Jude 1:11 (YLT)

Passage

woe to them! because in the way of Cain they did go on, and to the deceit of Balaam for reward they did rush, and in the gainsaying of Korah they did perish.

Nearby Context

Jude 1:9 yet Michael, the chief messenger, when, with the devil contending, he was disputing about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring up an evil-speaking judgment, but said, `The Lord rebuke thee!'

Jude 1:10 and these, as many things indeed as they have not known, they speak evil of; and as many things as naturally (as the irrational beasts) they understand, in these they are corrupted;

Jude 1:11 woe to them! because in the way of Cain they did go on, and to the deceit of Balaam for reward they did rush, and in the gainsaying of Korah they did perish.

Jude 1:12 These are in your love-feasts craggy rocks; feasting together with you, without fear shepherding themselves; clouds without water, by winds carried about; trees autumnal, without fruit, twice dead, rooted up;

Jude 1:13 wild waves of a sea, foaming out their own shames; stars going astray, to whom the gloom of the darkness to the age hath been kept.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "cain", "deceit", "balaam", "reward", "rush", "gainsaying", "korah", and "perish". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "cain" and "deceit", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "and these as many things indeed as..." into verse 12's "These are in your love-feasts craggy rocks...", so "cain" and "deceit" 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 "cain" and "deceit" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.