Limitless Word
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.
Jude 1:3 · King James Version
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.
  • BSB 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.
  • 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 faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
  • Phil 1:27Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
  • Jude 1:20But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
  • Titus 1:4To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.
  • 2 Tim 1:13Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
  • Rev 12:11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
  • 2 Tim 4:7–8I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
  • Rev 2:10Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
  • 1 Tim 1:18This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
  • Gal 2:5To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.
  • Heb 13:22And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words.
  • Deut 9:10And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.
  • Acts 4:12Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
  • Acts 18:28For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.
  • 1 Cor 15:3For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
  • Isa 45:22Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
  • Acts 13:46–47Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
  • Acts 9:22But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.
  • 1 Th 2:2But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.
  • Rom 15:15–16Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God,
  • Jer 9:3And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.
  • Isa 45:17But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
  • Acts 6:8–10And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
  • Acts 28:28Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
  • Acts 18:4–6And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
  • Acts 20:27For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
  • Acts 17:3Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.
  • Gal 6:11Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.
  • Eph 1:1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
  • 2 Pet 1:12–15Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
  • 2 Pet 1:1Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
  • 2 Pet 3:1–2This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
  • 1 Pet 5:12By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.
  • Neh 13:25And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves.
  • Deut 21:9So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.
  • Col 1:2To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Phil 1:1Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
  • Gal 3:28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
  • Jude 1:17But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of 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.