Jude 1:7 · Bible study
Jude 1:7 Commentary: Sodom's Sin, Eternal Fire, and the Warning for False Teachers
Greek · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Exegesis of Jude 1:7: What 'strange flesh' means and how Sodom's destruction prefigures eternal judgment for false teachers.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Sodom and Gomorrah's sexual sin and destruction serve as an enduring warning, prefiguring the eternal fire that awaits the ungodly.
- Key words: ekporneusasai ('giving themselves over,' intensity of sin); deigma ('example,' only here in NT); hupechousai ('undergoing,' present tense, ongoing punishment).
- Main debate: Whether 'strange flesh' refers exclusively to homosexual acts or includes a link to the angelic sin of v.6; the consensus is natural, unnatural lust.
- Theological theme: God's justice is certain and public; sin's consequences are both temporal and eternal.
- Best use: A sobering call to holy living and a motivation to contend for the gospel, not a tool for condemnation or fear-mongering.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Even 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.
KJV King James Version 1769
Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, having in like manner with these given themselves over to fornication and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them, in like manner to these, having given themselves to whoredom, and gone after other flesh, have been set before--an example, of fire age-during, justice suffering.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities around them, committing greedily fornication, in like manner with them, and going after other flesh, lie there as an example, undergoing the judgment of eternal fire.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
As Sodom and Gomorrha and the neighbouring cities, in like manner, having given themselves to fornication and going after other flesh, were made an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Como Sodoma y Gomorra, y las ciudades comarcanas|strong="G4012, G0846", las cuales de la misma manera que ellos habían fornicado, y habían seguido la carne extraña, fueron puestas por ejemplo, sufriendo el juicio del fuego eterno.
Assim como Sodoma e Gomorra, e as cidades circunvizinhas, que como aquelas, tendo cometido pecados sexuais, e seguido uma carne ilícita, foram postas como exemplo, recebendo a punição do fogo eterno.
que Sodome et Gomorrhe et les villes voisines, qui se livrèrent comme eux à l’ impudicité et à des vices contre nature, sont données en exemple, subissant la peine d’ un feu éternel.
Wie auch Sodom und Gomorra und die umliegenden Städte, die gleicherweise wie diese Unzucht getrieben haben und nach einem andern Fleisch gegangen sind, zum Beispiel gesetzt sind und leiden des ewigen Feuers Pein.
Gelijk Sodoma en Gomorra, en de steden rondom dezelve, die op gelijke wijze als deze gehoereerd hebben, en ander vlees zijn nagegaan, tot een voorbeeld voorgesteld zijn, dragende de straf des eeuwigen vuurs.
Nello stesso modo Sodoma e Gomorra e le città circonvicine, essendosi abbandonate alla fornicazione nella stessa maniera di costoro ed essendo andate dietro a vizi contro natura, sono poste come un esempio, portando la pena d’un fuoco eterno.
Jako Sodoma i Gomorra, i okoliczne miasta, gdy tymże sposobem jako i one zwszeteczniały i udały się za cudzem ciałem, wystawione są na przykład, ognia wiecznego karanie ponosząc:
Как Содом и Гоморра и окрестные города, подобно им блудодействовавшие и ходившие за иною плотию, подвергшись казни огня вечного, поставлены в пример, —
又如 所多瑪、 蛾摩拉 和 周圍 城邑的人，也照 他們 一味地 行淫， 隨 從 逆性的 情慾，就受 永 火的 刑罰，作為 鑑戒。
Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the towns near them, having like these, given themselves up to unclean desires and gone after strange flesh, have been made an example, undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · Jude 1:7
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Jude 1:7 provides the third of three Old Testament examples of divine judgment after Israel's unbelief (v.5) and the fallen angels (v.6). The cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, and their neighbors (Admah and Zeboim, per Deuteronomy 29:23) are held up as a permanent warning. The sin described is sexual immorality, specifically the pursuit of 'strange flesh', a phrase Barnes, Calvin, and Vincent all take as unnatural lust, the act of sodomy named after these cities. The verb ekporneusasai ('having given themselves over to fornication') uses the prefix ek to mean 'out and out,' a total surrender to lust, as Vincent notes.
