Jude 1:11
New International Version
Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.

New Living Translation
What sorrow awaits them! For they follow in the footsteps of Cain, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they deceive people for money. And like Korah, they perish in their rebellion.

English Standard Version
Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion.

Berean Standard Bible
Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.

Berean Literal Bible
Woe to them, because they have gone in the way of Cain, and rushed for profit to the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

King James Bible
Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

New King James Version
Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

New American Standard Bible
Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have given themselves up to the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

NASB 1995
Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

NASB 1977
Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

Legacy Standard Bible
Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have poured themselves into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

Amplified Bible
Woe to them! For they have gone the [defiant] way of Cain, and for profit they have run headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of [mutinous] Korah.

Christian Standard Bible
Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, have plunged into Balaam’s error for profit, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Woe to them! For they have traveled in the way of Cain, have abandoned themselves to the error of Balaam for profit, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion.

American Standard Version
Woe unto them! for they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Woe to them who have gone in the way of Cain, and have run riot after the deception of Balaam for wages, and they have perished in the rebellion of Korah.

Contemporary English Version
Now they are in for real trouble. They have followed Cain's example and have made the same mistake that Balaam did by caring only for money. They have also rebelled against God, just as Korah did. Because of all this, they will be destroyed.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Woe unto them, for they have gone in the way of Cain: and after the error of Balaam they have for reward poured out themselves, and have perished in the contradiction of Core.

English Revised Version
Woe unto them! for they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
How horrible it will be for them! They have followed the path of Cain. They have rushed into Balaam's error to make a profit. They have rebelled like Korah and destroyed themselves.

Good News Translation
How terrible for them! They have followed the way that Cain took. For the sake of money they have given themselves over to the error that Balaam committed. They have rebelled as Korah rebelled, and like him they are destroyed.

International Standard Version
How terrible it will be for them! For they lived like Cain did , rushed headlong into Balaam's error to make a profit, and destroyed themselves, as happened in Korah's rebellion.

Literal Standard Version
woe to them! Because they went on in the way of Cain, and they rushed to the deceit of Balaam for reward, and in the controversy of Korah they perished.

Majority Standard Bible
Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.

New American Bible
Woe to them! They followed the way of Cain, abandoned themselves to Balaam’s error for the sake of gain, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

NET Bible
Woe to them! For they have traveled down Cain's path, and because of greed have abandoned themselves to Balaam's error; hence, they will certainly perish in Korah's rebellion.

New Revised Standard Version
Woe to them! For they go the way of Cain, and abandon themselves to Balaam’s error for the sake of gain, and perish in Korah’s rebellion.

New Heart English Bible
Woe to them. For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in Korah's rebellion.

Webster's Bible Translation
Woe to them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and run greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

Weymouth New Testament
Alas for them; for they have followed in the steps of Cain; for the sake of gain they have rushed on headlong in the evil ways of Balaam; and have perished in rebellion like that of Korah!

World English Bible
Woe to them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in Korah’s rebellion.

Young's Literal Translation
woe to them! because in the way of Cain they did go on, and to the deceit of Balaam for reward they did rush, and in the gainsaying of Korah they did perish.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
God's Judgment on the Ungodly
10These men, however, slander what they do not understand, and like irrational animals, they will be destroyed by the things they do instinctively. 11Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion. 12These men are 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.…

Cross References
Genesis 4:3
So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD,

Genesis 4:5
but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.

Genesis 4:8
Then Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

Numbers 16:1
Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath son of Levi, along with some Reubenites--Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth--conducted

Numbers 16:31
As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open,

Numbers 22:5
he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. "Behold, a people has come out of Egypt," said Balak. "They cover the face of the land and have settled next to me.

Numbers 31:16
"Look, these women caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to turn unfaithfully against the LORD at Peor, so that the plague struck the congregation of the LORD.


Treasury of Scripture

Woe to them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

Woe.

Isaiah 3:9,11
The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves…

Jeremiah 13:27
I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be?

Ezekiel 13:3
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!

for.

Genesis 4:5-14
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell…

1 John 3:12
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

ran.

Numbers 22:1-24:25
And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho…

Numbers 31:16
Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.

Deuteronomy 23:4
Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.

perished.

Numbers 16:1
Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:

Numbers 26:9,10
And the sons of Eliab; Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram, which were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the LORD: …

Korah.

Jump to Previous
Abandon Alas Balaam Balaam's Cain Deceit Destruction Error Evil Followed Gain Gainsaying Greedily Headlong Hire Korah's Perish Perished Profit Ran Rebellion Reward Run Running Rush Rushed Sake Steps Themselves Walk Way Ways Wo Woe
Jump to Next
Abandon Alas Balaam Balaam's Cain Deceit Destruction Error Evil Followed Gain Gainsaying Greedily Headlong Hire Korah's Perish Perished Profit Ran Rebellion Reward Run Running Rush Rushed Sake Steps Themselves Walk Way Ways Wo Woe
Jude 1
1. He exhorts them to be constant in the profession of the faith.
4. false teachers crept in to seduce them, for whose evil doctrine a horrible punishment is prepared;
20. whereas the godly may persevere, grow in grace, and keep the faith.














(11) Three examples of similar wickedness: Cain, Balaam, Korah.

Woe unto them!--An echo of Christ's denunciations in the first three Gospels, whereby the description of these evil-doers takes for the moment a denunciatory form. The past tenses immediately following are owing to the writer's placing himself in thought at the moment when these men reap the consequences of their sins: their punishment is so certain, that he regards it as having come.

