The Prophet.
An Apocryphal Production now first translated from an Ethiopic MS in the
Bodleian Library.
Translated by Richard Laurence.
Originally published, John Henry Parker; Oxford, 1821,
then as,
See the Introduction to the revised edition of 1883.
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Chapters
| | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | |
| | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | |
| | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | |
| | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | |
| | 97 | 98 | 99 | 100 | 101 | 102 | 103 | 104 | 105 | |
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1. The word of the blessing of Enoch, how he blessed the elect and
the righteous, who were to exist in the time of trouble; rejecting all the
wicked and ungodly. Enoch, a righteous man, who was1 with
God, answered and spoke, while his eyes were open, and while he saw a
holy vision in the heavens. This the angels showed me.
2. From them I heard all things, and understood what I saw; that
which will not take place in this generation, but in a generation which is to
succeed at a distant period, on account of the elect.
3. Upon their account I spoke and conversed with him, who will go
forth from his habitation, the Holy and Mighty One, the God of the world:
4. Who will hereafter tread upon Mount Sinai; appear with his
hosts; and be manifested in the strength of his power from heaven.
5. All shall be afraid, and the Watchers be terrified.
6. Great fear and trembling shall seize them, even to the ends of
the earth. The lofty mountains shall be troubled, and the exalted hills
depressed, melting like a honeycomb in the flame. The earth shall be immerged,
and all things which are in it perish; while judgment shall come upon all,
even upon all the righteous:
7. But to them shall he give peace: he shall preserve the elect,
and towards them exercise clemency.
8. Then shall all belong to God; be happy and blessed; and the
splendour of the Godhead shall illuminate them.
1. Behold, he comes with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon them, and destroy the wicked, and reprove all the carnal for everything which the sinful and ungodly have done, and committed against him.2
1. All who are in the heavens know what is transacted there.
2. They know
that the heavenly luminaries change not their
paths; that each rises and sets regularly, every one at its proper period,
without transgressing the commands, which they have received. The
behold the earth, and understand what is there transacted, from the beginning
to the end of it.
3. They see that every work of God is invariable in the
period of its appearance. They behold summer and winter: perceiving
that the whole earth is full of water; and that the cloud, the dew, and the
rain refresh it.
1. They consider and behold every tree, how it appears to wither, and every leaf to fall off, except of fourteen trees, which are not deciduous; which wait from the old, to the appearance of the new leaf, for two or three winters.
1. Again they consider the days of summer, that the sun is upon it at its very beginning; while you seek for a covered and shady spot on account of the burning sun; while the earth is scorched up with fervid heat, and you become incapable of walking either upon the ground or upon the rocks in consequence of that heat.
1. They consider how the trees, when they put forth their green
leaves, become covered, and produce fruit; understanding everything, and
knowing that He who lives for ever does all these things for you:
2. That the works at the beginning of every existing year,
that all his works, are subservient to him, and invariable; yet as God has
appointed, so are all things brought to pass.
3. They see, too, how the seas and the rivers together complete
their respective operations:
4. But you endure not patiently, nor fulfil the
commandments of the Lord; but you transgress and calumniate his
greatness; and malignant are the words in your polluted mouths against his
Majesty.
5. You withered in heart, no peace shall be to you!
6. Therefore your days shall you curse, and the years of your
lives shall perish; perpetual execration shall be multiplied, and you shall
not obtain mercy.
7. In those days shall you resign your peace with the eternal
maledictions of all the righteous, and sinners shall perpetually execrate you;
8. Shall execrate you with the ungodly.
9. The elect shall possess light, joy, and peace; and they shall
inherit the earth.
10. But you, you unholy, shall be accursed.
11. Then shall wisdom be given to the elect, all of whom shall
live, and not again transgress by impiety or pride; but shall humble
themselves, possessing prudence, and shall not repeat transgression.
12. They shall not be condemned the whole period of their lives,
not die in torment and indignation; but the sum of their days shall be
completed, and they shall grow old in peace; while the years of their
happiness shall be multiplied with joy, and with peace, for ever, the whole
duration of their existence.
1. It happened after the sons of men had multiplied in those days,
that daughters were born to them, elegant and beautiful.
2. And when the angels,3 the sons of heaven, beheld
them, they became enamoured of them, saying to each other, Come, let us select
for ourselves wives from the progeny of men, and let us beget children.
3. Then their leader Samyaza said to them; I fear that you may
perhaps be indisposed to the performance of this enterprise;
4. And that I alone shall suffer for so grievous a crime.
5. But they answered him and said; We all swear;
6. And bind ourselves by mutual execrations, that we will not
change our intention, but execute our projected undertaking.
7. Then they swore all together, and all bound themselves by
mutual execrations. Their whole number was two hundred, who descended upon
Ardis,4 which is the top of mount Armon.
8. That mountain therefore was called Armon, because they had
sworn upon it,5 and bound themselves by mutual execrations.
9. These are the names of their chiefs: Samyaza, who was their
leader, Urakabarameel, Akibeel, Tamiel, Ramuel, Danel, Azkeel, Saraknyal,
Asael, Armers, Batraal, Anane, Zavebe, Samsaveel, Ertael, Turel, Yomyael,
Arazyal. These were the prefects of the two hundred angels, and the remainder
were all with them.6
10. Then they took wives, each choosing for himself; whom they
began to approach, and with whom they cohabited; teaching them sorcery,
incantations, and the dividing of roots and trees.
11. And the women conceiving brought forth giants,7
12. Whose stature was each three hundred cubits. These devoured
all which the labour of men produced; until it became impossible
to feed them;
13. When they turned themselves against men, in order to devour
them;
14. And began to injure birds, beasts, reptiles, and fishes, to
eat their flesh one after another,8 and to drink their blood.
15. Then the earth reproved the unrighteous.
1. Moreover Azazyel taught men to make swords, knives, shields,
breastplates, the fabrication of mirrors, and the workmanship of bracelets and
ornaments, the use of paint, the beautifying of the eyebrows, the use of
stones of every valuable and select kind, and all sorts of dyes, so that
the world became altered.
2. Impiety increased; fornication multiplied; and they
transgressed and corrupted all their ways.
3. Amazarak taught all the sorcerers, and dividers of roots:
4. Armers taught the solution of sorcery;
5. Barkayal taught the observers of the stars,9
6. Akibeel taught signs;
7. Tamiel taught astronomy;
8. And Asaradel taught the motion of the moon,
9. And men, being destroyed, cried out; and their voice reached to
heaven.
1. Then Michael and Gabriel, Raphael, Suryal, and Uriel, looked
down from heaven, and saw the quantity of blood which was shed on earth, and
all the iniquity which was done upon it, and said one to another, It is
the voice of their cries;
2. The earth deprived of her children has cried even to the
gate of heaven.
3. And now to you, O you holy one of heaven, the souls of men
complain, saying, Obtain Justice for us with10 the Most High.
Then they said to their Lord, the King, You are Lord of lords, God of
gods, King of kings. The throne of your glory is for ever and ever, and for
ever and ever is your name sanctified and glorified. You are blessed and
glorified.
4. You have made all things; you possess power over all things;
and all things are open and manifest before you. You behold all things, and
nothing can be concealed from you.
5. You have seen what Azazyel has done, how he has taught every
species of iniquity upon earth, and has disclosed to the world all the secret
things which are done in the heavens.
6. Samyaza also has taught sorcery, to whom you have given
authority over those who are associated with him. They have gone together to
the daughters of men; have lain with them; have become polluted;
7. And have discovered crimes11 to them.
8. The women likewise have brought forth giants.
9. Thus has the whole earth been filled with blood and with
iniquity.
10. And now behold the souls of those who are dead, cry out.
11. And complain even to the gate of heaven.
12. Their groaning ascends; nor can they escape from the
unrighteousness which is committed on earth. You know all things, before they
exist.
13. You know these things, and what has been done by them; yet you
do not speak to us.
14. What on account of these things ought we to do to them?
1. Then the Most High, the Great and Holy One spoke,
2. And sent Arsayalalyur12 to the son of Lamech,
3. Saying, Say to him in my name, Conceal yourself.
4. Then explain to him the consummation which is about to take
place; for all the earth shall perish; the waters of a deluge shall come over
the whole earth, and all things which are in it shall be destroyed.
5. And now teach him how he may escape, and how his seed may
remain in all the earth.
6. Again the Lord said to Raphael, Bind Azazyel hand and foot;
cast him into darkness; and opening the desert which is in Dudael, cast him in
there.
7. Throw upon him hurled and pointed stones, covering him with
darkness;
8. There shall he remain for ever; cover his face, that he may not
see the light.
9. And in the great day of judgment let him be cast into the fire.
10. Restore the earth, which the angels have corrupted; and
announce life to it, that I may revive it.
11. All the sons of men shall not perish in consequence of every
secret, by which the Watchers have destroyed, and which they have
taught, their offspring.
12. All the earth has been corrupted by the effects of the
teaching of Azazyel. To him therefore ascribe the whole crime.
13. To Gabriel also the Lord said, Go to the biters,13
to the reprobates, to the children of fornication; and destroy the children of
fornication, the offspring of the Watchers, from among men; bring them forth,
and excite them one against another. Let them perish by mutual
slaughter; for length of days shall not be theirs.
14. They shall all entreat you, but their fathers shall not obtain
their wishes respecting them; for they shall hope for eternal life, and
that they may live, each of them, five hundred years.
15. To Michael likewise the Lord said, Go and announce his
crime to Samyaza, and to the others who are with him, who have been
associated with women, that they might be polluted with all their impurity.
And when all their sons shall be slain, when they shall see the perdition of
their beloved, bind them for seventy generations underneath the earth, even to
the day of judgment, and of consummation, until the judgment, the effect of
which will last for ever, be completed.
16. Then shall they be taken away into the lowest depths of the
fire in torments; and in confinement shall they be shut up for ever.
17. Immediately after this shall he,14 together with
them, burn and perish; they shall be bound until the consummation of many
generations.
18. Destroy all the souls addicted to dalliance,15
and the offspring of the Watchers, for they have tyrannized over mankind.
19. Let every oppressor perish from the face of the earth;
20. Let every evil work be destroyed;
21. The plant of righteousness and of rectitude appear, and its
produce become a blessing.
22. Righteousness and rectitude shall be for ever planted with
delight.
23. And then shall all the saints give thanks, and live until they
have begotten a thousand children, while the whole period of their
youth, and their sabbaths shall be completed in peace. In those days all the
earth shall be cultivated in righteousness; it shall be wholly planted with
trees, and filled with benediction; every tree of delight shall be planted in
it.
24. In it shall vines be planted; and the vine which shall be
planted in it shall yield fruit to satiety; every seed, which shall be sown in
it, shall produce for one measure a thousand; and one measure of olives shall
produce ten presses of oil.
25. Purify the earth from all oppression, from all injustice, from
all crime, from all impiety, and from all the pollution which is committed
upon it. Exterminate them from the earth.
26. Then shall all the children of men be righteous, and all
nations shall pay me divine honours, and bless me; and all shall adore me.
27. The earth shall be cleansed from all corruption, from every
crime, from all punishment, and from all suffering; neither will I again send
a deluge upon it from generation to generation for ever.
28. In those days I will open the treasures of blessing which are
in heaven, that I may cause them to descend upon earth, and upon all the works
and labour of man.
29. Peace and equity shall associate with the sons of men all the
days of the world, in every generation of it.
1. Before all these things Enoch was concealed; nor did any one of
the sons of men know where he was concealed, where he had been, and what had
happened.
2. He was wholly engaged with the holy ones, and with the Watchers
in his days.
3. I, Enoch, was blessing the great Lord and King of peace.
4. And behold the Watchers called me Enoch the scribe.
5. Then the Lord said to me: Enoch, scribe of
righteousness, go tell the Watchers of heaven, who have deserted the lofty
sky, and their holy everlasting station, who have been polluted with
women.
6. And have done as the sons of men do, by taking to themselves
wives, and who have been greatly corrupted on the earth;
7. That on the earth they shall never obtain peace and remission
of sin. For they shall not rejoice in their offspring; they shall behold the
slaughter of their beloved; shall lament for the destruction of their sons;
and shall petition for ever; but shall not obtain mercy and peace.
1. Then Enoch, passing on, said to Azazyel: You shalt not obtain
peace. A great sentence is gone forth against you. He shall bind you;
2. Neither shall relief, mercy, and supplication be yours, on
account of the oppression which you have taught;
3. And on account of every act of blasphemy, tyranny, and sin,
which you have discovered to the children of men.
4. Then departing from him I spoke to them all together;
5. And they all became terrified, and trembled;
6. Beseeching me to write for them a memorial of supplication,
that they might obtain forgiveness; and that I might make the memorial of
their prayer ascend up before the God of heaven; because they could not
themselves thenceforwards address him, nor raise up their eyes to heaven on
account of the disgraceful offence for which they were judged.
7. Then I wrote a memorial of their prayer and supplications, for
their spirits, for everything which they had done, and for the subject of
their entreaty, that they might obtain remission and rest.
8. Proceeding on, I continued over the waters of Danbadan,16 which is on the right to the west of Armon, reading the memorial of
their prayer, until I fell asleep.
9. And behold a dream came to me, and visions appeared above me. I
fell down and saw a vision of punishment, that I might relate it to the sons
of heaven, and reprove them. When I awoke I went to them. All being collected
together stood weeping in Oubelseyael, which is situated between Libanos and
Seneser,17 with their faces veiled.
10. I related in their presence all the visions which I had seen,
and my dream;
11. And began to utter these words of righteousness, reproving the
Watchers of heaven.
1. This is the book of the words of righteousness, and of the
reproof of the Watchers, who belong to the world,18 according to
that which He, who is holy and great, commanded in the vision. I perceived in
my dream, that I was now speaking with a tongue of flesh, and with my breath,
which the Mighty One has put into the mouth of men, that they might converse
with it.
2. And understand with the heart. As he has created and given to
men the power of comprehending the word of understanding, so has he
created and given to me the power of reproving the Watchers, the
offspring of heaven. I have written your petition; and in my vision it has
been shown me, that what you request will not be granted you as long as the
world endures.
3. Judgment has been passed upon you: your request will not
be granted you.
4. From this time forward, never shall you ascend into heaven; He
has said, that on the earth He will bind you, as long as the world endures.
5. But before these things you shall behold the destruction of
your beloved sons; you shall not possess them, but they shall fall before you
by the sword.
6. Neither shall you entreat for them, not for yourselves;
7. But you shall weep and supplicate in silence. The words of the
book which I wrote.19
8. A vision thus appeared to me.
9. Behold, in that vision clouds and a mist invited me;
agitated stars and flashes of lightning impelled and pressed me forwards,
while winds in the vision assisted my flight, accelerating my progress.
10. They elevated me aloft to heaven. I proceeded, until I arrived
at a wall built with stones of crystal. A vibrating flame20
surrounded it, which began to strike me with terror.
11. Into this vibrating flame I entered;
12. And drew nigh to a spacious habitation built also with stones
of crystal. Its walls too, as well as pavement, were formed with stones
of crystal, and crystal likewise was the ground. Its roof had the appearance
of agitated stars and flashes of lightning; and among them were cherubim of
fire in a stormy sky.21 A flame burned around its walls; and its
portal blazed with fire. When I entered into this dwelling, it was hot as fire
and cold as ice. No trace of delight or of life was there. Terror
overwhelmed me, and a fearful shaking seized me.
13. Violently agitated and trembling, I fell upon my face. In the
vision I looked.
14. And behold there was another habitation more spacious than
the former, every entrance to which was open before me, erected in the
midst of a vibrating flame.
15. So greatly did it excel in all points, in glory, in
magnificence, and in magnitude, that it is impossible to describe to you
either the splendour or the extent of it.
16. Its floor was on fire; above were lightnings and agitated
stars, while its roof exhibited a blazing fire.
17. Attentively I surveyed it, and saw that it contained an
exalted throne;
18. The appearance of which was like that of frost; while its
circumference resembled the orb of the brilliant sun; and there was the
voice of the cherubim.
19. From underneath this mighty throne rivers of flaming fire
issued.
20. To look upon it was impossible.
21. One great in glory sat upon it:
22. Whose robe was brighter than the sun, and whiter than snow.
23. No angel was capable of penetrating to view the face of Him,
the Glorious and the Effulgent; nor could any mortal behold Him. A fire was
flaming around Him.
24. A fire also of great extent continued to rise up before Him;
so that not one of those who surrounded Him was capable of approaching Him,
among the myriads of myriads22 who were before Him. To Him holy
consultation was needless. Yet did not the sanctified, who were near Him, depart far from Him either by night or by day; nor were they removed from Him.
I also was so far advanced, with a veil on my face, and trembling. Then the
Lord with his own mouth called me, saying, Approach hither,
Enoch, at my holy word.
25. And He raised me up, making me draw near even to the entrance.
My eye was directed to the ground.
1. Then addressing me, He spoke and said, Hear, neither be afraid,
O righteous Enoch, you scribe of righteousness: approach hither, and hear my
voice. Go, say to the Watchers of heaven, who have sent you to pray for them,
You ought to pray for men, and not men for you.
2. Wherefore have you forsaken the lofty and holy heaven, which
endures for ever, and have lain with women; have defile yourselves with the
daughters of men; have taken to yourselves wives; have acted like the sons of
the earth, and have begotten an impious offspring?23
3. You being spiritual, holy, and possessing a life which is
eternal, have polluted yourselves with women; have begotten in carnal blood;
have lusted in the blood of men; and have done as those who are flesh
and blood do.
4. These however die and perish.
5. Therefore have I given to them wives, that they might cohabit
with them; that sons might be born of them; and that this might be transacted
upon earth.
6. But you from the beginning were made spiritual, possessing a
life which is eternal, and not subject to death for ever.
7. Therefore I made not wives for you, because, being spiritual,
your dwelling is in heaven.
8. Now the giants, who have been born of spirit and of flesh,
shall be called upon earth evil spirits, and on earth shall be their
habitation. Evil spirits shall proceed from their flesh, because they were
created from above; from the holy Watchers was their beginning and primary
foundation. Evil spirits shall they be upon earth, and the spirits of the
wicked shall they be called. The habitation of the spirits of heaven shall be
in heaven; but upon earth shall be the habitation of terrestrial spirits, who
are born on earth.24
9. The spirits of the giants shall be like clouds,25 which shall oppress, corrupt, fall, content, and bruise upon earth.
10. They shall cause lamentation. No food shall they eat; and they
shall be thirsty; they shall be concealed, and shall not26 rise
up against the sons of men, and against women; for they come forth during the
days of slaughter and destruction.
1. And as to the death of the giants, wheresoever their spirits
depart from their bodies, let their flesh, that which is perishable, be
without judgment.27 Thus shall they perish, until the day of the
great consummation of the great world. A destruction shall take place of the
Watchers and the impious.
2. And now to the Watchers, who have sent you to pray for them,
who in the beginning were in heaven,
3. Say, In heaven have you been; secret things, however,
have not been manifested to you; yet have you known a reprobated mystery.
4. And this you have related to women in the hardness of your
heart, and by that mystery have women and mankind multiplied evils upon the
earth.
5. Say to them, Never therefore shall you obtain peace.
1. They raised me up into a certain place, where there was28 the appearance of a burning fire; and when they pleased they
assumed the likeness of men.
2. They carried me to a lofty spot, to a mountain, the top of
which reach to heaven.
3. And I beheld the receptacles of light and of thunder at the
extremities of the place, where it was deepest. There was a bow of fire, and
arrows in their quiver, a sword of fire, and every species of lightning.
4. Then they elevated me to a babbling stream,29 and
to a fire in the west, which received all the setting of the sun. I came to a
river of fire, which flowed like water, and emptied itself into the great sea
westwards.
5. I saw every large river, until I arrived at the great darkness.
I went to where all of flesh migrate; and I beheld the mountains of the gloom
which constitutes winter, and the place from which issues the water in every
abyss.
6. I saw also the mouths of all the rivers in the world, and the
mouths of the deep.
