Jude 1:15

To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:8-16 False teachers are dreamers; they greatly defile and grievously wound the soul. These teachers are of a disturbed mind and a seditious spirit; forgetting that the powers that be, are ordained of God, Ro 13:1. As to the contest about the body of Moses, it appears that Satan wished to make the place of his burial known to the Israelites, in order to tempt them to worship him, but he was prevented, and vented his rage in desperate blasphemy. This should remind all who dispute never to bring railing charges. Also learn hence, that we ought to defend those whom God owns. It is hard, if not impossible, to find any enemies to the Christian religion, who did not, and do not, live in open or secret contradiction to the principles of natural religion. Such are here compared to brute beasts, though they often boast of themselves as the wisest of mankind. They corrupt themselves in the things most open and plain. The fault lies, not in their understandings, but in their depraved wills, and their disordered appetites and affections. It is a great reproach, though unjust to religion, when those who profess it are opposed to it in heart and life. The Lord will remedy this in his time and way; not in men's blind way of plucking up the wheat with the tares. It is sad when men begin in the Spirit, and end in the flesh. Twice dead; they had been once dead in their natural, fallen state; but now they are dead again by the evident proofs of their hypocrisy. Dead trees, why cumber they the ground! Away with them to the fire. Raging waves are a terror to sailing passengers; but when they get into port, the noise and terror are ended. False teachers are to expect the worst punishments in this world and in that to come. They glare like meteors, or falling stars, and then sink into the blackness of darkness for ever. We have no mention of the prophecy of Enoch in any other part or place of Scripture; yet one plain text of Scripture, proves any point we are to believe. We find from this, that Christ's coming to judge was prophesied of, as early as the times before the flood. The Lord cometh: what a glorious time will that be! Notice how often the word ungodly is repeated. Many now do not at all refer to the terms godly, or ungodly, unless it be to mock at even the words; but it is not so in the language taught us by the Holy Ghost. Hard speeches of one another, especially if ill-grounded, will certainly come into account at the day of judgment. These evil men and seducers are angry at every thing that happens, and never pleased with their own state and condition. Their will and their fancy, are their only rule and law. Those who please their sinful appetites, are most prone to yield to ungovernable passions. The men of God, from the beginning of the world, have declared the doom denounced on them. Such let us avoid. We are to follow men only as they follow Christ.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

To execute judgment upon all - That is, he shall come to judge all the dwellers upon the earth, good and bad.

And to convince all - The word "convince we now use commonly in a somewhat limited sense, as meaning "to satisfy" a man's own mind" either of the truth of some proposition, or of the fact that he has done wrong, as being in this latter sense synonymous with the word "convict." This "conviction" is commonly produced by argument or truth, and is not necessarily followed by any sentence of disapprobation, or by any judicial condemnation. But this is clearly not the sense in which the word is used here. The purpose of the coming of the Lord will not be to convince men in that sense, though it is undoubtedly true that the wicked will see that their lives have been wrong; but it will be to pronounce a sentence on them as the result of the evidence of their guilt. The Greek word which is here used occurs nowhere else in the New Testament.

All that are ungodly among them - All that are not pious; all that have no religion.

Of all their ungodly deeds ... - Of their wicked actions and words. This is the common doctrine of the Bible, that all the wicked actions and words of men will be called into judgment. In regard to this passage, thus quoted from an ancient prophecy, we may remark:

(1) that the style bears the marks of its being a quotation, or of its being preserved by Jude in the language in which it had been handed down by tradition. It is not the style of Jude. It is not so terse, pointed, energetic.

(2) it has every probable mark of its having been actually delivered by Enoch. The age in which he lived was corrupt. The world was ripening for the deluge. He was himself a good man, and, as would seem perhaps, almost the only good man of his generation. Nothing would be more natural than that he should be reproached by hard words and speeches, and nothing more natural than that he should have pointed the men of his own age to the future judgment.

(3) the doctrine of the final judgment, if this was uttered by Enoch, was an early doctrine in the world. It was held even in the first generations of the race. It was one of those great truths early communicated to man to restrain him from sin, and to lead him to prepare for the great events which are to occur on the earth. The same doctrine has been transmitted from age to age, and is now one of the most important and the most affecting that refers to the final destiny of men.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

15. This verse and the beginning of Enoch's prophecy is composed in Hebrew poetic parallelism, the oldest specimen extant. Some think Lamech's speech, which is also in poetic parallelism, was composed in mockery of Enoch's prophecy: as Enoch foretold Jehovah's coming to judgment, so Lamech presumes on impunity in polygamy and murder (just as Cain the murderer seemed to escape with impunity).

convince—convict.

hard speeches—such as are noticed in Jude 8, 10, 16; Mal 3:13, 14; contrast Ro 16:17.

ungodly sinners—not merely sinners, but proud despisers of God: impious.

against him—They who speak against God's children are regarded by God as speaking against Himself.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

To execute judgment upon all; either upon all the wicked in general, who afterwards may seem to be distinguished into different sorts, or else the Greek preposition kata is put for peri, and the word all is to be understood of all universally, good and bad; and the words may be read, to execute judgment over all, i.e. to judge all.

