SEV Biblia, Chapter 1:8
¶ De la misma manera tambin estos engaados soadores ensucian su carne, y menosprecian la Potestad, y vituperan las potestades superiores.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Jude 1:8
Verse 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 enupniazomenoi 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 sarka men miainousi, they indeed pollute the flesh. See what is said at the conclusion of the thirty-eighth chapter of Genesis.
Despise dominion] kuriothta de aqetousi? 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.] doxav de blasfhmousin? They blaspheme or speak injuriously of supreme authority. (See 2 Peter ii. 10, 11.) They treat governors and government with contempt, and calumniate and misrepresent all Divine and civil institutions.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 8. Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh , etc.] Which may be literally understood, either of the Jewish doctors, who pretended to be interpreters of dreams, as R. Akiba, R. Lazar, and others f12 ; 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 23:25,27,28,32), 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, etc. 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.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 8-16 - False teachers are dreamers; they greatly defile and grievously woun the soul. These teachers are of a disturbed mind and a seditiou spirit; forgetting that the powers that be, are ordained of God, R 13:1. As to the contest about the body of Moses, it appears that Sata wished to make the place of his burial known to the Israelites, i order to tempt them to worship him, but he was prevented, and vente his rage in desperate blasphemy. This should remind all who disput never to bring railing charges. Also learn hence, that we ought to defend those whom God owns. It is hard, if not impossible, to find an enemies to the Christian religion, who did not, and do not, live in open or secret contradiction to the principles of natural religion Such are here compared to brute beasts, though they often boast of themselves as the wisest of mankind. They corrupt themselves in the things most open and plain. The fault lies, not in their understandings, but in their depraved wills, and their disordere appetites and affections. It is a great reproach, though unjust to religion, when those who profess it are opposed to it in heart an life. The Lord will remedy this in his time and way; not in men's blin way of plucking up the wheat with the tares. It is sad when men begi in the Spirit, and end in the flesh. Twice dead; they had been onc dead in their natural, fallen state; but now they are dead again by the evident proofs of their hypocrisy. Dead trees, why cumber they the ground! Away with them to the fire. Raging waves are a terror to sailing passengers; but when they get into port, the noise and terro are ended. False teachers are to expect the worst punishments in thi world and in that to come. They glare like meteors, or falling stars and then sink into the blackness of darkness for ever. We have n mention of the prophecy of Enoch in any other part or place of Scripture; yet one plain text of Scripture, proves any point we are to believe. We find from this, that Christ's coming to judge wa prophesied of, as early as the times before the flood. The Lord cometh what a glorious time will that be! Notice how often the word "ungodly is repeated. Many now do not at all refer to the terms godly, or ungodly, unless it be to mock at even the words; but it is not so in the language taught us by the Holy Ghost. Hard speeches of one another especially if ill-grounded, will certainly come into account at the da of judgment. These evil men and seducers are angry at every thing tha happens, and never pleased with their own state and condition. Their will and their fancy, are their only rule and law. Those who pleas their sinful appetites, are most prone to yield to ungovernabl passions. The men of God, from the beginning of the world, have declared the doom denounced on them. Such let us avoid. We are to follow men only as they follow Christ. (Jud 1:17-23)
Greek Textus Receptus
ομοιως 3668 μεντοι 3305 και 2532 ουτοι 3778 ενυπνιαζομενοι 1797 5740 σαρκα 4561 μεν 3303 μιαινουσιν 3392 5719 κυριοτητα 2963 δε 1161 αθετουσιν 114 5719 δοξας 1391 δε 1161 βλασφημουσιν 987 5719
Vincent's NT Word Studies
8. Yet (mentoi). Not rendered by A.V., but expressing that though they have these fearful examples before them, yet they persist in their sin. Dominion - dignities (kuriothta - doxav). It is not easy to determine the exact meaning of these two terms. Kuriothv, dominion, occurs in three other passages, Eph. i. 21; Col. i. 16; 2 Peter ii. 10. In the first two, and probably in the third, the reference is to angelic dignities. Some explain this passage and the one in Peter, of evil angels. In Colossians the term is used with thrones, principalities, and powers, with reference to the orders of the celestial hierarchy as conceived by Gnostic teachers, and with a view to exalt Christ above all these. Glories or dignities is used in this concrete sense only here and at 2 Pet. ii. 10.
