1. From Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.To all who have been called by God. God the Father loves you, and you have been kept safe in Jesus Christ.
2. All mercy, peace, and love be yours.
3. Dear friends, I wanted very much to write to you about the salvation we all share together. But I felt the need to write to you about something else: I want to encourage you to fight hard for the faith that God gave his holy people. God gave this faith once, and it is good for all time.
4. Some people have secretly entered your group. They have already been judged guilty for the things they are doing. Long ago the prophets wrote about these people. They are against God. They have used the grace of our God in the wrong way—to do sinful things. They refuse to accept Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.
5. I want to remind you of some things that you already know: Remember that the Lord saved his people by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. But later the Lord destroyed all those who did not believe.
6. And remember the angels who had power but did not keep it. They left their own home. So the Lord has kept these angels in darkness. They are bound with everlasting chains, to be judged on the great day.
7. Also remember the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the other towns around them. They acted as the angels who did not obey God. Their towns were full of sexual sin and men having physical relations with men. They suffer the punishment of eternal fire, as an example for all to see.
8. It is the same with these people who have entered your group. They are guided by dreams. They make themselves dirty with sin. They reject God’s authority and say bad things against the glorious angels.
9. Not even the archangel Michael did this. He argued with the devil about who would have the body of Moses. Michael did not dare to accuse the devil with insults. He said, “The Lord punish you.”