1 Samuel 14:21-22

14:21 The Hebrews who had earlier gone over to the Philistine side ¹  joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 14:22 When all the Israelites who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, they too pursued them in battle.

Yudas 1:23

1:23 save ²  others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy ³  on others, coupled with a fear of God, ⁴  hating even the clothes stained ⁵  by the flesh. ⁶ 

Yudas 1:2

1:2 May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you! ⁷ 

1 Samuel 23:10

23:10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul is planning ⁸  to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me.

[14:21]  ¹ tn Heb “and the Hebrews were to the Philistines formerly, who went up with them in the camp all around.”

[1:23]  ² tn Grk “and save.”

[1:23]  ³ tn Grk “and have mercy.”

[1:23]  ⁴ tn Grk “with fear.” But as this contrasts with ἀφόβως (afobw") in v. 12 (without reverence), the posture of the false teachers, it most likely refers to reverence for God.

[1:23]  sn Joining a fear of God to mercy is an important balance when involved in disciplinary action. On the one hand, being merciful without fear can turn to unwarranted sympathy for the individual, absolving him of personal responsibility; but fearing God without showing mercy can turn into personal judgment and condemnation.

[1:23]  ⁵ sn The imagery here suggests that the things close to the sinners are contaminated by them, presumably during the process of sinning.

[1:23]  ⁶ tn Grk “hating even the tunic spotted by the flesh.” The “flesh” in this instance could refer to the body or to the sin nature. It makes little difference in one sense: Jude is thinking primarily of sexual sins, which are borne of the sin nature and manifest themselves in inappropriate deeds done with the body. At the same time, he is not saying that the body is intrinsically bad, a view held by the opponents of Christianity. Hence, it is best to see “flesh” as referring to the sin nature here and the language as metaphorical.

[1:2]  ⁷ tn Grk “may mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.”

[23:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “seeking.”