Limitless Word
Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints.
Jude 1:3 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Beloved, while I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I was constrained to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
  • KJV Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
  • NKJV Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
  • NASB Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all time handed down to the saints.
  • NLT Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.

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

Jude intended to write about salvation but instead urgently appeals to believers to fight to defend the faith once delivered to all the saints.

Overview

A serious threat redirected Jude's purpose from a positive treatment of shared salvation to an urgent call to action. The faith is described as "once for all delivered," meaning the apostolic gospel is fixed, complete, and not open to revision. Believers are called not to passive comfort but to earnest, ongoing defense of this truth against those who would corrupt it, a theme that shapes the rest of the letter.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 39

  • 1 Tim 6:12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession before many witnesses.
  • Phil 1:27Nevertheless, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending side by side for the faith of the gospel,
  • Jude 1:20But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,
  • Titus 1:4To Titus, my true child in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
  • 2 Tim 1:13Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching you have heard from me, with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
  • Rev 12:11They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives so as to shy away from death.
  • 2 Tim 4:7–8I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
  • Rev 2:10Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
  • 1 Tim 1:18Timothy, my child, I entrust you with this command in keeping with the previous prophecies about you, so that by them you may fight the good fight,
  • Gal 2:5We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.
  • Heb 13:22I urge you, brothers, to bear with my word of exhortation, for I have only written to you briefly.
  • Deut 9:10Then the LORD gave me the two stone tablets, inscribed by the finger of God with the exact words that the LORD spoke to you out of the fire on the mountain on the day of the assembly.
  • Acts 4:12Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
  • Acts 18:28For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
  • 1 Cor 15:3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
  • Isa 45:22Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
  • Acts 13:46–47Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
  • Acts 9:22But Saul was empowered all the more, and he confounded the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.
  • 1 Th 2:2As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.
  • Rom 15:15–16However, I have written you a bold reminder on some points, because of the grace God has given me
  • Jer 9:3“They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.
  • Isa 45:17But Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will not be put to shame or humiliated, to ages everlasting.
  • Acts 6:8–10Now Stephen, who was full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.
  • Acts 28:28Be advised, therefore, that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”
  • Acts 18:4–6Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike.
  • Acts 20:27For I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole will of God.
  • Acts 17:3explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he declared.
  • Gal 6:11See what large letters I am using to write to you with my own hand!
  • Eph 1:1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
  • 2 Pet 1:12–15Therefore I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have.
  • 2 Pet 1:1Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
  • 2 Pet 3:1–2Beloved, this is now my second letter to you. Both of them are reminders to stir you to wholesome thinking
  • 1 Pet 5:12Through Silvanus, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.
  • Neh 13:25I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves!
  • Deut 21:9So you shall purge from among you the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the LORD.
  • Col 1:2To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
  • Phil 1:1Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
  • Gal 3:28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
  • Jude 1:17But you, beloved, remember what was foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ

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 1:3YouTube · 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 1:3 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.