1 Enoch 13

Then Enoch went and said: "Azâzêl, you will have no peace. A harsh sentence has gone out against you, to put you in chains.

1And Enoch went and said: ‘Azâzêl, thou shalt have no peace: a severe sentence has gone forth against thee to put thee in bonds:

NoteAzâzêl is one of the leaders of the fallen angels, named earlier in the book as the one who taught people to make swords and knives and armor, and taught women the use of eye paint and jewelry. "You will have no peace" is a fixed curse formula in 1 Enoch, repeated word for word against the rebel angels several times; it is not a comment on his state of mind but a sentence pronounced against him.

2You will not be spared, and the request you make will not be granted, because of the wrongdoing you have taught, and because of all the godless and unjust and sinful deeds you have shown to people."

2And thou shalt not have toleration nor †request† granted to thee, because of the unrighteousness which thou hast taught, and because of all the works of godlessness and unrighteousness and sin which thou hast shown to men.’

NoteCharles marked one word here with daggers in his translation, his way of flagging a place where the surviving Ethiopic manuscripts disagree or make no clear sense, so the reading is a guess. The sense of the verse is that no appeal will be heard.

3Then I went and spoke to them all together, and they were all afraid, and fear and shaking took hold of them.

3Then I went and spoke to them all together, and they were all afraid, and fear and trembling seized them.

Note"Them" is the band of angels who, earlier in the book, came down to earth, took human wives, and taught forbidden knowledge. Note also that the narration has just shifted from "Enoch went and said" to "I": the book moves between third person about Enoch and first person by Enoch, and the seams are left visible.

4They begged me to write out a petition for them, so that they might be forgiven, and to read their petition aloud in the presence of the Lord of heaven.

4And they besought me to draw up a petition for them that they might find forgiveness, and to read their petition in the presence of the Lord of heaven.

NoteA petition here is a formal written plea handed up to a superior, the way a subject would petition a king. The angels cannot present it themselves, so they ask Enoch, a human being, to draft it and read it out before God. Earlier in the book the traffic runs the other way: angels carry human cries up to heaven.

5For from that time on they could not speak with him, or lift their eyes to heaven, for shame at the sins they had been condemned for.

5For from thenceforward they could not speak (with Him) nor lift up their eyes to heaven for shame of their sins for which they had been condemned.

6So I wrote out their petition, and the prayer about their spirits and their deeds one by one, and about the things they asked for: that they should have forgiveness, and length.

6Then I wrote out their petition, and the prayer †in regard to their spirits and their deeds individually and in regard to their requests that they should have forgiveness and length†.

NoteCharles again marked this stretch with daggers as damaged or garbled in the manuscripts, which is why the sentence ends abruptly on "length." The phrase is probably a broken form of "length of days," meaning a long life, so the two things asked for are forgiveness and time.

7Then I went off and sat down by the waters of Dan, in the land of Dan, which is south of the west side of Hermon. I read their petition until I fell asleep.

7And I went off and sat down at the waters of Dan, in the land of Dan, to the south of the west of Hermon: I read their petition till I fell asleep.

NoteDan is at the far northern edge of the land of Israel, where a large spring rises and feeds the Jordan. Hermon is the snow capped mountain north of it, on the modern Lebanon and Syria border; earlier in the book it is the mountain the angels descended on and where they bound themselves by oath. Enoch reads their plea within sight of the place they made it.

8And a dream came to me, and visions fell upon me, and I saw visions of punishment, and a voice came telling me to report it to the sons of heaven and to rebuke them.

8And behold a dream came to me, and visions fell down upon me, and I saw visions of chastisement, and a voice came bidding (me) I to tell it to the sons of heaven, and reprimand them.

Note"Sons of heaven" is a standard way of saying angels, formed the way Hebrew and Aramaic say "sons of" to mean members of a group. It is the same beings addressed throughout this passage.

9When I woke up, I went to them, and they were all sitting gathered together, weeping in 'Abelsjâîl, which lies between Lebanon and Sênêsêr, with their faces covered.

9And when I awaked, I came unto them, and they were all sitting gathered together, weeping in ’Abelsjâîl, which is between Lebanon and Sênêsêr, with their faces covered.

NoteNeither place name can be fixed with certainty. 'Abelsjâîl is usually connected with Abel-maim, a town in the Hermon foothills, and Sênêsêr with Senir, which the Hebrew Bible gives as another name for Hermon or for one of its ridges. Covering the face was a recognized gesture of mourning and of shame, the posture of someone who cannot bear to be looked at.

10I told them all the visions I had seen in my sleep, and I began to speak the words of righteousness and to rebuke the heavenly Watchers.

10And I recounted before them all the visions which I had seen in sleep, and I began to speak the words of righteousness, and to reprimand the heavenly Watchers.

NoteWatcher translates an Aramaic word meaning "wakeful one" or "one who stays awake," a class of angel that also appears in the book of Daniel. In 1 Enoch the term belongs above all to this group who came down to earth. "Words of righteousness" means a formal rebuke delivered as a legal charge, setting out what they did wrong.