1 Enoch 65

In those days Noah saw that the earth had sunk down, and that its destruction was near.

1And in those days Noah saw the earth that it had sunk down and its destruction was nigh.

Note"In those days" is a stock phrase in this book marking the time of the vision being reported; here it is the period just before the Flood of Genesis. "Sunk down" pictures the ground itself giving way, the earth losing its footing rather than simply being covered with water.

2He got up from there and went to the ends of the earth, and called out loudly to his grandfather Enoch. Noah said three times, in a bitter voice: "Hear me, hear me, hear me."

2And he arose from thence and went to the ends of the earth, and cried aloud to his grandfather Enoch: and Noah said three times with an embittered voice: ‘Hear me, hear me, hear me.’

NoteIn this book Enoch does not die but is taken away to live at the far edge of the world, which is why Noah has to travel to the ends of the earth to reach him. "Grandfather" is used loosely for ancestor: in Genesis, Enoch is Noah's great-grandfather, by way of Methuselah and then Lamech.

3And I said to him: "Tell me what is happening on the earth, that the earth is in such a bad state and is shaking. I am afraid I will be destroyed along with it."

3And I said unto him: ‘Tell me what it is that is falling out on the earth that the earth is in such evil plight and shaken, lest perchance I shall perish with it?’

NoteThe speaker changes without warning. Verses 1 and 2 describe Noah from the outside; from here on "I" is Noah himself, telling his own story. Chapters 65 to 68 read like a separate book about Noah that has been set inside Enoch's, and the seam shows here.

4Right then there was a great shaking on the earth, and a voice was heard from heaven, and I fell on my face.

4And thereupon there was a great commotion on the earth, and a voice was heard from heaven, and I fell on my face.

NoteTo fall on your face is to drop flat to the ground, face down, the ordinary posture of a person before something overwhelming or divine.

5And Enoch my grandfather came and stood beside me, and said to me: "Why have you cried out to me with a bitter cry and with weeping?

5And Enoch my grandfather came and stood by me, and said unto me: ‘Why hast thou cried unto me with a bitter cry and weeping?

6A command has gone out from the presence of the Lord about those who live on the earth, that their ruin is settled, because they have learned all the secrets of the angels, and all the violence of the Satans, and all their powers, even the most secret ones, and all the power of those who practice sorcery, and the power of witchcraft, and the power of those who make cast metal images for the whole earth.

6And a command has gone forth from the presence of the Lord concerning those who dwell on the earth that their ruin is accomplished because they have learnt all the secrets of the angels, and all the violence of the Satans, and all their powers—the most secret ones—and all the power of those who practise sorcery, and the power of witchcraft, and the power of those who make molten images for the whole earth:

Note"The secrets of the angels" refers back to chapters 6 to 8 of this book, where a group of angels comes down and teaches humans what they were not meant to know: metalworking and weapons, cosmetics and dyes, spells, sorcery, the reading of the stars. The ruin announced here is presented as the consequence of that teaching. "The Satans" is plural, and in this book it names a whole class of hostile, accusing spirits rather than one devil; the word began as a common noun meaning adversary or accuser. "Molten images" are idols: metal melted and poured into a mold. Notice that it is the knowledge of how to cast them, not just the worship of them, that is counted among the forbidden secrets.

7They have also learned how silver is produced from the dust of the earth, and how soft metal comes to be in the earth.

7And how silver is produced from the dust of the earth, and how soft metal originates in the earth.

Note"Soft metal" translates an uncertain Ethiopic term. It seems to mean a metal that is easily worked, set here against the silver named just before it.

8For lead and tin are not produced from the earth like the first one. There is a spring that produces them, and an angel stands in it, and that angel is above the rest."

8For lead and tin are not produced from the earth like the first: it is a fountain that produces them, and an angel stands therein, and that angel is pre-eminent.’

Note"Like the first" is ambiguous in the text: it may mean "unlike silver, which was named first," or it may single out the first of the two metals just listed. The picture behind the verse is of metals welling up from an underground spring rather than being dug out of ore, with an angel posted at the source and set over it.

9After that my grandfather Enoch took hold of my hand and lifted me up, and said to me: "Go, for I have asked the Lord of Spirits about this shaking on the earth.

9And after that my grandfather Enoch took hold of me by my hand and raised me up, and said unto me: ‘Go, for I have asked the Lord of Spirits as touching this commotion on the earth.

Note"The Lord of Spirits" is the standard title for God throughout this section of the book, chapters 37 to 71, where it appears constantly. The "spirits" are the angelic beings under his command.

10And he said to me: 'Because of their wrongdoing their judgment has been decided, and I will not hold it back forever. Because of the sorceries they have searched out and learned, the earth and those who live on it will be destroyed.'

10And He said unto me: “Because of their unrighteousness their judgement has been determined upon and shall not be withheld by Me for ever. Because of the sorceries which they have searched out and learnt, the earth and those who dwell upon it shall be destroyed.”

11And as for these, they have no place of repentance forever, because they have shown people what was hidden, and they are the condemned. But as for you, my son, the Lord of Spirits knows that you are pure, and free of blame in this charge about the secrets.

11And these—they have no place of repentance for ever, because they have shown them what was hidden, and they are the damned: but as for thee, my son, the Lord of Spirits knows that thou art pure, and guiltless of this reproach concerning the secrets.

Note"No place of repentance" does not mean a location. The phrase means that no opportunity to turn back is being granted them. The ones who "have shown them what was hidden" are the angels of verse 6, and those shown are human beings.

12He has appointed your name to be among the holy ones, and will keep you safe among those who live on the earth, and has appointed your righteous descendants for kingship and for great honors. From your descendants will come a spring of righteous and holy people, more than anyone can count, forever."

12And He has destined thy name to be among the holy, And will preserve thee amongst those who dwell on the earth, And has destined thy righteous seed both for kingship and for great honours, And from thy seed shall proceed a fountain of the righteous and holy without number for ever.’

Note"The holy" or holy ones in this book most often means angels, so Noah's name is being entered among theirs. "Seed" is an old word for offspring and descendants. The "fountain" picks up the same word used of the metals in verse 8, but turns it around: instead of a spring welling up with forbidden metal, a spring of righteous people flows out from Noah without end.