Jude 1:12

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible

These are they - who, in your love-feasts, are hidden rocks, as they fare sumptuously together, fearlessly, themselves, shepherding, - clouds without water, by winds swept along, trees autumnal, fruitless, twice dead, uprooted,

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
These people are like dirty spots among you—they bring shame to you in the special meals you share together. They eat with you and have no fear. They take care of only themselves. They are like clouds without rain. The wind blows them around. They are like trees that have no fruit at harvest time and are pulled out of the ground. So they are twice dead.

Revised Standard Version
These are blemishes on your love feasts, as they boldly carouse together, looking after themselves; waterless clouds, carried along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
These are spottes which of youre kindnes feast to gedder with out feare fedynge them selves. Cloudes they are with outen water caried about of wyndes and trees with out frute at gadringe tyme twyse deed and plucked vp by the rotes.

Hebrew Names Version
These are hidden rocky reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you, shepherds who without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn leaves without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

New American Standard Bible
These are the ones who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, like shepherds caring only for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;

New Century Version
They are like dirty spots in your special Christian meals you share. They eat with you and have no fear, caring only for themselves. They are clouds without rain, which the wind blows around. They are autumn trees without fruit that are pulled out of the ground. So they are twice dead.

Update Bible Version
These [men] are the ones who are hidden rocks in your love-feasts when they feast with you, shepherds that without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn leaves without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

Webster's Bible Translation
These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds [they are] without water, carried about by winds; withered autumnal trees, without fruit, twice dead, plucked out by the roots;

World English Bible
These are hidden rocky reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you, shepherds who without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn leaves without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
These are spots in your feasts of love, while they banquet with you feeding themselves without fear: clouds without water, driven about of winds; trees without leaves, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

Weymouth's New Testament
These men--sunken rocks! --are those who share the pleasure of your love-feasts, unrestrained by fear while caring only for themselves; clouds without water, driven away by the winds; trees that cast their fruit, barren, doubly dead, uprooted;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
These ben in her metis, feestynge togidere to filthe, with out drede fedinge hemsilf. These ben cloudis with out watir, that ben borun aboute of the wyndis; heruest trees with out fruyt, twies deed, drawun vp bi the roote;

English Revised Version
These are they who are hidden rocks in your love-feasts when they feast with you, shepherds that without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

Berean Standard Bible
These men are the hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.

Contemporary English Version
These people are filthy minded, and by their shameful and selfish actions they spoil the meals you eat together. They are like clouds blown along by the wind, but never bringing any rain. They are like leafless trees, uprooted and dead, and unable to produce fruit.

Amplified Bible
These men are hidden reefs [elements of great danger to others] in your love feasts when they feast together with you without fear, looking after [only] themselves; [they are like] clouds without water, swept along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted and lifeless;

American Standard Version
These are they who are hidden rocks in your love-feasts when they feast with you, shepherds that without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

Bible in Basic English
These men are unseen rocks at your love-feasts, when they take part in them with you, keepers of sheep who without fear take the food of the sheep; clouds without water rushing before the wind, wasted trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots,

Complete Jewish Bible
These men are filthy spots at your festive gatherings meant to foster love; they share your meals without a qualm, while caring only for themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by the winds; trees without fruit even in autumn, and doubly dead because they have been uprooted;

Darby Translation
These are spots in your love-feasts, feasting together [with you] without fear, pasturing themselves; clouds without water, carried along by [the] winds; autumnal trees, without fruit, twice dead, rooted up;

International Standard Version
These people are stains on your love feasts.[fn] They feast with you without any sense of awe.[fn] They are shepherds who care only for themselves. They are waterless clouds blown about by the winds. They are autumn trees that are fruitless, twice dead, and uprooted.[xr]

Etheridge Translation
These are they who, in their recreations contaminating, behave wantonly, feeding themselves without reverence; clouds without rain, roaming with the winds; trees whose fruit withereth, and which are unfruitful, twice dead, and uplifted from their root;

Murdock Translation
These are they who, in their feastings, riot while polluting themselves, feeding themselves without fear; clouds without rain, moved about by the winds; trees whose fruit hath failed, and they are without fruit, twice dead, and uplifted from their root;

King James Version (1611)
These are spottes in your feasts of charitie, when they feast with you, feeding themselues without feare: cloudes they are without water, caried about of winds, trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twise dead, plucked vp by the rootes.

