hope of eternal life (Jde 1:20, Jde 1:21). IX. Directs them how to act towards the erroneous and scandalous (Jde 1:22, Jde 1:23). And, X. Closes with an admirable doxology in the last two verses.
Open source ↗1:13 The planets were considered to be wandering stars because they moved across the sky in seemingly irregular patterns. The false teachers wandered, and God condemned their sin.
Open source ↗Cross-references
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These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.
Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.
But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea, for it cannot be still, and its waves churn up mire and muck.
You stilled the roaring of the seas, the pounding of their waves, and the tumult of the nations.
And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”