Yudas 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Jude, ¹  a slave ²  of Jesus Christ and brother of James, ³  to those who are called, wrapped in the love of ⁴  God the Father and kept for ⁵  Jesus Christ.

Mazmur 68:12

68:12 Kings leading armies run away – they run away! ⁶ 

The lovely lady ⁷  of the house divides up the loot.

Amsal 31:21

31:21 She is not ⁸  afraid of the snow ⁹  for her household,

for all of her household are clothed with scarlet. ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 3:16-26

Washing Away Impurity

3:16 The Lord says,

“The women ¹¹  of Zion are proud.

They walk with their heads high ¹² 

and flirt with their eyes.

They skip along ¹³ 

and the jewelry on their ankles jingles. ¹⁴ 

3:17 So ¹⁵  the sovereign master ¹⁶  will afflict the foreheads of Zion’s women ¹⁷  with skin diseases, ¹⁸ 

the Lord will make the front of their heads bald.” ¹⁹ 

3:18 ²⁰ At that time ²¹  the sovereign master will remove their beautiful ankle jewelry, ²²  neck ornaments, crescent shaped ornaments, 3:19 earrings, bracelets, veils, 3:20 headdresses, ankle ornaments, sashes, sachets, ²³  amulets, 3:21 rings, nose rings, 3:22 festive dresses, robes, shawls, purses, 3:23 garments, vests, head coverings, and gowns. ²⁴ 

3:24 A putrid stench will replace the smell of spices, ²⁵ 

a rope will replace a belt,

baldness will replace braided locks of hair,

a sackcloth garment will replace a fine robe,

and a prisoner’s brand will replace beauty.

3:25 Your ²⁶  men will fall by the sword,

your strong men will die in battle. ²⁷ 

3:26 Her gates will mourn and lament;

deprived of her people, she will sit on the ground. ²⁸ 

Yeremia 2:32

2:32 Does a young woman forget to put on her jewels?

Does a bride forget to put on her bridal attire?

But my people have forgotten me

for more days than can even be counted.

Yeremia 2:1

The Lord Recalls Israel’s Earlier Faithfulness

2:1 The Lord spoke to me. He said:

Titus 2:9-10

2:9 Slaves ²⁹  are to be subject to their own masters in everything, ³⁰  to do what is wanted and not talk back, 2:10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, ³¹  in order to bring credit to ³²  the teaching of God our Savior in everything.

Titus 2:1

Conduct Consistent with Sound Teaching

2:1 But as for you, communicate the behavior that goes with ³³  sound teaching.

Pengkhotbah 3:3-5

3:3 A time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

3:5 A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

[1:1]  ¹ tn Grk “Judas,” traditionally “Jude” in English versions to distinguish him from the one who betrayed Jesus. The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ² tn Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). At the same time, perhaps “servant” is apt in that the δοῦλος of Jesus Christ took on that role voluntarily, unlike a slave. The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  sn Undoubtedly the background for the concept of being the Lord’s slave or servant is to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. For a Jew this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. It was used of national Israel at times (Isa 43:10), but was especially associated with famous OT personalities, including such great men as Moses (Josh 14:7), David (Ps 89:3; cf. 2 Sam 7:5, 8) and Elijah (2 Kgs 10:10); all these men were “servants (or slaves) of the Lord.”

[1:1]  ³ sn Although Jude was half-brother of Jesus, he humbly associates himself with James, his full brother. By first calling himself a slave of Jesus Christ, it is evident that he wants no one to place stock in his physical connections. At the same time, he must identify himself further: Since Jude was a common name in the 1st century (two of Jesus’ disciples were so named, including his betrayer), more information was needed, that is to say, brother of James.

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “loved in.” The perfect passive participle suggests that the audience’s relationship to God is not recent; the preposition ἐν (en) before πατρί (patri) could be taken as sphere or instrument (agency is unlikely, however). Another possible translation would be “dear to God.”

[1:1]  ⁵ tn Or “by.” Datives of agency are quite rare in the NT (and other ancient Greek), almost always found with a perfect verb. Although this text qualifies, in light of the well-worn idiom of τηρέω (threw) in eschatological contexts, in which God or Christ keeps the believer safe until the parousia (cf. 1 Thess 5:23; 1 Pet 1:4; Rev 3:10; other terms meaning “to guard,” “to keep” are also found in similar eschatological contexts [cf. 2 Thess 3:3; 2 Tim 1:12; 1 Pet 1:5; Jude 24]), it is probably better to understand this verse as having such an eschatological tinge. It is at the same time possible that Jude’s language was intentionally ambiguous, implying both ideas (“kept by Jesus Christ [so that they might be] kept for Jesus Christ”). Elsewhere he displays a certain fondness for wordplays; this may be a hint of things to come.

[68:12]  ⁶ tn The verbal repetition draws attention to the statement.

