The Epistle of St Jude (Book of Jude)

The Epistle of St Jude, in the Vulgate Epistola Catholica Iudae, is one chapter of twenty-five verses, and among the most forceful pages of the New Testament. Its writer meant to write "concerning your common salvation," but found himself "under a necessity" to sound an alarm instead: ungodly men had crept into the Church, and the faithful must "contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3). In a few lines he gathers the judgements of the Old Testament, St Michael's dispute with the devil and the prophecy of Enoch, and closes with one of the noblest doxologies in Scripture.

It is the last of the seven Catholic Epistles and stands immediately before the Apocalypse. Its closest kinsman is the Second Epistle of St Peter, whose second chapter covers much of the same ground.

Who wrote the Book of Jude?

St Jude the Apostle, also called Thaddeus: Jude and Thaddeus are two names of one Apostle. The letter opens: "Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James" (1:1). Challoner's preface to the epistle states the Church's tradition plainly: "St. Jude, who wrote this Epistle, was one of the twelve Apostles and brother to St. James the Less."

The reasons are these. Among the Twelve, St Luke names "Jude, the brother of James" (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13), and St Matthew and St Mark give the same Apostle as Thaddeus (Matthew 10). St John records his question at the Last Supper: "Judas saith to him, not the Iscariot" (John 14:22).

The James whose name he gives as his credential is the James of Jerusalem, "the brother of the Lord" (Galatians 1:19) and author of the Epistle of St James, whom Catholic interpreters identify with St James the Less, son of Alpheus. Jude therefore belonged to the "brethren" of our Lord, that is, his kinsmen, named together in Matthew 13:55: "his brethren James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Jude." Hegesippus, quoted by Eusebius (Church History III, 20), tells of two grandsons of this Jude brought before Domitian as descendants of David.

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) judges this identification "most highly probable," and notes that though the epistle's canonicity was once questioned in some churches, "its genuineness has never been denied." The Muratorian Fragment, from Rome about 170, already counts "the epistle of Jude" among the books received in the Catholic Church. Tertullian appeals to it, saying that "Enoch possesses a testimony in the Apostle Jude" (On the Apparel of Women I, 3).

Clement of Alexandria commented on it; Origen praised it as "a letter of few lines, it is true, but filled with the healthful words of heavenly grace" (Commentary on Matthew X, 17). St Jerome records the one objection and its answer: it "is rejected by many" because it quotes the Book of Enoch, "nevertheless by age and use it has gained authority and is reckoned among the Holy Scriptures" (On Illustrious Men 4).

The Pontifical Biblical Commission issued no special decision on Jude. Many modern scholars distinguish the Lord's brother Jude from the Apostle Jude Thaddeus, and some place the letter after the Apostles' time; the Church, with the Roman Breviary, which calls Thaddeus "the writer of one of the Catholic Epistles," receives it as the Apostle's own. His life, mission and martyrdom are told in our page on St Jude Thaddeus, and his death beside St Simon in Persia in how the Apostles died.

When was it written, and to whom?

The exact year is not known, and the traditional authorities give two answers. Challoner holds that "the time it was written is uncertain: only it may be inferred from verse 17 that few or none of the Apostles were then living, except St. John." The Catholic Encyclopedia reads verse 17 of Apostles scattered far away, not dead. It argues that Jude wrote before AD 70, for a writer listing God's punishments to Hebrew readers could hardly have passed over the fall of Jerusalem, and before 2 Peter, which borrows from him; it places the letter shortly before 64 or 65, probably in Palestine, perhaps in Jerusalem.

It is addressed "to them that are beloved in God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called" (1:1). The Catholic Encyclopedia judges from its appeal to Jewish history that it was written for Hebrew Christians of Palestine or a neighbouring country; other commentators send it to the churches of Asia Minor addressed by St Peter. Its occasion is clear from the text: men who turned "the grace of our Lord God into riotousness," denying "the only sovereign Ruler, and our Lord Jesus Christ" (1:4). Challoner's preface sees in them the heresies and wicked practices of the Simonians, Nicolaites and Gnostics.

What is the Book of Jude about? A summary

Greeting and purpose (verses 1–4)

Jude opens with a blessing, "Mercy unto you, and peace, and charity be fulfilled" (1:2), and his reason for writing: the faith "once delivered to the saints" must be defended, because "certain men are secretly entered in" (1:3-4).

God's judgements and the false teachers (verses 5–16)

Three examples of judgement come first: the people saved out of Egypt and afterwards destroyed for unbelief, as in Numbers 14; "the angels who kept not their principality," reserved "in everlasting chains, unto the judgment of the great day"; and Sodom and Gomorrha, "suffering the punishment of eternal fire" (Genesis 19) (1:5-7). Against teachers who "blaspheme majesty," Jude sets the restraint of St Michael (1:8-10).

