Jude 1:23

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

snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. There are still others to whom you need to show mercy, but be careful that you aren’t contaminated by their sins.

Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven.

And to some give salvation, pulling them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the clothing which is made unclean by the flesh.

save others by snatching them out of the fire; and have mercy on still others with fear, hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies.

but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

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

¹ tn Grk “and save.”

² tn Grk “and have mercy.”

³ 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.

⁴ sn The imagery here suggests that the things close to the sinners are contaminated by them, presumably during the process of sinning.

⁵ 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.