1. I then surveyed the receptacles of all the winds, perceiving
that they contributed to adorn the whole creation, and to preserve the
foundation of the earth.
2. I surveyed the stone which supports the corners of the
earth.
3. I also beheld the four winds, which bear up the earth, and the
firmament of heaven.
4. And I beheld the winds occupying the exalted sky.
5. Arising in the midst of heaven and of earth, and constituting
the pillars of heaven.
6. I saw the winds which turn the sky, which cause the orb of the
sun and of all the stars to set; and over the earth I saw the winds which
support the clouds.
7. I saw the path of the angels.
8. I perceived at the extremity of the earth the firmament of
heaven above it. Then I passed on towards the south;
9. Where burnt, both by day and night, six mountains formed of
glorious stones; three towards the east, and three towards the south.
10. Those which were towards the east were of a variegated stone;
one of which was of margarite, and another of antimony. Those towards the
south were of a red stone. The middle one reached to heaven like the throne of
God; a throne composed of alabaster, the top of which was of sapphire.
I saw, too, a blazing fire hanging over all the mountains.
11. And there I saw a place on the other side of an extended
territory, where waters were collected.
12. I likewise beheld terrestrial fountains, deep in the fiery
columns of heaven.
13. And in the columns of heaven I beheld fires, which descended
without number, but neither on high, nor into the deep. Over these fountains
also I perceived a place which had neither the firmament of heaven above it,
nor the solid ground underneath it; neither was there water above it; nor
anything on wing; but the spot was desolate.
14. And there I beheld seven stars, like great blazing mountains,
and like spirits entreating me.
15. Then the angel said, This place, until the consummation of
heaven and earth, will be the prison of the stars, and the host of heaven.
16. The stars which roll over fire are those which transgressed
the commandment of God before their time arrived; for they came not in their
proper season. Therefore was He offended with them, and bound them, until the
period of the consummation of their crimes in the secret year.
1. Then Uriel said, Here the angels, who cohabited with women,
appointed their leaders;
2. And being numerous in appearance30 made men
profane, and caused them to err; so that they sacrificed to devils as to gods.
For in the great day there shall be a judgment, with which they shall
be judged, until they are consumed; and their wives also shall be judged,
who led astray the angels of heaven that they might salute them.
3. And I, Enoch, I alone saw the likeness of the end of all
things. Nor did any human being see it, as I saw it.
1. These are the names of the angels who watch.
2. Uriel, one of the holy angels, who presides over clamour
and terror.
3. Raphael, one of the holy angels, who presides over the
spirits of men.
4. Raguel, one of the holy angels, who inflicts punishment on the
world and the luminaries.
5. Michael, one of the holy angels, who, presiding over
human virtue, commands the nations.
6. Sarakiel, one of the holy angels, who presides over the
spirits of the children of men that transgress.
7. Gabriel, one of the holy angels, who presides over
Ikisat,31 over paradise, and over the cherubim.
1. Then I made a circuit to a place in which nothing was
completed.
2. And there I beheld neither the tremendous workmanship of an
exalted heaven, nor of an established earth, but a desolate spot, prepared,
and terrific.
3. There, too, I beheld seven stars of heaven bound in it
together, like great mountains, and like a blazing fire. I exclaimed, For what
species of crime have they been bound, and why have they been removed to this
place? Then Uriel, one of the holy angels who was with me, and who conducted
me, answered: Enoch, wherefore do you ask; wherefore do you reason with
yourself, and anxiously inquire? These are those of the stars which have
transgressed the commandment of the most high God; and are here bound, until
the infinite number of the days of their crimes be completed.
4. From there I afterwards passed on to another terrific place;
5. Where I beheld the operation of a great fire blazing and
glittering, in the midst of which there was a division. Columns of fire
struggled together to the end of the abyss, and deep was their descent. But
neither its measurement nor magnitude was I able to discover; neither could I
perceive its origin. Then I exclaimed, How terrible is this place, and how
difficult to explore!
6. Uriel, one of the holy angels who was with me, answered and
said: Enoch, why are you alarmed and amazed at this terrific place, at the
sight of this place of suffering? This, he said, is the prison of the
angels; and here they are kept for ever.
1. From there I proceeded to another spot, where I saw on the west
a great and lofty mountain, a strong rock, and four delightful places.
2. Internally it was deep, capacious, and very smooth; as smooth
as if it had been rolled over: it was both deep and dark to behold.
3. Then Raphael, one of the holy angels who were with me, answered
and said, These are the delightful places where the spirits, the souls of the
dead, will be collected; for them were they formed; and here will be collected
all the souls of the sons of men.
4. These places, in which they dwell, shall they occupy until the
day of judgment, and until their appointed period.
5. Their appointed period will be long, even until the great
judgment. And I saw the spirits of the sons of men who were dead; and their
voices reached to heaven, while they were accusing.
6. Then I inquired of Raphael, an angel who was with me, and said,
Whose spirit is that, the voice of which reaches to heaven, and
accuses?
7. He answered, saying, This is the spirit of Abel who was slain
by Cain his brother; and who will accuse that brother, until his seed be
destroyed from the face of the earth;
8. Until his seed perish from the seed of the human race.
9. At that time therefore I inquired respecting him, and
respecting the general judgment, saying, Why is one separated from another? He
answered, Three separations have been made between the spirits of the
dead, and thus have the spirits of the righteous been separated.
10. Namely, by a chasm, by water, and by
light above it.
11. And in the same way likewise are sinners separated when they
die, and are buried in the earth; judgment not overtaking them in their
lifetime.
12. Here their souls are separated. Moreover, abundant is their
suffering until the time of the great judgment, the castigation, and the
torment of those who eternally execrate, whose souls are punished and bound
there for ever.
13. And thus has it been from the beginning of the world. Thus has
there existed a separation between the souls of those who utter complaints,
and of those who watch for their destruction, to slaughter them in the day of
sinners.
14. A receptacle of this sort has been formed for the souls of
unrighteous men, and of sinners; of those who have completed crime, and
associated with the impious, whom they resemble. Their souls shall not be
annihilated in the day of judgment, neither shall they arise from this place.
Then I blessed God,
15. And said, Blessed by my Lord, the Lord of glory and of
righteousness, who reigns over all for ever and for ever.
1. From there I went to another place, towards the west, unto the
extremities of the earth.
2. Where I beheld a fire blazing and running along without
cessation, which intermitted its course neither by day nor by night; but
continued always the same.
3. I inquired, saying, What is this, which never ceases?
4. Then Raguel, one of the holy angels who were with me, answered,
5. And said, This blazing fire, which you behold running towards
the west, is that of all the luminaries of heaven.
1. I went from there to another place, and saw a mountain of fire
flashing both by day and night. I proceeded towards it; and perceived seven
splendid mountains, which were all different from each other.
2. Their stones were brilliant and beautiful; all were brilliant
and splendid to behold; and beautiful was their surface. Three mountains
were towards the east, and strengthened by being placed one upon another; and
three were towards the south, strengthened in a similar manner. There were
likewise deep valleys, which did not approach each other. And the seventh
mountain was in the midst of them. In length they all resembled the seat of a
throne, and odoriferous trees surrounded them.
3. Among these there was a tree of an unceasing smell; nor of
those which were in Eden was there one of all the fragrant trees which smelt
like this. Its leaf, its flower, and its bark never withered, and its fruit
was beautiful.
4. Its fruit resembled the cluster of the palm. I exclaimed,
Behold! This tree is goodly in aspect, pleasing in its leaf, and the sight of
its fruit is delightful to the eye. Then Michael, one of the holy and glorious
angels who were with me, and one who presided over them, answered,
5. And said: Enoch, why do you inquire respecting the odour of
this tree?
6. Why are you inquisitive to know it?
7. Then I, Enoch, replied to him, and said, Concerning everything
I am desirous of instruction, but particularly concerning this tree.
8, He answered me, saying, That mountain which you behold, the
extent of whose head resembles the seat of the Lord, will be the seat on which
shall sit the holy and great Lord of glory, the everlasting King, when he
shall come and descend to visit the earth with goodness.
9. And that tree of an agreeable smell, not one of carnal odour,
there shall be no power to touch, until the period of the great judgment. When
all shall be punished and consumed for ever, this shall be bestowed on the
righteous and humble. The fruit of the tree shall be given to the
elect. For towards the north life shall be planted in the holy place, towards
the habitation of the everlasting King.
10. Then shall they greatly rejoice and exult in the Holy One. The
sweet odour shall enter into their bones; and they shall live a long life on
the earth as your forefathers have lived; neither in their days shall sorrow,
distress, trouble, and punishment afflict them.
11. And I blessed the Lord of glory, the everlasting King, because
He has prepared this tree for the saints, formed it, and declared that
He would give it to them.
1. From there I proceeded to the middle of the earth, and beheld a
happy and fertile spot, which contained branches continually sprouting from
the trees which were planted in it. There I saw a holy mountain, and
underneath it water on the eastern side, which flowed towards the south. I saw
also on the east another mountain as high as that; and between them there were
deep, but not wide valleys.
2. Water ran towards the mountain to the west of this; and
underneath there was likewise another mountain.
3. There was a valley, but not a wide one, below it; and in the
midst of them were other deep and dry valleys towards the extremity of the
three. All these valleys, which were deep, but not side, consisted of a strong
rock, with a tree which was planted in them. And I wondered at the rock and at
the valleys, being extremely surprised.
1. Then I said, What means this blessed land, all these lofty
trees, and the accursed valley between them?
2. Then Uriel, one of the holy angels who were with me, replied,
This valley is the accursed of the accursed for ever. Here shall be collected
all who utter with their mouths unbecoming language against God, and speak
harsh things of His glory. Here shall they be collected. Here shall be their
territory.
3. In the latter days an example of judgment shall be made of them
in righteousness before the saints; while those who have received mercy shall
for ever, all their days, bless God, the everlasting King.
4. And at the period of judgment shall they bless Him for his
mercy, as He has distributed it to them. Then I blessed God, addressing myself
to Him, and making mention, as was meet, of His greatness.
1. From there I proceeded towards the east to the middle of the
mountain in the desert, the level surface only of which I perceived.
2. It was full of trees of the seed alluded to; and water leaped
down upon it.
3. There appeared a cataract composed as of many cataracts both
towards the west and towards the east. Upon one side were trees; upon the
other water and dew.
1. Then I went to another place from the desert; towards the east
of that mountain which I had approached.
2. There I beheld choice trees,32 particularly,
those which produce the sweet-smelling opiate, frankincense and myrrh; and
trees unlike to each other.
3. And over it, above them, was the elevation of the eastern
mountain at no great distance.
1. I likewise saw another place with valleys of water which never
wasted,
2. Where I perceived a goodly tree, which in smell
resembled Zasakinon.33
3.
And towards the sides of these valleys I perceived cinnamon of
a sweet odour. Over them I advanced towards the east.
1. Then I beheld another mountain containing trees, from which
water flowed like Neketro,34 Its name was Sarira, and Kalboneba.35 And upon this mountain I beheld another mountain, upon which
were trees of Alva.36
2 .These trees were full, like almond trees, and strong; and when
they produced fruit, it was superior to all redolence.
1. After these things, surveying the entrances of the north, above
the mountains, I perceived seven mountains replete with pure nard, odoriferous
trees, cinnamon and papyrus.
2. From there I passed on above the summits of those mountains to
some distance eastwards, and went over the Erythraean sea.37 And
when I was advanced far beyond it, I passed along above the angel Zateel, and
arrived at the garden of righteousness. In this garden I beheld, among other
trees, some which were numerous and large, and which flourished there.
3. Their fragrance was agreeable and powerful, and their
appearance both varied and elegant. The tree of knowledge also was there, of
which if any one eats, he becomes endowed with great wisdom.
4. It was like a species of the tamarind tree, bearing fruit which
resembled grapes extremely fine; and its fragrance extended to a considerable
distance. I exclaimed, How beautiful is this tree, and how delightful is its
appearance!
5. Then holy Raphael, an angel who was with me, answered and said,
This is the tree of knowledge, of which your ancient father and your aged
mother ate, who were before you; and who, obtaining knowledge, their eyes
being opened, and knowing themselves to be naked, were expelled from the
garden.
1. From there I went on towards the extremities of the earth;
where I saw large beasts different from each other, and birds various in their
countenances and forms, as well as with notes of different sounds.
2. To the east of these beasts I perceived the extremities of the
earth, where heaven ceased. The gates of heaven stood open, and I beheld the
celestial stars come forth. I numbered them as they proceeded out of the gate,
and wrote them all down, as they came out one by one according to their
number. I wrote down their names altogether, their times and their
seasons, as the angel Uriel, who was with me, pointed them out to me.
3. He showed them all to me, and wrote down an account of
them.
4. He also wrote down for me their names, their regulations, and
their operations.
1. From there I advanced on towards the north, to the extremities
of the earth.
2. And there I saw a great and glorious wonder at the extremities
of the whole earth.
3. I saw there heavenly gates opening into heaven; three of them
distinctly separated. The northern winds proceeded from them, blowing cold,
hail, frost, snow, dew, and rain.
4. From one of the gates they blew mildly; but when they blew from
the two other gates, it was with violence and force. They blew over the
earth strongly.
1. From there I went to the extremities of the world westwards;
2. Where I perceived three gates open, as I had seen in the north;
the gates and passages through them being of equal magnitude.
1. Then I proceeded to the extremities of the earth southwards;
where I saw three gates open to the south, from which issued dew, rain, and
wind.
2. From there I went to the extremities of heaven eastwards; where
I saw three heavenly gates open to the east, which had smaller gates within
them. Through each of these small gates the stars of heaven passed on, and
proceeded towards the west by a path which was seen by them, and that at every
period of their appearance.
3. When I beheld them, I blessed; every time in which
they appeared, I blessed the Lord of glory, who had made those great and
splendid signs, that they might display the magnificence of this works to
angels and to the souls of men; and that these might glorify all his works and
operations; might see the effect of his power; might glorify the great labour
of his hands; and bless him for ever.
1. The vision which he saw, the second vision of wisdom, which
Enoch saw, the son of Jared, the son of Malaleel, the son of Canan, the son of
Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam. This is the commencement of the word
of wisdom, which I received to declare and tell to those who dwell upon earth.
Hear from the beginning, and understand to the end, the holy things which I
utter in the presence of the Lord of spirits. Those who were before us
thought it good to speak;
2. And let not us, who come after, obstruct the beginning of
wisdom. Until the present period never has there been given before the Lord of
spirits that which I have received, wisdom according the capacity of my
intellect, and according to the pleasure of the Lord of spirits; that which I
have received from him, a portion of life eternal.
3. And I obtained three parables, which I declared to the
inhabitants of the world.
1. Parable the first. When the congregation of the righteous shall
be manifested; and sinners be judged for their crimes, and be troubled in the
sight of the world.
2. When righteousness shall be manifested38 in the
presence of the righteous themselves, who will be elected for their good
works duly weighed by the Lord of spirits; and when the light of the
righteous and the elect, who dwell on earth, shall be manifested; where will
the habitation of sinners be? And where the place of rest for those who have
rejected the Lord of spirits? It would have been better for them, had they
never been born.
3. When, too, the secrets of the righteous shall be revealed, then
shall sinners be judged; and impious men shall be afflicted in the presence of
the righteous and the elect.
4. From that period those who possess the earth shall cease to be
powerful and exalted. Neither shall they be capable of beholding the
countenances of the holy; for the light of the countenances of the holy, the
righteous, and the elect, has been seen by the Lord of spirits.39
5. Yet shall not the mighty kings of that period be destroyed; but
be delivered into the hands of the righteous and the holy.
6. Nor thenceforwards shall any obtain commiseration from the Lord
of spirits, because their lives in this world will have been completed.
1. In those days shall the elect and holy race descend from the
upper heavens, and their seed shall then be with the sons of men. Enoch
received books of indignation and wrath, and books of hurry and agitation.
2. Never shall they obtain mercy, saith the Lord of spirits.
3. A cloud then snatched me up, and the wind raised me above the
surface of the earth, placing me at the extremity of the heavens.
4. There I saw another vision; I saw the habitations and
resting places of the saints. There my eyes beheld their habitations with the
angels, and their resting places with the holy ones. They were entreating,
supplicating, and praying for the sons of men; while righteousness like water
flowed before them, and mercy like dew was scattered over the earth.
And thus shall it be with them for ever and for ever.
5. At that time my eyes beheld the dwelling of the elect, of
truth, faith, and righteousness.
6. Countless shall be the number of the holy and the elect, in the
presence of God for ever and for ever.
7. Their residence I beheld under the wings of the Lord of
spirits. All the holy and the elect sung before him, in appearance like a
blaze of fire; their mouths being full of blessings, and their lips glorifying
the name of the Lord of spirits. And righteousness incessantly dwelt
before him.
8. There was I desirous of remaining, and my soul longed for that
habitation. There was my antecedent inheritance; for thus had I prevailed
before the Lord of spirits.
9. At that time I glorified and extolled the name of the Lord of
spirits with blessing and with praise; for he has established it with blessing
and with praise, according to his own good pleasure.
10. That place long did my eyes contemplate. I blessed and said,
Blessed be he, blessed from the beginning for ever. In the beginning, before
the world was created, and without end is his knowledge.
11. What is this world? Of every existing generation those shall
bless you who do not spiritually sleep but stand before your glory,
blessing, glorifying, exalting you, and saying, The holy, holy, Lord of
spirits, fills the whole world of spirits.
12. There my eyes beheld all who, without sleeping, stand before
him and bless him, saying, Blessed be you, and blessed be the name of God for
ever and for ever. Then my countenance became changed, until I was incapable
of seeing.
1. After this I beheld thousands of thousands, and myriads of
myriads, and an infinite number of people, standing before the Lord of
spirits.
2. On the four wings likewise of the Lord of spirits, on the four
sides, I perceived others, besides those who were standing before him.
Their names, too, I know; because the angel, who proceeded with me, declared
them to me, discovering to me every secret thing.
3. Then I heard the voices of those upon the four sides magnifying
the Lord of glory.
4. The first voice blessed the Lord of spirits for ever and for
ever.
5. The second voice I heard blessing the Elect One, and the elect
who suffer on account of the Lord of spirits.
6. The third voice I heard petitioning and praying for those who
dwell upon earth, and supplicate the name of the Lord of spirits.
7. The fourth voice I heard expelling the impious angels,40 and prohibiting them from entering into the presence of the Lord of
spirits, to prefer accusations against41 the inhabitants of the
earth.
8. After this I besought the angel of peace, who proceeded with
me, to explain all that was concealed. I said to him, Who are those whom
I have seen on the four sides, and who words I have heard and written down? He
replied, The first is the merciful, the patient, the holy Michael.
9. The second is he who presides over every suffering and
every affliction of the sons of men, the holy Raphael. The third, who
presides over all that is powerful, is Gabriel. And the fourth, who
presides over repentance, and the hope of those who will inherit eternal
life, is Phanuel. These are the four angels of the most high God, and their
four voices, which at that time I heard.
1. After this I beheld the secrets of the heavens and of paradise,
according to its divisions; and of human action, as they weight it there in
balances. I saw the habitations of the elect, and the habitations of the holy.
And there my eyes beheld all the sinners, who denied the Lord of glory, and
whom they were expelling from there, and dragging away, as they stood there;
no punishment proceeding against them from the Lord of spirits.
2. There, too, my eyes beheld the secrets of the lightning and the
thunder; and the secrets of the winds, how they are distributed as they blow
over the earth: the secrets of the winds, of the dew, and of the clouds. There
I perceived the place from which they issued forth, and became saturated with
the dust of the earth.
3. There I saw the wooden receptacles out of which the winds
became separated, the receptacle of hail, the receptacle of snow, the
receptacle of the clouds, and the cloud itself, which continued over
the earth before the creation of the world.
