1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: 2May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
3Beloved, while I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I was constrained to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4For there are certain men who crept in secretly, even those who were long ago written about for this condemnation: ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into indecency, and denying our only Master, God, and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5Now I desire to remind you, though you already know this, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who didn’t believe. 6Angels who didn’t keep their first domain, but deserted their own dwelling place, he has kept in everlasting bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day. 7Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, having in the same way as these given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are shown as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire. 8Yet in the same way, these also in their dreaming defile the flesh, despise authority, and slander celestial beings. 9But Michael, the archangel, when contending with the devil and arguing about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him an abusive condemnation, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!” 10But these speak evil of whatever things they don’t know. They are destroyed in these things that they understand naturally, like the creatures without reason. 11Woe 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. 12These 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 trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; 13wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever. 14About these also Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16These are murmurers and complainers, walking after their lusts—and their mouth speaks proud things—showing respect of persons to gain advantage.
17But you, beloved, remember the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18They said to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, walking after their own ungodly lusts.” 19These are those who cause divisions and are sensual, not having the Spirit.
20But you, beloved, keep building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. 21Keep yourselves in God’s love, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. 22On some have compassion, making a distinction, 23and some save, snatching them out of the fire with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.
24Now to him who is able to keep them from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory in great joy, 25to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
The meaning of the "sons of God," in this passage has been interpreted three ways: 1) Angels, 2) kings and rulers, and 3) the people of God. The first option draws the interpreter’s attention as follows: Around the second century B.C. the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, translates the “sons of God” in Gen 6:2 as “angels.” 1 Enoch, a Jewish apocryphal literature of the second century B.C., quoted by Jude, also interprets Gen 6:1-4 in terms of the fallen angel’s cohabitation with human women. This view appears to have been held by all of the church fathers prior to St. Augustine. This option is perhaps most appealing in light of the New Testament because the New Testament authors refer to the concept of fallen angels in 2 Pet 2:4 and Jude 6, and its usage in Job 1:6. While 2 Pet 2:4 speaks only of some angels in the days of Noah committing a sin that brought them under God's judgment, the writer Jude provides the nature of the sin that Peter mentions, that it was sexual in nature, as was the sin of Sodom (use of the comparative ὡς in Greek). This option, however, does not answer the question of why God punished men by the Flood if the sons of God were angels unless the text in Genesis speaks of angels who were fallen angels who had already fallen or fell into sin by this act. Furthermore, God bestowed procreative power on animals and humanity (Gen 1:22, 28), not angels. In fact, Jesus denied angels’ procreative ability (Matt 22:30), but this might only speak of angels when they are incorporeal. When angels take on human form, as in Genesis 18 (one, Yahweh Himself), who interacted with Abraham, had their feet washed, and ate a meal with Abraham, it is possible they had other human capabilities.
A second option is that human kings and rulers took any woman of their choice (single or married) for royal harems. In this case, the source of moral decay was the tyrants' polygamy and abuse of power. A difficulty is that the larger context of this text reveals that this text is not about decadent kingship but the moral corruption of humanity as a whole.
The third option views the "sons of God" as the godly men in the lineage of Seth (Gen 4:24-5:32), a view first held by the church father, Augustine. Gen 4:26 deliberately mentions that people during the time of Seth's son Enosh began to call on the name of Yahweh. The "daughters of men" here refer to the ungodly descendants of Cain (Gen 4:17-24). The larger context which leads to this text sets forth the genealogies of godly people (the people of God) and ungodly people (Cainites) and the present text accounts for the fall of the human race in terms of this ungodly union.