¹ Jude,^(A) a servant of Jesus Christ^(B) and a brother of James,

To those who have been called,^(C) who are loved in God the Father and kept for^[a] Jesus Christ:^(D)

² Mercy, peace^(E) and love be yours in abundance.^(F)

The Sin and Doom of Ungodly People

³ Dear friends,^(G) although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share,^(H) I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend^(I) for the faith^(J) that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.^{(K) 4} For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about^[b] long ago have secretly slipped in among you.^(L) They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.^(M)

⁵ Though you already know all this,^(N) I want to remind you^(O) that the Lord^[c] at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.^{(P) 6} And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.^{(Q) 7} In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah^(R) and the surrounding towns^(S) gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.^(T)

A Call to Persevere

¹⁷ But, dear friends, remember what the apostles^(A) of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.^{(B) 18} They said to you, “In the last times^(C) there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.”^(D)

Faith or Works of the Law

3 You foolish^(A) Galatians!^(B) Who has bewitched you?^(C) Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.^(D)

Warning Against Unbelief

⁷ So, as the Holy Spirit says:^(A)

¹² See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.^{(G) 13} But encourage one another daily,^(H) as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.^{(I) 14} We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold^(J) our original conviction firmly to the very end.^{(K) 15} As has just been said:

¹⁶ Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?^{(M) 17} And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness?^{(N) 18} And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest^(O) if not to those who disobeyed?^{(P) 19} So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.^(Q)

A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God

4 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.^{(R) 2} For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.^{[c](S) 3} Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. ⁴ For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”^{[e](U) 5} And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”^(V)

⁶ Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience,^{(W) 7} God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest,^(Y) God would not have spoken^(Z) later about another day. ⁹ There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; ¹⁰ for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works,^[g](AA) just as God did from his.^{(AB) 11} Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.^(AC)

¹² For the word of God^(AD) is alive^(AE) and active.^(AF) Sharper than any double-edged sword,^(AG) it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.^{(AH) 13} Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.^(AI) Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Jesus the Great High Priest

¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great high priest^(AJ) who has ascended into heaven,^[h](AK) Jesus the Son of God,^(AL) let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.^{(AM) 15} For we do not have a high priest^(AN) who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are^(AO)—yet he did not sin.^{(AP) 16} Let us then approach^(AQ) God’s throne of grace with confidence,^(AR) so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.