But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jude highlights a tragic disconnect: these individuals blast away at things they have zero grasp of, like spiritual realities, but their deep, animalistic instincts guide them in exactly the areas where they end up destroying themselves. It's not just ignorance; it's a willful blindness that follows impulse over understanding, leading to ruin.
But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jude is addressing infiltrators who are twisting grace into a license for immorality and rejecting Christ's authority. He compares them to rebellious Israelites, fallen angels, and wicked cities, highlighting their destructive nature and impending judgment. This verse explains their flawed understanding, showing how they contemptuously dismiss spiritual truths they don't grasp, while their knowledge is limited to base instincts, which they pervert for self-destruction.
Ever notice how the loudest critics often understand the least? Jude points to a pattern of willful ignorance fueling destructive speech.
The Danger of Uninformed Judgment
Jude is hitting hard here. He describes people who 'blaspheme all that they do not understand.' This isn't just a casual mistake; it's a malicious attack born from a void of knowledge.
What happens when our deepest drives are purely animalistic, devoid of reason or spiritual awareness? Jude paints a stark picture of this downfall.
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The Peril of Sensual Living
Jude doesn't stop at their ignorance; he exposes the driving force behind their actions: raw, unreasoning instinct. They operate on a level below true humanity, mirroring brute beasts.
This passage directly parallels Jude's description, highlighting how false teachers act 'like irrational animals, creatures of instinct' and are led astray by their base desires, bringing ruin upon themselves.
Romans 1:21-23These verses show a similar pattern of 'foolish hearts' becoming darkened, leading people to exchange the truth of God for a lie and worship created things, mirroring the theme of corrupted understanding and instinctual pursuit of base desires.
1 Corinthians 2:14Paul explains that the 'natural person' (referring to the unregenerate mind) cannot accept or understand the things of the Spirit of God, providing theological depth to Jude's point about knowledge limited to the 'natural' and instinctive.
Proverbs 14:12This proverb echoes the sentiment that there are ways that seem right to a person but lead to destruction, aligning with Jude's depiction of individuals who follow their instincts without true understanding and end up corrupted.
clarkeJude 1:10: "But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves."
Speak evil of those things which they know not - They do not understand the origin and utility of civil government; they revile that which ever protects their own persons and their property. This is true in most insurrections and seditions. But what they know naturally - They are destitute of reflection; their minds are uncultivated; they…
gillJude 1:10: "But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves."
But these speak evil of those things which they know not,.... Which may more particularly refer to dignities, Jde 1:8; either angels, who are little known, and not at all, but by revelation, and yet were blasphemed, or evil spoken of by these men; either by ascribing too much to them, as the creation of the world; or by saying such things…
Jude highlights a tragic disconnect: these individuals blast away at things they have zero grasp of, like spiritual realities, but their deep, animalistic instincts guide them in exactly the areas where they end up destroying themselves. It's not just ignorance; it's a willful blindness that follows impulse over understanding, leading to ruin.
Jude is addressing infiltrators who are twisting grace into a license for immorality and rejecting Christ's authority. He compares them to rebellious Israelites, fallen angels, and wicked cities, highlighting their destructive nature and impending judgment. This verse explains their flawed understanding, showing how they contemptuously dismiss spiritual truths they don't grasp, while their knowledge is limited to base instincts, which they pervert for self-destruction.
Jude is addressing infiltrators who are twisting grace into a license for immorality and rejecting Christ's authority. He compares them to rebellious Israelites, fallen angels, and wicked cities, highlighting their destructive nature and impending judgment. This verse explains their flawed understanding, showing how they contemptuously dismiss spiritual truths they don't grasp, while their knowledge is limited to base instincts, which they pervert for self-destruction.
"But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively." — Jude highlights a tragic disconnect: these individuals blast away at things they have zero grasp of, like spiritual realities, but their deep, animalistic instincts guide them in exactly the areas wh…
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Last reviewed October 2026