New Living Translation
When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord's love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots.

New Life Bible
When you come together to eat the Christians' love suppers, these people are like hidden rocks that wreck a ship. They only think of themselves. They are like clouds without rain carried along by the wind and like trees without fruit in the fall of the year. They are pulled out by the roots and are dead now and never can live again.

New Revised Standard
These are blemishes on your love-feasts, while they feast with you without fear, feeding themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, uprooted;

English Standard Version
These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted;

Geneva Bible (1587)
These are rockes in your feasts of charitie when they feast with you, without al feare, feeding themselues: cloudes they are wtout water, caried about of windes, corrupt trees & without fruit, twise dead, and plucked vp by ye rootes.

George Lamsa Translation
These people are those who lead a wasteful, feasting life and are blemished; they do not shepherd themselves in reverence; they are clouds without rain, driven by winds; trees whose blossoms have withered, without fruit; having died a second time, pulled up by the roots;

Douay-Rheims Bible
These are spots in their banquets, feasting together without fear, feeding themselves: clouds without water, which are carried about by winds: trees of the autumn, unfruitful, twice dead, plucked up by the roots:

Bishop's Bible (1568)
These are spottes in your feastes of charitie, whe they feast with you, without al feare feedyng the selues: cloudes they are without water, caryed about of windes, corrupt trees, and without fruite, twise dead, and plucked vp by the rootes:

Good News Translation
With their shameless carousing they are like dirty spots in your fellowship meals. They take care only of themselves. They are like clouds carried along by the wind, but bringing no rain. They are like trees that bear no fruit, even in autumn, trees that have been pulled up by the roots and are completely dead.

Christian Standard Bible®
These people are dangerous reefs at your love feasts as they eat with you without reverence. They are shepherds who only look after themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by winds; trees in late autumn—fruitless, twice dead and uprooted.

King James Version
These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

Lexham English Bible
These are the ones feasting together without reverence, hidden reefs at your love feasts, caring for themselves, waterless clouds carried away by winds, late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, uprooted,

Literal Translation
These are sunken rocks in your love feasts, feasting together with you, feeding themselves without fear, waterless clouds being carried about by winds, fruitless autumn trees, having died twice, having been plucked up by the roots;

Young's Literal Translation
These are in your love-feasts craggy rocks; feasting together with you, without fear shepherding themselves; clouds without water, by winds carried about; trees autumnal, without fruit, twice dead, rooted up;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
These are spottes which of youre kindnes feast togedder, without feare, fedynge the selues. Cloudes they are withouten water, caried about of wyndes, and trees without frute at gadringe tyme, twyse deed and plucked vp by the rotes.

Mace New Testament (1729)
they are a disgrace to your love-feasts, they indulge themselves at your festivals without reserve: clouds without water, transported with every wind: trees whose fruit soon withers and is useless, twice dead and rooted up:

THE MESSAGE
These people are warts on your love feasts as you worship and eat together. They're giving you a black eye—carousing shamelessly, grabbing anything that isn't nailed down. They're— Puffs of smoke pushed by gusts of wind; late autumn trees stripped clean of leaf and fruit, Doubly dead, pulled up by the roots; wild ocean waves leaving nothing on the beach but the foam of their shame; Lost stars in outer space on their way to the black hole.

New English Translation
These men are dangerous reefs at your love feasts, feasting without reverence, feeding only themselves. They are waterless clouds, carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit—twice dead, uprooted;

New King James Version
These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about [fn] by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots;

Simplified Cowboy Version
With the way they holler and lustfully carouse around, they are like a venereal disease running through the registered herd. They are like cowardly cowboys who only take care of themselves, not the herd. They are like black clouds that don't offer a drop of rain or fruit trees that bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;

