Jude 14–16, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Jude 14–16
Enoch's Judgment Saying Applied to the Intruders
Jude uses Enoch's saying for this argument
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 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. Jude names Enoch and treats the saying as prophecy aimed at these infiltrators. The wording is close to a line known from 1 Enoch 1:9, without matching every later manuscript.
The citation establishes the saying's work in this letter: the Lord will expose ungodly deeds and hard words. It does not settle the authorship, final form, or canon status of the whole collection now called 1 Enoch. Enoch is this letter's source for this claim. It is not a mandate that extra-canonical books rule the church, and it is not permission to import every later angel tale as doctrine.
Grumbling, swelling words, and flattery name the people in view
These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage. Desire drives the walk. Complaint, boasting, and flattery for gain are the social method. The judgment saying is applied to that conduct.
Hard speech here is not an honest question, a protest against harm, or ordinary disagreement. Jude is describing infiltrators who manipulate people for advantage. The same polemic does not authorize labeling disliked neighbors ungodly.
How this should shape us
Do not let a teacher's charisma or a donor's usefulness rewrite what you just heard. Quote ancient sources the way Jude does: for the claim they actually support. Do not build a church constitution out of extra-canonical books because this letter used one saying.
Teach it back
Explain Jude 14–16 in your own words. Include what came before, the section's movement, one important uncertainty, and one conclusion the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Scholars debate Jude's exact textual source, the degree of dependence on 1 Enoch, and whether he uses Enochic tradition straightforwardly or polemically. The secure conclusions are that Jude names Enoch, uses a saying closely related to 1 Enoch 1:9 as prophecy, and applies it to the intruders; claims about Jude's exact copy or the whole collection require lower confidence.
How certain? uncertainResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: The exact displayed KJV wording and immediate English context for Jude 14–16.
eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Jude 1, verses within Jude 14–16; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the library policy.
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording, clause relationships, and visible variation markers checked for the passage.
Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Jude.txt, verses within Jude 14–16.
Supports: Material translation choices, syntax questions, and textual variants checked for this passage.
NET Bible, Jude 1, translator and textual notes attached to the verses in Jude 14–16.
Supports: Verse-level Greek, textual variants, older interpretive alternatives, and historical proposals tested against newer evidence.
Charles Bigg, The Epistle of St. Jude, commentary pp. 336–337; introduction pp. 306–322 where historical orientation is involved.
Supports: A cross-check of Greek forms and reasonable lexical range for reader-facing word notes.
STEP Bible Data repository, TAGNT and Greek lexical records, Jude 1, verses within Jude 14–16.
Supports: A modern whole-letter check on passage boundaries, argument, and major interpretive options.
Thomas R. Schreiner, Jude, heading 'Judgment on False Teachers,' verses within Jude 14–16; Introduction paragraphs 'Authorship,' 'Date,' and 'Recipients' where orientation claims are involved.
Supports: The relationship between Jude and Enochic traditions, competing dependency proposals, and limits on claims about the whole Enochic collection.
Peter J. Gentry and Andrew M. Fountain, Reassessing Jude's Use of Enochic Traditions, pp. 261 and 280–286.
Supports: A current textual-transmission proposal explaining differences between Jude 14–15 and surviving Enochic forms.
Timothy A. Lee, Jude's use of a kaige edition of Enochic scripture, sections 'Revision in the Enochic text cited in Jude,' Table 1, and 'Conclusion.'
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: The exact displayed KJV wording and immediate English context for Jude 14–16.
Exact location: eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Jude 1, verses within Jude 14–16; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the library policy.
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording, clause relationships, and visible variation markers checked for the passage.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Jude.txt, verses within Jude 14–16.
Open the Jude Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Jude with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Material translation choices, syntax questions, and textual variants checked for this passage.
Exact location: NET Bible, Jude 1, translator and textual notes attached to the verses in Jude 14–16.
Open source ↗public domain critical commentary
A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude
Charles Bigg
T&T Clark / Charles Scribner's Sons, 1902
Supports: Verse-level Greek, textual variants, older interpretive alternatives, and historical proposals tested against newer evidence.
Exact location: Charles Bigg, The Epistle of St. Jude, commentary pp. 336–337; introduction pp. 306–322 where historical orientation is involved.
Open source ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: A cross-check of Greek forms and reasonable lexical range for reader-facing word notes.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository, TAGNT and Greek lexical records, Jude 1, verses within Jude 14–16.
Open source ↗modern open commentary
Jude
Thomas R. Schreiner
The Gospel Coalition, 2023
Supports: A modern whole-letter check on passage boundaries, argument, and major interpretive options.
Exact location: Thomas R. Schreiner, Jude, heading 'Judgment on False Teachers,' verses within Jude 14–16; Introduction paragraphs 'Authorship,' 'Date,' and 'Recipients' where orientation claims are involved.
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access study
Reassessing Jude's Use of Enochic Traditions (with Notes on their Later Reception History)
Peter J. Gentry and Andrew M. Fountain
Tyndale Bulletin 68.2, 2017
Supports: The relationship between Jude and Enochic traditions, competing dependency proposals, and limits on claims about the whole Enochic collection.
Exact location: Peter J. Gentry and Andrew M. Fountain, Reassessing Jude's Use of Enochic Traditions, pp. 261 and 280–286.
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access textual study
Jude's use of a kaige edition of Enochic scripture
Timothy A. Lee
Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 2025
Supports: A current textual-transmission proposal explaining differences between Jude 14–15 and surviving Enochic forms.
Exact location: Timothy A. Lee, Jude's use of a kaige edition of Enochic scripture, sections 'Revision in the Enochic text cited in Jude,' Table 1, and 'Conclusion.'
Open source ↗