Jude 1:16 (KJV)

Passage

These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.

Nearby Context

Jude 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

Jude 1:15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

Jude 1:16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.

Jude 1:17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Jude 1:18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "murmurers", "complainers", "walking", "after", "lusts", "mouth", "speaketh", and "great". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "murmurers" and "complainers", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "To execute judgment upon all and to..." into verse 17's "But beloved remember ye the words which...", so "murmurers" and "complainers" belong inside that flow. In Jude context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "murmurers" and "complainers" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.