The punishment is a present, ongoing spectacle: prokeintai ('are set forth') is a present-tense verb meaning 'lie exposed,' like a corpse laid out for viewing. Dikēn carries the sense of just recompense, not personal vengeance. The fire that fell on Sodom is aiōniou, not only destructive but eternal in quality, prefiguring the final judgment of the ungodly. Wesley states plainly that the vengeance they suffered is 'a type of eternal fire.'
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Strange flesh as homosexual acts only: The plain sense of Genesis 19:5 and the traditional interpretation (the sin of sodomy); supported by Rom 1:27 and Lev 18:22, 23.
- Strange flesh as including angelic sin: The link to v.6 (angels left their own habitation) and the Book of Enoch tradition; some see a parallel between the cities' sin and the 'sons of God' in Gen 6:2.
- Strange flesh as a metaphor for spiritual infidelity: The Old Testament often uses 'whoredom' for idolatry (e.g., Hosea); 'strange flesh' could refer to false worship, but most commentators reject this as inconsistent with the context.
What is clear: All traditions agree that Jude uses Sodom's destruction as a certain, public warning that God judges sexual immorality and that the fire that fell on the cities points to a final, eternal judgment.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of 'strange flesh' (ἑτέρας σαρκός) | All traditions agree it denotes unnatural sexual sin, specifically the act of sodomy for which Sodom was infamous. | Some interpreters (e.g., Macknight, as cited by Barnes) connect it additionally to the fallen angels of v.6, arguing that 'strange flesh' includes angelic lust for human women; others restrict it to human same-sex acts. |
| The identity of 'these' (τούτοις) in 'in like manner with them' | Grammatically ambiguous, but all agree the reference is to a preceding group, either the angels (v.6) or the false teachers (v.4, 8). | Most commentators (Calvin, Barnes, Gill) apply it to the false teachers, seeing Sodom's sin as parallel to theirs; a minority (some early modern exegetes) apply it to the angels, linking the cities' unnatural lust to the angels' leaving their own domain. |
| Eternal fire: literal or typological? | The fire that destroyed Sodom is a real historical judgment that points to the final judgment of the ungodly. | Some (Clarke, Wesley) read 'eternal fire' as the unending punishment of the Sodomite inhabitants; others (Bengel, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) see it as a sample or type of the final fire (Matthew 25:41), noting that Sodom's temporal destruction is not itself unending but prefigures it. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Jude writes to a mixed Jewish-Gentile church facing false teachers who twist God's grace into a license for immorality (v.4). To reinforce his call to 'contend earnestly for the faith' (v.3), he reaches back into Israel's history for three unmistakable warnings.
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities at the southern end of the Dead Sea, famously prosperous and fertile, 'like the garden of the LORD' (Genesis 13:10). But their wealth fed arrogance and cruelty, and their sexual sins were notorious. Genesis 19:5 records the attempted gang rape of Lot's angelic visitors, an act that epitomized the city's complete disregard for God's moral order. The sin of Sodom, as Ezekiel 16:49 later summarizes, included pride, excess of food, and neglect of the poor, but the specific crime chronicled in Genesis was homosexual rape, a violation of natural order.
Jude's phrase 'the cities around them', Admah and Zeboim (Deuteronomy 29:23), broadens the judgment to include all who shared the same vices. The fire that fell (Genesis 19:24) was literal sulfur and flames, turning the plain into a smoking wasteland. By Jude's time, the region was a bitter, lifeless landscape, a visible monument to God's wrath. Ancient Jewish tradition, reflected in sources like the Book of Enoch (referred to in vv.14, 15), already used Sodom as a type of final judgment. Jude anchors that tradition in apostolic teaching, warning that the 'eternal fire' awaiting the wicked is no less real than the inferno that erased the cities of the plain.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Jude 1:7. The verse is textually stable across the major Greek manuscripts (e.g., 𝔓72, 𝔓78, א, B). A few later manuscripts omit 'and the cities around them,' but the reading is well-attested and included in all standard editions.
