---
title: Jude 9
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/jude-1-9/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/jude-1-9.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Jude 9
testament: NT
section: Letters
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Jude 9

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> But 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!”

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (2013 revision): "But when Michael the archangel had a difference with the Devil and was disputing about Moses' body, he did not dare to bring a judgment against him in abusive terms, but said: 'May Jehovah rebuke you.'"

## JW Usage

The Watchtower deploys this verse to support the identification of Michael the Archangel with Jesus Christ. Michael's appeal — "May Jehovah rebuke you" — is read as a high-status angelic figure speaking with Jehovah's authority, comparable to the role the JWs assign to the pre-incarnate Christ. The presence of "Jehovah" in the verse text is taken as confirmation that Michael was operating within Jehovah's sanctioned channel.

## Protestant Usage

Hebrews 1:5 settles the Michael-Jesus question: "to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are my Son'?" The expected answer is none. Hebrews 1 contrasts the Son with the angels for fourteen verses; if Jesus were Michael, the chapter would contradict itself. And Jude 9 displays the difference plainly. Michael does not presume to bring a slanderous charge against the devil; he appeals to higher authority — "the Lord rebuke you." Jesus, by contrast, commands demons directly with his own authority (Mark 1:25, "Be silent and come out of him!"). Michael appeals; Jesus is the one appealed to. A creature who has to defer to higher authority cannot be the one who is that higher authority.

## NWT Issue

The Greek text reads epitimēsai soi kyrios — "may the Lord rebuke you." The NWT inserts "Jehovah" in place of kyrios, despite no Greek manuscript of Jude containing the Tetragrammaton. The insertion is part of the broader pattern documented in the 237-times case: where rendering "the Lord" might let a reader identify Jesus as the rebuking authority (and Michael as appealing to him), inserting "Jehovah" forecloses that reading in advance. The verse as rendered in the NWT pre-loads the JW identification of Michael with Christ, while the Greek text itself simply has Michael appealing to "the Lord."

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Jesus Is Not Michael the Archangel](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/jesus-not-michael.md) — Hebrews 1:5 / Jude 9 [Deity of Christ]
- [Volunteer or Servant? — Why the Son's Obedience Cannot Be Angelic](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/voluntary-submission-vs-angelic.md) — John 10:18 / Philippians 2:6-8 / Hebrews 1:14 [Deity of Christ]
- [The Incarnation Is Addition, Not Compression](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/word-became-flesh-not-michael.md) — Why the Logos-to-Michael-to-Jesus-to-Michael cycle does not match the New Testament [Deity of Christ]