Contextual Overview

⁸ In like manner, nevertheless, even these, in their dreamings, flesh indeed defile, while lordship they set aside, and dignities they defame. ⁹ Whereas, Michael, the chief-messenger, when, with the adversary, disputing, he was reasoning about the body of Moses, durst not impose on him a defamatory sentence, but said - The Lord rebuke thee! ¹⁰ But, these, whatsoever things, indeed, they know not, they defame; but, whatsoever things, naturally, like the irrational creatures, they well understand, by these, are they, bringing themselves to ruin. ¹¹ Alas for them! because - in the way of Cain have they gone, and, in the error of Balaam's wage, have they run riot, and, in the gainsaying of Korah, have they perished. ¹² These are they - who, in your love-feasts, are hidden rocks, as they fare sumptuously together, fearlessly, themselves, shepherding, - clouds without water, by winds swept along, trees autumnal, fruitless, twice dead, uprooted, ¹³ Wild waves of sea, foaming out their own infamies, wandering stars, for whom the gloom of darkness age-abiding hath been reserved. ¹⁴ But the seventh from Adam, Enoch, prophesied, even of these, saying - Lo! the Lord hath come with his holy myriads, -

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Reciprocal: Leviticus 14:43 - General 1 Samuel 2:15 - General 2 Chronicles 7:20 - I pluck Job 6:15 - as the stream Job 8:17 - roots Psalms 1:3 - shall not Psalms 92:14 - They Proverbs 21:16 - remain Proverbs 23:1 - General Proverbs 23:33 - and Proverbs 25:14 - boasteth Proverbs 30:15 - Give Ecclesiastes 7:6 - as Isaiah 5:12 - the harp Isaiah 57:20 - like Ezekiel 17:10 - shall it Ezekiel 18:24 - when Ezekiel 34:8 - the shepherds Matthew 7:17 - but Matthew 7:19 - bringeth Matthew 13:22 - choke Matthew 21:19 - the fig tree Matthew 24:49 - and to Mark 4:6 - no root Mark 4:19 - unfruitful Mark 11:20 - General Luke 6:44 - For of Luke 8:13 - and these Luke 11:26 - and the Luke 12:45 - to eat Luke 15:24 - this Luke 23:31 - General John 15:6 - he Romans 16:18 - but 1 Corinthians 6:12 - but I 1 Corinthians 11:21 - and one Philippians 3:19 - whose God Colossians 2:7 - Rooted Hebrews 10:39 - we are James 1:6 - he James 5:5 - have lived 2 Peter 2:13 - the reward 2 Peter 2:17 - are wells Revelation 3:1 - and art

Cross-References

Genesis 1:10
And God called, the dry-ground, land, but the gathering together of the waters, called he seas. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:11
And God said - Let the land put-forth vegetation-herb yielding seed, fruit-tree, bearing fruit, after its kind, whose seed is within it on the land. And it was so,

Genesis 1:24
And God said - Let the land, bring forth, living soul, after its kind, tame-beast and creeping thing and wild-beast, of the land, after its kind. And it was so.

Genesis 1:26
And God said - Let us make man in our image after our likeness - and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the bird of the heavens and over the tame-beast - and over all the land, and over every creeping thing, that creepeth on the land.

Isaiah 61:11
For as the earth, bringeth forth her bud, And as, a garden, causeth her seeds, to shoot forth, So, My Lord, Yahweh, will cause to shoot forth Righteousness and praise before all the nations.

Mark 4:28
of itself, the earth beareth fruit, - first, a blade, afterwards, an ear, after that, full corn in the ear;

Luke 6:44
For, every tree, by its own fruit, becometh known. For not, of thorns, do they gather figs, neither, of a bramble-bush, do they gather, a bunch of grapes.

2 Corinthians 9:10
Now, he that supplieth seed to the sower, and bread for eating, will supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and cause to grow your fruits of righteousness:

Galatians 6:7
Be not deceiving yourselves! God, is not to be mocked; for, whatsoever a man soweth, the same, shall he also reap, -