4. I beheld also the receptacles of the moon, whence they came,
whither they proceeded, their glorious return, and how one became more
splendid than another. I marked their rich progress, their unchangeable
progress, their disunited and undiminished progress; their observance of a
mutual fidelity by a stable oath; their proceeding forth before the sun, and
their adherence to the path allotted them,42 in obedience
to the command of the Lord of spirits. Potent is his name for ever and for
ever.
5. After this I perceived, that the path both
concealed and manifest of the moon, as well as the progress of its path, was
there completed by day and by night; while each, one with another, looked
towards the Lord of spirits, magnifying and praising without cessation, since
praise to them is rest; for in the splendid sun there is a frequent conversion
to blessing and to malediction.
6. The course of the moon’s path to the righteous is light, but to
sinners it is darkness; in the name of the Lord of spirits, who created a
division between light and darkness, and, separating the spirits of men,
strengthened the spirits of the righteous in the name of his own
righteousness.
7. Nor does the angel prevent this, neither is he endowed
with the power of preventing it; for the Judge beholds them all, and judges
them all in his own presence.
1. Wisdom found not a place on earth where she could
inhabit; her dwelling therefore is in heaven.
2. Wisdom went forth to dwell among the sons of men, but she
obtained not a habitation. Wisdom returned to her place, and seated herself in
the midst of the angels. But iniquity went forth after her return, who
unwillingly found a habitation, and resided among them, as rain
in the desert, and as a dew in a thirsty land.
1. I beheld another splendour, and the stars of heaven. I observed
that he called them all by their respective names, and that they heard. In a
righteous balance I saw that he weighed out with their light the amplitude of
their places, and the day of their appearance, and their conversion. Splendour
produced splendour; and their conversion was into the number of the
angels, and of the faithful.
2. Then I inquired of the angel, who proceeded with me, and
explained to me secret things, What their names were. He answered. A
similitude of those has the Lord of spirits shown you. They are names of the
righteous who dwell upon earth, and who believe in the name of the Lord of
spirits for ever and for ever.
1. Another thing also I saw respecting splendour; that it rises out of the stars, and becomes splendour; being incapable of forsaking them.
1. Parable the second, respecting these who deny the name of the
habitation of the holy ones, and of the Lord of spirits.
2. Heaven they shall not ascend, nor shall they come on the earth.
This shall be the portion of sinners, who deny the name of the Lord of
spirits, and who are thus reserved for the day of punishment and of
affliction.
3. In that day shall the Elect One sit upon a throne of glory; and
shall choose their conditions and countless habitations, while their spirits
within them shall be strengthened, when they behold my Elect One, for those
who have fled for protection to my holy and glorious name.
4. In that day I will cause my Elect One to dwell in the midst of
them; will change the face of heaven; will bless it, and illuminate it
for ever.
5. I will also change the face of the earth, will bless it;
and cause those whom I have elected to dwell upon it. But those who have
committed sin and iniquity shall not inhabit it, for I have marked their
proceedings. My righteous ones will I satisfy with peace, placing them before
me; but the condemnation of sinners shall draw near, that I may destroy them
from the face of the earth.
1. There I beheld the Ancient of days, whose head was like white
wool, and with him another, whose countenance resembled that of man. His
countenance was full of grace, like that of one of the holy angels.
Then I inquired of one of the angels, who went with me, and who showed me
every secret thing, concerning this Son of man; who he was; whence he was and
why he accompanied the Ancient of days.
2. He answered and said to me, This is the Son of man, to whom
righteousness belongs; with whom righteousness has dwelt; and who will reveal
all the treasures of that which is concealed: for the Lord of spirits has
chosen him; and his portion has surpassed all before the Lord of spirits in
everlasting uprightness.
3. This Son of man, whom you behold, shall raise up kings and the
mighty from their dwelling places, and the powerful from their thrones; shall
loosen the bridles of the powerful, and break in pieces the teeth of sinners.
4. He shall hurl kings from their thrones and their dominions;
because they will not exalt and praise him, nor humble themselves before
him, by whom their kingdoms were granted to them. The countenance likewise
of the mighty shall He cast down, filling them with confusion. Darkness shall
be their habitation, and worms shall be their bed; nor from that their
bed shall they hope to be again raised, because they exalted not the name of
the Lord of spirits.
5. They shall condemn the stars of heaven, shall lift up their
hands against the Most High, shall tread upon and inhabit the earth,
exhibiting all their acts of iniquity, even their works of iniquity. Their
strength shall be in their riches, and their faith in the gods whom they have
formed with their own hands. They shall deny the name of the Lord of spirits,
and shall expel him from the temples, in which they assemble;
6. And with him the faithful,43 who suffer in
the name of the Lord of spirits.
1. In that day the prayer of the holy and the righteous, and the
blood of the righteous, shall ascend from the earth into the presence of the
Lord of spirits.
2. In that day shall the holy ones assemble, who dwell above the
heavens, and with united voice petition, supplicate, praise, laud, and bless
the name of the Lord of spirits, on account of the blood of the righteous
which has been shed; that the prayer of the righteous may not be intermitted
before the Lord of spirits; that for them he would execute judgment; and that
his patience may not endure for ever.44
3. At that time I beheld the Ancient of days, while he sat upon
the throne of his glory, while the book of the living was opened in his
presence, and while all the powers which were above the heavens stood
around and before him.
4. Then were the hearts of the saints full of joy, because the
consummation of righteousness was arrived, the supplication of the saints
heard, and the blood of the righteous appreciated by the Lord of spirits.
1. In that place I beheld a fountain of righteousness, which never
failed, encircled by many springs of wisdom. Of these all the thirsty drank,
and were filled with wisdom, having their habitation with the righteous, the
elect, and the holy.
2. In that hour was this Son of man invoked before the Lord of
spirits, and his name in the presence of the Ancient of days.
3. Before the sun and the signs were created, before the stars of
heaven were formed, his name was invoked in the presence of the Lord of
spirits. A support shall he be for the righteous and the holy to lean upon,
without falling; and he shall be the light of nations.
4 .He shall be the hope of those whose hearts are troubled. All,
who dwell on earth, shall fall down and worship before him; shall bless and
glorify him, and sing praises to the name of the Lord of spirits.
5. Therefore the Elect and the Concealed One existed in his
presence, before the world was created, and for ever.
6. In his presence he existed, and has revealed to the
saints and to the righteous the wisdom of the Lord of spirits; for he has
preserved the lot of the righteous, because they have hated and rejected this
world of iniquity, and have detested all its works and ways, in the name of
the Lord of spirits.
7. For in his name shall they be preserved; and his will shall be
their life. In those days shall the kings of the earth and the mighty men, who
have gained the world by their achievements, become humble in countenance.
8. For in the day of their anxiety and trouble their souls shall
not be saved; and they shall be in subjection to those whom I have
chosen.
9. I will cast them like hay into the fire, and like lead into the
water. Thus shall they burn in the presence of the righteous, and sink in the
presence of the holy; nor shall a tenth part of them be found.
10. But in the day of their trouble, the world shall obtain
tranquillity.
11. In his presence shall they fall, and not be raised up again;
nor shall there be any one to take them out of his hands, and to lift them up:
for they have denied the Lord of spirits, and his Messiah. The name of the
Lord of spirits shall be blessed.
1. Wisdom is poured forth like water, and glory fails not before
him for ever and ever; for potent is he in all the secrets of righteousness.
2. But iniquity passes away like a shadow, and possesses not a
fixed station: for the Elect One stands before the Lord of spirits; and his
glory is for ever and ever; and his power from generation to generation.
3. With him dwells the spirit of intellectual wisdom, the spirit
of instruction and of power, and the spirit of those who sleep in
righteousness; he shall judge secret things.
4. Nor shall any be able to utter a single word before him; for
the Elect One is in the presence of the Lord of Spirits, according to his own
pleasure.
1. In those days the saints and the chosen shall undergo a change.
The light of day shall rest upon them; and the splendour and glory of the
saints shall be changed.
2. In the day of trouble evil shall be heaped up upon sinners; but
the righteous shall triumph in the name of the Lord of spirits.
3. Others shall be made to see, that they must repent, and forsake
the works of their hands; and that glory awaits them not in the presence of
the Lord of spirits; yet that by his name they may be saved. The Lord of
spirits will have compassion on them; for great is his mercy; and
righteousness is in his judgment, and in the presence of his glory; nor in his
judgment shall iniquity stand. He who repents not before him shall perish.
4. Henceforward I will not have mercy on them, saith the Lord of
spirits.
1. In those days shall the earth deliver up from her womb, and
hell deliver up from hers, that which it has received; and destruction shall
restore that which it owes.
2. He shall select the righteous and holy from among them; for the
day of their salvation has approached.
3. And in those days shall the Elect One sit upon his throne,
while every secret of intellectual wisdom shall proceed from his mouth, for
the Lord of spirits has gifted and glorified him.
4. In those days the mountains shall skip like rams, and the hills
shall leap like young sheep46 satiated with milk; and all the
righteous shall become like angels in heaven.
5. Their countenance shall be bright with joy; for in those days
shall the Elect One be exalted. The earth shall rejoice; the righteous shall
inhabit it, and the elect possess it.
1. After that period, in the place where I had seen every secret
sight, I was snatched up in a whirlwind, and carried off westwards.
2. There my eyes beheld the secrets of heaven, and all which
existed on earth; a mountain of iron, a mountain of copper, a mountain of
silver, a mountain of gold, a mountain of fluid metal, and a mountain of lead.
3. And I inquired of the angel who went with me, saying, What are
these things, which in secret I behold?
4. He said, All these things which you behold shall be for the
dominion of the Messiah, that he may command, and be powerful upon earth.
5. And that angel of peace answered me, saying, Wait but a short
time, and you shalt understand, and every secret thing shall be revealed to
you, which the Lord of spirits has decreed. Those mountains which you have
seen, the mountain of iron, the mountain of copper, the mountain of silver,
the mountain of gold, the mountain of fluid metal, and the mountain of lead,
all these in the presence of the Elect One shall be like a honeycomb before
the fire, and like water descending from above upon these mountains; and shall
become debilitated before his feet.
6. In those days men shall not be saved by gold and by silver.
7. Nor shall they have it in their power to secure themselves, and
to fly.
8. There shall be neither iron for was, nor a coat of mail for the
breast.
9. Copper shall be useless; useless also that which neither rusts
nor consumes away; and lead shall not be coveted.
10. All these things shall be rejected, and perish from off the
earth, when the Elect One shall appear in the presence of the Lord of spirits.
1. There my eyes beheld a deep valley; and wide was its entrance.
2. All who dwell on land, on the sea, and in islands, shall bring
to it gifts, presents, and offerings; yet that deep valley shall not be full.
Their hands shall commit iniquity. Whatsoever they produce by labour, the
sinners shall devour with crime. But they shall perish from the face of the
Lord of spirits, and from the face of his earth. They shall stand up, and
shall not fail for ever and ever.
3. I beheld the angels of punishment, who were dwelling there,
and preparing every instrument of Satan.
4. Then I inquired of the angel of peace, who proceeded with me,
for whom those instruments were preparing.
5. He said, These they are preparing for the kings and powerful
ones of the earth, that thus they may perish.
6. After which the righteous and chosen house of his congregation
shall appear, and thenceforward unchangeable in the name of the Lord of
spirits.
7. Nor shall those mountains exist in his presence as the earth
and the hills, as the fountains of water exist. And the righteous shall
be relieved from the vexation of sinners.
1. Then I looked and turned myself to another part of the earth,
where I beheld a deep valley burning with fire.
2. To this valley they brought monarchs and the mighty.
3. And there my eyes beheld the instruments which they were
making, fetters of iron without weight.47
4. Then I inquired of the angel of peace, who proceeded with me,
saying, For whom are these fetters and instruments prepared?
5. He replied, These are prepared for the host of Azazeel, that
they may be delivered over and adjudged to the lowest condemnation; and that
their angels may be overwhelmed with hurled stones, as the Lord of spirits has
commanded.
6. Michael and Gabriel, Raphael and Phanuel shall be strengthened
in that day, and shall then cast them into a furnace of blazing fire, that the
Lord of spirits may be avenged of them for their crimes; because they became
ministers of Satan, and seduced those who dwell upon earth.
7. In those days shall punishment go forth from the Lord of
spirits; and the receptacles of water which are above the heavens shall be
opened, and the fountains likewise, which are under the heavens and under the
earth.
8. All the waters, which are in the heavens and above them, shall
be mixed together.
9. The water which is above heaven shall be the agent;48
10. And the water which is under the earth shall be the recipient:49 and all shall be destroyed who dwell upon earth, and who dwell
under the extremities of heaven.
11. By these means shall they understand the iniquity which they
have committed on earth: and by these means shall they perish.
1. Afterwards the Ancient of days repented, and said, In vain have
I destroyed all the inhabitants of the earth.
2. And he sware by his great name, saying, Henceforwards I
will not act thus towards all those who dwell upon earth.
3. But I will place a sign in the heavens;50 and it
shall be a faithful witness between me and them for ever, as long as the days
of heaven and earth last upon the earth.
4. Afterwards, according to this my decree, when I shall be
disposed to seize them beforehand, by the instrumentality of angels, in the
day of affliction and trouble, my wrath and my punishment shall remain upon
them, my punishment and my wrath, saith God the Lord of spirits.
5. O you kings, O you mighty, who inhabit the world you shall
behold my Elect One, sitting upon the throne of my glory. And he shall judge
Azazeel, all his associates, and all his hosts, in the name of the Lord of
spirits.
6. There likewise I beheld hosts of angels who were moving in
punishment, confined in a net-work of iron and brass. Then I inquired of the
angel of peace, who proceeded with me, To whom those under confinement were
going.
7. He said, To each of their elect and their beloved,51
that they may be cast into the fountains and deep recesses of the valley.
8. And that valley shall be filled with their elect and beloved;
the days of whose life shall be consumed, but the days of their error shall be
innumerable.
9. Then shall princes52 combine together, and
conspire. The chiefs of the east, among the Parthians and Medes, shall remove
kings, in whom a spirit of perturbation shall enter. They shall hurl them from
their thrones, springing as lions from their dens, and like famished wolves
into the midst of the flock.
10. They shall go up, and tread upon the land of their elect. The
land of their elect shall be before them. The threshing-floor, the path, and
the city of my righteous people shall impede the progress of
their horses. They shall rise up to destroy each other; their right hand shall
be strengthened; nor shall a man acknowledge his friend or his brother;
11. Nor the son his father and his mother; until the number of the
dead bodies shall be completed, by their death and punishment. Neither
shall this take place without cause.
12. In those days shall the mouth of hell be opened, into which
they shall be immerged; hell shall destroy and swallow up sinners from the
face of the elect.
1. After this I beheld another army of chariots with men riding in
them.
2. And they came upon the wind from the east, from the west, and
from the south.53
3. The sound of the noise of their chariots was heard.
4. And when that agitation took place; the saints out of heaven
perceived it; the pillar of the earth shook from its foundation; and the sound
was heard from the extremities of the earth unto the extremities of heaven at
the same time.
5. Then they all fell down, and worshipped the Lord of spirits.
6. This is the end of the second parable.
1. I now began to utter the third parable, concerning the saints
and the elect.
2. Blessed are you, O saints and elect, for glorious is your lot.
3. The saints shall exist in the light of the sun, and the elect
in the light of everlasting life, the days of whose life shall never
terminate; nor shall the days of the saints be numbered, who seek for light,
and obtain righteousness with the Lord of spirits.
4. Peace be to the saints with the Lord of the world.
5. Henceforward shall the saints be told to seek in heaven the
secrets of righteousness, the portion of faith; for like the sun has it arisen
upon the earth, while darkness has passed away. There shall be light
interminable; nor shall they enter upon the enumeration of time; for darkness
shall be previously destroyed, and light shall increase before the Lord of
spirits; before the Lord of spirits shall the light of uprightness increase
for ever.
1. In those days my eyes beheld the secrets of the lightnings and
the splendours, and the judgment belonging to them.
2. They lighten for a blessing and for a curse, according to the
will of the Lord of spirits.
3. And there I saw the secrets of the thunder, when it rattles
above in heaven, and its sound is heard.
4. The habitations also of the earth were shown to me. The sound
of the thunder is for peace and for blessing, as well as for a curse,
according to the word of the Lord of spirits.
5. Afterwards every secret of the splendours and of the lightnings
was seen by me. For blessing and for fertility they lighten.
1. In the five hundredth year, and in the seventh month, on the
fourteenth day of the month, of the lifetime of Enoch, in that parable,
I saw that the heaven of heavens shook; that it shook violently; and that the
powers of the Most High, and the angels, thousands and thousands, and myriads
of myriads, were agitated with great agitation. And when I looked, the Ancient
of days was sitting on the throne of his glory, while the angels and saints
were standing around him. A great trembling came upon me, and terror seized
me. My loins were bowed down and loosened; my reins were dissolved; and I fell
upon my face. The holy Michael, another holy angel, one of the holy ones, was
sent, who raised me up.
2. And when he raised me, my spirit returned; for I was incapable
of enduring this vision of violence, its agitation, and the concussion of
heaven.
3. Then holy Michael said to me, Why are you disturbed at this
vision?
4. Hitherto has existed the day of mercy; and he has been merciful
and longsuffering towards all who dwell upon the earth.
5. But when the time shall come, then shall the power, the
punishment, and the judgment take place, which the Lord of spirits has
prepared for those who prostrate themselves to the judgment of righteousness,
for those who abjure that judgment, and for those who take his name in
vain.
6. That day has been prepared for the elect as a day of
covenant; and for sinners as a day of inquisition.
7. In that day shall be distributed for food54
two monsters; a female monster, whose name is Leviathan, dwelling in the
depths of the sea, above the springs of waters;
8. And a male monster, whose name is Behemoth; which
possesses, moving on his breast, the invisible wilderness.
9. His name was Dendayen in the east of the garden, where the
elect and the righteous will dwell; where he received it from my
ancestor, who was man, from Adam the first of men,55 whom the
Lord of spirits made.
10. Then I asked of another angel to show me the power of those
monsters, how they became separated, how they became separated on the same
day, one being in the depths of the sea, and one in the dry desert.
11. And he said, You, son of man, are here desirous of
understanding secret things.
12. And the angel of peace, who was with me, said, These two
monsters are by the power of God prepared to become food, that the punishment
of God may not be in vain.
13. Then shall children be slain with their mothers, and sons with
their fathers.
14. And when the punishment of the Lord of spirits shall continue,
upon them shall it continue, that the punishment of the Lord of spirits may
not take place in vain. After that, judgment shall exist with mercy and
longsuffering.
1. Then another angel, who proceeded with me, spoke to me;
2. And showed me the first and last secrets in heaven above, and
in the depths of the earth:
3. In the extremities of heaven, and in the foundations of it, and
in the receptacle of the winds.
4. He showed me how their spirits were divided; how they
were balanced; and how both the springs and the winds were numbered according
to the force of their spirit.
5. He showed me the power of the moon's light, that its
power is a just one; as well as the divisions of the stars, according to their
respective names;
6. That every division is divided; that the lightning
flashes;
7. That its troops immediately obey; and that a cessation takes
place during thunder in continuance of its sound. Nor are the thunder and the
lightning separated; neither do both of them move with one spirit; yet they
are not separated.
8. For when the lightning lightens, the thunder sounds, and the
spirit at a proper period pauses, making an equal division between them; for
the receptacle, upon which their periods depend, is loose as sand. Each
of them at a proper season is restrained with a bridle; and turned by the
power of the spirit, which thus propels them according to the spacious
extent of the earth.
9. The spirit likewise of the sea is potent and strong; and as a
strong power causes it to ebb, so is it driven forwards, and scattered against
the mountains of the earth. The spirit of the frost has its angel; in the
spirit of hail there is a good angel; the spirit of snow ceases in its
strength, and a solitary spirit is in it, which ascends from it like vapour,
and is called refrigeration.
10. The spirit also of mist dwells with them in their receptacle;
but it has a receptacle to itself; for its progress is in splendour.
11. In light, and in darkness, in winter and in summer. Its
receptacle is bright, and an angel is in it.