[68:12]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew form appears to be the construct of נוּה (nuh, “pasture”) but the phrase “pasture of the house” makes no sense here. The translation assumes that the form is an alternative or corruption of נצוה (“beautiful woman”). A reference to a woman would be appropriate in light of v. 11b.

[31:21]  ⁸ tn The first word of the twelfth line begins with ל (lamed), the twelfth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:21]  ⁹ sn “Snow” is a metonymy of adjunct; it refers to the cold weather when snow comes. The verse is saying that this time is not a concern for the wise woman because the family is well prepared.

[31:21]  ¹⁰ tn For the MT’s “scarlet” the LXX and the Latin have “two” or “double” – the difference being essentially the vocalization of a plural as opposed to a dual. The word is taken in the versions with the word that follows (“covers”) to means “double garments.” The question to be asked is whether scarlet would keep one warm in winter or double garments. The latter is the easier reading and therefore suspect.

[3:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “daughters” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV).

[3:16]  ¹² tn Heb “with an outstretched neck.” They proudly hold their heads high so that others can see the jewelry around their necks.

[3:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “walking and skipping, they walk.”

[3:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and with their feet they jingle.”

[3:17]  ¹⁵ tn In the Hebrew text vv. 16-17 and one long sentence, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud and walk…, the sovereign master will afflict….” In v. 17 the Lord refers to himself in the third person.

[3:17]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 18 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[3:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the daughters of Zion.”

[3:17]  ¹⁸ tn Or “a scab” (KJV, ASV); NIV, NCV, CEV “sores.”

[3:17]  ¹⁹ tn The precise meaning of this line is unclear because of the presence of the rare word פֹּת (pot). Since the verb in the line means “lay bare, make naked,” some take פֹּת as a reference to the genitals (cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV, CEV). (In 1 Kgs 7:50 a noun פֹּת appears, with the apparent meaning “socket.”) J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:139, n. 2), basing his argument on alleged Akkadian evidence and the parallelism of the verse, takes פֹּת as “forehead.”

[3:18]  ²⁰ sn The translation assumes that the direct quotation ends with v. 17. The introductory formula “in that day” and the shift from a poetic to prosaic style indicate that a new speech unit begins in v. 18.

[3:18]  ²¹ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[3:18]  ²² tn Or “the beauty of [their] ankle jewelry.”

[3:20]  ²³ tn Heb “houses of breath.” HALOT 124 s.v. בַּיִת defines them as “scent-bottles”; cf. NAB, NRSV “perfume boxes.”

[3:23]  ²⁴ tn The precise meaning of many of the words in this list is uncertain.

[3:23]  sn The rhetorical purpose for such a lengthy list is to impress on the audience the guilt of these women with their proud, materialistic attitude, whose husbands and fathers have profited at the expense of the poor.

[3:24]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and it will be in place of spices there will be a stench.” The nouns for “spices” and “stench” are right next to each other in the MT for emphatic contrast. The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[3:25]  ²⁶ tn The pronoun is feminine singular, suggesting personified Zion, as representative of its women, is the addressee. The reference to “her gates’ in v. 26 makes this identification almost certain.

[3:25]  ²⁷ tn Heb “your strength in battle.” The verb in the first clause provides the verbal idea for the second clause.

[3:26]  ²⁸ tn Heb “she will be empty, on the ground she will sit.” Jerusalem is personified as a destitute woman who sits mourning the empty city.

[2:9]  ²⁹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.

[2:9]  ³⁰ tn Or “to be subject to their own masters, to do what is wanted in everything.”

[2:10]  ³¹ tn Or “showing that genuine faith is productive.” At issue between these two translations is the force of ἀγαθήν (agaqhn): Is it attributive (as the text has it) or predicate (as in this note)? A number of considerations point in the direction of a predicate ἀγαθήν (e.g., separation from the noun πίστιν (pistin) by the verb, the possibility that the construction is an object-complement, etc.), though is not usually seen as an option in either translations or commentaries. Cf. ExSyn 188-89, 312-13, for a discussion. Contextually, it makes an intriguing statement, for it suggests a synthetic or synonymous parallel: “‘Slaves should be wholly subject to their masters…demonstrating that all [genuine] faith is productive, with the result [ecbatic ἵνα] that they will completely adorn the doctrine of God.’ The point of the text, then, if this understanding is correct, is an exhortation to slaves to demonstrate that their faith is sincere and results in holy behavior. If taken this way, the text seems to support the idea that saving faith does not fail, but even results in good works” (ExSyn 312-13). The translation of ἀγαθήν as an attributive adjective, however, also makes good sense.

[2:10]  ³² tn Or “adorn,” “show the beauty of.”

[2:1]  ³³ tn Grk “say what is fitting for sound teaching” (introducing the behavior called for in this chapter.).