Bible Strands
Jude 1:11
Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed for profit into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jude addresses a community infiltrated by false teachers (vv. 4, 8) and here identifies them by three Old Testament types. The verse sits between a comparison to irrational animals (v. 10) and a description of hidden reefs (v. 12), bracketing the triad with vivid imagery.
The words — ἐπορεύθησαν (eporeuthēsan), aorist passive of πορεύομαι, literally "they were led" or "they went," carries the sense of a deliberate, completed journey along a chosen path. The passive form is a common Greek idiom for volitional action, emphasizing that these people walked this road by their own decision.
The thread — 2 Peter 2:14–15 pairs Cain and Balaam in the same accusatory series, and the triad of Cain, Balaam, and Korah recurs in early Christian literature as a standard formula for heresy. 1 John 3:12 and Revelation 2:14 pick up individual members of the triad for specific applications.
Why it lands — The verse does not describe abstract sins but names three concrete patterns — violence born of jealousy, profit-driven deception, and rebellion against legitimate authority — and asks the reader to check which one they are walking.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
Cross-references
- 2 Peter 2:15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.
- 1 John 3:12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.
- Revelation 2:14 But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.
- Genesis 4:3 So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD,
- Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
- Numbers 16:1 Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath son of Levi, along with some Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—conducted
- Numbers 26:9 and the sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. It was Dathan and Abiram, chosen by the congregation, who rebelled against Moses and Aaron with the followers of Korah who rebelled against the LORD.
- Numbers 31:16 “Look, these women caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to turn unfaithfully against the LORD at Peor, so that the plague struck the congregation of the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 23:4 For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.
- Joshua 24:9 Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,