Then comes the triple woe: "they have gone in the way of Cain," the first murderer of Genesis 4; they have followed "the error of Balaam" for reward (Numbers 22); they "have perished in the contradiction of Core," the rebel against Moses and Aaron in Numbers 16 (1:11). Then five images from nature: "clouds without water... trees of the autumn, unfruitful, twice dead... raging waves of the sea... wandering stars, to whom the storm of darkness is reserved for ever" (1:12-13). Enoch, "the seventh from Adam," already foretold their judgement (1:14-16).

Exhortation to the faithful (verses 17–23)

The faithful are to remember the Apostles' warning "that in the last time there should come mockers" (1:17-18), the same prophecy recorded in 2 Peter 3. The false teachers "separate themselves, sensual men, having not the Spirit" (1:19); the faithful must build on their "most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost," keeping themselves "in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, unto life everlasting" (1:20-21), and deal wisely with the erring, "pulling them out of the fire" (1:22-23).

The doxology (verses 24–25)

The letter ends in praise "to him who is able to preserve you without sin, and to present you spotless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (1:24-25).

Themes and the Catholic reading

The faith once delivered. The key words of the epistle are "the faith once delivered to the saints" (1:3), in the Vulgate semel traditae sanctis fidei. The faith is a deposit, handed down once, and the Christian's part is to guard it. St Paul says the same to Timothy: "keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding the profane novelties of words" (1 Timothy 6:20). The Vatican Council of 1870 teaches that the doctrine of faith was delivered as a divine deposit to the Spouse of Christ, to be faithfully kept and infallibly declared (Dei Filius, ch. 4). Challoner's note to verse 17 warns against those "who separate themselves from the Catholic communion by heresies and schisms."

The marks of heresy. Challoner reads the three types of verse 11 as a portrait of every heresy: heretics follow the way of Cain "by murdering the souls of their brethren," the way of Balaam "by putting a scandal before the people of God, for their own private ends," and the way of Core "by their opposition to the church governors of divine appointment."

Angels, judgement and hell. Jude speaks of the fall of those who "kept not their principality," which Challoner explains as "their original dignity," and the humility of St Michael, which echoes "The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan" of Zacharias 3. Michael is the "great prince" of Daniel 12 and the victor over the dragon in Apocalypse 12; see St Michael the Archangel. The "eternal fire" of Sodom and the "storm of darkness reserved for ever" are among the clearest New Testament witnesses to the reality and eternity of punishment, set out in does hell exist? and the Four Last Things.

Prayer and mercy. Verses 20-21 name the Holy Ghost, God and our Lord Jesus Christ together with faith, prayer, charity and hope, a "spiritual building" in Challoner's phrase. Verses 22-23 are a rule of fraternal correction: the obstinate are to be reproved, those in danger pulled from the fire, and the weak treated "with a charitable compassion," while hating "the spotted garment" of their sins.

Famous verses of the Book of Jude

Jude 1:3. "Contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints" (Jude 1). The watchword of the whole letter.

Jude 1:9. "When Michael the archangel, disputing with the devil, contended about the body of Moses, he durst not bring against him the judgment of railing speech, but said: The Lord command thee." Of Moses' burial Scripture says only that "no man hath known of his sepulchre" (Deuteronomy 34:6). Challoner explains that the contention "was originally known by revelation, and transmitted by tradition," the devil, it is thought, wishing the body to be buried where the Jews would worship it. Clement of Alexandria, Origen (On First Principles III, 2, 1) and Didymus connected the story with the Jewish book called the Assumption of Moses.

Jude 1:25. "To the only God our Saviour through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory and magnificence, empire and power, before all ages, and now, and for all ages of ages. Amen." Challoner notes that "the only God our Saviour" may signify the Father or all three divine Persons.

Does Jude quote the Book of Enoch?

Enoch is the patriarch of Genesis 5, who "walked with God, and was seen no more: because God took him"; Ecclesiasticus says he "pleased God, and was translated into paradise" (Ecclesiasticus 44:16), and Hebrews that he was translated "that he should not see death" (Hebrews 11:5). Jude 14-15 records a prophecy of his that the Old Testament does not contain, but which stands, with small differences, near the beginning of the Jewish apocryphal Book of Enoch (1 Enoch 1:9), written before the Christian era.

Challoner's note says only that the prophecy "was either known by tradition, or from some book that is since lost." The Catholic Encyclopedia grants that many Catholic scholars see "a loose and abbreviated citation" of the Book of Enoch, but insists that Jude "does not quote Henoch as a canonical book": he turns against the false teachers the Jewish writings they prized, fighting them "with their own weapons," much as St Paul cites a pagan poet at Athens (Acts 17:28).

St Augustine draws the line: "We cannot deny that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, left some divine writings, for this is asserted by the Apostle Jude in his canonical epistle," yet the books circulating under his name are rightly kept out of the canon, being of doubtful origin and mixed with fables (City of God XV, 23). The inspired writer vouches for the prophecy he quotes, not for the whole book. The Book of Enoch is not part of the Catholic Bible.