Reception History
Jude 1:7 has been central to Christian moral teaching on sexual ethics from the early church onward. The phrase 'strange flesh' was understood by patristic writers (e.g., Clement of Alexandria, Paedagogus) as a warning against passions that violate nature. In medieval preaching, Sodom became a byword for divine judgment on sexual sin, though the text also cautioned against pride and inhospitality (cf. Ezekiel 16:49). The Reformation era saw renewed emphasis on the verse as a warning against false teachers who denied Christ by their lifestyle (Luther, Calvin). In more recent centuries, Wesley and Clarke used the verse to teach that punishment for sin, while temporal in its immediate form, anticipates an eternal reality. Throughout church history, the text has been read both as a literal description of final judgment and as a typological foreshadowing of 'eternal fire', a tension that continues to shape Christian eschatology.
Preaching This Verse
Three-Point Outline
- The Pattern of Sin: Sexual immorality and the pursuit of 'strange flesh', any lust that twists God's design. The false teachers in Jude's day, like the citizens of Sodom, treated grace as permission to indulge the flesh (v.4).
- The Certainty of Judgment: God's response to Sodom was swift and permanent. Jude shows that judgment is not an abstract doctrine but a historical reality, 'set forth' for all to see.
- The Warning That Endures: The fire that consumed Sodom is a type of 'eternal fire.' That fire did not end with the cities; it points to a final reckoning for all who reject God's authority.
Five-Point Outline
- Context: Jude's three examples of judgment, Israel's unbelief, the fallen angels, and Sodom, form a courtroom indictment. Each shows that God holds all accountable, regardless of privilege or position.
- The Nature of Sodom's Sin: 'Strange flesh' refers to acts contrary to nature (Romans 1:27). The sin was not only sexual but a rejection of God-ordained boundaries.
- The Consequence: Physical destruction by fire and sulfur, then ongoing punishment. Vincent notes the present participle hupechousai ('suffering'), the punishment continues to be felt, a lasting example.
- The Connection to False Teachers: The false teachers 'defile the flesh' (v.8) in the same way. Jude draws a direct line: the same lust, the same judgment.
- The Gospel Hope: Even Sodom's example is not the last word. God's judgment is real, but so is His mercy for those who turn from sin (Ezekiel 16:53-55 speaks of Sodom's restoration as a metaphor).
Illustration Hooks
- A museum display: A preserved crime scene or historical monument that warns visitors of the consequences of certain actions. The Dead Sea region functioned like that for ancient travelers, a visible reminder of divine judgment.
- A crash test dummy: The deliberate destruction of a vehicle to demonstrate the force of an impact. Sodom was 'set forth' as a crash test for the wages of sin.
- A public court sentence: A judge makes an example of a repeat offender to deter others. Jude says God did this with Sodom, not in cruelty, but in justice, as a warning.
Questions Your Congregation Is Asking
- 'Is it true that God still punishes sexual sin today, or was that just an Old Testament story?'
- 'What does it mean that God's anger is 'eternal fire'? Is that literally forever, or is it symbolic?'
- 'How do I know if I'm guilty of 'turning grace into indecency' like the false teachers?'
Leading a Discussion
This verse calls us to take sin seriously, not to live in fear, but to remember that God's justice is as real as His mercy. As you discuss, keep the focus on what the passage reveals about God's character and our response.
Discussion Questions
- Observation: Read Jude 1:5-7. What three groups does Jude mention as examples of judgment? What do they have in common?
