The Meaning of Jude 1:13 Explained

Jude 1:13

KJV: Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

YLT: wild waves of a sea, foaming out their own shames; stars going astray, to whom the gloom of the darkness to the age hath been kept.

Darby: raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shames; wandering stars, to whom has been reserved the gloom of darkness for eternity.

ASV: Wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved forever.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Raging  waves  of the sea,  foaming out  their own  shame;  wandering  stars,  to whom  is reserved  the blackness  of darkness  for  ever. 

What does Jude 1:13 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Waves cast up bits of filth and debris on the shore with their foam and flotsam (wreckage, refuse). Similarly the false teachers spread evidence of their uncontrolled immorality and impurity wherever they went (cf. Isaiah 57:20). This comparison emphasizes "... the restless and unrestrained nature of these men." [1]
Some "stars" move about in the sky differently from the other stars. We now recognize these as planets and distinguish them from stars. Similarly the false teachers behaved out of harmony with the other luminaries. The Greek word planetes, which transliterated means "planet," really means wanderer. Long ago stargazers observed that these wanderers across the sky were different from the fixed stars. Likewise the false teachers had gone off course and had led people astray.
Another possible though less likely interpretation is that the reference is to meteors or "shooting stars" that flash across the sky but quickly disappear in darkness. [2] The "black darkness," away from the Source of light, indicates the eternal punishment of those among them who were not Christians.

Context Summary

Jude 1:12-25 - Beware Of The Touch Of The Ungodly
What traps and pitfalls beset us! How many have fallen who had as good or a better chance than we! The angels kept not their first estate; Adam, though created in innocency, fell; Cain was rejected; Balaam, who saw with open eyes, was slain; Korah, who had carried a censer filled with holy fire, was hurled into the abyss! How can we expect to stand! Be of good cheer! He is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless, Judges 1:24.
In the succession of terrible metaphors in Judges 1:12-13, notice that in each case there is promise without fulfillment and appearance without reality. Such is much of the Christian profession of the present day. And from time to time, as Enoch foretold, the day of the Lord comes, with its retribution for all such.
The four exquisite admonitions of Judges 1:20-21 are worth pondering. Keep yourselves in the main current of God's love. Build your character after the likeness of Christ. Pray in the Holy Spirit; keep at the oriel window of hope. Christ is able to keep, and when at last we are presented by Him to the Father, we shall realize how much we owe Him [source]

Chapter Summary: 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

Greek Commentary for Jude 1:13

Wild waves [κυματα αγρια]
Waves (Matthew 8:24, from κυεω — kueō to swell) wild (from αγρος — agros field, wild honey Matthew 3:4) like untamed animals of the forest or the sea. [source]
Foaming out [επαπριζοντα]
Late and rare present active participle of επαπριζω — epaphrizō used in Moschus for the foaming waves as here. Cf. Isaiah 57:20.Shame (αισχυνας — aischunas). Plural “shames” (disgraces). Cf. Philemon 3:19.Wandering stars “Stars wanderers.” Πλανητης — Planētēs old word (from πλαναω — planaō), here alone in N.T. Some refer this to comets or shooting stars. See Isaiah 14:12 for an allusion to Babylon as the day-star who fell through pride.For ever (εις αιωνα — eis aiōna). The rest of the relative clause exactly as in 2 Peter 2:17. [source]
Shame [αισχυνας]
Plural “shames” (disgraces). Cf. Philemon 3:19. [source]
Wandering stars [αστερες πλανηται]
“Stars wanderers.” Πλανητης — Planētēs old word (from πλαναω — planaō), here alone in N.T. Some refer this to comets or shooting stars. See Isaiah 14:12 for an allusion to Babylon as the day-star who fell through pride.For ever (εις αιωνα — eis aiōna). The rest of the relative clause exactly as in 2 Peter 2:17. [source]
For ever [εις αιωνα]
The rest of the relative clause exactly as in 2 Peter 2:17. [source]
Raging [ἄγρια]
Rev., wild, which is better, as implying quality rather than act. Waves, by nature untamed. The act or expression of the nature is given by the next word. [source]
Foaming out [ἐπαφρίζοντα]
Only here in New Testament. Compare Isaiah 57:20. [source]
Shame [αἰσχύνας]
Lit., shames or disgraces. [source]
Wandering stars []
Compare 2 Peter 2:17. Possibly referring to comets, which shine a while and then pass into darkness. “They belong not to the system: they stray at random and without law, and must at last be severed from the lights which rule while they are ruled” (Lumby). [source]
Blackness [ζόφος]
See on 2 Peter 2:4. [source]
Of darkness [τοῦ σκότους]
Lit., “the darkness,” the article pointing back to the darkness already mentioned, Judges 1:6. [source]

What do the individual words in Jude 1:13 mean?

waves wild of [the] sea foaming out - of their shame stars wandering to whom the gloom - of darkness to [the] age has been reserved
κύματα ἄγρια θαλάσσης ἐπαφρίζοντα τὰς ἑαυτῶν αἰσχύνας ἀστέρες πλανῆται οἷς ζόφος τοῦ σκότους εἰς αἰῶνα τετήρηται

κύματα  waves 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Plural
Root: κῦμα  
Sense: a wave (swell) esp. of the sea or of a lake.
ἄγρια  wild 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Neuter Plural
Root: ἄγριος  
Sense: living or growing in the fields or woods.
θαλάσσης  of  [the]  sea 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: θάλασσα  
Sense: the sea.
ἐπαφρίζοντα  foaming  out 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Neuter Plural
Root: ἀπαφρίζω 
Sense: to foam up.
τὰς  - 
Parse: Article, Accusative Feminine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἑαυτῶν  of  their 
Parse: Reflexive Pronoun, Genitive Neuter 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἑαυτοῦ  
Sense: himself, herself, itself, themselves.
αἰσχύνας  shame 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Plural
Root: αἰσχύνη  
Sense: the confusion of one who is ashamed of anything, sense of shame.
ἀστέρες  stars 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ἀστήρ  
Sense: a star.
πλανῆται  wandering 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: πλάνης 
Sense: a wanderer: wandering stars.
οἷς  to  whom 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
ζόφος  gloom 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ζόφος  
Sense: darkness, blackness.
τοῦ  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Neuter Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
σκότους  of  darkness 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Singular
Root: σκότος  
Sense: darkness.
αἰῶνα  [the]  age 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: αἰών  
Sense: for ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity.
τετήρηται  has  been  reserved 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: τηρέω  
Sense: to attend to carefully, take care of.