In the way of Cain.--The first great criminal; the first to outrage the laws of nature. Explanations to the effect that these libertines followed Cain by murdering men's souls by their corrupt doctrine, or by persecuting believers, and other suggestions still more curious, are needlessly far-fetched. John 8:44, and 1John 3:15, are not strictly apposite: these ungodly men may have hated and persecuted the righteous, but St. Jude does not tell us so. Sensuality is always selfish, but by no means always ill-natured or malignant.

Ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward.--The Greek for "ran greedily" literally means "they were poured out in streams;" the Greek for "error" may also mean "deception." Hence three renderings are possible: (1) as the Authorised version; (2) "they ran greedily after the deception of Balaam's reward;" (3) "they were undone by the deception of Balaam's reward." The first is best. "Reward" in the Greek is the genitive of price. Comp. "the rewards of divination" (Numbers 22:7); "they hired against thee Balaam" (Deuteronomy 23:4; Nehemiah 13:2). Here, again, far-fetched explanations may be avoided. The allusion lies on the surface--running counter to God's will from interested motives. Possibly, there may also be some allusion to Balaam's causing the Israelites to be seduced into licentiousness (Revelation 2:14). . . .

Verse 11. - As in 2 Peter 2:15, the darkest passages in the Old Testament history are again appealed to. While Peter, however, refers only to a single instance, Jude introduces three, and prefaces the whole by a Woe! such as the Gospels repeatedly attribute to Christ himself. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain; rather, they went in the way of Cain. The phrase is the familiar one for a habitual course of conduct (Psalm 1:1; Acts 9:31; Acts 14:16, etc.). But what is the point of the comparison? Cain is supposed to be introduced as the type of murderous envy, of the persecuting spirit, or of those who live by the impulse of nature, regardless of God or man. In John 3:12 he is the type of all that is opposed to the sense of brotherhood, the murderer of the brother whose righteous works are an offence to him; but in the present passage he is introduced rather as the first and, in some respects, the most pronounced example of wickedness which the Old Testament offers - a wickedness defying God and destroying man. And ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward. The "error" in view is a life diverted from righteousness and truth. The verb rendered "ran greedily," or "ran riotously," is a very strong one, meaning they "were poured out," and expressing, therefore, the baneful absoluteness of their surrender to the error in question. Otherwise the construction of the sentence is so far from obvious that various renderings are proposed: e.g., "They gave themselves wholly up to the error of Balaam for the sake of a reward;" "By the seduction of Balaam's reward they committed excess of wickedness;" "They went to excess by Balaam's error, which was one determined by gain." The first of these is adopted, with some modification, by the Revised Version, and comes nearest the idea, which is that of men losing themselves in riotous excess for the sake of worldly advantage. The point of the analogy between Balaam and them, therefore, is, not his enticing Israel to idolatry or to immorality, as some understand it, but the covetous spirit which the Old Testament and the New alike attribute to the prophet of Pethor, to which also the Book of Numbers carries back the entire debasement of his character and perversion of his gifts. And perished in the gainsaying of Core. The term which is very fitly rendered "gainsaying" by the English Version here ("contradiction" in the Rhemish Version; "treason" in Tyndale, Cranmer, and the Genevan) denotes properly an opposition expressing itself in words. It is, therefore, aptly applied to the rebellion of Korah and his company, who "gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you," etc. (Numbers 16:3). The analogy between the two cases, consequently, is limited by some to the assertion of an unregulated liberty, the assumption of a self-invented holiness, or the adoption of a worship which was alien to God. It lies in the broader idea of a contemptuous and determined assertion of self against divinely appointed ordinances.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Woe
οὐαὶ (ouai)
Interjection
Strong's 3759: Woe!, alas!, uttered in grief or denunciation. A primary exclamation of grief; 'woe'.

to them!
αὐτοῖς (autois)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

They have traveled
ἐπορεύθησαν (eporeuthēsan)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 4198: To travel, journey, go, die.

the
τῇ (tē)
Article - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

path
ὁδῷ (hodō)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3598: A way, road, journey, path. Apparently a primary word; a road; by implication, a progress; figuratively, a mode or means.

of Cain;
Κάϊν (Kain)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2535: (Hebrew), Cain, son of Adam and Eve and brother of Abel. Of Hebrew origin; Cain, the son of Adam.

they have rushed
ἐξεχύθησαν (exechythēsan)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1632: Or ekchuno ek-khoo'-no from ek and cheo; to pour forth; figuratively, to bestow.

headlong
μισθοῦ (misthou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 3408: (a) pay, wages, salary, (b) reward, recompense, punishment. Apparently a primary word; pay for service, good or bad.

into the
τῇ (tē)
Article - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

error
πλάνῃ (planē)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4106: Feminine of planos; objectively, fraudulence; subjectively, a straying from orthodoxy or piety.

of Balaam;
Βαλαὰμ (Balaam)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 903: Balaam, son of Beor of Pethor on the Euphrates, a soothsayer in the Old Testament. Of Hebrew origin; Balaam, a Mesopotamian.

they have perished
ἀπώλοντο (apōlonto)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 622: From apo and the base of olethros; to destroy fully, literally or figuratively.

in
τῇ (tē)
Article - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Korah’s
Κόρε (Kore)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2879: (Hebrew) Korah. Of Hebrew origin; Core, an Israelite.

rebellion.
ἀντιλογίᾳ (antilogia)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 485: Contradiction, contention, rebellion. From a derivative of antilego; dispute, disobedience.


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NT Letters: Jude 1:11 Woe to them! (Jud. Ju Jd)
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