Section 24–25
Jude praised God
Jude ended his letter by praising God. (The Apostle Paul ended his letter to the Romans in a similar way (Romans 16:25–27).) First, Jude assured his readers that God was able to protect them from falling away from their faith into a life of sin (24a). Despite the danger from the false teaching and sinful living of the fake Christians, Jude declared that God was able to keep them from sinning in that way, so that after they died, they would be with God. With God they would experience great joy and have no sin (24b). Jude praised God for who he is (He is the only God.) and for what he has done (He has saved us through our Lord, Jesus Christ.) (25a–b). He listed some attributes of God: glory, majesty, power, and authority. Jude ascribed these attributes to God for all times: past, present, and in the future.
24–25
Now to Him…to the only God our Savior be glory…Amen: In these verses Jude praised God using a special form called a “doxology.” The words to Him and to the only God our Savior are part of this special form of praise. In the Bible, authors often concluded a book, letter, or section of a letter with a doxology. If possible, you should be consistent in the way you translate doxologies throughout the Bible.
24
In this verse, Jude spoke of God as the one who could protect his readers from sin and cause them to be with him forever.
24a
Now to Him who is able: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to Him who is able describes God. It is literally “to the being-able-(one).” It is linked closely to the phrase “to the only God” in verse 25. God is the only one who can do the things that this verse mentions. Jude’s readers could not do those things to save themselves.
In some languages it may be more natural to use the word for “God” here in 24a. For example:
God can guard you so that you don’t fall. (God’s Word)
-or-
God is strong and can help you not to fall. (New Century Version)
to keep you: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as keep is different from the verb that Jude used (In this letter, the Berean Standard Bible translates this Greek verb in different ways: “kept” (1f, 6c), “stay” (6a) “keep” (21a), and “reserved” (13d).) in 1f, 6a, 6c, 13d (See the first footnote under the note for “reserved.”), and 21a. In this context, it means:
guard
-or-
defend
-or-
protect
Jude indicated that God was able to protect his readers from the bad influence of the fake Christians. In English the words “keep from” have the same meaning. Look for the most natural way in your language to make the meaning clear.
you: Although you refers to Jude’s readers, what Jude said in this verse is true for everyone who trusts in God and in Jesus Christ.
from stumbling: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as from stumbling is literally “without stumbling.” In this context it is used as a figure of speech. It may refer to stumbling from faith into a life of sin. Specifically, it may imply being deceived by the sinful living and false teaching of the fake Christians. God was able to protect Jude’s readers from this type of stumbling and falling. (Many scholars understand stumbling to refer to not attaining salvation at the final judgment.)
In some languages it may be necessary to make the meaning more explicit. For example:
God is able to protect/defend you so that sin/evil will not trip you.
-or-
God is the one who can protect you from falling away from him into a sinful life.
24b
to present you unblemished in His glorious presence: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to present is literally “to set/place/put.” It is God who would cause Jude’s readers to be in His glorious presence.
unblemished: God was able to protect Jude’s readers from falling away from him because of sin (24a), and also to remove from them all the guilt of their sins. Then it would be as if these Christians had never sinned at all. They would appear before God unblemished or without fault. There would be nothing for which God would blame them. A positive way to state this is:
so that you will be innocent….
in His glorious presence: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as His glorious presence is literally “the glory of him” or “his glory.” It refers here to being in the presence of God, that is, with God. The Berean Standard Bible supplies the word presence. It is natural in English to use the word presence when referring to someone very great, such as God, a king, or a person of high status. Another way to say this is:
with God himself in his glory
-or-
with him where you will see his glory
glorious: The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as glorious are literally “the glory.” In this context this expression refers to the excellence of God’s divine qualities. Everything about God is the best. God is so splendid and great that nothing can even be compared to him. Sometimes the visible sign of his splendor is described as very bright light. (The Bible indicates that bright light is part of God’s splendor. (See, for example, Exodus 24:17 and Revelation 21:23.)). Another way to translate this is:
before him, where his splendor shines.
with great joy: Jude also wanted his readers to know that they would be very joyful when they came to God. Because they would be “unblemished” or without fault, they would not have to be afraid that God would punish them. Their joy would not be diminished by sin or fear. Other ways to translate this include:
extremely happy
-or-
full of joy (God’s Word)
-or-
rejoicing (NET Bible)
-or-
jubilant (Revised English Bible)
General Comment on 24b
In some languages it may be more natural to reorder the phrases in 24b. For example:
He is also able to remove all your sins so that you will be innocent when he brings you into his glorious presence. This will be a time of great joy for you.
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.