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And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Jude 1:23 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB and some save, snatching them out of the fire with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.
  • BSB save others by snatching them from the fire; and to still others show mercy tempered with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.
  • NKJV but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
  • NASB save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.
  • NLT Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Some must be urgently rescued from judgment, while others are to be shown mercy mixed with fear, hating even sin's contamination.

Overview

Jude continues his counsel on rescuing others, calling believers to snatch some from the fire of impending judgment with urgency. Toward those more deeply entangled, mercy is shown with caution, hating even the garment stained by their sin, an image warning against being drawn into the very corruption one seeks to oppose. The balance of compassion and holy vigilance reflects the gospel's heart to save sinners while taking sin seriously.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • 1 Tim 4:16Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
  • 1 Cor 15:33Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
  • Rev 3:4Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
  • 2 Cor 7:10–12For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
  • 2 Th 3:14And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
  • Rom 11:14If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.
  • Zech 3:2–5And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
  • Rev 3:18I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
  • Isa 64:6But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
  • 1 Cor 5:3–5For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
  • Lam 4:14They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments.
  • 1 Cor 5:9–11I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
  • Amos 4:11I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.
  • Lev 13:47–59The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment;
  • Lev 14:47And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.
  • 1 Cor 3:15If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
  • Lev 15:17And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jude videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jude 1:23YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JudeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Christ is the one who keeps his people from stumbling and presents them blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy — the object of contending faith.

How Jude 1:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.