Its place in the canon and the liturgy

Jude is one of the seven Catholic Epistles, so called because most were written to the faithful at large. It was among the books once disputed in some churches, the antilegomena: Eusebius counts it among the disputed books nevertheless accepted by most, and the Syriac Peshitto omitted it.

The Roman synod under Pope St Damasus (382) and the African Councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) received one epistle of Jude; the Council of Florence did the same, and the Council of Trent, in its fourth session (8 April 1546), defined "one [epistle] of Jude the apostle" as sacred and canonical. Protestant Bibles keep it too, though Luther set it apart at the end of his New Testament with Hebrews, James and the Apocalypse. The Latin Vulgate and the Douay-Rheims Bible number its single chapter and twenty-five verses as modern Bibles do.

In the Roman Breviary, Jude 1-13 forms the three Scripture lessons at Matins on the feast of Sts Simon and Jude, 28 October, and, in the 1962 Breviary, on the Friday before the Vigil of Pentecost; before the 1960 rubrics these lessons opened Matins of the Vigil of Pentecost. The Mass of the feast does not read from Jude: its Epistle is Ephesians 4:7-13 and its Gospel John 15:17-25. Pray the office in our Breviary, find the feast in the liturgical calendar, and prepare for it with the novena to St Jude from 19 to 27 October.

How to read the Book of Jude

Read the whole epistle in one sitting, then again beside 2 Peter 2, and look up the stories Jude takes for granted in Genesis and Numbers: Cain, Sodom, Balaam, the rebellion of Core. Keep the Latin beside the English on the chapter page: supercertari semel traditae sanctis fidei (1:3) and Imperet tibi Dominus (1:9) are worth learning by heart.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who wrote the Book of Jude?

The Church holds that it was written by St Jude the Apostle, also called Thaddeus, who calls himself "the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James" (1:1). Challoner identifies him as one of the Twelve and brother of St James the Less. The Muratorian Fragment, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen and St Jerome received the letter, and the Council of Trent defined it as canonical.

When was the Book of Jude written?

The exact date is unknown. The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) places it before AD 70 and before 2 Peter, shortly before 64 or 65, probably in Palestine. Challoner judges the date uncertain but infers from verse 17 that few Apostles besides St John were then living.

Who was the Book of Jude written to?

It is addressed "to them that are beloved in God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called" (1:1), a particular community threatened by false teachers. The Catholic Encyclopedia judges that they were Hebrew Christians of Palestine or a neighbouring land; some commentators prefer the churches of Asia Minor addressed by St Peter.

What is the main message of the Book of Jude?

Hold fast the faith received from the Apostles. Jude warns that false teachers who turn grace into licence will be judged as Israel, the fallen angels and Sodom were judged. The faithful must build on their faith, pray in the Holy Ghost, keep themselves in the love of God and show mercy to those in danger.

How many chapters are in the Book of Jude?

One. Jude has a single chapter of 25 verses, in the Douay-Rheims and the Vulgate as in modern Bibles, so its verses are cited as Jude 3 or Jude 1:3. With Abdias (Obadiah), Philemon, 2 John and 3 John it is one of the Bible's one-chapter books.

Is the Jude who wrote the epistle Judas Iscariot?

No. The author is St Jude Thaddeus, the faithful Apostle whom St John distinguishes as "Judas... not the Iscariot" (John 14:22) and St Luke calls "Jude, the brother of James" (Luke 6:16). Judas Iscariot betrayed our Lord and died before Pentecost; St Jude preached the Gospel and, according to the Roman Breviary, was martyred in Persia with St Simon. The two share only a name, which is why English usage keeps "Jude" for the Apostle.

Where is the Book of Jude in the Bible?

It is the last of the seven Catholic Epistles, after 3 John, and the second-to-last book of the Bible, just before the Apocalypse (Revelation). You can read it here at Jude 1, Vulgate beside Douay-Rheims.

Is the Book of Jude in the Catholic Bible?

Yes. Jude is in both the Catholic and the Protestant Bibles. Once doubted in some churches, it was received by the councils of Rome (382), Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) and defined as canonical by Trent in 1546.

Read the whole of the Epistle of St Jude verse by verse, in Latin and English, in the Iter Fidei Catholic Bible app.

Sources. The Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims (Challoner), preface and notes to the Epistle of St Jude; the Clementine Vulgate; the Muratorian Fragment; Tertullian, On the Apparel of Women I, 3; Origen, Commentary on Matthew X, 17, and On First Principles III, 2, 1; Eusebius, Church History II, 23, III, 20 and III, 25; St Jerome, On Illustrious Men 4; St Augustine, City of God XV, 23; Council of Trent, Session IV (1546); Vatican Council, Dei Filius (1870), ch. 4; Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), "Epistle of St. Jude"; Breviarium Romanum, 28 October, the Friday before Pentecost and the Vigil of Pentecost; Missale Romanum (1962), feast of Sts Simon and Jude.