Tool Beta
Is It Actually in the Bible?
Phrases people quote as Scripture. The real verse, or the honest answer that there is not one.
Jude 1:22 says believers should have compassion on some, "making a difference": meaning they should go make a positive impact on people's lives.
In 1611 English "making a difference" meant making a distinction between people, not having a positive impact.
Jude 1:22, in every translation this tool compares.
Jude 1:22 (KJV) reads: "And of some have compassion, making a difference." Jude is instructing believers to sort people into categories and respond differently depending on where each stands: showing compassion to those genuinely wavering, while handling the defiantly rebellious differently.
"Making a difference" here is just the plain noun "difference" (distinction) turned into a verb phrase: making a distinction, discriminating between two groups. The now-common idiom "make a difference," meaning to have a positive impact, didn't exist yet in 1611; the KJV phrase is about telling people apart, not about doing good.
