Yesaya 40:20

40:20 To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot; ¹ 

he then seeks a skilled craftsman

to make ²  an idol that will not fall over.

Yesaya 46:7

46:7 They put it on their shoulder and carry it;

they put it in its place and it just stands there;

it does not ³  move from its place.

Even when someone cries out to it, it does not reply;

it does not deliver him from his distress.

Yudas 1:17-18

Exhortation to the Faithful

1:17 But you, dear friends – recall the predictions ⁴  foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁵  1:18 For they said to you, “In the end time there will come ⁶  scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires.” ⁷ 

Yudas 1:24

Final Blessing

1:24 Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, ⁸  and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, ⁹  without blemish ¹⁰  before his glorious presence, ¹¹ 

[40:20]  ¹ tn The first two words of the verse (הַמְסֻכָּן תְּרוּמָה, hamsukan tÿrumah) are problematic. Some take מְסֻכָּן as an otherwise unattested Pual participle from סָכַן (sakhan, “be poor”) and translate “the one who is impoverished.” תְּרוּמָה (tÿrumah, “contribution”) can then be taken as an adverbial accusative, “with respect to a contribution,” and the entire line translated, “the one who is too impoverished for such a contribution [i.e., the metal idol of v. 19?] selects wood that will not rot.” However, מְסֻכָּן is probably the name of a tree used in idol manufacturing (cognate with Akkadian musukkanu, cf. H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 133). מְסֻכָּן may be a scribal interpretive addition attempting to specify עֵץ (’ets) or עֵץ may be a scribal attempt to categorize מְסֻכָּן. How an idol constitutes a תְּרוּמָה (“contribution”) is not entirely clear.

[40:20]  ² tn Or “set up” (ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); KJV, NASB “to prepare.”

[46:7]  ³ tn Or perhaps, “cannot,” here and in the following two lines. The imperfect forms can indicate capability.

[1:17]  ⁴ tn Grk “words.” In conjunction with προεῖπον (proeipon), however, the meaning of the construction is that the apostles uttered prophecies.

[1:17]  ⁵ sn This verse parallels 2 Pet 3:2 both conceptually and in much of the verbiage. There is one important difference, however: In 2 Pet 3:2 the prophets and apostles speak; here, just the apostles speak. This makes good sense if Jude is using 2 Peter as his main source and is urging his readers to go back to the authoritative writings, both OT and now especially NT.

[1:18]  ⁶ tn Grk “be.”

[1:18]  ⁷ tn Grk “going according to their own desires of ungodliness.”

[1:18]  sn Jude cites 2 Pet 3:3, changing a few of the words among other things, cleaning up the syntax, conforming it to Hellenistic style.

[1:24]  ⁸ tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “free from falling” is the adjectival complement.

[1:24]  ⁹ tn Grk “with rejoicing.” The prepositional clause is placed after “his glorious presence” in Greek, but most likely goes with “cause you to stand.”

[1:24]  ¹⁰ tn The construction in Greek is a double accusative object-complement. “You” is the object and “without blemish” is the adjectival complement.

[1:24]  ¹¹ tn Or “in the presence of his glory,” “before his glory.”