12. The spirit of dew has its abode in the extremities of
heaven, in connection with the receptacle of rain; and its progress is in
winter and in summer. The cloud produced by it, and the cloud of the mist,
become united; one gives to the other; and when the spirit of rain is in
motion from its receptacle, angels come, and opening its receptacle, bring it
forth.
13. When likewise it is sprinkled over all the earth, it forms an
union with every kind of water on the ground; for the waters remain on the
ground, because they afford nourishment to the earth from the Most
High, who is in heaven.
14. Upon this account therefore there is a regulation in the
quantity of rain, which the angels receive.
15. These things I saw; all of them, even paradise.
1. In those days I beheld long ropes given to those angels; who
took to their wings, and fled, advancing towards the north.
2. And I inquired of the angel, saying, Wherefore have they taken
those long ropes, and gone forth? He said, They are gone forth to measure.
3. The angel, who proceeded with me, said, These are the measures
of the righteous; and cords shall the righteous bring, that they may trust in
the name of the Lord of spirits for ever and ever.
4. The elect shall begin to dwell with the elect.
5. And these are the measures which shall be given to faith, and
which shall strengthen the words of righteousness.
6. These measures shall reveal all the secrets in the depth of the
earth.
7. And it shall be, that those who have been destroyed in
the desert, and who have been devoured by the fish of the sea, and by wild
beasts, shall return, and trust in the day of the Elect One; for none shall
perish in the presence of the Lord of spirits, nor shall any be capable of
perishing.
8. Then they received the commandment, all who were in the
heavens above; to whom a combined power, voice, and splendour, like fire, were
given.
9. And first, with their voice, they blessed him, they
exalted him, they glorified him with wisdom, and ascribed to him wisdom with
the word, and with the breath of life.
10. Then the Lord of spirits seated upon the throne of his glory
the Elect One;
11. Who shall judge all the works of the holy, in heaven above,
and in a balance shall he weigh their actions. And when he shall lift up his
countenance to judge their secret ways in the word of the name of the Lord of
spirits, and their progress in the path of the righteous judgment of God most
high;
12. They shall all speak with united voice; and bless, glorify,
exalt, and praise, in the name of the Lord of spirits.
13. He shall call to every power of the heavens, to all the holy
above, and to the power of God. The Cherubim, the Seraphim, and the Ophanin,
all the angels of power, and all the angels of the Lords, namely, of the Elect
One, and of the other Power, who was upon earth over the water on that
day,
14. Shall raise their united voice; shall bless, glorify, praise,
and exalt with the spirit of faith, with the spirit of wisdom and patience,
with the spirit of mercy, with the spirit of judgment and peace, and with the
spirit of benevolence; all shall say with united voice; Blessed is He; and the
name of the Lord of spirits shall be blessed for ever and for ever; all, who
sleep not, shall bless it in heaven above.
15. All the holy in heaven shall bless it; all the elect who dwell
in the garden of life; and every spirit of light, who is capable of blessing,
glorifying, exalting, and praising your holy name; and every mortal man,56 more than the powers of heaven, shall glorify and bless your
name for ever and ever.
16. For great is the mercy of the Lord of spirits; long-suffering
is he; and all his works, all his power, great as are the things which he has
done, has he revealed to the saints and to the elect, in the name of the Lord
of spirits.
1. Thus the Lord commanded the kings, the princes, the exalted,
and those who dwell on earth, saying, Open your eyes, and lift up your horns,
if you are capable of comprehending the Elect One.
2. The Lord of spirits sat upon the throne of his glory.
3. And the spirit of righteousness was poured out over him.
4. The word of his mouth shall destroy all the sinners and all the
ungodly, who shall perish at his presence.
5. In that day shall all the kings, the princes, the exalted, and
those who possess the earth, stand up, behold, and perceive, that he is
sitting on the throne of his glory; that before him the saints shall be judged
in righteousness;
6. And that nothing, which shall be spoken before him, shall be
spoken in vain.
7. Trouble shall come upon them, as upon a woman in travail, whose
labour is severe, when her child comes to the mouth of the womb, and she finds
it difficult to bring forth.
8. One portion of them shall look upon another. They shall be
astonished, and shall humble their countenance;
9. And trouble shall seize them, when they shall behold this Son
of woman sitting upon the throne of his glory.
10. Then shall the kings, the princes, and all who possess the
earth, glorify him who has dominion over all things, him who was concealed;
for from the beginning the Son of man existed in secret, whom the Most High
preserved in the presence of his power, and revealed to the elect.
11. He shall sow the congregation of the saints, and of the elect;
and all the elect shall stand before him in that day.
12. All the kings, the princes, the exalted, and those who rule
over all the earth, shall fall down on their faces before him, and shall
worship him.
13. They shall fix their hopes on this Son of man, shall pray to
him, and petition him for mercy.
14. Then shall the Lord of spirits hasten to expel them from his
presence. Their faces shall be full of confusion, and their faces shall
darkness cover. The angels shall take them to punishment, that vengeance may
be inflicted on those who have oppressed his children and his elect. And they
shall become an example to the saints and to his elect. Through them shall
these be made joyful; for the anger of the Lord of spirits shall rest upon
them.
15. Then the sword of the Lord of spirits shall be drunk with
their blood; but the saints and elect shall be safe in that day; nor the face
of the sinners and the ungodly shall they thenceforwards behold.
16. The Lord of spirits shall remain over them:
17. And with this Son of man shall they dwell, eat, lie down, and
rise up, for ever and ever.
18. The saints and the elect have arisen from the earth, have left
off to depress their countenances, and have been clothed with the garment of
life. That garment of life is with the Lord of spirits, in whose presence your
garment shall not wax old, nor shall your glory diminish.
1. In those days the kings who possess the earth shall be punished
by the angels of his wrath, wheresoever they shall be delivered up, that he
may give rest for a short period; and that they may fall down and worship
before the Lord of spirits, confessing their sins before him
2. They shall bless and glorify the Lord of spirits, saying,
Blessed is the Lord of spirits, the Lord of kings, the Lord of princes, the
Lord of the rich, the Lord of glory, and the Lord of wisdom.
3. He shall enlighten every secret thing.
4. Your power is from generation to generation; and your glory for
ever and ever.
5. Deep are all your secrets, and numberless; and your
righteousness cannot be calculated.
6. Now we know, that we should glorify and bless the Lord of
kings, him who is King over all things.
7. They shall also say, Who has granted us rest to glorify, laud,
bless, and confess in the presence of his glory?
8. And now small is the rest we desire; but we do not find it;
we reject, and do not possess it. Light has passed away from before us;
and darkness has covered our thrones for ever.
9. For we have not confessed before him; we have not glorified
the name of the Lord of kings; we have not glorified the Lord in all his
works; but we have trusted in the sceptre of our dominion and of our glory.
10. In the day of our suffering and of our trouble he will not
save us, neither shall we find rest. We confess that our Lord is faithful in
all his works, in all his judgments, and in his righteousness.
11. In his judgments he pays no respect to persons; and we must
depart from his presence, on account of our evil deeds.
12. All our sins are truly without number.
13. Then shall they say to themselves, Our souls are satiated with
the instruments of crime;
14. But that prevents us not from descending to the flaming womb
of hell.
15. Afterwards, their countenances shall be filled with darkness
and confusion before the Son of man; from whose presence they shall be
expelled, and before whom the sword shall remain to expel them.
16. Thus saith the Lord of spirits, This is the decree and the
judgment against the princes, the kings, the exalted, and those who possess
the earth, in the presence of the Lord of spirits.
1. I saw also other countenances in that secret place. I heard the voice of an angel, saying, These are the angels who have descended from heaven to earth, and have revealed secrets to the sons of men, and have seduced the sons of men to the commission of sin.
1 In those days Noah saw that the earth became inclined, and that
destruction approached.
2. Then he lifted up his feet, and went to the ends of the earth,
to the dwelling of his great-grandfather Enoch.
3. And Noah cried with a bitter voice, Hear me; hear me; hear me:
three times. And he said, Tell me what is transacting upon the earth; for the
earth labours, and is violently shaken. Surely I shall perish with it.
4. After this there was a great perturbation on earth, and a voice
was heard from heaven. I fell down on my face, when my great-grandfather Enoch
came and stood by me.
5. He said to me, Why have you cried out to me with a bitter cry
and lamentation?
6. A commandment has gone forth from the Lord against those who
dwell on the earth, that they may be destroyed; for they know every secret of
the angels, every oppressive and secret power of the devils,58
and every power of those who commit sorcery, as well as of those who make
molten images in the whole earth.
7. They know how silver is produced from the dust of the
earth, and how on the earth the metallic drop exists; for lead and tin
are not produced from earth, as the primary fountain of their production.
8. There is an angel standing upon it, and that angel struggles to
prevail.
9. Afterwards my great-grandfather Enoch seized me with his hand,
raising me up, and saying to me, Go, for I have asked the Lord of spirits
respecting this perturbation of the earth; who replied, On account of their
impiety have their innumerable judgments been consummated before me.
Respecting the moons have they inquired, and they have known that the earth
will perish with those who dwell upon it,59 and that to these
there will be no place of refuge for ever.
10. They have discovered secrets, and they are those who
have been judged; but not you my son. The Lord of spirits knows that you are
pure and good, free from the reproach of discovering secrets.
11. He, the holy One, will establish your name in the midst of the
saints, and will preserve you from those who dwell upon the earth. He will
establish your seed in righteousness, with dominion and great glory;60
and from your seed shall spring forth righteousness and holy men without
number for ever.
1. After this he showed me the angels of punishment, who were
prepared to come, and to open all the mighty waters under the earth:
2. That they may be for judgment, and for the destruction of all
those who remain and dwell upon the earth.
3. And the Lord of spirits commanded the angels who went forth,
not to take up the men and preserve them.
4. For those angels presiding over all the mighty waters.
Then I went out from the presence of Enoch.
1 In those days the word of God came to me, and said, Noah,
behold, your lot has ascended up to me, a lot void of crime, a lot beloved and
upright.
2. Now then shall the angels labour at the trees;61
but when they proceed to this, I will put my hand upon it, and preserve it.
3. The seed of life shall arise from it, and a change shall take
place, that the dry land shall not be left empty. I will establish your seed
before me for ever and ever, and the seed of those who dwell with you on the
surface of the earth. It shall be blessed and multiplied in the presence of
the earth, in the name of the Lord.
4. And they shall confine those angels who disclosed impiety. In
that burning valley it is, that they shall be confined, which at first
my great-grandfather Enoch showed me in the west, where there were mountains
of gold and silver, of iron, of fluid metal, and of tin.
5. I beheld that valley in which there was great perturbation, and
where the waters were troubled.
6. And when all this was effected, from the fluid mass of fire,
and the perturbation which prevailed62 in that place, there
arose a strong smell of sulphur, which became mixed with the waters; and the
valley of the angels, who had been guilty of seduction, burned underneath its
soil.
7. Through that valley also rivers of fire were flowing, to which
those angels shall be condemned, who seduced the inhabitants of the earth.
8. And in those days shall these waters be to kings, to princes,
to the exalted, and to the inhabitants of the earth, for the healing of the
soul and body, and for the judgment of the spirit.
9. Their spirits shall be full of revelry,63 that
they may be judged in their bodies; because they have denied the Lord of
spirits, and although they perceive their condemnation day by day, they
believe not in his name.
10. And as the inflammation of their bodies shall be great, so
shall their spirits undergo a change for ever.
11. For no word which is uttered before the Lord of spirits shall
be in vain.
12. Judgment has come upon them, because they trusted in their
carnal revelry, and denied the Lord of spirits.
13. In those days shall the waters of that valley be changed; for
when the angels shall be judged, then shall the heat of those springs of water
experience an alteration.
14. And when the angels shall ascend, the water of the springs
shall again undergo a change, and be frozen. Then I heard holy Michael
answering and saying, This judgment, with which the angels shall be judged,
shall bear testimony against the kings, the princes, and those who possess the
earth.
15. For these waters of judgment shall be for their healing, and
for the death64 of their bodies. But they shall not perceive and
believe that the waters will be changed, and become a fire, which shall blaze
for ever.
1. After this he gave me the characteristical marks65
of all the secret things in the book of my great-grandfather Enoch, and in the
parables which had been given to him; inserting them for me among the words of
the book of parables.
2. At that that time holy Michael answered and said to Raphael,
The power of the spirit hurries me away, and impels me on. The severity of the
judgment, of the secret judgment of the angels, who is capable of beholding–the
endurance of that severe judgment which has taken place and been made
permanent–without being melted at the site of it? Again holy Michael answered
and said to holy Raphael, Who is there whose heart is not softened by it, and
whose reins are not troubled at this thing?
3. Judgment has gone forth against them by those who have thus
dragged them away; and that was, when they stood in the presence of the Lord
of spirits.
4. In like manner also holy Rakael said to Raphael, They shall not
be before the eye of the Lord;66 since the Lord of spirits has
been offended with them; for like Lords67 have they conducted
themselves. Therefore will he bring upon them a secret judgment for ever and
ever.
5. For neither shall angel nor man receive a portion of it; but
they alone shall receive their own judgment for ever end ever.
1. After this judgment they shall be astonished and irritated; for
it shall be exhibited to the inhabitants of the earth.
2. Behold the names of those angels. These are their names. The
first of them is Samyaza; the second, Arstikapha; the third, Armen; the
fourth, Kakabael; the fifth, Turel; the sixth, Rumyel; the seventh, Danyal;
the eighth, Kael; the ninth, Barakel; the tenth, Azazel; the eleventh, Armers;
the twelfth, Bataryal; the thirteenth, Basasael; the fourteenth, Ananel; the
fifteenth, Turyal; the sixteenth, Simapiseel; the seventeenth, Yetarel; the
eighteenth, Tumael; the nineteenth, Tarel; the twentieth, Rumel; the
twenty-first, Azazyel.
3. These are the chiefs of their angels, and the names of the
leaders of their hundreds, and the leaders of their fifties, and the leaders
of their tens.
4. The name of the first is Yekun:68 he it was who
seduced all the sons of the holy angels; and causing them to descend on earth,
led astray the offspring of men.
5. The name of the second is Kesabel, who pointed out evil counsel
to the sons of the holy angels, and induced them to corrupt their bodies by
generating mankind.
6. The name of the third is Gadrel: he discovered every stroke of
death to the children of men.
7. He seduced Eve; and discovered to the children of men the
instruments of death, the coat of mail, the shield, and the sword for
slaughter; every instrument of death to the children of men.
8. From his hand were these things derived to them who
dwell upon earth, from that period for ever.
9. The name of the fourth is Penemue: he discovered to the
children of men bitterness and sweetness;
10. And pointed out to them every secret of their wisdom.
11. He taught men to understand writing, and the use of ink
and paper.
12. Therefore numerous have been those who have gone astray from
every period of the world, even to this day.
13. For men were not born for this, thus with pen and with ink to
confirm their faith;
14. Since they were not created, except that, like the angels,
they might remain righteous and pure.
15. Nor would death, which destroys everything, have effected
them;
16. But by this their knowledge they perish, and by this also
its power consumes them.
17. The name of the fifth is Kasyade: he discovered to the
children of men every wicked stroke of spirits and of demons:
18. The stroke of the embryo in the womb, to diminish it;69 the stroke of the spirit by the bite of the serpent,
and the stroke which is given in the mid-day by the offspring of
the serpent, the name of which is Tabaet.70
19. This is the number of the Kasbel; the principal part of the
oath which the Most High, dwelling in glory, revealed to the holy ones.
20. Its name is Beka. He spoke to holy Michael to discover to them
the sacred name, that they might understand that secret name, and thus
remember the oath; and that those who pointed out every secret thing to the
children of men might tremble at that name and oath.
21. This is the power of that oath; for powerful it is, and
strong.
22. And he established this oath of Akae by the instrumentality of
the holy Michael.
23. These are the secrets of this oath, and by it were they
confirmed.
24. Heaven was suspended by it before the world was made,
for ever.
25. By it has the earth been founded upon the flood; while from
the concealed parts of the hills the agitated waters proceed forth from the
creation to the end of the world.
26. By this oath the sea has been formed, and the foundation of
it.
27. During the period of its fury he established the sand
against it, which continues unchanged for ever; and by this oath the abyss has
been made strong; nor is it removable from its station for ever and ever.
28. By this oath the sun and moon complete their progress, never
swerving from the command given to them for ever and ever.
29. By this oath the stars complete their progress;
30. And when their names are called, they return an answer, for
ever and ever.
31. Thus in the heavens take place the blowings of
the winds: all of them have breathings,71 and effect a
complete combination of breathings.
32. There the treasures of thunder are kept, and the splendour of
the lightning.
33. There are kept the treasures of hail and of frost, the
treasures of snow, the treasures of rain and of dew.
34. All these confess and laud before the Lord of spirits.
35. They glorify with all their power of praise; and he sustains
them in all that act of thanksgiving; while they laud, glorify, and
exalt the name of the Lord of spirits for ever and ever.
36. And with them he establishes this oath, by which they and
their paths are preserved; nor does their progress perish.
37. Great was their joy.
38. They blessed, glorified, and exalted, because the name of the
Son of man was revealed to them.
39. He sat upon the throne of his glory; and the principal part of
the judgment was assigned to him, the Son of man. Sinners shall disappear and
perish from the face of the earth, while those who seduced them shall be bound
with chains for ever.
40. According to their ranks of corruption shall they be
imprisoned, and all their works shall disappear from the face of the earth;
nor thenceforward shall there be any to corrupt; for the Son of man has been
seen, sitting on the throne of his glory.
41. Everything wicked shall disappear, and depart from before his
face; and the word of the Son of man shall become powerful in the presence of
the Lord of spirits.
42. This is the third parable of Enoch.
1. After this the name of the Son of man, living with the Lord of
spirits, was exalted by the inhabitants of the earth.
2. It was exalted in the chariots of the Spirit; and the name went
forth in the midst of them.
3. From that time I was not drawn into the midst of them; but he
seated me between two spirits, between the north and the west, where the
angels received their ropes, to measure out a place for the elect and the
righteous.
4. There I beheld the fathers of the first men, and the saints,
who dwell in that place for ever.
1. Afterwards my spirit was concealed, ascending into the heavens.
I beheld the sons of the holy angels treading on flaming fire, whose garments
and robes were white, and whose countenances were transparent as crystal.
2. I saw two rivers of fire glittering like the hyacinth.
3. Then I fell on my face before the Lord of spirits.
4. And Michael, one of the archangels, took me by my right hand,
raised me up, and brought me out to where was every secret of
mercy and secret of righteousness.
5. He showed me all the hidden things of the extremities of
heaven, all the receptacles of the stars, and the splendours of all, from
whence they went forth before the face of the holy.
6. And he concealed the spirit of Enoch in the heaven of heavens.
7. There I beheld, in the midst of that light, a building raised
with stones of ice;
8. And in the midst of these stone vibrations72 of
living fire. My spirit saw around the circle of this flaming habitation, on
one of its extremities, that there were rivers full of living fire,
which encompassed it.
9. Then the Seraphim, the Cherubim, and Ophanin73
surrounded it: these are those who never sleep, but watch the throne of
his glory.
10. And I beheld angels innumerable, thousands of thousands, and
myriads and myriads, who surrounded that habitation.
11. Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Phanuel and the holy angels who
were in the heavens above, went in and out of it. Michael, Raphael, and
Gabriel went out of that habitation, and holy angels innumerable.
12. With them was the Ancient of days, whose head was
white as wool, and pure, and his robe was indescribable.
13. Then I fell upon my face, while all my flesh was dissolved,
and my spirit became changed.
14. I cried out with a loud voice, with a powerful spirit,
blessing, glorifying, and exalting.
15. And those blessings, which proceeded from my mouth, became
acceptable in the presence of the Ancient of days.
16. The Ancient of days came with Michael and Gabriel, Raphael and
Phanuel, with thousands of thousands, and myriads and myriads, which could not
be numbered.
