¹ tn Grk “the seventh from Adam.”

sn The genealogical count is inclusive, counting Adam as the first, for Enoch is really the sixth in descent from Adam (Adam, Seth, Enosh, Cainan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch). In this way, the picture of perfection/completion was retained (for the number seven is often used for perfection or completion in the Bible) starting with Adam and concluding with Enoch.

² tn Grk “against them.” The dative τούτοις (toutois) is a dativus incommodi (dative of disadvantage).

³ tn Grk “has come,” a proleptic aorist.

⁴ tn Grk “ten thousands.” The word μυριάς (muria"), from which the English myriad is derived, means “ten thousand.” In the plural it means “ten thousands.” This would mean, minimally, 20,000 (a multiple of ten thousand). At the same time, the term was often used in apocalyptic literature to represent simply a rather large number, without any attempt to be specific.

⁵ tn “And” is not in Greek, but is supplied for the sake of English style.

⁶ tn Or “going.” Though the participle is anarthrous, so also is the subject. Thus, the participle could be either adverbial or adjectival.

⁷ tn Grk “(who go/going) according to their own lusts.”

⁸ tn Grk “and their mouth speaks bombastic things.”

sn They give bombastic speeches. The idiom of opening one’s mouth in the NT often implied a public oration from a teacher or one in authority. Cf. Matt 5:2; Luke 4:22; Acts 1:16; 3:18; 10:34; Eph 6:19; Rev 13:5-6.

⁹ sn Enchanting folks (Grk “awing faces”) refers to the fact that the speeches of these false teachers are powerful and seductive.

¹⁰ tn Or “to their own advantage.”

¹¹ tn Grk “and save.”

¹² tn Grk “and have mercy.”

¹³ 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.

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.

¹⁴ sn The imagery here suggests that the things close to the sinners are contaminated by them, presumably during the process of sinning.

¹⁵ 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.