Tag Archives: Jude 6

Judgment of the Rebels: Grammar and Imagery in Jude 6

Posted on April 3, 2025 by Advanced Greek Grammar
Ἀγγέλους τε τοὺς μὴ τηρήσαντας τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀρχὴν, ἀλλὰ ἀπολιπόντας τὸ ἴδιον οἰκητήριον εἰς κρίσιν μεγάλης ἡμέρας δεσμοῖς ἀϊδίοις ὑπὸ ζόφον τετήρηκεν (Jude 6)

And angels who did not keep their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling—he has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.

Jude 6 paints a vivid, almost apocalyptic picture of divine judgment. The Greek grammar is dense and carefully layered: participles build a charge, prepositions stack with intensity, and a perfect verb holds the entire scene in place. These fallen angels aren’t described with flourish—they’re bound in theological precision.

Grammatical Foundations

The main subject is ἀγγέλους—“angels”—with the particle τε linking it back to previous examples of judgment.… Learn Koine Greek

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Chains of Darkness: Koine Imagery vs Classical Expression

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Classical Greek
Ἀγγέλους τε τοὺς μὴ τηρήσαντας τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀρχὴν, ἀλλὰ ἀπολιπόντας τὸ ἴδιον οἰκητήριον εἰς κρίσιν μεγάλης ἡμέρας δεσμοῖς ἀϊδίοις ὑπὸ ζόφον τετήρηκεν· (Jude 6)

And angels who did not keep their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloom for the judgment of the great day.

Koine Greek Grammar and Syntax Breakdown

This verse abounds with solemn imagery. Koine syntax favors participial description that flows toward the climactic verb τετήρηκεν (“he has kept”).

τοὺς μὴ τηρήσαντας: Aorist active participle, accusative plural masculine, “those who did not keep.” Defines the angels by negated action. τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀρχὴν: Reflexive pronoun + noun “domain, principality.”… Learn Koine Greek
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