- Observation: Look at the phrase 'giving themselves over to sexual immorality' (v.7). The Greek verb ekporneusasai uses a prefix that means 'utterly' or 'completely.' How does that intensify the picture of their sin?
- Interpretation: What does 'strange flesh' mean in this context? Why is it significant that Jude calls it 'other' or 'strange'?
- Interpretation: Jude says these cities 'are set forth as an example.' How does their destruction function as a warning for the false teachers and for us?
- Application: The false teachers 'deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ' (v.4) while living immoral lives. How can a church today identify leaders who profess Christ but deny Him with their actions?
- Application: Verses like this one are difficult because they speak of eternal punishment. How does knowing God's justice help us trust Him more fully, even when His judgment makes us uncomfortable?
- Hope: Jude wrote to 'exhort you to contend earnestly for the faith' (v.3). How does the reminder of God's judgment motivate you to hold tightly to the gospel of grace?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 13:13 | Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against Yahweh. |
| Genesis 18:20 | Yahweh said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, |
| Genesis 19:5 | They called to Lot, and said to him, “Where are the men who came in to you this night? Bring them out to us, that we may have sex with them.” |
| Genesis 19:24 | Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out of the sky. |
| Genesis 19:26 | But Lot’s wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. |
| Deuteronomy 29:23 | that all of its land is sulfur, salt, and burning, that it is not sown, doesn’t produce, nor does any grass grow in it, like the overthrow of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath. |
| Isaiah 1:9 | Unless Yahweh of Armies had left to us a very small remnant, we would have been as Sodom. We would have been like Gomorrah. |
| Isaiah 13:19 | Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, will be like when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes the dual application of Sodom and Gomorrah's destruction: the inhabitants suffer eternal fire, while the cities themselves were eternally obliterated, never to be rebuilt. In either sense, he insists the word "eternal" bears its full, proper meaning, not a diminished one.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes reads the Greek phrase "in like manner" as referring to the neighboring cities around Sodom, not to the angels or to false teachers. He also clarifies that "eternal fire" does not mean those fires burned forever, but that the complete destruction serves as an enduring emblem of the eternal punishment awaiting the ungodly.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin emphasizes that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was not merely a past judgment but a visible type of eternal fire, meant to terrify all ages. He clarifies that the phrase "going after strange flesh" refers specifically to the Sodomites' monstrous lusts, not to the angels or Israelites. Their earthly punishment prefigures a far heavier, everlasting one.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentary emphasizes that the sin of the cities of the plain was sexual impurity, not merely pride as later traditions taught. It also clarifies that the "eternal fire" refers to their ongoing punishment, not just the historical destruction, drawing a parallel to the permanent judgment of the fallen angels.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Bible notes emphasize God's active restraint of the fallen angels, holding them in everlasting chains under darkness until the final judgment. Their rebellion does not free them from divine power; God reserves them securely for condemnation on the great day.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB focuses on the unnatural character of Sodom's sin, translating "giving themselves over to fornication" as following it outside the order of nature. He reads the ongoing volcanic marks around the Dead Sea as a visible sample of the eternal fire awaiting the wicked, but notes that Sodom's national punishment is not eternal.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry emphasizes that the faith Christians must earnestly defend is the original apostolic faith as first delivered to the saints, not later party distinctions or human innovations. He sees the common salvation as a sincere offer to all people, and warns that grace must not be twisted into an excuse for sin.
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
Vincent highlights the Greek force behind Jude's description: "giving themselves over" means an utter, complete surrender, and "set forth" means laid out in plain sight as a visible warning. He also notes the present tense "suffering" indicates the cities of the plain still undergo the punishment from Lot's day, serving as an enduring example of judgment.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley specifies that "fornication" here refers to unnatural lusts, not ordinary sexual sin. He also stresses that the destruction these cities suffered serves as a warning picture, an example or type, of the eternal fire awaiting the ungodly.