But you, my dearly beloved, be mindful of the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,

and ye, beloved, remember ye the sayings spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ:

But as for you, my dearly-loved friends, remember the words that before now were spoken by the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ -

And Judah went with Simeon, his brother, and overcame the Canaanites living in Zephath, and put it under the curse; and he gave the town the name of Hormah.

But as for you, most beloved, be mindful of the words which have been foretold by the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,

But you should, dear friends, recall what was foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Vos autem dilecti, memores estis (vel, estote) verborum quae praedicta sunt ab apostolis Domini Christ: nostri Jesu nempe,

But, beloved. To a most ancient prophecy he now adds the admonitions of the apostles, the memory of whom was recent. As to the verb mnesthete, it makes no great difference, whether you read it as declarative or as an exhortation; for the meaning remains the same, that being fortified by the prediction he quotes, they ought to be terrified. By the last time he means that in which the renewed condition of the Church received a fixed form till the end of the world; and it began at the first coming of Christ. After the usual manner of Scripture, he calls them scoffers who, being inebriated with a profane and impious contempt of God, rush headlong into a brutal contempt of the Divine Being, so that no fear nor reverence keeps them any longer within the limits of duty: as no dread of a future judgment exists in their hearts, so no hope of eternal life. So at this day the world is full of Epicurean despisers of God, who having cast off every fear, madly scoff at the whole doctrine of true religion, regarding it as fabulous.

But, beloved, remember ye - There is a striking similarity between these two verses and 2-Peter 3:1-3. It occurs in the same connection, following the description of the false and dangerous teachers against whom the apostle would guard them, and couched almost in the same words. See it explained in the notes at the similar passage in Peter. When Jude (Jde 1:17) entreats them to remember the words which were spoken by "the apostles," it is not necessarily to be inferred that he was not himself an apostle, for he is speaking of what was past, and there might have been a special reason why he should refer to something that they would distinctly remember which had been spoken by the "other" apostles on this point. Or it might be that he meant also to include himself among them, and to speak of the apostles collectively, without particularly specifying himself.
Mockers - The word rendered "mockers" here is the same which in the parallel place in 2-Peter 3:3 is rendered "scoffers." Peter has stated more fully what was the particular subject on which they scoffed, and has shown that there was no occasion for it 2-Peter 3:4, following.

Remember - the words - Instead of following those teachers and their corrupt doctrine, remember what Christ and his apostles have said; for they foretold the coming of such false teachers and impostors.

(11) But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;
(11) The rising up of such monsters was spoken of before, that we should not be troubled at the newness of the matter.

But, beloved,.... Or "my beloved", as the Syriac and Arabic versions read; or "our brethren", as the Ethiopic version; the apostle addresses the saints in this manner, to distinguish them from the false teachers, and to show that he had a different opinion of them from them; and that be would have them beware of them, and not be surprised at them, since it was no other than what was foretold; and also to engage their attention and regard to the following exhortation:
remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; these words mean not the doctrines of the apostles in general, but particularly the prophecies delivered out by them, as by the Apostles Paul and Peter, concerning the false teachers that should arise; and these being spoken of before, and by apostles, even by the apostles, of our Lord Jesus Christ, were worthy of regard, and deserved to be remembered; a remembrance of which is a preservative from error, and a relief in the worst of times, whether of persecution, or heresy. This does not suppose that Jude was not an apostle, only that there were other apostles besides him; and that these, some of them at least, had prophesied of these men, and that he had lived to see their predictions verified; nor does he exclude himself from being one of them; yea, the Ethiopic version reads, "which we the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ have formerly declared unto you"; see 2-Peter 3:2.

Sensual men separate from Christ, and his church, and join themselves to the devil, the world, and the flesh, by ungodly and sinful practices. That is infinitely worse than to separate from any branch of the visible church on account of opinions, or modes and circumstances of outward government or worship. Sensual men have not the spirit of holiness, which whoever has not, does not belong to Christ. The grace of faith is most holy, as it works by love, purifies the heart, and overcomes the world, by which it is distinguished from a false and dead faith. Our prayers are most likely to prevail, when we pray in the Holy Ghost, under his guidance and influence, according to the rule of his word, with faith, fervency, and earnestness; this is praying in the Holy Ghost. And a believing expectation of eternal life will arm us against the snares of sin: lively faith in this blessed hope will help us to mortify our lusts. We must watch over one another; faithfully, yet prudently reprove each other, and set a good example to all about us. This must be done with compassion, making a difference between the weak and the wilful. Some we must treat with tenderness. Others save with fear; urging the terrors of the Lord. All endeavours must be joined with decided abhorrence of crimes, and care be taken to avoid whatever led to, or was connected with fellowship with them, in works of darkness, keeping far from what is, or appears to be evil.

But; beloved . . . ye--in contrast to those reprobates, Jde 1:20, again.
remember--implying that his readers had been contemporaries of the apostles. For Peter uses the very same formula in reminding the contemporaries of himself and the other apostles.
spoken before--spoken already before now.
the apostles--Peter (see on 2-Peter 3:2-3), and Paul before Peter (Acts 20:29; 1-Timothy 4:1; 2-Timothy 3:1). Jude does not exclude himself from the number of the apostles here, for in Jde 1:18, immediately after, he says, "they told You," not us (rather as Greek, "used to tell you" implying that Jude's readers were contemporaries of the apostles, who used to tell them).

By the apostles - He does not exempt himself from the number of apostles. For in the next verse he says, they told you, not us.