17. Then that angel came to me, and with his voice saluted me,
saying, You are the Son of man,74
who art born for
righteousness, and righteousness has rested upon you.
18. The righteousness of the Ancient of days shall not forsake
you.
19. He said, On you shall he confer peace in the name of the
existing world; for from thence has peace gone forth since the world was
created.
20. And thus shall it happen to you for ever and ever.
21. All who shall exist, and who shall walk in your path of
righteousness, shall not forsake you for ever.
22. With you shall be their habitations, with you their lot; nor
from you shall they be separated for ever and ever.
23. And thus shall length of days be with the Son of man.75
24. Peace shall be to the righteous; and the path of integrity
shall the righteous pursue, in the name of the Lord of spirits, for ever and
ever.
1. The book of the revolutions of the luminaries of heaven,
according to their respective classes, their respective powers, their
respective periods, their respective names, the places where they commence
their progress, and their respective months, which Uriel, the holy angel who
was with me, explained to me; he who conducted them. The whole account of
them, according to every year of the world for ever, until a new work shall be
effected, which will be eternal.
2. This is the first law of the luminaries. The sun and the
light arrive at the gates of heaven, which are on the east, and on the west of
it at the western gates of heaven.
3. I beheld the gates whence the sun goes forth; and the gates
where the sun sets;
4. In which gates also the moon rises and sets; and I beheld
the conductors of the stars, among those who precede them; six gates were
at the rising, and six at the setting of the sun.
5. All these respectively, one after another, are on a level; and
numerous windows are on the right and on the left sides of those gates.
6. First proceeds forth that great luminary, which is called the
sun; the orb of which is as the orb of heaven, the whole of it being replete
with splendid and flaming fire.
7. Its chariot, where it ascends, the wind blows.
8. The sun sets in heaven, and, returning by the north, to proceed
towards the east, is conducted so as to enter by that gate, and illuminate the
face of heaven.
9. In the same manner it goes forth in the first month by the
great gate.
10. It goes forth through the fourth of those six gates, which are
at the rising of the sun.
11. And in the fourth gate, through which the sun with the moon
proceeds, in the first part of it,76 there are twelve open
windows; from which issues out a flame, when they are opened in their proper
periods.
12. When the sun rises in heaven, it goes forth through this
fourth gate thirty days, and by the fourth gate in the west of heaven on a
level with it descends.
13. During that period the day is lengthened from the day, and the
night curtailed from the night for thirty days. And then the day is longer by
two parts than the night.
14. The day is precisely ten parts, and the night is eight.
15. The sun goes forth through this fourth gate, and sets in it,
and turns to the fifth gate during thirty days; after which it proceeds from,
and sets in, the fifth gate.
16. Then the day becomes lengthened by a second portion, so that
it is eleven parts: while the night becomes shortened, and is only seven
parts.
17. The sun now returns to the east, entering into the
sixth gate, and rising and setting in the sixth gate thirty-one days, on
account of its signs.
18. At that period the day is longer than the night, being twice
as long as the night; and become twelve parts;
19. But the night is shortened, and becomes six parts. Then the
sun rises up, that the day may be shortened, and the night lengthened.
20. And the sun returns toward the east entering into the sixth
gate, where it rises and sets for thirty days.
21. When that period is completed, the day becomes shortened
precisely one part, so that it is eleven parts, while the night is seven
parts.
22. Then the sun goes from the west, from that sixth gate, and
proceeds eastwards, rising in the fifth gate for thirty days, and setting
again westwards in the fifth gate of the west.
23. At that period the day becomes shortened two parts; and is ten
parts, while the night is eight parts.
24. Then the sun goes from the fifth gate, as it sets in the fifth
gate of the west; and rises in the fourth gate for thirty-one days, on account
of its signs, setting in the west.
25. At that period the day is made equal with the night; and,
being equal with it, the night becomes nine parts, and the day nine parts.
26. Then the sun goes from that gate, as it sets in the west; and
returning to the east proceeds by the third gate for thirty days, setting in
the west at the third gate.
27. At that period the night is lengthened from the day during
thirty mornings, and the day is curtailed from the day during thirty days; the
night being ten parts precisely, and the day eight parts.
28. The sun now goes from the third gate, as it sets in the third
gate in the west; but returning to the east, it proceeds by the second gate of
the east for thirty days.
29. In like manner also it sets in the second gate in the west of
heaven.
30. At that period the night is eleven parts, and the day seven
parts.
31. Then the sun goes at that time from the second gate, as it
sets in the second gate in the west; but returns to the east, proceeding
by the first gate, for thirty-one days.
32. And sets in the west in the first gate.
33. At that period that night is lengthened as much again as the
day.
34. It is twelve parts precisely, while the day is six parts.
35. The sun has thus completed its beginnings, and a second
time goes round from these beginnings.
36. Into that first gate it enters for thirty days, and
sets in the west, in the opposite part of heaven.
37. At that period the night is contracted in its length a fourth
part, that is, one portion, and becomes eleven parts.
38. The day is seven parts.
39. Then the sun returns, and enters into the second gate of the
east.
40. It returns by these beginnings thirty days, rising and
setting.
41. At that period the night is contracted in its length. It
becomes ten parts, and the day eight parts. Then the sun goes from that second
gate, and sets in the west; but returns to the east, and rises in the east, in
the third gate, thirty-one days, setting in the west of heaven.
42. At that period the night becomes shortened. It is nine parts.
And the night is equal with the day. The year is precisely three hundred and
sixty-four days.
43. The lengthening of the day and night, and the contraction of
the day and night, are made to differ from each other by the progress of the
sun.
44. By means of this progress the day is daily lengthened, and the
night greatly shortened.
45. This is the law and progress of the sun, and its turning when
it turns back, turning during sixty days,77 and going forth.
This is the great everlasting luminary, that which he names the sun for ever
and ever.
46. This also is that which goes forth a great luminary, and which
is named after its peculiar kind, as God commanded.
47. And thus it goes in and out, neither slackening nor resting;
but running on in its chariot by day and by night. It shines with a seventh
portion of light from the moon;78 but the dimensions of both are
equal.
1. After this law I beheld another law of an inferior luminary,
the name of which is the moon, and the orb of which is as the orb of heaven.
2. Its chariot, which it secretly ascends, the wind blows;
and light is given to it by measure.
3. Every month at its exit and entrance it becomes changed; and
its periods are as the periods of the sun. And when in like manner its light
is to exist,79 its light is a seventh portion from the light of
the sun.
4. Thus it rises, and at its commencement towards the east goes
forth for thirty days.
5. At that time it appears, and becomes to you the beginning of
the month. Thirty days it is with the sun in the gate from which the
sun goes forth.
6. Half of it is in extent seven portions, one half; and
the whole of its orb is void of light, except a seventh portion out of the
fourteen portions of its light. And in a day it receives a seventh portion, or
half that portion, of its light. Its light is by sevens, by one
portion, and by the half of a portion. Its sets with the sun.
7. And when the sun rises, the moon rises with it; receiving half
a portion of light
8. On that night, when it commences its period, previously to the
day of the month, the moon sets with the sun.
9. And on that night it is dark in its fourteen portions,
that is, in each half; but it rises on that day with one seventh
portion precisely, and in its progress declines from the rising of the sun.
10. During the remainder of its period its light increases to
fourteen portions.
1. Then I saw another progress and regulation which He effected in
the law of the moon. The progress of the moons, and everything relating to
them, Uriel showed me, the holy angel who conducted them all.
2. Their stations I wrote down as he showed them to me.
3. I wrote down their months, as they occur, and the appearance of
their light, until it is completed in fifteen days.
4. In each of its two seven portions it completes all its light at
rising and at setting.
5. On stated months it changes its settings; and on stated
months it makes its progress through each gate. In two gates
the moon sets with the sun, viz. in those two gates which are in the
midst, in the third and fourth gate. From the third gate it goes forth
for seven days, and makes its circuit.
6. Again it returns to the gate whence the sun goes forth, and in
that completes the whole of its light. Then it declines from the sun, and
enters in eight days into the sixth gate, and returns in seven days to the
third gate, from which the sun goes forth.
7. When the sun proceeds to the fourth gate, the moon goes
forth for seven days, until it passes from the fifth gate.
8. Again it returns in seven days to the fourth gate, and
completing all its light, declines, and passes on by the first gate in eight
days;
9. And returns in seven days to the fourth gate, from which the
sun goes forth.
10. Thus I beheld their stations, as according to the fixed order
of the months the sun rises and sets.
11. At those times there is an excess of thirty days belonging to
the sun in five years; all the days belonging to each year of the five years,
when completed, amount to three hundred and sixty-four days; and to the sun
and stars belong six days; six days in each of the five years; thus
thirty days belonging to them;
12. So that the moon has thirty days less than the sun and stars.
13. The moon brings on all the years exactly, that their stations
may come neither too forwards nor too backwards a single day; but that the
years may be changed with correct precision in three hundred and sixty-four
days. In three years the days are one thousand and ninety-two; in five years
they are one thousand eight hundred and twenty; and in eight years two
thousand nine hundred and twelve days.
14. To the moon alone belong in three years one thousand and
sixty-two days; in five years it has fifty days less than the sun, for
an addition being made to the one thousand and sixty-two days, in five
years there are one thousand seven hundred and seventy days; and the days of
the moon in eight years are two thousand eight hundred and thirty-two days.
15. For its days in eight years are less than those of the sun
by eighty days, which eighty days are its diminution in eight years.
16. The year then becomes truly complete according to the station
of the moon, and the station of the sun; which rise in the different
gates; which rise and set in them for thirty days.
1. These are the leaders of the chiefs of the thousands,
those which preside over all creation, and over all the stars; with
the four days which are added and never separated from the place
allotted them, according to the complete calculation of the year.
2. And these serve four days, which are not calculated in the
calculation of the year.
3. Respecting them, men greatly err, for these luminaries truly
serve, in the dwelling place of the world, one day in the first gate,
one in the third gate, one in the fourth gate, and one in the sixth gate.
4. And the harmony of the world becomes complete every three
hundred and sixty-fourth state of it. For the signs,
5. The seasons,
6. The years,
7. And the days, Uriel showed me; the angel whom the Lord of glory
appointed over all the luminaries.
8. Of heaven in heaven, and in the world; that they might rule in
the face of the sky, and appearing over the earth, become
9. Conductors of the days and nights: the sun, the moon, the
stars, and all the ministers of heaven, which make their circuit with all the
chariots of heaven.
10. Thus Uriel showed me twelve gates open for the circuit of the
chariots of the sun in heaven, from which the rays of the sun shoot forth.
11. From these proceed heat over the earth, when they are opened
in their stated seasons. They are for the winds, and the spirit of the dew,
when in their seasons they are opened; opened in heaven at its
extremities.
12. Twelve gates I beheld in heaven, at the extremities of the
earth, through which the sun, moon, and stars, and all the works of heaven,
proceed at their rising and setting.
13. Many windows also are open on the right and on the left.
14. One window at a certain season grows extremely hot. So
also are there gates from which the stars go forth as they are commanded, and
in which they set according to their number.
15. I saw likewise the chariots of heaven, running in the world
above to those gates in which the stars turn, which never set. One of these is
greater than all, which goes round the whole world.
1. And at the extremities of the earth I beheld twelve gates open
for all the winds, from which they proceed and blow over the earth.
2. Three of them are open in the front of heaven, three in the
west, three on the right side of heaven, and three on the left. The first
three are those which are towards the east, three are towards the north, three
behind those which are upon the left, towards the south, and three on the
west.
3. From four of them proceed winds of blessing, and of health; and
from eight proceed winds of punishment; when they are sent to destroy the
earth, and the heaven above it, all its inhabitants, and all which are in the
waters, or on dry land.
4. The first of these winds proceeds from the gate termed the
eastern, through the first gate on the east, which inclines southwards. From
this goes forth destruction, drought, heat, and perdition.
5. From the second gate, the middle one, proceeds equity. There
issue from it rain, fruitfulness, health, and dew; and from the third gate
northwards, proceed cold and drought.
6. After these proceed the south winds through three principal
gates; through their first gate, which inclines eastwards, proceeds a hot
wind.
7. But from the middle gate proceed grateful odour, dew, rain,
health, and life.
8. From the third gate, which is westwards, proceed dew, rain,
blight, and destruction.
9. After these are the winds to the north, which is called the
sea. They proceed from three gates. The first80 gate
is that which is on the east, inclining southwards; from this proceed dew,
rain, blight, and destruction. From the middle direct gate proceed rain, dew,
life, and health. And from the third gate, which is westwards, inclining
towards the south, proceed mist, frost, snow, rain, dew, and blight.
10. After these in the fourth quarter are the winds
to the west. From the first gate, inclining northwards, proceed dew, rain,
frost, cold, snow, and chill; from the middle gate proceed rain, health, and
blessing;
11. And from the last gate, which is southwards, proceed drought,
destruction, scorching, and perdition.
12. The account of the twelve gates of the four quarters of
heaven is ended.
13. All their laws, all their infliction of punishment, and
the health produced by them, have I explained to you, my son Mathusala.81
1. The first wind is called the eastern, because it is the first.
2. The second is called the south, because the Most High there
descends, and frequently there descends he who is blessed for ever.
3. The western wind has the name of diminution, because there all
the luminaries of heaven are diminished, and descend.
4. The fourth wind, which is named the north, is divided into
three parts; one of which is for the habitation of man; another for seas of
water, with valleys, woods, rivers, shady places, and snow; and the third part
contains paradise.
5. Seven high mountains I beheld, higher than all the mountains of
the earth, from which frost proceeds; while days, seasons, and years depart
and pass away.
6. Seven rivers I beheld upon earth, greater than all rivers, one
of which takes its course from the west; into a great sea its water flows.
7. Two come from the north to the sea, their waters flowing into
the Erythraean sea,82 on the east. And with respect to the
remaining four, they take their course in the cavity of the north, two
to their sea, the Erythraean sea, and two are poured into a great sea, where
also it is said there is a desert.
8. Seven great islands I saw in the sea and on the earth. Seven in
the great sea.
1. The names of the sun are these: one Aryares, the other Tomas.
2. The moon has four names. The first is Asonya; the second, Ebla;
the third, Benase; and the fourth, Erae.
3. These are the two great luminaries, whose orbs are as the orbs
of heaven; and the dimensions of both are equal.
4. In the orb of the sun there is a seventh portion of
light, which is added to it from the moon.83 By measure it is
put in, until the seventh portion of the light of the sun is departed.
They set, enter into the western gate, circuit by the north, and through the
eastern gate go forth over the face of heaven.
5. When the moon rises, it appears in heaven; and the half of a
seventh portion of light is all which is in it.
6. In fourteen days the whole of its light is completed.
7. By three quintuples light is put into it, until in
fifteen days its light is completed, according to the signs of the
year; it has three quintuples.
8. The moon has the half of a seventh portion.
9. During its diminution on the first day its light decreases a
fourteenth part; on the second day it decreases a thirteenth part; on the
third day a twelfth part; on the fourth day an eleventh part; on the fifth day
a tenth part; on the sixth day a ninth part; on the seventh day it decreases
an eighth part; on the eighth day it decreases a seventh part; on the ninth
day it decreases a sixth part; on the tenth day it decreases a fifth part; on
the eleventh day it decreases a fourth part; on the twelfth day it decreases
third part; on the thirteenth day it decreases a second part; on the
fourteenth day it decreases a half of its seventh part; and on the fifteenth
day the whole remainder of its light is consumed.
10. On stated months the moon has twenty-nine days.
11. It also has a period of twenty-eight days.
12. Uriel likewise showed me another regulation, when light is
poured into the moon, how it is poured into it from the sun.
13. All the time that the moon is in progress with its light, it
is poured into it in the presence of the sun, until its light is
in fourteen days completed in heaven.
14. And when it is wholly extinguished, its light is consumed in
heaven; and on the first day it is called the new moon, for on that day light
is received into it.
15. It becomes precisely completed on the day that the sun
descends into the west, while the moon ascends at night from the east.
16. The moon then shines all the night, until the sun rises before
it; when the moon disappears in turn before the sun.
17. Where light comes to the moon, there again it decreases, until
all its light is extinguished, and the days of the moon pass away.
18. Then its orb remains solitary without light.
19. During three months it effects in thirty days each month
its period; and during three more months it effects it in twenty-nine
days each. These are the times in which it effects its decrease in its
first period, and in the first gate, namely, in one hundred and
seventy-seven days.
20. And at the time of its going forth during three months it
appears thirty days each, and during three more months it appears
twenty-nine days each.
21. In the night it appears for each twenty days as the
face of a man, and in the day as heaven; for it is nothing else except its
light.
1. And now, my son Mathusala, I have shown you everything; and
the account of every ordinance of the stars of heaven is finished.
2. He showed me every ordinance respecting these, which takes
place at all times and in all seasons under every influence, in all years,
at the arrival and under the rule of each, during every month and every week.
He showed me also the decrease of the moon, which is effected in the
sixth gate; for in that sixth gate is its light consumed.
3. From this is the beginning of the month; and its decrease is
effected in the sixth gate in its period, until a hundred and seventy-seven
days are completed; according to the mode of calculation by weeks, twenty-five
weeks and two days.
4. Its period is less that that of the sun, according to
the ordinance of the stars, by five days in one half year84
precisely.
5. When that their visible situation is completed. Such is
the appearance and likeness of every luminary, which Uriel, the great angel
who conducts them, showed to me.
1. In those days Uriel answered and said to me, Behold, I have
showed you all things, O Enoch;
2. And all things have I revealed to you. You see the sun, the
moon, and those which conduct the stars of heaven, which cause all their
operations, seasons, and arrivals to return.
3. In the days of sinners the years shall be shortened.
4. Their seed shall be backward in their prolific soil; and
everything done on earth shall be subverted, and disappear in its season. The
rain shall be restrained, and heaven shall stand still.
5. In those days the fruits of the earth shall be late, and not
flourish in their season; and in their season the fruits of the trees shall be
withholden.
6. The moon shall change its laws, and not be seen at its proper
period. But in those days shall heaven be seen; and barrenness shall take
place in the borders of the great chariots in the west. Heaven shall
shine more than when illuminated by the orders of light; while many
chiefs among the stars of authority shall err, perverting their ways and
works.
7. Those shall not appear in their season, who commanded them, and
all the classes of the stars shall be shut up against sinners.
8. The thoughts of those who dwell on the earth shall transgress
within them; and they shall be perverted in all their ways.
9. They shall transgress, and think themselves85
gods; while evil shall be multiplied among them.
10. And punishment shall come upon them, so that all of them shall
be destroyed.
1. He said, O Enoch, look on the book which heaven has gradually
dropped down;86 and, reading that which is written in it,
understand every part of it.
2. Then I looked on all which was written, and understood all,
reading the book and everything written in it, all the works of man;
3. And of all the children of flesh upon earth, during the
generations of the world.
4. Immediately after I blessed the Lord, the King of glory, who
has thus for ever formed the whole workmanship of the world.
5. And I glorified the Lord, on account of his long-suffering and
blessing towards the children of the world.
6. At that time I said, Blessed is the man, who shall die
righteous and good, against whom no catalogue of crime has been written, and
with whom iniquity is not found.
7. Then those three holy ones caused me to approach, and placed me
on the earth, before the door of my house.
8. And they said unto me, Explain everything to Mathusala your
son; and inform all your children, that no flesh shall be justified before the
Lord; for he is their Creator.
9. During one year we shall leave you with your children, until
you shalt again recover your strength, that you may instruct your family,
write these things, and explain them to all your children. But in another year
they shall take you from the midst of them, and your heart shall be
strengthened; for the elect shall point out righteousness to the elect; the
righteous with the righteous shall rejoice, congratulating each other; but the
sinners with sinners shall die,
10. And the perverted with the perverted shall be drowned.
11. Those likewise who act righteously shall die on account of the
works of man, and shall be gathered together on account of the works of the
wicked.