Gill's Notes on the Bible

These are spots in your feasts of charity,.... Or "love". The Jews speak סעודתיה דמהימנותא, "of a feast of faith" b. These here seem to be the Agapae, or love feasts, of the primitive Christians; the design of which was to maintain and promote brotherly love, from whence they took their name; and to refresh the poor saints, that they might have a full and comfortable meal now and then: their manner of keeping them was this; they began and ended them with prayer and singing; and they observed them with great temperance and frugality; and they were attended with much joy and gladness, and simplicity of heart: but were quickly abused, by judaizing Christians, as observing them in imitation of the passover; and by intemperance in eating and drinking; and by excluding the poor, for whose benefit they were chiefly designed; and by setting up separate meetings for them, and by admitting unfit persons unto them; such as here are said to be spots in them, blemishes, which brought great reproach and scandal upon them, being persons of infamous characters and conversations. The allusion is either to spots in garments, or in faces, or in sacrifices; or to a sort of earth that defiles; or else to rocks and hollow stones on shores, lakes, and rivers, which collect filth and slime; all which serve to expose and point out the persons designed. The Alexandrian copy and some others read, "these are in their own deceivings, spots", απαταις, instead of αγαπαις, as in 2 Peter 2:13;

when they feast with you; which shows that they were among them, continued members with them, and partook with them in their solemn feasts, and were admitted to communion; and carries in it a kind of reproof to the saints, that they suffered such persons among them, and allowed them such privilege, intimacy, and familiarity with them:

feeding themselves without fear; these were like the shepherds of Israel, who fed themselves, and not the flock, and were very impious and impudent, open and bare faced in their iniquities, neither fearing God nor regarding man.

Clouds [they are], without water; they are compared to clouds for their number, being many false prophets and antichrists that were come out into the world; and for their sudden rise, having at once, and at an unawares, crept into the churches; and for the general darkness they spread over the churches, making it, by their doctrines and practices, to be a dark and cloudy day, a day of darkness, and gloominess, a day of clouds, and of thick darkness, a day of trouble, rebuke, and blasphemy; and for the storms, factions, rents, and divisions they made; as also for their situation and height, soaring aloft, and being vainly puffed up in their fleshly mind; as well as for their sudden destruction, disappearing at once. And to clouds "without water", because destitute of the true grace of God, and of true evangelical doctrine; which, like rain, is from above, from heaven; and which, like that, refreshes, softens, and fructifies. Now these false teachers looked like clouds, that promised rain, boasted of Gospel light and knowledge, but were destitute of it, wherefore their ministry was uncomfortable and unprofitable.

Carried about of winds; either of false doctrines, or of their own lusts and passions, or of Satan's temptations:

trees whose fruit withereth: or "trees in autumn"; either like to them, which put forth at that season of the year, and so come to nothing; or like to trees which are bare of leaves as well as fruit, it being the time when the leaves fall from the trees; and so may be expressive of these persons casting off the leaves of an outward profession, of their going out from the churches, separating from them, and forsaking the assembling together with them, when what fruit of holiness, and good works, they seemed to have, came to nothing; and so were

without fruit, either of Gospel doctrine, or of Gospel holiness and righteousness; nor did they make any true converts, but what they made were like the Pharisees, as bad, or worse than themselves; and from their unfruitfulness in all respects, it appeared that they were not in Christ the true vine, and were not sent forth by him, nor with his Gospel, and that they were destitute of the Spirit of God.

Twice dead; that is, entirely, thoroughly, and really dead in trespasses and sins, notwithstanding their pretensions to religion and godliness; or the sense may be, that they were not only liable to a corporeal death, common to them with all mankind, but also to an eternal one, or to the death both of soul and body in hell. Homer calls d those διθανεις, "twice dead", that go to hell alive: or rather the sense is this, that they were dead in sin by nature, as all men are, and again having made a profession of religion, were now become dead to that profession; and so were twice dead, once as they were born, and a second time as they had apostatized:

plucked up by the roots; either by separating themselves from the churches, where they had been externally planted; or by the act of the church in cutting them off, and casting them out; or by the judgment of God upon them.

b Zohar in Exod. fol. 36. 3, 4. d Odyss. l. 12. lin. 22.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

These are spots - See the notes at 2 Peter 2:13. The word used by Peter, however, is not exactly the same as that used here. Peter uses the word, σπἶλοι spiloi; Jude, σπιλάδες spilades. The word used by Jude means, properly, “a rock” by or in the sea; a cliff, etc. It may either be a rock by the sea, against which vessels may be wrecked, or a hidden rock “in” the sea, on which they may be stranded at an unexpected moment. See Hesyehius and Pollux, as quoted by Wetstein, “in loc.” The idea here seems to be, not that they were “spots and blemishes” in their sacred feasts, but that they were like hidden rocks to the mariner. As those rocks were the cause of shipwreck, so these false teachers caused others to make shipwreck of their faith. They were as dangerous in the church as hidden rocks are in the ocean.

