What’s striking here is the stark contrast Jude draws between two kinds of "knowing." They despise what they can't grasp intellectually – the spiritual or governing realities – yet they are utterly enslaved by what they do know instinctively: their base desires, which they then twist into corruption, worse than mere animals.
But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jude is describing false teachers who are infiltrating the church, acting like wild animals and perverting grace. These individuals are arrogantly speaking out against spiritual realities and authorities they don't understand, like angelic beings or even God's governance, while being completely driven by their own base instincts and desires, which they do grasp.
Why do people lash out and speak negatively about things they don't understand? Jude gives us a stark picture of how ignorance fuels destructive speech.
The Danger of Knowing Nothing
Jude points out that these false teachers engage in blasphemy – they speak evil – about things they do not know (οὐκ οἴδασιν). This isn't just a casual lack of information; it's a profound ignorance about spiritual realities, divine authority, and perhaps even the true nature of scripture and the Gospel.
This is a powerful warning: our understanding shapes our speech. When our understanding is shallow or non-existent, our words can become weapons against truth itself.
What happens when people abandon reason and live solely by instinct? Jude's comparison to 'unreasoning animals' reveals a path to deep self-destruction.
The Fall into Animalistic Corruption
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Jude contrasts their ignorance of higher things with their
Understand the original words
ouai · Greek Interjection
An interjection of lament, grief, or impending divine judgment. It signifies a pronouncement of calamity or curse upon those who oppose God or His people.
derek · Hebrew Noun
In a biblical context, refers to a lifestyle or moral path. It denotes the ethical conduct and direction of one’s life, reflecting either obedience to God or rebellion against Him.
Qayin · Hebrew Noun
The first-born son of Adam and Eve, who murdered his brother Abel. In biblical typology, he represents the archetype of envy, false worship, and murderous rebellion against God's requirements.
Bilaam · Hebrew Noun
A non-Israelite prophet hired by Moab to curse Israel. He represents greed, compromise, and leading God's people into spiritual and moral corruption for personal profit.
Qorach · Hebrew Noun
A Levite who led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, challenging God-ordained authority. He symbolizes pride, insurrection, and the catastrophic consequences of rejecting divine leadership.
This passage offers a striking parallel, describing the same type of false teachers as 'unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct' who will be destroyed by their own corruption, echoing Jude's description of their instinctive, animalistic corruption.
Romans 1:22-23This passage highlights the consequence of suppressing truth: minds become futile, and foolish hearts are darkened, leading people to exchange the glory of God for images, much like the unthinking, instinct-driven corruption Jude describes.
1 Corinthians 2:14Here Paul explains that the 'natural person' cannot accept or even understand the things of the Spirit of God, because they are spiritual, directly supporting Jude's point that these individuals only 'understand' things instinctively, like animals, and lack true spiritual comprehension.
Proverbs 14:16This proverb warns that the wise fear the Lord and depart from evil, while the fool is reckless and overconfident, mirroring Jude's depiction of those who blindly follow their instincts and corrupt themselves, lacking the wisdom that fears God.
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…
What’s striking here is the stark contrast Jude draws between two kinds of "knowing." They despise what they can't grasp intellectually – the spiritual or governing realities – yet they are utterly enslaved by what they do know instinctively: their base desires, which they then twist into corruption, worse than mere animals.
Jude is describing false teachers who are infiltrating the church, acting like wild animals and perverting grace. These individuals are arrogantly speaking out against spiritual realities and authorities they don't understand, like angelic beings or even God's governance, while being completely driven by their own base instincts and desires, which they do grasp.
Jude is describing false teachers who are infiltrating the church, acting like wild animals and perverting grace. These individuals are arrogantly speaking out against spiritual realities and authorities they don't understand, like angelic beings or even God's governance, while being completely driven by their own base instincts and desires, which they do grasp.
"But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake…" — What’s striking here is the stark contrast Jude draws between two kinds of "knowing." They despise what they can't grasp intellectually – the spiritual or governing realities – yet they are utterly…
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Last reviewed October 2026