And to convince all that are ungodly among them: if we take the words in the latter sense mentioned, then he distinguisheth those that are to be judged into good and bad, and the Lord comes to execute judgment over all, having convinced the wicked among them; but if in the former, the ungodly here may be taken for those that are more notoriously so, those that have obstinately rejected the gospel, or wickedly perverted it, or persecuted the saints, &c.

Which they have ungodly committed; i.e. with an ungodly mind, willingly, delightfully, perseveringly.

Their hard speeches; i.e. blasphemous, irreverent, against God, his truth and ways.

Which ungodly sinners have spoken against him; he executes judgment, though upon all the wicked, yet especially upon these ungodly sinners, i.e. that are such both in their words and deeds against him, in his truths, ways, ordinances, people, &c., and therefore are the worst of sinners.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

To execute judgment upon all,.... Quick and dead, small and great, high and low, rich and poor, good and bad, righteous and wicked, sheep and goats; to pass the definitive sentence on each, that of absolution, life, and happiness, on his own people, and that of condemnation, death, and misery, on the wicked; which will be done in the most strict and righteous manner:

and to convince all that are ungodly among them; those who are without God, the fear of him love to him, or faith in him; who have lived without the worship of him, or in a false worship; and particularly false teachers are here meant, the same as in Jde 1:4; who will then be convicted in their own consciences, by that clear evidence, and full light, in which things will be set:

of all their ungodly deeds; both against law and Gospel:

which they have ungodly committed; which they lived in the commission of, and continually practised in a vile manner, publicly, and in defiance of heaven, and with seared consciences:

and of all their hard speeches, which ungodly sinners have spoken against him; either "against" God, as the Vulgate Latin version reads, against his being, his perfections, his providence, his purposes, his word, and worship; or rather against Jesus Christ the Lord, who will come to judge them, against his person and offices, his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice; his ministers and people, his truths and ordinances.

Geneva Study Bible

To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Expositor's Greek Testament

Jude 1:15. ποιῆσαι κρίσιν κατὰ πάντων. Follows exactly the Greek translation of Enoch given above, cf. Ael. V. H. ii. 6, Κρίτων ἔπειθεν αὐτὸν ἀποδρᾶναι καὶ τὴν κατʼ αὐτοῦ κρίσιν διαφθεῖραι. On the distinction between the active ποιεῖν κρίσιν “to execute judgment” (as in John 5:27) and the periphrastic middle = κρίνειν (as in Isocr.48 D) see my notes on αἰτεῖν and αἰτεῖσθαι, ἴδε and ἰδού (Jam 4:3; Jam 3:3).

ἐλέγξαι πάντας τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς περὶ πάντων τῶν ἔργων ἀσεβείας αὐτῶν ὧν ἠσέβησαν. Shortened from the Greek Enoch quoted above.

ἀσεβεῖς. Cf. Jude 1:4; Jude 1:18. The word thrice repeated in this verse runs through the epistle as a sort of refrain.

περὶ πάντων τῶν σκληρῶν ὧν ἐλάλησαν. This is taken from Enoch xxvii. 2. Charles, p. 366 (To Gehenna shall come), πάντες οἵτινες ἐροῦσιν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν κατὰ Κυρίου φωνὴν ἀπρεπῆ καὶ περὶ τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ σκληρὰ λαλήσουσιν, cf. ib. Jude 1:4, “The law of the Lord ye have not fulfilled, but … have slanderously spoken proud and hard words with your impure mouths against His greatness,” ib. ci. 3, al., Genesis 42:7, ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς σκληρά, 1 Kings 12:13, ἀπεκρίθη πρὸς τὸν λαὸν σκληρά, Malachi 3:13-15.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

15. to execute judgment upon all …] The following is given as a literal translation of the prophecy as it stands in the Book of Enoch: “And He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones, that He may execute judgment upon them and destroy the ungodly, and may plead with all the carnal ones for all the things which sinners and the ungodly have done or wrought against Him.” St Jude’s version differs from this in the reiterated use of the word “ungodly” as noun, adjective, verb and adverb.

Bengel's Gnomen

Jude 1:15. Κρίσιν, judgment) Enoch looked forward beyond the deluge.—κατὰ πάντων, against all men) who have sinned. A general description (the genus).—ἐξελέγξαι,[8] to convince) The conviction, which there was even then, will be completed in the judgment. A process of conviction is employed against those who are unwilling to know.—πάντας τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς, all the ungodly) A particular description (the species).—ἐλάλησαν, have spoken) Jude 1:8; Jude 1:10.—κατʼ αὐτοῦ, against Himself) even though they had not thought that all their ungodly sayings [with which also the sons of the Lord and His servants are assailed, Job 42:7; Malachi 3:13.—V. g.] were directed against Him.—ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἀσεβεῖς, ungodly sinners) A sinner is bad; ἀσεβὴς, one who sins without fear, is worse.

[8] However the simple ἐλέγξαι is considered preferable in the margin of both Ed.—E. B.

ABC Vulg. (“argucre”) read ἐλέγξαι: but Rec. Text, ἐξελέγξαι, with modern and cursive MSS.—E.

Jude 1:15