In your feasts of charity - Your feasts of love. The reference is probably to the Lord’s Supper, called a feast or festival of love, because:

(1)It revealed the love of Christ to the world;

(2)It was the means of strengthening the mutual love of the disciples: a festival which love originated, and where love reigned.

It has been supposed by many, that the reference here is to festivals which were subsequently called “Agapae,” and which are now known as “love-feasts” - meaning a festival immediately “preceding” the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. But there are strong objections to the supposition that there is reference here to such a festival.

(1) There is no evidence, unless it be found in this passage, that such celebrations had the sanction of the apostles. They are nowhere else mentioned in the New Testament, or alluded to, unless it is in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, an instance which is mentioned only to reprove it, and to show that such appendages to the Lord’s Supper were wholly unauthorized by the original institution, and were liable to gross abuse.

(2) The supposition that they existed, and that they are referred to here, is not necessary in order to a proper explanation of this passage. All that it fairly means will be met by the supposition that the reference is to the Lord’s Supper. that was in every sense a festival of love or charity. The words will appropriately apply to that, and there is no necessity of supposing anything else in order to meet their full signification.

(3) There can be no doubt that such a custom early existed in the Christian church, and extensively prevailed; but it can readily be accounted for without supposing that it had the sanction of the apostles, or that it existed in their time.

1. Festivals prevailed among the Jews, and it would not be unnatural to introduce them into the Christian church.
1. The custom prevailed among the heathen of having a “feast upon a sacrifice,” or in connection with a sacrifice; and as the Lord’s Supper commemorated the great sacrifice for sin, it was not unnatural, in imitation of the heathen, to append a feast or festival to that ordinance, either before or after its celebration.
2. This very passage in Jude, with perhaps some others in the New Testament (compare 1 Corinthians 11:25; Acts 2:46; Acts 6:2), might be so construed as to seem to lend countenance to the custom. For these reasons it seems clear to me that the passage before us does not refer to “love-feasts;” and, therefore, that they are not authorized in the New Testament. See, however, Coleman’s Antiquities of the Christian church, chapter xvi., Section 13.

When they feast with you - Showing that they were professors of religion. Notes at 2 Peter 2:13.

Feeding themselves without fear - That is, without any proper reverence or respect for the ordinance; attending on the Lord’s Supper as if it were an ordinary feast, and making it an occasion of riot and gluttony. See 1 Corinthians 11:20-22.

Clouds they are ... - Notes, 2 Peter 2:17. Compare Ephesians 4:14.

Trees whose fruit withereth - The idea here is substantially the same as that expressed by Peter, when he says that they were “wells without water;” and by him and Jude, when they say that they are like clouds driven about by the winds, that shed down no refreshing rain upon the earth. Such wells and clouds only disappoint expectations. So a tree that should promise fruit, but whose fruit should always wither, would be useless. The word rendered “withereth” φθινοπωρινὰ phthinopōrina occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means, properly, “autumnal;” and the expression here denotes “trees of autumn,” that is, trees stripped of leaves and verdure; trees on which there is no fruit. - Robinson’s Lex. The sense, in the use of this word, therefore, is not exactly that which is expressed in our translation, that the fruit has “withered,” but rather that they are like the trees of autumn, which are stripped and bare. So the Vulgate, “arbores autumnales.” The idea of their being without fruit is expressed in the next word. The “image” which seems to have been before the mind of Jude in this expression, is that of the naked trees of autumn as contrasted with the bloom of spring and the dense foliage of summer.

Without fruit - That is, they produce no fruit. Either they are wholly barren, like the barren fig-tree, or the fruit which was set never ripens, but falls off. They are, therefore, useless as religious instructors - as much so as a tree is which produces no fruit.

Twice dead - That is, either meaning that they are seen to be dead in two successive seasons, showing that there is no hope that they will revive and be valuable; or, using the word “twice” to denote emphasis, meaning that they are absolutely or altogether dead. Perhaps the idea is, that successive summers and winters have passed over them, and that no signs of life appear.

