9But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”1:9 Jude is alluding to the Jewish Testament of Moses (approximately the first century a.d.).
9But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him an abusive judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
9But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
9But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil (Satan), and 1:9 In Jewish tradition, Michael claimed to be Moses’ teacher and was present when God put Moses to death (Midrash on Deut 11:10). Jude’s point is that if the archangel Michael had such respect for Satan’s power, then mere humans are extremely foolish to insult or show disrespect to angelic beings. This does not mean that true Christians cannot or should not engage in spiritual warfare with satanic forces; quite the contrary (Eph 6:12; James 4:7). But they should follow Michael’s example and act only as legitimate representatives of Christ who are in good standing with Him.arguing about the body of Moses, did not dare bring an abusive condemnation against him, but [simply] said, “The Lord rebuke you!” [Deut 34:5, 6; Zech 3:2]
9But even the archangel Michael, when he disputed with the devil over the body of Moses, did not presume to bring a slanderous charge against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”1:9 This account is attributed by Origen to the Testament of Moses, also called the Assumption of Moses.
9But even Michael, the leader of the angels, didn’t dare to say these things. He didn’t even say these things when he argued with the devil about the body of Moses. Michael didn’t dare to judge the devil. He didn’t say the devil was guilty of saying evil things. Instead, Michael said, “May the Lord judge you!”