ο to
τθ----
~ / γογγυσταί, μεμψίμµοιροι, κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας αὐτῶν πορευόµενοι,
~ ~ , καὶ τὸ στόµα αὐτῶν λαλεῖ ὑπέρογκα, θαυµάζοντες πρόσωπα ὠφελίας
χάριν.
17. Ὑμεῖς δέ, ἀγαπητοί, µνήσθητε τῶν ῥημάτων τῶν προειρηµέ-
ς x a > 4λ A γων υπο των αποστολων TOU
κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας αὐτῶν πορευόµενοι. Cf. 2 Pet. iii. 3 and ii. 10, below ver. 18, and see my notes on James iv. 1, 2. Plumptre notes ‘‘ The temper of self- indulgence recognising not God’s will, but man’s desires, as the law of action, is precisely that which issues in weariness and despair . . cf. Eccles. ii. 1-20”’.
τὸ στόµα αὐτῶν λαλεῖ ὑπέρογκα. See Enoch ν. 4, quoted on ver. 15, also Enoch ci. 3, ‘‘ye have spoken insolent words against His righteousness,”’ Ps. xii. 4, Ps, Ixxiii. 8, Dan. vii. 8, στόµα λαλοῦν μεγάλα and ver. 20 of the little horn; compare above vv. 4, 8, 11, and James iii. 5 foll, In classical writers ὑπέρογκα is generally used of great or even exces- Sive size, in later writers it is also used of “‘big”’ words, arrogant speech and de- meanour, see Alford’s note on 2 Pet. ii. 18 and Plut. Mor. 1119 B (Socrates), τὴν ἐμβροντησίαν ἐκ τοῦ βίου καὶ τὸν TUdov ἐξήλαυνε καὶ τὰς ἐπαχθεῖς καὶ ὑπερόγ- κους κατοιήσεις καὶ µεγαλαυχίας, {0. 7 A, Where ἡ θεατρικὴ καὶ παρατράγωδος λέξις is styled ὑπέρογκος in contrast with ἰσχνὴ λέξις, Plut. Vitae 505 B, τοῦ βασιλέως τὸ φρόνημα τραγικὸν καὶ ὑπέρ- ογκον ἐν ταῖς µεγάλαις εὐτυχίαις ἐγεγόνει. It is found in 2 Peter ii. 18 and in Dan. xi. 36, 6 βασιλεὺς ὑψωθήσε- ται καὶ µεγαλυνθήσεται ἐπὶ πάντα θεόν͵ καὶ λαλήσει ὑπέρογκα.
θαυμάζοντες πρόσωπα ὠφελίας χάριν. The phrase occurs with the same force in Lev. xix. 15, οὐ μὴ θαυµάσῃς πρόσω- πον, Job xili. το, see my note on James ii. I, μη ἐν προσωποληµψίαις ἔχετε τὴν πίστιν τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν “I. Χ., and cf. τ Tim. ΠΠ, 8, quoted above on ver. 11. As the fear of God drives out the fear of man, so defiance of God tends to put man in His place, as the chief source of good or evil to his fellows. For the anacoluthon (τὸ στόµα αὐτῶν λαλεῖ —Oavpalovres) compare Col. ii. 2, ἵνα παρακληθῶσιν ai καρδίαι ὑμῶν συµβι- Βασθέντες ἐν εἰρήνῃ, where a similar peri- phrasis (at καρδίαι ὑμῶν-- ὑμεῖς) is followed by a constructio ad sensum, also Winer, p. 716. Perhaps the intrusion of the finite clause into a participial series may be accounted for by a reminiscence of Ps, xvil. 10,76 στόµα αὐτῶν ἐλάλησεν
, ς a 2 A Ap J κυρίου ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ Xpiotod* 18. ὅτι
ὑπερηφανίαν, or Ps. cxliv. 8, 11, where a similar phrase occurs.
Vv. 17-19.—The Faithful are bidden to call to mind the warnings of the Apostles. The Apostles warned you re- peatedly that in the last time there would arise mockers led away by their own car- nal lusts. It is these that are now break- ing up the unity of the Church by their invidious distinctions, men of unsancti- fied minds, who have not the Spirit of God. See Introduction on the Early Heresies in the larger edition.
_Ver. 17. ὑμεῖς δὲ, ἀγαπητοί, μνήσθητε τῶν ῥημάτων τῶν προειρηµένων ὑπὸ τῶν ἀποστόλων. The writer turns again, as in ver. 20 below, to the faithful members of the Church (ver. 3) and reminds them, not now of primeval prophecy, but of warning words uttered by the Apostles. Some have taken this as a quotation by Jude from 2 Peter iii. 3, where the quota- tion is given more fully. But, there also, the words are referred back to a prior authority, ‘‘holy prophets”? and ‘* your Apostles”. The words ὅτι ἔλεγον ὑμῖν, which follow, imply that the warning was spoken, not written, and that it was ofterf repeated.
Ver. 18. ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάτου χρόνου ἔσονται ἐμπαῖκται. The parallel in 2 Peter iii. 3 is ἐλεύσονται ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν ἐν ἐμπαιγμονῇ ἐμπαῖκται, where see note on the use of the article with ἔσχατος, etc. For ἐπί, cf. Arist. Pol. iv. 3, ἐπὶ τῶν ἀρχαίων χρόνων.