12. In those days they finished conversing with me.
13. And I returned to my fellow men, blessing the Lord of worlds.
1. Now, my son Mathusala, all these things I speak unto you, and
write for you. To you I have revealed all, and have given you books of
everything.
2. Preserve, my son Mathusala, the books written by your father;
that you may reveal them to future generations.
3. Wisdom have I given you, to your children, and your posterity,
that they may reveal to their children, for generations for ever, this wisdom
in their thoughts; and that those who comprehend it may not slumber,
but hear with their ears; that they may learn this wisdom, and be deemed
worthy of eating this wholesome food.
4. Blessed are all the righteous; blessed are all who walk
in righteousness; in whom no crime is found, as in sinners, when all
their days are numbered.
5. With respect to the progress of the sun in heaven, it enters
and goes out of each gate for thirty days, with the leaders of the
thousand classes of the stars; with four which are added, and appertain to the
four quarters of the year, which conduct them, and accompany them at four
periods.
6. Respecting these, men greatly err, and do not calculate them in
the calculation of every age; for they greatly err respecting them; nor do men
know accurately that they are in the calculation of the year. But indeed these
are marked down for ever; one in the first gate, one in the third, one in the
fourth, and one in the sixth:
7. So that the year is completed in three hundred and sixty-four
days
8. Truly has been stated, and accurately has been calculated that
which is marked down; for the luminaries, the months, the fixed periods, the
years, and the days, Uriel has explained to me, and communicated to me; whom
the Lord of all creation, on my account, commanded (according to the might of
heaven, and the power which it possesses both by night and by day) to explain
the laws of light to man, of the sun, moon, and stars, and of all the
powers of heaven, which are turned with their respective orbs.
9. This is the ordinance of the stars, which set in their places,
in their seasons, in their periods, in their days, and in their months.
10. These are the names of the those who conduct them, who watch
and enter in their seasons, according to their ordinance in their periods, in
their months, in the times of their influence, and in their stations.
11. Four conductors of them first enter, who separate the four
quarters of the year. After these, twelve conductors of their classes, who
separate the months and the year into three hundred and sixty-four
days, with the leaders of a thousand, who distinguish between the days, as
well as between the four additional ones; which, as conductors, divide
the four quarters of the year.
12. These leaders of a thousand are in the midst of the
conductors, and the conductors are added each behind his station, and their
conductors make the separation. These are the names of the conductors, who
separate the four quarters of the year, who are appointed over them:
Melkel, Helammelak,
13. Meliyal, and Narel.
14. And the names of those who conduct them are Adnarel, Jyasusal,
and Jyelumeal.
15. These are the three who follow after the conductors of the
classes of stars; each following after the three conductors of the
classes, which themselves follow after those conductors of the stations, who
divide the four quarters of the year.
16. In the first part of the year rises and rules Melkyas, who is
named Tamani, and Zahay.87
17. All the days of his influence, during which he rules,
are ninety-one days.
18. And these are the signs of the days which are seen upon the
earth. In the days of his influence there is perspiration, heat, and
trouble. All the trees become fruitful; the leaf of every tree comes forth;
the corn is reaped; the rose and every species of flowers blossoms in the
field; and the trees of winter are dried up.
19. These are the names of the conductors who are under them:
Barkel, Zelsabel; and another additional conductor of a thousand is named
Heloyalef, the days of those influence have been completed. The other
conductor next after them is Helemmelek, whose name they call the
splendid Zahay.88
20. All the days of his light are ninety-one days.
21. These are the signs of the days upon earth, heat and drought;
while the trees bring forth their fruits, warmed and concocted, and give their
fruits to dry.
22. The flocks follow and yean.89 All the fruits of
the earth are collected, with everything in the fields, and the vines are
trodden. This takes place during the time of his influence.
23. These are their names and orders, and the names of the
conductors who are under them, of those who are chiefs of a thousand: Gedaeyal,
Keel, Heel.
24. And the name of the additional leader of a thousand is Asphael.
25. The days of his influence have been completed.
1. And now I have shown you, my son Mathusala, every sight which I
saw prior to your birth. I will relate another vision, which I saw before I
was married; they resemble each other.
2. The first was when I was learning a book; and the other before
I was married to your mother. I saw a potent vision;
3. And on account of these things besought the Lord.
4. I was lying down in the house of my grandfather Malalel,
when I saw in a vision heaven purifying, and snatched away.90
5. And falling to the earth,91 I saw likewise the
earth absorbed by a great abyss; and mountains suspended over mountains.
6. Hills were sinking upon hills, lofty trees were gliding off
from their trunks, and were in the act of being projected, and of sinking into
the abyss.
7. Being alarmed at these things, my voice faltered.92 I cried out and said, The earth is destroyed. Then my grandfather
Malalel raised me up, and said to me: Why do you thus cry out, my son? And
wherefore thus do you lament?
8. I related to him the whole vision which I had seen. He said to
me, Confirmed is that which you have seen, my son;
9. And potent the vision of your dream respecting every secret sin
of the earth. Its substance shall sink into the abyss, and a great destruction
take place.
10. Now, my son, rise up; and beseech the Lord of glory (for you
are faithful), that a remnant may be left upon earth, and that he would not
wholly destroy it. My son, all this calamity upon earth comes down from
heaven; upon earth shall there be a great destruction.
11. Then I arose, prayed, and entreated; and wrote down my prayer
for the generations of the world, explaining everything to my son Mathusala.
12. When I went down below, and looking up to heaven, beheld the
sun proceeding from the east, the moon descending to the west, a few
scattered stars, and everything which God has known from the beginning, I
blessed the Lord of judgment, and magnified him: because he hath sent forth
the sun from the chambers93 of the east; that, ascending and
rising in the face of heaven, it might spring up, and pursue the path which
has been pointed out to it.
1. I lifted up my hands in righteousness, and blessed the holy,
and the Great One. I spoke with the breath of my mouth, and with a tongue of
flesh, which God has formed for all the sons of mortal men, that with it they
may speak; giving them breath, a mouth, and a tongue to converse with.
2. Blessed are you, O Lord, the King, great and powerful in your
greatness, Lord of all the creatures of heaven, King of kings, God of the
whole world, whose reign, whose kingdom, and whose majesty endure for ever and
ever.
3. From generation to generation shall your dominion exist.
All the heavens are your throne for ever, and all the earth your footstool for
ever and for ever.
4. For you have made them, and over all you reign. No act
whatsoever exceeds your power. With your wisdom is unchangeable; nor from your
throne and from your presence is it ever averted. You know all things, see and
hear them; nor is anything concealed from you; for you perceive all things.
5. The angels of your heavens have transgressed; and on mortal
flesh shall your wrath remain, until the day of the great judgment.
6. Now then, O God, Lord and mighty King, I entreat you, and
beseech you to grant my prayer, that a posterity may be left to me on earth,
and that the whole human race may not perish;
7. That the earth may not be left destitute, and destruction take
place for ever.
8. O my Lord, let the race perish from off the earth which has
offended you, but a righteous and upright race establish for a posterity94 for ever. Hide not your face, O Lord, from the prayer of your
servant.
1. After this I saw another dream, and explained it all to you, my
son. Enoch arose and said to his son Mathusala, To you, my son, will I speak.
Hear my word; and incline your ear to the visionary dream of your father.
Before I married your mother Edna, I saw a vision on my bed;95
2. And behold, a cow sprung forth from the earth;
3. And this cow was white.
4. Afterwards a female heifer sprung forth; and with it another
heifer:96 one of them was black, and one was red.97
5. The black heifer then struck the red one, and pursued it over
the earth.
6. From that period I could see nothing more of the red heifer;
but the black one increased in bulk, and a female heifer came with him.
7. After this I saw that many cows proceeded forth, resembling
him, and following after him.
8. The first female young one also went out in the presence of the
first cow; and sought the red heifer, but found him not.
9. And she lamented with a great lamentation, while she was
seeking him.
10. Then I looked until that first cow came to her, from
which time she became silent, and ceased to lament.
11. Afterwards she calved another white cow.
12. And again calved many cows and black heifers.
13. In my sleep also I perceived a white bull, which in like
manner grew, and became a large white bull.
14. After him many white cows came forth, resembling him.
15. And they began to calve many other white cows, which
resembled them and followed each other.
1. Again I looked attentively, while sleeping, and surveyed heaven
above.
2. And behold a single star fell from heaven.
3. Which being raised up, ate and fed among those cows.
4. After that I perceived other large and black cows; and
behold all of them changed their stalls and pastures, while their young began
to lament one with another. Again I looked in my vision, and surveyed
heaven; when behold I saw many stars which descended, and projected themselves
from heaven to where the first star was,
5. Into the midst of those young ones; while the cows were with
them, feeding in the midst of them.
6. I looked at and observed them; when behold, they all acted
after the manner of horses, and began to approach the young cows, all of whom
became pregnant, and brought forth elephants, camels, and asses.
7. At these all the cows were alarmed and terrified; when they
began biting with their teeth, swallowing, and striking with their horns.
8. They began also to devour the cows; and behold all the children
of the earth trembled, shook with terror at them, and suddenly fled away.
1. Again I perceived them, when they began to strike and to
swallow each other; and the earth cried out. Then I raised my eyes a second
time towards heaven, and saw in a vision, that, behold, there came forth from
heaven as it were the likeness of white men. One came forth from thence, and
three with him.
2. Those three, who came forth last, seized me by my hand; and
raising me up from the generations of the earth, elevated me to a high
station.
3. Then they showed me a lofty tower on the earth, while every
hill became diminished. And they said, Remain here, until you perceive what
shall come upon those elephants, camels, and asses, upon the stars, and upon
all the cows.
1. Then I looked at that one of the four white men, who
came forth first.
2. He seized the first star which fell down from heaven.
3. And, binding it hand and foot, he cast it into a valley; a
valley narrow, deep, stupendous, and gloomy.
4. Then one of them drew his sword, and gave it to the elephants,
camels, and asses, who began to strike each other. And the whole earth shook
on account of them.
5. And when I looked in the vision, behold, one of those four
angels, who came forth, hurled from heaven, collected together, and took all
the great stars, whose form partly resembles that of horses; and binding them
all hand and foot, cast them into the cavities of the earth.
1. Then one of those four went to the white cows, and taught them
a mystery. While the cow was trembling, it was born, and became a man,98 and fabricated for himself a large ship. In this he dwelt, and
three cows99 dwelt with him in that ship, which covered them.
2. Again I lifted up my eyes towards heaven, and saw a lofty roof.
Above it were seven cataracts, which poured fourth on a certain village much
water.
3. Again I looked, and behold there were fountains open on the
earth in that large village.
4. The water began to boil up, and rose over the earth; so that
the village was not seen, while its whole soil was covered with water.
5. Much water was over it, darkness, and clouds. Then I surveyed
the height of this water; and it was elevated above the village.
6. It flowed over the village, and stood higher than the earth.
7. Then all the cows which were collected there, while I looked on
them, were drowned, swallowed up, and destroyed in the water.
8. But the ship floated above it. All the cows, the elephants, the
camels, and the asses, were drowned on the earth, and all cattle. Nor could I
perceive them. Neither were they able to get out, but perished, and sunk into
the deep.
9. Again I looked in the vision until those cataracts from that
lofty roof were removed, and the fountains of the earth became equalized,
while other depths were opened;
10. Into which the water began to descend, until the dry ground
appeared.
11. The ship remained on the earth; the darkness receded; and it
became light.
12. Then the white cow, which became a man, went out of the ship,
and the three cows with him.
13. One of the three cows was white, resembling that cow; one of
them was red as blood; and one of them was black. And the white cow left them.
14. Then began wild beasts and birds to bring forth.
15. Of all these the different kinds assembled together, lions,
tigers, wolves, dogs, wild boars, foxes, rabbits, and the hanzar.
16. The siset, the avest, kites, the phonkas, and ravens.
17. Then the white cow100 was born in the midst of
them.
18. And they began to bite each other; when the white cow, which
was born in the midst of them, brought forth a wild ass and a white cow at the
same time, and after that many wild asses. Then the white cow,101 which was born, brought forth a black wild sow and a white sheep.102
19. That wild sow also brought forth many swine.
20. And that sheep brought forth twelve sheep.103
21. When those twelve sheep grew up, they delivered one of them104 to the asses.105
22. Again those asses delivered that sheep to the wolves,106
23. And he grew up in the midst of them.
24. Then the Lord brought the eleven other sheep, that they
might dwell and feed with him in the midst of the wolves.
25. They multiplied, and there was abundance of pasture for them.
26. But the wolves began to frighten and oppress them, while they
destroyed their young ones.
27. And they left their young in torrents of deep water.
28. Now the sheep began to cry out on account of their young, and
fled for refuge to their Lord. One107 however, which was saved,
escaped, and went away to the wild asses.
29. I beheld the sheep moaning, crying, and petitioning their
Lord.
30. With all their might, until the Lord of the sheep descended at
their voice from his lofty habitation; went to them; and inspected
them.
31. He called to that sheep which had secretly stolen away from
the wolves, and told him to make the wolves understand that they were not to
touch the sheep.
32. Then that sheep went to the wolves with the word of the Lord,
when another met him,108 and proceeded with him.
33. Both of them together entered the dwelling of the wolves; and
conversing with them made them understand, that thenceforwards they were not
to touch the sheep.
34. Afterwards I perceived the wolves greatly prevailing over the
sheep with their whole force. The sheep cried out; and their Lord came to
them.
35. He began to strike the wolves, who commenced a grievous
lamentation; but the sheep were silent, nor from that time did they cry out.
36. I then looked at them, until they departed from the wolves.
The eyes of the wolves were blind, who went out and followed them with all
their might. But the Lord of the sheep proceeded with them, and conducted
them.
37. All his sheep followed him.
38. His countenance was terrific and splendid, and glorious
was his aspect. Yet the wolves began to follow the sheep, until they overtook
them in a certain lake of water.109
39. Then that lake became divided; the water standing up on both
sides before their face.
40. And while their Lord was conducting them, he placed himself
between them and the wolves.
41. The wolves however perceived not the sheep, but went into the
midst of the lake, following them, and running after them into the lake of
water.
42. But when they saw the Lord of the sheep, they turned to fly
from before his face.
43. Then the water of the lake returned, and that suddenly,
according to its nature. It became full, and was raised up, until it covered
the wolves. And I saw that all of them which had followed the sheep perished,
and were drowned.
44. But the sheep passed over this water, proceeding to a
wilderness, which was without both water and grass. And they began to open
their eyes and to see.
45. Then I beheld the Lord of the sheep inspecting them, and
giving them water and grass.
46. The sheep already mentioned was proceeding with them,
and conducting them.
47. And when he had ascended the top of the lofty rock, the Lord
of the sheep sent him to them.
48. Afterwards I perceived their Lord standing before them, with
an aspect terrific and severe.
49. And when they all beheld him, they were frightened at his
countenance.
50. All of them were alarmed, and trembled. They cried out after
that sheep; and to the other sheep who had been with him, and who was in the
midst of them, saying, We are not able to stand before our Lord, or to
look upon him.
51. Then that sheep who conducted them went away, and ascended the
top of the rock;
52. When the rest of the sheep began to grow blind, and to
wander from the path which he had shown them; but he knew it not.
53. Their Lord however was moved with great indignation against
them; and when that sheep had learned what had happened,
54. He descended from the top of the rock, and coming to them,
found that there were many,
55. Which had become blind;
56. And had wandered from his path. As soon as they beheld him,
they feared, and trembled at his presence;
57. And became desirous of returning to their fold,
58. Then that sheep, taking with him other sheep, went to those
which had wandered.
59. And afterwards began to kill them. They were terrified at his
countenance. Then he caused those which had wandered to return; who went back
to their fold.
60. I likewise saw there in the vision, that this sheep became a
man, built a house110 for the Lord of the sheep, and made them
all stand in the house.
61. I perceived also that the sheep which proceeded to meet this
sheep, their conductor, died. I saw, too, that all the great sheep perished,
while smaller ones rose up in their place, entered into a pasture, and
approached a river of water.111
62. Then that sheep, their conductor, who became a man, was
separated from them, and died.
63. All the sheep sought after him, and cried for him with bitter
lamentation.
64. I saw likewise that they ceased to cry after that sheep, and
passed over the river of water.
65. And that there arose other sheep, all of whom conducted them,112 instead of those who were dead, and who had previously
conducted them.
66. Then I saw that the sheep entered into a goodly place, and a
territory delectable and glorious.
67. I saw also that they became satiated; that their house was in
the midst of a delectable territory; and that sometimes their eyes were
opened, and that sometimes they were blind; until another sheep113
arose and conducted them. He brought them all back; and their eyes were
opened.
68. Then dogs, foxes, and wild boars began to devour them, until
again another sheep114 arose, the master of the flock,
one of themselves, a ram, to conduct them. This ram began to butt on every
side those dogs, foxes, and wild boars, until they all perished.
69. his eyes, and saw the ram in the midst of them, who had laid aside his
glory.
70. And he began to strike the sheep, treading upon them, and
behaving himself without dignity.
71. Then their Lord sent the former sheep again to a
still different sheep,115 and raised him up to be a ram, and to
conduct them instead of that sheep who had laid aside his glory.
72. Going therefore to him, and conversing with him alone, he
raised up that ram, and made him a prince and leader of the flock. All the
time that the dogs116 troubled the sheep,
73. The first ram paid respect to this latter ram.
74. Then the latter ram arose, and fled away from before his face.
And I saw that those dogs caused the first ram to fall.
75. But the latter ram arose, and conducted the smaller sheep.
76. That ram likewise begat many sheep, and died.
77. Then there was a smaller sheep,117 a ram,
instead of him, which became a prince and leader, conducting the flock.
78. And the sheep increased in size, and multiplied.
79. And all the dogs, foxes, and wild boars feared, and fled away
from him.
80. That ram also struck and killed all the wild beasts, so that
they could not again prevail in the midst of the sheep, nor at any time ever
snatch them away.
81. And that house was made large and wide; a lofty tower being
built upon it by the sheep, for the Lord of the sheep.
82. The house was low, but the tower was elevated and very high.
83. Then the Lord of the sheep stood upon that tower, and caused a
full table to approach before him.
84. Again I saw that those sheep wandered, and went various ways,
forsaking that their house;
85. And that their Lord called to some among them, whom he sent118 to them.
86. But these the sheep began to kill. And when one of them was
saved from slaughter119 he leaped, and cried out against those
who were desirous of killing him.
87. But the Lord of the sheep delivered him from their hands, and
made him ascend to him, and remain with him.
88. He sent also many others to them, to testify, and with
lamentations to exclaim against them.
89. Again I saw, when some of them forsook the house of their
Lord, and his tower; wandering on all sides, and growing blind,
90. I saw that the Lord of the sheep made a great slaughter among
them in their pasture, until they cried out to him in consequence of that
slaughter. Then he departed from the place of his habitation, and left
them in the power of lions, tigers, wolves, and the zeebt,120
and in the power of foxes, and of every beast.
91. And the wild beasts began to tear them.
92. I saw, too, that he forsook the house of their fathers, and
their tower; giving them all into the power of lions to tear and devour them;
into the power of every beast.
93. Then I began to cry out with all my might, imploring the Lord
of the sheep, and showing him how the sheep were devoured by all the beasts of
prey.
94. But he looked on in silence, rejoicing that they were
devoured, swallowed up, and carried off; and leaving them in the power of
every beast for food. He called also seventy shepherds, and resigned to them
the care of the sheep, that they might overlook them;
95. Saying to them and to their associates, Every one of you
henceforwards overlook the sheep, and whatsoever I command you, do; and I will
deliver them to you numbered.
96. I will tell you which of them shall be slain; these destroy.
And he delivered the sheep to them.
97. Then he called to another, and said, Understand, and watch
everything which the shepherds shall do to these sheep; for many more of them
shall perish than I have commanded.
98. Of every excess and slaughter, which the shepherds shall
commit, there shall be an account; as, how many may have perished by my
command, and how many they may have destroyed of their own heads.