Plucked up by the roots - The wind blows them down, or they are removed by the husbandman as only cumbering the ground. They are not cut down - leaving a stump that might sprout again - but they are extirpated root and branch; that is, they are wholly worthless. There is a regular ascent in this climax. First, the apostle sees a tree apparently of autumn, stripped and leafless; then he sees it to be a tree that bears no fruit; then he sees it to be a tree over which successive winters and summers pass and no signs of life appear; then as wholly extirpated. So he says it is with these men. They produce no fruits of holiness; months and years show that there is no vitality in them; they are fit only to be extirpated and cast away. Alas! how many professors of religion are there, and how many religious teachers, who answer to this description!

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jude 1:12. Spots in your feasts of charity — It appears that these persons, unholy and impure as they were, still continued to have outward fellowship with the Church! This is strange: but it is very likely that their power and influence in that place had swallowed up, or set aside, the power and authority of the real ministers of Christ; a very common case when worldly, time-serving men get into the Church.

The feasts of charity, the αγαπαι or love feasts, of which the apostle speaks, were in use in the primitive Church till the middle of the fourth century, when, by the council of Laodicea, they were prohibited to be held in the Churches; and, having been abused, fell into disuse. In later days they have been revived, in all the purity and simplicity of the primitive institution, among the Moravians or Unitas Fratrum, and the people called Methodists.

Among the ancients, the richer members of the Church made an occasional general feast, at which all the members attended, and the poor and the rich ate together. The fatherless, the widows, and the strangers were invited to these feasts, and their eating together was a proof of their love to each other; whence such entertainments were called love feasts. The love feasts were at first celebrated before the Lord's Supper; in process of time they appear to have been celebrated after it. But they were never considered as the Lord's Supper, nor any substitute for it. See, for farther information, Suicer, in his Thesaurus, under the word αγαπη.

Feeding themselves without fear — Eating, not to suffice nature, but to pamper appetite. It seems the provision was abundant, and they ate to gluttony and riot. It was this which brought the love feasts into disrepute in the Church, and was the means of their being at last wholly laid aside. This abuse is never likely to take place among the Methodists, as they only use bread and water; and of this the provision is not sufficient to afford the tenth part of a meal.

Instead of αγαπαις, love feasts, απαταις, deceits, is the reading of the Codex Alexandrinus, and the Codex Ephrem, two MSS. of the highest antiquity; as also of those MSS. collated by Laurentius Valla, and of some of those in the Medicean library. This reading appears to have been introduced in order to avoid the conclusion that some might be led to draw concerning the state of the Church; it must be very corrupt, to have in its communion such corrupt men.

Clouds - without water — The doctrine of God is compared to the rain, Deuteronomy 32:2, and clouds are the instruments by which the rain is distilled upon the earth. In arid or parched countries the very appearance of a cloud is delightful, because it is a token of refreshing showers; but when sudden winds arise, and disperse these clouds, the hope of the husbandman and shepherd is cut off. These false teachers are represented as clouds; they have the form and office of the teachers of righteousness, and from such appearances pure doctrine may be naturally expected: but these are clouds without water-they distil no refreshing showers, because they have none; they are carried away and about by their passions, as those light fleecy clouds are carried by the winds. See the notes on 2 Peter 2:17.

Trees whose fruit withereth — δενδρα φθινοπωρινα. Galled or diseased trees; for φθινοπωρον is, according to Phavorinus, νοσος φθινουσα οπωρας, a disease (in trees) which causes their fruit to wither; for although there are blossoms, and the fruit shapes or is set, the galls in the trees prevent the proper circulation of the sap, and therefore the fruit never comes to perfection. Hence the apostle immediately adds, without fruit; i.e. the fruit never comes to maturity. This metaphor expresses the same thing as the preceding. They have the appearance of ministers of the Gospel, but they have no fruit.

Twice dead — First, naturally and practically dead in sin, from which they had been revived by the preaching and grace of the Gospel. Secondly, dead by backsliding or apostasy from the true faith, by which they lost the grace they had before received; and now likely to continue in that death, because plucked up from the roots, their roots of faith and love being no longer fixed in Christ Jesus. Perhaps the aorist is taken here for the future: They SHALL BE plucked up from the roots-God will exterminate them from the earth.