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Read the Bible
Heilögum Biblíunni
Júdasarbréfið 1:8
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from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Reciprocal: Exodus 22:28 - nor curse Numbers 12:8 - were ye Numbers 16:12 - General Deuteronomy 17:11 - According to Job 34:18 - General Jeremiah 29:23 - and have Mark 7:23 - defile Luke 11:25 - he findeth Acts 23:5 - Thou Romans 13:1 - every Ephesians 4:31 - evil speaking Colossians 3:8 - blasphemy 1 Thessalonians 4:8 - despiseth not 1 Timothy 6:2 - let 2 Timothy 3:4 - Traitors Titus 1:12 - liars Titus 3:2 - speak James 3:6 - a world 1 Peter 2:13 - General 2 Peter 2:10 - Presumptuous
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh,.... Which may be literally understood, either of the Jewish doctors, who pretended to be interpreters of dreams, as R. Akiba, R. Lazar, and others n; or of the false teachers in the apostle's time, and of their filthy dreams, and nocturnal pollutions in them; which sense the Arabic and Ethiopic versions confirm; the former rendering the words thus, "so these retiring in the time of sleep, defile their own flesh"; and the latter thus, "and likewise these, who in their own sleep, pollute their own flesh"; as also of their pretensions to divine assistance and intelligence by dreams; and likewise may be figuratively understood of them; for false doctrines are dreams, and the teachers of them dreamers, Jeremiah 23:25, as are all those doctrines of men that oppose the trinity of persons in the Godhead; that contradict the deity and sonship of Christ; that depreciate any of his offices; that lessen the glory of the person and grace of the Spirit; that cry up the purity, power, and righteousness of human nature, and are contrary to the free grace of God. These arise from the darkness of the understanding, and a spirit of slumber upon them; are the fictions of their own brain, and of their roving imagination; are illusory and deceitful, and are in themselves vanities, and like dreams pass away. And the dreamers of these dreams may be said to "defile the flesh"; since they appear to follow and walk after the dictates of corrupt nature; and because by their unclean practices, mentioned in the preceding verse, they defile the flesh, that is, the body: all sin is of a defiling nature, and all men are defiled with it; but these were notoriously so; and often so it is, that unclean practices follow upon erroneous principles.
Despise dominion; either the government of the world by God, denying or speaking evil of his providence; the Ethiopic version renders it, "they deny their own God", either his being, or rather his providence; or the dominion and kingly power of Christ, to which they cared not to be subject; or rather civil magistracy, which they despised, as supposing it to be inconsistent with their Christian liberty, and rejected it as being a restraint on their lusts; choosing rather anarchy and confusion, that they might do as they pleased, though magistracy is God's ordinance, and magistrates are God's representatives:
and speak evil of dignities; or "glories"; the Arabic version reads, "the God of glory": this is to be understood either of angels, those glorious creatures, called thrones, dominions, c. or ecclesiastical governors, who are set in the first and highest place in the church, and are the glory of the churches or else civil magistrates, as before, who are the higher powers, and sit in high places of honour and grandeur. False teachers are injurious to themselves, disturbers of churches, and pernicious to civil government.
n T. Hieros. Maaser Sheni, fol. 55. 2, 3.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Likewise also - In the same way do these persons defile the flesh, or resemble the inhabitants of Sodom; that is, they practice the same kind of vices. What the apostle says is, that their character resembled that of the inhabitants of Sodom; the example which he adduces of the punishment which was brought on those sinners, leaves it to be clearly inferred that the persons of whom he was speaking would be punished in a similar manner.
These filthy dreamers - The word “filthy” has been supplied by our translators, but there is no good reason why it should have been introduced. The Greek word (ἐνυπνιάζω enupniazō) means to dream; and is applied to these persons as holding doctrines and opinions which sustained the same relation to truth which dreams do to good sense. Their doctrines were the fruits of mere imagination, foolish vagaries and fancies. The word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, except in Acts 2:17, where it is applied to visions in dreams.
Defile the flesh - Pollute themselves; give indulgence to corrupt passions and appetites. See the notes at 2 Peter 2:10.
Despise dominion - The same Greek word is used here which occurs in 2 Peter 2:10. See the notes at that verse.
And speak evil of dignities - See the notes at 2 Peter 2:10.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Jude 1:8. Likewise also these filthy dreamers — He means to say that these false teachers and their followers were as unbelieving and disobedient as the Israelites in the wilderness, as rebellious against the authority of God as the fallen angels, and as impure and unholy as the Sodomites; and that consequently they must expect similar punishment.
Our translators, by rendering ενυπνιαζομενοι filthy dreamers, seem to have understood St. Jude to mean les pollutions nocturnes et voluntaires de ces hommes impurs, qui se livrent sans scrupule a toutes sortes des pensees; et salissant leur imagination pas la vue de toutes sortes d' objets, tombent ensuite dans les corsuptions honteuses et criminelles. See Calmet. In plain English, self-pollution, with all its train of curses and cursed effects on body, soul, and spirit. The idea of our translators seems to be confirmed by the words σαρκαμενμιαινουσι, they indeed pollute the flesh. See what is said at the conclusion of the thirty-eighth chapter of Genesis.
Despise dominion — κυριοτητα δε αθετουσι. They set all government at nought-they will come under no restraints; they despise all law, and wish to live as they list.
Speak evil of dignities. — δοξας δε βλασφημουσιν. They blaspheme or speak injuriously of supreme authority. (See 2 Peter 2:10-11.) They treat governors and government with contempt, and calumniate and misrepresent all Divine and civil institutions.