99. Of all the destruction brought about by each of the
shepherds there shall be an account; and according to the number I will cause
a recital to be made before me, how many they have destroyed of their own
heads, and how many they have delivered up to destruction, that I may have
this testimony against them; that I may know all their proceedings; and that,
delivering the sheep to them, I may see what they will do; whether they
will act as I have commanded them, or not.
100. Of this, however, they shall be ignorant; neither
shall you make any explanation to them, neither shall you reprove them; but
there shall be an account of all the destruction done by them in their
respective seasons. Then they began to kill, and destroy more than it was
commanded them.
101. And they left the sheep in the power of the lions, so that
very many of them were devoured and swallowed up by lions and tigers; and wild
boars preyed upon them. That tower they burnt, and overthrew that house.
102. Then I grieved extremely on account of the tower, and because
the house of the sheep was overthrown.
103. Neither was I afterwards able to perceive whether they
again entered that house.
104. The shepherds likewise, and their associates, delivered them
to all the wild beasts, that they might devour them. Each of them in his
season, according to his number, was delivered up; each of them, one with
another, was described in a book, how many of them, one with another, were
destroyed, in a book.
105. More, however, than was ordered, every shepherd killed
and destroyed.
106. Then I began to weep, and was greatly indignant, on account
of the sheep.
107. In like manner also I saw in the vision him who wrote, how he
wrote down one, destroyed by the shepherds, every day. He ascended, remained,
and exhibited each of his books to the Lord of the sheep, containing
all which they had done, and all which each of them had made away with;
108. And all which they had delivered up to destruction.
109. He took the book up in his hands, read it, sealed it, and
deposited it.
110. After this, I saw shepherds overlooking for twelve hours.
111. And behold three of the sheep121 departed,
arrived, went in; and began building all which was fallen down of that house.
112. But the wild boars122 hindered them, although
they prevailed not.
113. Again they began to build as before, and raised up that
tower, which was called a lofty tower.
114. And again they began to place before the tower a table, with
every impure and unclean kind of bread upon it.
115. Moreover also all the sheep were blind, and could not see, as
were the shepherds likewise.
116. Thus were they delivered up to the shepherds for a great
destruction, who trod them under foot, and devoured them.
117. Yet was their Lord silent, until all the sheep in the field
were destroyed. The shepherds and the sheep were all mixed together; but they
did not save them from the power of the beasts.
118. Then he who wrote the book ascended, exhibited it, and read
it at the residence of the Lord of the sheep. He petitioned him for them, and
prayed, pointing out every act of the shepherds, and testifying before him
against them all. Then taking the book, he deposited it with him, and
departed.
1. And I observed during the time, that thus thirty-seven123 shepherds were overlooking, all of whom finished in their
respective periods as the first. Others then received them into their hands,
that they might overlook them in their respective periods, every shepherd in
his own period.
2. Afterwards I saw in the vision, that all the birds of heaven
arrived; eagles, the avest, kites and ravens. The eagle instructed them all.
3. They began to devour the sheep, to peck out their eyes, and to
eat up their bodies.
4. The sheep then cried out; for their bodies were devoured by the
birds.
5. I also cried out, and groaned in my sleep against the shepherd
which overlooked the flock.
6. And I looked, while the sheep were eaten up by the dogs, by the
eagles, and by the kites. They neither left them their body, nor their skin,
nor their muscles, until their bones alone remained; until their bones fell
upon the ground. And the sheep became diminished.
7. I observed likewise during the time, that twenty-tree shepherds124 were overlooking; who completed in their respective periods
fifty-eight periods.
8. Then were small lambs born of those white sheep; who began to
open their eyes and to see, crying out to the sheep.
9. The sheep, however, cried not out to them, neither did they
hear what they uttered to them; but were deaf, blind, and obdurate in the
greatest degrees.
10. I saw in the vision that ravens flew down upon those lambs;
11. That they seized one of them; and that tearing the sheep in
pieces, they devoured them.
12. I saw also, that the horns grew upon those lambs; and that the
ravens lighted down upon their horns.
13. I saw, too, that a large horn sprouted out on an animal among
the sheep, and that their eyes were opened.
14. He looked at them. Their eyes were wide open; and he cried out
to them.
15. Then the dabela125 saw him; all of whom ran to
him.
16. And besides this, all the eagles, the avest, the ravens and
the kites, were still carrying off the sheep, flying down upon them, and
devouring them. The sheep were silent, but the dabela lamented and cried out.
17. Then the ravens contended, and struggled with them.
18. They wished among them to break his horn; but they prevailed
not over him.
19. I looked on them, until the shepherds, the eagles, the avest,
and the kites came.
20. Who cried out to the ravens to break the horn of the dabela;
to contend with him; and to kill him. But he struggled with them, and cried
out, that help might come to him.
21. Then I perceived that the man came who had written down the
names of the shepherds, and who ascended up before the Lord of the sheep.
22. He brought assistance, and caused every one to see him
descending to the help of the dabela.
23. I perceived likewise that the Lord of the sheep came to them
in wrath, while all those who saw him fled away; all fell down in his
tabernacle before his face; while all the eagles, the avest, ravens, and kites
assembled, and brought with them all the sheep of the field.
24. All came together, and strove to break the horn of the dabela.
25. Then I saw, that the man, who wrote the book at the word of
the Lord, opened the book of destruction, of that destruction which the last
twelve shepherds126 wrought; and pointed out before the Lord of
the sheep, that they destroyed more than those who preceded them.
26. I saw also that the Lord of the sheep came to them, and taking
in his hand the sceptre of his wrath seized the earth, which became rent
asunder; while all the beasts and birds of heaven fell from the sheep, and
sunk into the earth, which closed over them.
27. I saw, too, that a large sword was given to the sheep, who
went forth against all the beasts of the field to slay them.
28. But all the beasts and birds of heaven fled away from before
their face.
29. And I saw a throne erected in a delectable land;
30. Upon this sat the Lord of the sheep, who received all the
sealed books;
31. Which were open before him.
32. Then the Lord called the first seven white ones, and commanded
them to bring before him the first of the first stars, which preceded the
stars whose form partly resembled that of horses; the first star, which fell
down first; and they brought them all before him.
33, And he spoke to the man who wrote in his presence, who was one
of the seven white ones, saying, Take those seventy shepherds, to whom I
delivered up the sheep, and who receiving them killed more of them than
I commanded. Behold, I saw them all bound, and standing before him. First came
on the trial of the stars, which, being judged, and found guilty, went to the
place of punishment. They thrust them into a place, deep, and full of
flaming fire, and full of pillars of fire. Then the seventy shepherds were
judged, and being found guilty, were thrust into the flaming abyss.
34. At that time likewise I perceived, that one abyss was thus
opened in the midst of the earth, which was full of fire.
35. And to this were brought the blind sheep; which being judged,
and found guilty, were all thrust into that abyss of fire on the earth, and
burnt.
36. The abyss was on the right of that house.
37. And I saw the sheep burning, and their bones consuming.
38. I stood beholding him immerge that ancient house, while they
brought out its pillars, every plant in it, and the ivory infolding it. They
brought it out, and deposited it in a place on the right side of the earth.
39. I also saw, that the Lord of the sheep produced a new house,
great, and loftier than the former, which he bound by the former circular
spot. All its pillars were new, and its ivory new, as well as more abundant
than the former ancient ivory, which he had brought out.
40. And while all the sheep which were left were in the midst of
it, all the beasts of the earth, and all the birds of heaven, fell down and
worshipped them, petitioning them, and obeying them in everything.
41. Then those three, who were clothed in white, and who, holding
me by my hand, had before caused me to ascend, while the hand of him who
spoke held me; raised me up, and placed me in the midst of the sheep, before
the judgment took place.
42. The sheep were all white, with wool long and pure. Then all
who had perished, and had been destroyed, every beast of the field, and every
bird of heaven, assembled in that house: while the Lord of the sheep rejoiced
with great joy, because all were good, and had come back again to his
dwelling.
43. And I saw that they laid down the sword which had been given
to the sheep, and returned it to his house, sealing it up in the presence of
the Lord.
44. All the sheep would have been inclosed in that house, had it
been capable of containing them; and the eyes of all were open, gazing on the
good One; nor was there one among them who did not behold him.
45. I likewise perceived that the house was large, wide, and
extremely full. I saw, too, that a white cow was born, whose horns were great;
and that all the beasts of the field, and all the birds of heaven, were
alarmed at him, and entreated him at all times.
46. Then I saw that the nature of all of them was changed, and
that they became white cows;
47. And that the first, who was in the midst of them,
spoke, when that word became127 a large beast, upon the head of
which were great and black horns;
48. While the Lord of the sheep rejoiced over them, and over all
the cows.
49. I lay down in the midst of them: I awoke; and saw the whole.
This is the vision which I saw, lying down and waking. Then I blessed the Lord
of righteousness, and gave glory to Him.
50. Afterwards I wept abundantly, nor did my tears cease, so that
I became incapable of enduring it. While I was looking on, they flowed on
account of what I saw; for all was come and gone by; every individual
circumstance respecting the conduct of mankind was seen by me.
51. In that night I remembered my former dream; and therefore wept
and was troubled, because I had seen that vision.
1. And now, my son Mathusala, call to me all your brethren, and
assemble for me all the children of your mother; for a voice calls me, and the
spirit is poured out upon me, that I may show you everything which shall
happen to you for ever.
2. Then Mathusala went, called to him all his brethren, and
assembled his kindred.
3. And conversing with all his children in truth,
4. Enoch said, Hear, my children, every word of your
father, and listen in uprightness to the voice of my mouth; for I would gain
your attention, while I address you. My beloved, be attached to integrity, and
walk in it.
5. Approach not integrity with a double heart; nor be associated
with double-minded men: but walk, my children, in righteousness, which will
conduct you in good paths; and be truth your companion.
6. For I know, that oppression will exist and prevail on earth;
that on earth great punishment shall in the end take place; and that there
shall be a consummation of all iniquity, which shall be cut off from its root,
and every fabric raised by it shall pass away. Iniquity, however, shall
again be renewed, and consummated on earth. Every act of crime, and every act
of oppression and impiety, shall be a second time embraced.
7. When therefore iniquity, sin, blasphemy, tyranny, and every
evil work, shall increase, and when transgression, impiety, and
uncleanness also shall increase, then upon them all shall great
punishment be inflicted from heaven.
8. The holy Lord shall go forth in wrath, and upon them all shall
great punishment from heaven be inflicted.
9. The holy Lord shall go forth in wrath, and with punishment,
that he may execute judgment upon earth.
10. In those days oppression shall be cut off from its roots, and
iniquity with fraud shall be eradicated, perishing from under heaven.
11. Every place of strength128 shall be surrendered
with its inhabitants; with fire shall it be burnt. They shall be brought from
every part of the earth, and be cast into a judgment of fire. They shall
perish in wrath, and by a judgment overpowering them for ever.
12. Righteousness shall be raised up from slumber; and wisdom
shall be raised up, and conferred upon them.
13. Then shall the roots of iniquity be cut off; sinners perish by
the sword; and blasphemers be annihilated everywhere.
14. Those who meditate oppression, and those who blaspheme, by the
sword shall perish.
15. And now, my children, I will describe and point out to you the
path of righteousness and the path of oppression.
16. I will again point them out to you, that you may know what is
to come.
17. Hear now, my children, and walk in the path of righteousness,
but shun that of oppression; for all who walk in the path of iniquity shall
perish for ever.
1. That which was written by Enoch. He wrote all this instruction
of wisdom for every man of dignity, and every judge of the earth; for all my
children who shall dwell upon earth, and for subsequent generations,
conducting themselves uprightly and peaceably.
2. Let not your spirit be grieved on account of the times; for the
holy, the Great One, has prescribed a period to all.
3. Let the righteous man arise from slumber; let him arise, and
proceed in the path of righteousness, in all its paths; and let him advance in
goodness and eternal clemency. Mercy shall be showed to the righteous man;
upon him shall be conferred integrity and power for ever. In goodness and in
righteousness shall he exist, and shall walk in everlasting light; but sin
shall perish in eternal darkness, nor be seen from that time forward for
evermore.
1. After this, Enoch began to speak from a book.
2. And Enoch said, Concerning the children of righteousness,
concerning the elect of the world, and concerning the plant of righteousness
and integrity.
3. Concerning these things will I speak, and these
things will I explain to you, my children: I who am Enoch. In
consequence of that which has been shown to me, from my heavenly vision and
from the voice of the holy angels129 have I acquired knowledge;
and from the tablet of heaven have I acquired understanding.
4. Enoch then began to speak from a book, and said, I have been
born the seventh in the first week, while judgment and righteousness wait with
patience.
5. But after me, in the second week, great wickedness shall arise,
and fraud shall spring forth.
6. In that week the end of the first shall take place, in which
mankind shall be safe.130
7. But when the first is completed, iniquity shall grow up;
and during the second week he shall execute the decree131
upon sinners.
8. Afterwards, in the third week, during its completion, a man132
of the plant of righteous judgment shall be selected; and
after him the Plant133 of righteousness shall come for ever.
9. Subsequently, in the fourth week, during its completion, the
visions of the holy and the righteous shall be seen, the order of generation
after generation shall take place, and a habitation shall be made for
them. Then in the fifth week, during its completion, the house of glory and of
dominion134 shall be erected for ever.
10. After that, in the sixth week, all those who are in it shall
be darkened, the hearts of all of them shall be forgetful of wisdom, and in it
shall a Man135 arise and come forth.
11. And during its completion He shall burn the house of dominion
with fire, and all the race of the elect root shall be dispersed.136
12. Afterwards, in the seventh week, a perverse generation shall
arise; abundant shall be its deeds, and all its deeds perverse. During its
completion, the righteous shall be selected from the everlasting plant of
righteousness; and to them shall be given the sevenfold doctrine of his whole
creation.
13. Afterwards there shall be another week, the eighth137
of righteousness, to which shall be given a sword to execute judgment and
justice upon all oppressors.
14. Sinners shall be delivered up into the hands of the righteous,
who during its completion shall acquire habitations by their righteousness;
and the house of the great King shall be established for celebrations for
ever. After this, in the ninth week, shall the judgment of righteousness be
revealed to the whole world.
15. Every work of the ungodly shall disappear from the whole
earth; the world shall be marked for destruction; and all men shall be on the
watch for the path of integrity.
16. And after this, on the seventh day of the tenth week, there
shall be an everlasting judgment, which shall be executed upon the Watchers;
and a spacious eternal heaven shall spring forth in the midst of the angels.
17. The former heaven shall depart and pass away; a new heaven
shall appear; and all the celestial powers shall shine with sevenfold
splendour for ever. Afterwards likewise shall there be many weeks, which shall
externally exist in goodness and in righteousness.
18. Neither shall sin be named there for ever and for ever.
19. Who is there of all the children of men, capable of hearing
the voice of the Holy One without emotion?
20. Who is there capable of thinking his thoughts? Who capable of
contemplating all the workmanship of heaven? Who of comprehending the deeds of
heaven?
21. He may behold its animation, but not its spirit. He may be
capable of conversing respecting it, but not of ascending to it.
He may see all the boundaries of these things, and meditate upon them; but he
can make nothing like them.
22. Who of all men is able to understand the breadth and length of
the earth?
23. By whom have been seen the dimensions of all these things? Is
it every man who is capable of comprehending the extent of heaven; what its
elevation is, and by what it is supported?
24. How many are the numbers of the stars; and where all the
luminaries remain at rest?
1. And now let me exhort you, my children, to love righteousness,
and to walk in it; for the paths of righteousness are worthy of acceptation;
but the paths of iniquity shall suddenly fail, and be diminished.
2. To men of note in their generation the paths of oppression and
death are revealed; but they keep far from them, and do not follow them.
3. Now, too, let me exhort you who are righteous, not to
walk in the paths of evil and oppression, nor in the paths of death. Approach
them not, that you may not perish; but covet,
4. And choose for yourselves righteousness, and a good life.
5. Walk in the paths of peace, that you may live, and be found
worthy. Retain my words in your inmost thoughts, and obliterate them not from
your hearts; for I know that sinners counsel men to commit crime craftily.
They are not found in every place, nor does every counsel possess a little of
them.
6. Woe to those who build iniquity and oppression, and who lay the
foundation of fraud; for suddenly shall they be subverted, and never obtain
peace.
7. Woe to those who build up their houses with crime; for from
their very foundations shall their houses be demolished, and by the sword
shall they themselves fall. Those, too, who acquire gold and silver,
shall justly and suddenly perish. Woe to you who are rich, for in your riches
have you trusted; but from your riches you shall be removed; because you have
not remembered the Most High in the days of your prosperity.
8. You have committed blasphemy and iniquity; and are destined to
the day of the effusion of blood, to the day of darkness, and to the day of
the great judgment.
9. This I will declare and point out to you, that he who created
you will destroy you.
10. When you fall, he will not show you mercy; but your Creator
will rejoice in your destruction.
11. Let those, then, who shall be righteous among you in those
days, detest sinners, and the ungodly.
1. O that my eyes were clouds of water, that I might weep over
you, and pour forth my tears like rain, and rest from the sorrow of my heart!
2. Who has permitted you to hate and to transgress? Judgment shall
overtake you, ye sinners.
3. The righteous shall not fear the wicked; because God will again
bring them into your power, that you may avenge yourselves of them according
to your pleasure.
4. Woe to you who shall be so bound by execrations, that you
cannot be released from them; the remedy being far removed from you on account
of your sins. Woe to you who recompense your neighbour with evil; for you
shall be recompensed according to your works.
5. Woe to you, false witnesses, you who aggravate iniquity; for
you shall suddenly perish.
6. Woe to you, sinners; for you reject the righteous; for you
receive or reject at pleasure those who commit iniquity; and
their yoke shall prevail over you.
1. Wait in hope, you righteous; for suddenly shall sinners perish
from before you, and you shall exercise dominion over them, according to your
will.
2. In the day of the sufferings of sinners your offspring shall be
elevated, and lifted up like eagles. Your nest shall be more exalted than that
of the avest; you shall ascend, and enter into the cavities of the earth, and
into the clefts of the rocks for ever, like conies, from the sight of the
ungodly;
3. Who shall groan over you, and weep like sirens.
4. You shall not fear those who trouble you; for restoration shall
be yours; a splendid light shall shine around you, and the voice of
tranquillity shall be heard from heaven. Woe to you, sinners; for your wealth
makes you resemble saints, but your hearts reproach you, knowing that
you are sinners. This word shall testify against you, for the remembrance of
crime.
5. Woe to you who feed upon the glory of the corn, and drink the
strength of the deepest spring, and in the pride of your power tread
down the humble.
6. Woe to you who drink water at pleasure; for suddenly shall you
be recompensed, consumed, and withered, because you have forsaken the
foundation of life.
7. Woe to you who act iniquitously, fraudulently, and
blasphemously; there shall be a remembrance against you for evil.
8. Woe to you, powerful, who with power strike down righteousness;
for the day of your destruction shall come; while at that very time
many and good days shall be the portion of the righteous, even at the
period of your judgment.
1. The righteous are confident that sinners will be disgraced, and
perish in the day of iniquity.
2. You shall yourselves be conscious of it; for the Most High will
remember your destruction, and the angels shall rejoice over it. What will you
do sinners? And where will you fly in the day of judgment, when you shall hear
the words of the prayer of the righteous?
3. You are not like them who in this respect witness against you;
you are associates of sinners.
4. In those days shall the prayers of the righteous come up before
the Lord. When the day of your judgment shall arrive; and every circumstance
of your iniquity be related before the great and the holy One;
5. Your faces shall be covered with shame; while every deed,
strengthened by crime, shall be rejected.
6. Woe unto you, sinners, who in the midst of the sea, and on dry
land, are those against whom an evil record exists. Woe to you who squander
silver and gold, not obtained in righteousness, and say, We are rich, possess
wealth, and have acquired everything which we can desire.
