Jude 20–21, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Jude 20–21
Keep Yourselves in God's Love
Keep yourselves inside a love that already keeps you
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. The central command is 'keep yourselves.' Building, praying, and waiting describe the community's posture around that command. This is not earning the Father's love. Verse 1 already called them kept; verse 24 will say God is able to keep them from falling.
The most holy faith is the once-delivered faith, not a secret add-on. Prayer in the Holy Spirit answers people who do not have the Spirit; it is not a technique for display or control. Waiting for Jesus Christ's mercy keeps hope from becoming a hunt.
Contending is unfinished if denunciation is the whole work
The grammar is plural. Isolated private bunkers are not the picture. A divided church answers division by building one another up, praying, remaining in love, and looking toward mercy unto eternal life.
Jude will still require discernment toward the infiltrators. He will not let that work replace formation. A community that only names enemies has not yet obeyed this sentence.
How this should shape us
Put shared study, prayer, and hope in Christ's mercy on the calendar before you add another public denunciation. Remaining in God's love is communal work, not a claim that you saved yourself, and not a substitute for later mercy toward people who are wavering.
Teach it back
Explain Jude 20–21 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: Interpreters debate whether 'in God's love' emphasizes God's love for believers, believers' love for God, or the sphere of covenant relationship. The command's practical movement and its placement inside God's keeping are clearer than choosing one English paraphrase as exhaustive.
How certain? uncertainResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: The exact displayed KJV wording and immediate English context for Jude 20–21.
eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Jude 1, verses within Jude 20–21; 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 20–21.
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 20–21.
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. 339–340; 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 20–21.
Supports: A modern whole-letter check on passage boundaries, argument, and major interpretive options.
Thomas R. Schreiner, Jude, heading 'A Call to Persevere,' verses within Jude 20–21; Introduction paragraphs 'Authorship,' 'Date,' and 'Recipients' where orientation claims are involved.
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 20–21.
Exact location: eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Jude 1, verses within Jude 20–21; 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 20–21.
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 20–21.
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. 339–340; 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 20–21.
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 'A Call to Persevere,' verses within Jude 20–21; Introduction paragraphs 'Authorship,' 'Date,' and 'Recipients' where orientation claims are involved.
Open source ↗