Yudas 1:19-21

1:19 These people are divisive, ¹  worldly, ²  devoid of the Spirit. ³  1:20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, ⁴  1:21 maintain ⁵  yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating ⁶  the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life. ⁷ 

[1:19]  ¹ tn Grk “these are the ones who cause divisions.”

[1:19]  ² tn Or “natural,” that is, living on the level of instincts, not on a spiritual level (the same word occurs in 1 Cor 2:14 as a description of nonbelievers).

[1:19]  ³ tn Grk “not having [the] Spirit.”

[1:19]  sn The phrase devoid of the Spirit may well indicate Jude’s and Peter’s assessment of the spiritual status of the false teachers. Those who do not have the Spirit are clearly not saved.

[1:20]  ⁴ tn The participles in v. 20 have been variously interpreted. Some treat them imperativally or as attendant circumstance to the imperative in v. 21 (“maintain”): “build yourselves up…pray.” But they do not follow the normal contours of either the imperatival or attendant circumstance participles, rendering this unlikely. A better option is to treat them as the means by which the readers are to maintain themselves in the love of God. This both makes eminently good sense and fits the structural patterns of instrumental participles elsewhere.

[1:21]  ⁵ tn Or “keep.”

[1:21]  ⁶ tn Or “waiting for.”

[1:21]  ⁷ tn Grk “unto eternal life.”