7. Now then will we do whatsoever we are disposed to do; for we
have amassed silver; our barns are full, and the husbandmen of our families
are like overflowing water.
8. Like water shall your falsehood pass away; for your wealth will
not be permanent, but shall suddenly ascend from you, because you have
obtained it all iniquitously; to extreme malediction shall you be delivered
up.
9. And now I swear to you, crafty, as well as simple ones; that
you, often contemplating the earth, you who are men, clothe yourselves
more elegantly that married women, and both together more so than unmarried
ones,138
everywhere arraying yourselves in majesty, in
magnificence, in authority, and in silver: but gold, purple, honour, and
wealth, like water, flow away.
10. Erudition therefore and wisdom are not theirs. Thus shall they
perish, together with their riches, with all their glory, and with their
honours;
11. While with disgrace, with slaughter, and in extreme penury,
shall their spirits be thrust into a furnace of fire.
12. I have sworn to you, sinners, that neither mountain nor hill
has been or shall be subservient139 to woman.
13. Neither in this way has crime been sent down to us upon earth,
but men of their own heads have invented it; and greatly shall those who give
it efficiency be execrated.
14. Barrenness shall not be previously inflicted on woman;
but on account of the work of her hands shall she die childless.
15. I have sworn to you, sinners, by the holy and the Great One,
that all your evil deeds are disclosed in the heavens; and that none of your
oppressive acts are concealed and secret.
16. Think not in your minds, neither say in your hearts, that
every crime is not manifested and seen. In heaven it is daily written down
before the Most High. Henceforwards shall it be manifested; for every act of
oppression which you commit shall be daily recorded, until the period of your
condemnation.
17. Woe to you, simple ones, for you shall perish in your
simplicity. To the wise you will not listen, and that which is good you shall
not obtain.
18. Now therefore know that you are destined to the day of
destruction; nor hope that sinners shall live; but in process of time you
shall die; for you are not marked for redemption;
19. But are destined to the day of the great judgment, to the day
of distress, and the extreme ignominy of your souls.
20. Woe to you, obdurate in heart, who commit crime, and feed on
blood. Whence is it that you feed on good things, drink, and are
satiated? Is it not because our Lord, the Most High, has abundantly supplied
every good thing upon earth? To you there shall not be peace.
21. Woe to you who love the deeds of iniquity. Why do you hope for
that which is good? Know that you shall be given up into the hands of the
righteous; who shall cut off your necks, slay you, and show you no compassion.
22. Woe to you who rejoice in the trouble of the righteous; for a
grave shall not be dug for you.
23. Woe to you who frustrate the word of the righteous; for to you
there shall be no hope of life.
24. Woe to you who write down the word of falsehood, and the word
of the wicked; for their falsehood they record, that they may hear and not
forget folly.
25. To them there shall be no peace; but they shall surely die
suddenly.
1. Woe to them who act impiously, who laud and honour the word of
falsehood. You have been lost in perdition; and have never led a virtuous
life.
2. Woe to you who change the words of integrity. They transgress
against the everlasting decree;140
3. And cause the heads of those who are not sinners to be trodden
down upon the earth.
4. In those days you, O righteous, shall have been deemed worthy
of having your prayers rise up in remembrance; and shall have deposited them
in testimony before the angels, that they might records the sins of the
sinners in the presence of the Most High.
5. In those days the nations shall be overthrown; but the families
of the nations shall rise again in the day of perdition.
6. In those days they who become pregnant shall go forth, carry
off their children, and forsake them. Their offspring shall slip from them,
and while suckling them shall they forsake them; they shall never return to
them, and never instruct their beloved.
7. Again I swear to you, sinners, that crime has been prepared for
the day of blood, which never ceases.
8. They shall worship stones, and engrave golden, silver, and
wooden images. They shall worship impure spirits, demons, and every idol, in
temples; but no help shall be obtained for them. Their hearts shall become
impious through their folly, and their eyes be blinded with mental
superstition.141 In their visionary dreams shall they be impious
and superstitious, lying in all their actions, and worshipping a stone.
Altogether shall they perish.
9. But in those days blessed shall they be, to whom the word of
wisdom is delivered; who point out and pursue the path of the Most High; who
walk in the way of righteousness, and who act not impiously with the impious.
10. They shall be saved.
11. Woe to you who expand the crime of your neighbour; for in hell
shall you be slain.
12. Woe to you who lay the foundation of sin and deceit, and who
are bitter on earth; for on it shall you be consumed.
13. Woe to you who build your houses by the labour of others,
every part of which is constructed with brick, and with the stone of crime; I
tell you, that you shall not obtain peace.
14. Woe to you who despise the extent of the everlasting
inheritance of your fathers, while your souls follow after idols; for to you
there shall be no tranquillity.
15. Woe to them who commit iniquity, and give aid to blasphemy,
who slay their neighbour until the day of the great judgment; for your glory
shall fall; malevolence shall He put into your hearts, and the spirit of his
wrath shall stir you up, that every one of you may perish by the sword.
16. Then shall all the righteous and the holy remember your
crimes.
1 In those days shall fathers be struck down with their children
in the presence of each other; and brethren with their brethren shall fall
dead: until a river shall flow from their blood.
2. For a man shall not restrain his hand from his children, nor
from his children's children; his mercy will be to kill them.
3. Nor shall the sinner restrain his hand from his honoured
brother. From the dawn of day to the setting sun shall the slaughter continue.
The horse shall wade up to his breast, and the chariot shall sink to its axle,
in the blood of sinners.
1. In those days the angels shall descend into places of
concealment, and gather together in one spot all who have assisted in crime.
2. In that day shall the Most High rise up to execute the great
judgment upon all sinners, and to commit the guardianship of all the righteous
and holy to the holy angels, that they may protect them as the apple of an
eye, until every evil and every crime be annihilated.
3. Whether or not the righteous sleep securely, wise men
shall then truly perceive.
4. And the sons of the earth shall understand every word of that
book, knowing that their riches cannot save them in the ruin of their crimes.
5. Woe to you, sinners, when you shall be afflicted on account of
the righteous in the day of the great trouble; shall be burnt in the fire; and
be recompensed according to your deeds.
6. Woe to you, perverted in heart, who are watchful to obtain an
accurate knowledge of evil, and to discover terrors. No one shall assist you.
7. Woe to you, sinners; for with the words of your mouths, and
with the work of your hands, have you acted impiously; in the flame of a
blazing fire shall you be burnt.
8, And now know, that the angels shall inquire into your conduct
in heaven; of the sun, the moon, and the stars, shall they inquire
respecting your sins; for upon earth you exercise jurisdiction over the
righteous.
9. Every cloud shall bear witness against you, the snow, the dew,
and the rain: for all of them shall be withholden from you, that they may not
descend upon you, nor become subservient to your crimes.
10. Now then bring gifts of salutation to the rain; that, not
being withholden, it may descend upon you; and to the dew, if it has received
from you gold and silver. But when the frost, snow, cold, every snowy wind,
and every suffering belonging to them, fall upon you, in those days you will
be utterly incapable of standing before them.
1. Attentively consider heaven, all you progeny of heaven, and all
the works of the Most High; fear him, nor conduct yourselves criminally before
him.
2. If He shut up the windows of heaven, restraining the rain and
dew, that it may not descend upon the earth on your account, what will you do?
3. And if He send his wrath upon you, and upon all your deeds, you
are not they who can supplicate him; you who utter against his righteousness,
language proud and powerful. To you there shall be no peace.
4. Do you not see the commanders of ships, how their vessels are
tossed about by the waves, torn to pieces by the winds, and exposed to the
greatest peril?
5. That they therefore fear, because their whole property is
embarked with them on the ocean; and that they forebode evil in their hearts,
because it may swallow them up, and they may perish in it?
6. Is not the whole sea, all its waters, and all its commotion,
the work of him, the Most High; of him who has sealed up all its exertions,
and girded it on every side with sand?
7. Is it not at his rebuke dried up, and alarmed; while all
its fish with everything contained in it die? And will not you,
sinners, who are on earth, fear him? Is not He the maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things which are in them?
8. And who has given erudition and wisdom to all that move
progressive upon the earth, and over the sea?
9. Are not the commanders of ships terrified at the ocean? And
shall not sinners be terrified at the Most High?
1. In those days, when He shall cast the calamity of fire upon
you, whither will you fly, and where will you be safe?
2. And when He sends forth his word against you, are you not
spared, and terrified?
3. All the luminaries are agitated with great fear; and all the
earth is spared, while it trembles, and suffers anxiety.
4. All the angels fulfil the commands received by them,
and are desirous of being concealed from the presence of the great Glory;
while the children of the earth are alarmed and troubled.
5. But you, sinners, are for ever accursed; to you there shall be
no peace.
6. Fear not, souls of the righteous; but wait with patient hope
for the day of your death in righteousness. Grieve not, because your souls
descend in great trouble, with groaning, lamentation, and sorrow, to the
receptacle of the dead. In your lifetime your bodies have not received a
recompense in proportion to your goodness, but in the period of your existence
have sinners existed; in the period of execration and of punishment.
7. And when you die, sinners say concerning you, As we die, the
righteous die. What profit have they in their works? Behold, like us, they
expire in sorrow and in darkness. What advantage have they over us?
Henceforward are we equal. What will be within their grasp, and what before
their eyes for ever? For behold they are dead; and never will they again
perceive the light. I say unto you, sinners, You have been satisfied with meat
and drink, with human plunder and rapine, with sin, with the acquisition of
wealth and with the sight of good days. Have you not marked the righteous, how
their end is in peace? For no oppression is found in them even to the day of
their death. They perish, and are as if they were not, while their souls
descend in trouble to the receptacle of the dead.
1. But now I swear to you, righteous, by the greatness of his
splendour and his glory; by his illustrious kingdom and by his majesty, to you
I swear, that I comprehend this mystery; that I have read the tablet of
heaven, have seen the writing of the holy ones, and have discovered what is
written and impressed on it concerning you.
2. I have seen that all goodness, joy, and glory has been
prepared for you, and been written down for the spirits of them who die
eminently righteous and good. To you it shall be given in return for your
troubles; and your portion of happiness shall far exceed the portion of
the living.
3. The spirits of you who die in righteousness shall exist and
rejoice. Their spirits shall exult; and their remembrance shall be before the
face of the Mighty One from generation to generation. Nor shall they now fear
disgrace.
4. Woe to you, sinners, when you die in your sins; and they, who
are like you, say respecting you, Blessed are these sinners. They have lived
out their whole period; and now they die in happiness and in wealth. Distress
and slaughter they knew not while alive; in honour they die; nor ever in their
lifetime did judgment overtake them.
5. But has it not been shown to them, that, when to
the receptacle of the dead their souls shall be made to descend, their evil
deeds shall become their greatest torment? Into darkness, into the snare, and
into the flame, which shall burn to the great judgment, shall their spirits
enter; and the great judgment shall take effect for ever and for ever.
6. Woe to you; for to you there shall be no peace. Neither can you
say to the righteous, and to the good who are alive, In the days of our
trouble have we been afflicted; every manner of trouble have we seen,
and many evil things have suffered.
7. Our spirits have been consumed, lessened, and diminished.
8. We have perished; nor has there been a possibility of help for
us in word or in deed: we have found none, but have been tormented and
destroyed.
9. We have not expected to live day after day.
10. We hoped indeed to have been the head;
11. But we have become the tail. We have been afflicted, when we
have exerted ourselves; but we have been devoured by sinners and the ungodly;
their yoke has been heavy upon us.
12. Those have exercised dominion over us who detest and who goad
us; and to those who hate us have we humbled our neck; but they have shown no
compassion towards us.
13. We have been desirous of escaping from them, that we might fly
away and be at rest; but we have found no place to which we could fly, and be
secure from them. We have sought an asylum with princes in our distress, and
have cried out to those who were devouring us; but our cry has not been
regarded, nor have they been disposed to hear our voice;
14. But rather to assist those who plunder and devour us; those
who diminish us, and hide their oppression; who remove not their yoke from us,
but devour, enervate, and slay us; who conceal our slaughter, nor remember
that they have lifted up their hands against us.
1. I swear to you, righteous, that in heaven the angels record
your goodness before the glory of the Mighty One.
2. Wait with patient hope; for formerly you have been disgraced
with evil and with affliction; but now shall you shine like the luminaries of
heaven. You shall be seen, and the gates of heaven shall be opened to you.
Your cries have cried for judgment; and it has appeared to you; for an account
of all your sufferings shall be required from the princes, and from every one
who has assisted your plunderers.
3. Wait with patient hope; nor relinquish your confidence; for
great joy shall be yours, like that of the angels in heaven. Conduct
yourselves as you may, still you shall not be concealed in the day of the
great judgment. You shall not be found like sinners; and eternal condemnation
shall be far from you, so long as the world exists.
4. And now fear not, righteous, when you see sinners flourishing
and prosperous in their ways.
5. Be not associates with them; but keep yourselves at a distance
from their oppression; be you associated with the host of heaven. You,
sinners, say, All our transgressions shall not be taken account of, and be
recorded. But all your transgressions shall be recorded daily.
6. And be assured by me, that light and darkness, day and night,
behold all your transgressions. Be not impious in your thoughts; lie not;
surrender not the word of uprightness; lie not against the word of the holy
and the mighty One; glorify not your idols; for all your lying and all your
impiety is not for righteousness, but for great crime.
7. Now will I point out a mystery: Many sinners shall turn and
transgress against the word of uprightness.
8. They shall speak evil things; they shall utter falsehood;
execute great undertakings;142 and compose books in their own
words. But when they shall write all my words correctly in their own
languages,
9. They shall neither change or diminish them; but shall write
them all correctly; all which from the first I have uttered concerning them.143
10. Another mystery also I point out. To the righteous and the
wise shall be given books of joy, of integrity, and of great wisdom. To them
shall books be given, in which they shall believe;
11. And in which they shall rejoice. And all the righteous shall
be rewarded, who from these shall acquire the knowledge of every upright path.
1. In those days, saith the Lord, they shall call to the children
of the earth, and make them listen to their wisdom. Show them that you are
their leaders;
2. And that remuneration shall take place over the whole
earth; for I and my Son will for ever hold communion with them in the paths of
uprightness, while they are still alive. Peace shall be yours. Rejoice,
children of integrity, in the truth.
1. After a time, my son Mathusala took a wife for his son Lamech.
2. She became pregnant by him, and brought forth a child, the
flesh of which was as white as snow, and red as a rose; the hair of whose head
was white like wool, and long; and whose eyes were beautiful. When he opened
them, he illuminated all the house, like the sun; the whole house abounded
with light.
3. And when he was taken from the hand of the midwife, Lamech his
father became afraid of him; and flying away came to his own father Mathusala,
and said, I have begotten a son, unlike to other children. He is not
human; but, resembling the offspring of the angels of heaven, is of a
different nature from ours, being altogether unlike to us.
4. His eyes are bright as the rays of the sun; his
countenance glorious, and he looks not as if he belonged to me, but to the
angels.
5. I am afraid, lest something miraculous should take place on
earth in his days.
6. And now, my father, let me entreat and request you to go to our
progenitor Enoch, and learn from him the truth; for his residence is with the
angels.
7. When Mathusala heard the words of his son, he came to me at the
extremities of the earth; for he had been informed that I was there: and he
cried out.
8. I heard his voice, and went to him saying, Behold, I am here,
my son; since you have come to me.
9. He answered and said, On account of a great event have I come
to you; and on account of a sight difficult to be comprehended have I
approached you.
10. And now, my father, hear me; for to my son Lamech a child has
been born, who resembles not him; and whose nature is not like the nature of
man. His colour is whiter than snow; he is redder than the rose; the hair of
his head is whiter than white wool; his eyes are like the rays of the sun; and
when he opened them he illuminated the whole house.
11. When also he was taken from the hand of the midwife,
12. His father Lamech feared, and fled to me, believing not that
the child belonged to him, but that he resembled the angels of heaven.
And behold I am come to you, that you might point out to me the truth.
13. Then I, Enoch, answered and said, The Lord will effect a new
thing upon the earth. This have I explained, and seen in a vision. I have
shown you that in the generations of Jared my father, those who were
from heaven disregarded the word of the Lord. Behold they committed crimes;
laid aside their class, and intermingled with women. With them also they
transgressed; married with them, and begot children.144
14. A great destruction therefore shall come upon all the earth; a
deluge, a great destruction, shall take place in one year.
15. This child which is born to your son shall survive on
the earth, and his three sons shall be saved with him. When all mankind who
are on the earth shall die, he shall be safe.
16. And his posterity shall beget on the earth giants, not
spiritual, but carnal. Upon the earth shall a great punishment be inflicted,
and it shall be washed from all corruption. Now therefore inform your son
Lamech, that he who is born is his child in truth; and he shall call his name
Noah, for he shall be to you a survivor. He and his children shall be
saved from the corruption which shall take place in the world; from all the
sin and from all the iniquity which shall be consummated on earth in his days.
Afterwards shall greater impiety take place than that which had been before
consummated on the earth; for I am acquainted with holy mysteries, which the
Lord himself has discovered and explained to me; and which I have read in the
tablets of heaven.
17. In them I saw it written, that the generation after generation
shall transgress, until a righteous race shall arise; until transgression and
crime perish from off the earth; until all goodness come upon it.
18. And now, my son, go tell your son Lamech,
19. That the child which is born is his child in truth; and that
there is no deception.
20. When Mathusala heard the word of his father Enoch, who had
shown him every secret thing, he returned with understanding, and called the
name of that child Noah; because he was to console the earth on account of all
its destruction.
21. Another book, which Enoch wrote for his son Mathusala, and for
those who should come after him, and preserve their purity of conduct in the
latter days. You, who have laboured, shall wait in those days, until the evil
doers be consumed, and the power of the guilty be annihilated. Wait, until sin
pass away; for their names shall be blotted out of the holy books; their seed
shall be destroyed, and their spirits slain. They shall cry out and lament in
the invisible waste, and in the bottomless fire shall they burn.145
There I perceived, as it were, a cloud which could not be seen through; for
from the depth of it I was unable to look upwards. I beheld also a flame of
fire blazing brightly, and, as it were, glittering mountains whirled around,
and agitated from side to side.
22. Then I inquired of one of the holy angels who was with me, and
said, What is this splendid object? For it is not heaven, but a flame
of fire alone which blazes; and in it there is the clamour of
exclamation, of woe, and of great suffering.
23. He said, There, into that place which you behold, shall be
thrust the spirits of sinners and blasphemers; of those who shall do evil, and
who shall pervert all which God has spoken by the mouth of the prophets; all
which they ought to do. For respecting these things there shall be writings
and impressions above in heaven, that the angels may read them and know what
shall happen both to sinners and to the spirits of the humble; to those who
have suffered in their bodies, but have been rewarded by God; who have been
injuriously treated by wicked men; who have loved God; who have been attached
neither to gold nor silver, nor to any good thing in the world, but have given
their bodies to torment;
24. To those who from the period of their birth have not been
covetous of earthly riches; but have regarded themselves as a breath passing
away.
25. Such has been their conduct; and much has the Lord tried them;
and their spirits have been found pure, that they might bless his name. All
their blessings have I related in a book; and He has rewarded them; for they
have been found to love heaven with an everlasting aspiration. God has said,
While they have been trodden down by wicked men, they have heard from them
revilings and blasphemies; and have been ignominiously treated, while they
were blessing me. And now will I call the spirits of the good from the
generation of light, and will change those who have been born in darkness; who
have not in their bodies been recompensed with glory, as their faith may have
merited.
26. I will bring them into the splendid light of those who love my
holy name: and I will place each of them on a throne of glory, of glory
peculiarly his own, and they shall be at rest during unnumbered periods.
Righteous is the judgment of God;
27. For to the faithful shall he give faith in the habitations of
uprightness. They shall see those, who have been born in darkness unto
darkness shall be cast; while the righteous shall be at rest. Sinners shall
cry out, beholding them, while they exist in splendour and proceed forwards to
the days and periods prescribed to them.
This page last updated: 11/11/2008