1 Enoch 75

The leaders of the heads of the thousands are set over the whole creation and over all the stars. They also have to do with the four added days, which cannot be separated from their duty in the counting of the year. These leaders serve on the four days that are not counted in the count of the year.

1And the leaders of the heads of the thousands, who are placed over the whole creation and over all the stars, have also to do with the four intercalary days, being inseparable from their office, according to the reckoning of the year, and these render service on the four days which are not reckoned in the reckoning of the year.

Note"Leaders of the heads of the thousands" is military language borrowed for the sky: the stars are imagined as an army organized in units, with officers over each rank, and these are the senior officers. The "four added days" (Charles's "intercalary days") are the heart of this book's calendar: twelve months of thirty days gives 360, and one extra day is inserted at each of the four turning points of the year to reach 364. Because they belong to no month, they are "not counted in the count of the year," and someone using a plain twelve-month reckoning would leave them out.

2Because of them, people go wrong about this, for those lights truly do serve at the world-stations: one at the first gate, one at the third gate of the sky, one at the fourth gate, and one at the sixth gate. The year comes out exact through its separate three hundred and sixty-four stations.

2And owing to them men go wrong therein, for those luminaries truly render service on the world-stations, one in the first portal, one in the third portal of the heaven, one in the fourth portal, and one in the sixth portal, and the exactness of the year is accomplished through its separate three hundred and sixty-four stations.

NoteThe "gates" (Charles: "portals") are a fixed feature of this book's picture of the world: six openings on the eastern horizon and six on the western, through which the sun, moon, stars and winds come and go. Which gate is in use shifts with the season, so the gate number tells you the time of year. The four added days fall at the first, third, fourth and sixth gates, marking the year's four quarters. "World-stations" and the "three hundred and sixty-four stations" are the year's daily positions, one station for each day of the 364-day year.

3The angel Uriel showed me the signs, the times, the years, and the days. The Lord of glory has set him forever over all the lights of the sky, in the sky and in the world, so that they rule across the face of the sky, are seen on the earth, and are leaders for the day and the night. That is, the sun, the moon, and the stars, and all the serving creatures that make their circuit in all the chariots of the sky.

3For the signs and the times and the years and the days the angel Uriel showed to me, whom the Lord of glory hath set for ever over all the luminaries of the heaven, in the heaven and in the world, that they should rule on the face of the heaven and be seen on the earth, and be leaders for the day and the night, i.e. the sun, moon, and stars, and all the ministering creatures which make their revolution in all the chariots of the heaven.

NoteUriel is the angel placed in charge of the heavenly lights, and he is Enoch's guide and instructor through this whole astronomical section of the book. "The Lord of glory" is a title for God. "Chariots" reflects the ancient image of sun, moon and stars as riding across the sky in vehicles; the "serving creatures" are the heavenly beings that drive or accompany them. The phrase "i.e. the sun, moon, and stars" in Charles's translation is an explanatory gloss that sits inside the text itself, spelling out what "the luminaries" means.

4In the same way, Uriel showed me twelve doors, open around the rim of the sun's chariot in the sky. The rays of the sun break out through them, and from them warmth is spread over the earth, when they are opened at their appointed seasons.

4In like manner twelve doors Uriel showed me, open in the circumference of the sun’s chariot in the heaven, through which the rays of the sun break forth: and from them is warmth diffused over the earth, when they are opened at their appointed seasons.

NoteThese twelve doors are a different set from the twelve horizon gates of verse 6. They are openings spaced around the rim of the sun's own chariot wheel, and the sun's heat escapes through whichever ones are open at a given season.

5They are also for the winds and for the spirit of the dew when they are opened, and they stand open in the sky at its far ends.

5And for the winds and the spirit of the dew† when they are opened, standing open in the heavens at the ends.

NoteThe dagger (†) in Charles's translation marks a place where he judged the Ethiopic text to be damaged or uncertain; the sentence has no main verb and hangs unfinished, which is why the rendering reads awkwardly. "The spirit of the dew" fits this book's picture of weather: wind, rain, dew, frost and hail are kept in heavenly storerooms and released through openings when needed.

6There are twelve gates in the sky, at the ends of the earth, out of which go the sun, the moon, and the stars, and all the works of the sky, in the east and in the west.

6As for the twelve portals in the heaven, at the ends of the earth, out of which go forth the sun, moon, and stars, and all the works of heaven in the east and in the west,

Note"The ends of the earth" means the horizon, where sky appears to meet ground: the eastern edge where the lights rise and the western edge where they go down.

7Many windows stand open to the left and to the right of those gates, and one window at its appointed season gives off warmth. These windows match the doors out of which the stars come, as he has commanded them, and in which they set according to their number.

7There are many windows open to the left and right of them, and one window at its (appointed) season produces warmth, corresponding (as these do) to those doors from which the stars come forth according as He has commanded them, and wherein they set corresponding to their number.

NoteThe windows are smaller openings flanking the large gates, giving finer gradations of position than the twelve gates alone can. "As he has commanded them" refers to God, who fixed the order the lights follow.

8And I saw chariots in the sky, running in the world, above those gates in which the stars that never set go around.

8And I saw chariots in the heaven, running in the world, above those portals in which revolve the stars that never set.

Note"The stars that never set" are the stars near the celestial pole, which circle round and round without ever dipping below the horizon, unlike stars that rise in the east and set in the west.

9One of them is larger than all the rest, and it is the one that makes its course through the whole world.

9And one is larger than all the rest, and it is that that makes its course through the entire world.