1 Enoch 91

1“And now, my son Methuselah, call all your brothers to me, and gather to me all the sons of your mother. For the word is calling me, and the spirit is poured out on me, so that I may show you everything that will happen to you forever.”

1‘And now, my son Methuselah, call to me all thy brothers And gather together to me all the sons of thy mother; For the word calls me, And the spirit is poured out upon me, That I may show you everything That shall befall you for ever.’

NoteEnoch is the figure of Genesis 5:21-24, the man who "walked with God" and was taken away; Methuselah is his son. The whole book is presented as Enoch's farewell instruction to his children before he is taken, which is why the speaker can describe the future of the world as something still ahead of everyone in the room. "The word is calling me, and the spirit is poured out on me" is standard prophetic language: it means he is being seized and made to speak, not that he has chosen the moment.

2So Methuselah went and called all his brothers to him and gathered his relatives.

2And thereupon Methuselah went and summoned to him all his brothers and assembled his relatives.

3And he spoke to all the children of righteousness and said: “Listen, sons of Enoch, to all the words of your father, and listen carefully to the voice of my mouth. For I urge you and say to you, dear ones:

3And he spake unto all the children of righteousness and said: ‘Hear, ye sons of Enoch, all the words of your father, And hearken aright to the voice of my mouth; For I exhort you and say unto you, beloved:

Note"Children of righteousness" is a Semitic turn of phrase in which "sons of" or "children of" a quality means people characterized by that quality. It does not mean a separate family from the sons of Enoch named in the same sentence; it is another way of describing them.

4Love upright living and walk in it. Do not come near upright living with a divided heart, and do not keep company with those who have a divided heart. Instead walk in righteousness, my sons. It will guide you on good paths, and righteousness will be your companion.

4Love uprightness and walk therein. And draw not nigh to uprightness with a double heart, And associate not with those of a double heart, But walk in righteousness, my sons. And it shall guide you on good paths, And righteousness shall be your companion.

NoteA "divided heart" (Charles: "double heart") translates an old idiom for a person of two minds, who keeps a second loyalty in reserve while professing the first. Hebrew says it literally as "a heart and a heart" (Psalm 12:2). The point is insincerity, not doubt.

5For I know that violence must grow greater on the earth, and that a great punishment will be carried out on the earth, and that all wrongdoing will come to an end. Yes, it will be cut off at its roots, and its whole structure will be destroyed.

5For I know that violence must increase on the earth, And a great chastisement be executed on the earth, And all unrighteousness come to an end: Yea, it shall be cut off from its roots, And its whole structure be destroyed.

Note"Punishment" here renders Charles's "chastisement," which in his English means a penalty inflicted by God, not scolding. Since Enoch is speaking before the Flood, this first great punishment on the earth is generally taken to be the Flood itself, with the doubling of wrongdoing in the next verses coming after it.

6And wrongdoing will once again be brought to its full measure on the earth, and all the deeds of wrongdoing and of violence and of law-breaking will grow strong in double measure.

6And unrighteousness shall again be consummated on the earth, And all the deeds of unrighteousness and of violence And transgression shall prevail in a twofold degree.

7And when sin and wrongdoing and speaking against God and violence in every kind of deed increase, and when turning away from God and law-breaking and uncleanness increase, a great punishment will come from heaven on all of these, and the holy Lord will come out with anger and punishment to carry out judgment on the earth.

7And when sin and unrighteousness and blasphemy And violence in all kinds of deeds increase, And apostasy and transgression and uncleanness increase, A great chastisement shall come from heaven upon all these, And the holy Lord will come forth with wrath and chastisement To execute judgement on earth.

Note"Uncleanness" in this literature covers both ritual defilement and sexual wrongdoing; the two ideas are not kept apart. "Speaking against God" renders "blasphemy," which meant insulting or denying speech about God rather than coarse language in general.

8In those days violence will be cut off at its roots, and so will the roots of wrongdoing together with deceit, and they will be destroyed from under heaven.

8In those days violence shall be cut off from its roots, And the roots of unrighteousness together with deceit, And they shall be destroyed from under heaven.

9And all the idols of the nations will be abandoned, and the temples will be burned with fire, and they will remove them from the whole earth. And they (that is, the nations) will be thrown into the judgment of fire, and will perish in anger and in a severe judgment forever.

9And all the idols of the heathen shall be abandoned, And the temples burned with fire, And they shall remove them from the whole earth, And they (i.e. the heathen) shall be cast into the judgement of fire, And shall perish in wrath and in grievous judgement for ever.

Note"The nations" translates Charles's "the heathen," which is simply the standard older rendering of the word for non-Israelite peoples; it carries no extra sense of savagery. The "temples" burned are the shrines housing those idols. The parenthesis "(that is, the nations)" is Charles's own explanatory insertion, not part of the ancient text: he is telling the reader which group the pronoun "they" refers to.

10And the righteous will rise from their sleep, and wisdom will rise and be given to them.

10And the righteous shall arise from their sleep, And wisdom shall arise and be given unto them.

NoteSleep is the ordinary ancient euphemism for death, so "rise from their sleep" means the righteous dead returning to life. Wisdom "rising" alongside them uses the same verb, pairing the two as a single event.

11And after that the roots of wrongdoing will be cut off, and the sinners will be destroyed by the sword … will be cut off from those who speak against God in every place, and those who plan violence and those who speak against God will perish by the sword.

11And after that the roots of unrighteousness shall be cut off, and the sinners shall be destroyed by the sword ... shall be cut off from the blasphemers in every place, and those who plan violence and those who commit blasphemy shall perish by the sword.

NoteThe gap marked "…" is in the source: the Ethiopic manuscripts of this passage are damaged or disordered at this point, and Charles printed the break rather than guess. Aramaic fragments of this section later found at Qumran preserve some material the Ethiopic lost.

12And after that there will be another week, the eighth, the week of righteousness, and a sword will be given to it so that a righteous judgment may be carried out on those who oppress, and sinners will be handed over into the hands of the righteous.

12And after that there shall be another, the eighth week, that of righteousness, And a sword shall be given to it that a righteous judgement may be executed on the oppressors, And sinners shall be delivered into the hands of the righteous.

NoteA "week" here is not seven days but an epoch of world history. This section belongs to a scheme known as the Apocalypse of Weeks, which divides all of history from Enoch to the end into ten such weeks of unequal length. Weeks one through seven are described in chapter 93 of this book, so the text here picks the scheme up in the middle; the chapters have come down to us out of their original order. "A sword will be given to it" means that epoch is granted the authority to carry out judgment, with the righteous as the ones who wield it.

13And at the close of that week they will gain houses through their righteousness, and a house will be built for the Great King in glory forever.

13And at its close they shall acquire houses through their righteousness, And a house shall be built for the Great King in glory for evermore, 14d. And all mankind shall look to the path of uprightness. 14a. And after that, in the ninth week, the righteous judgement shall be revealed to the whole world, b. And all the works of the godless shall vanish from all the earth, c. And the world shall be written down for destruction.

Note"The Great King" is a title for God, borrowed from the way subject peoples addressed an emperor. The "house" built for him is the temple. The numbering jumps from 13 to 15 because Charles printed verse 14 in a rearranged order, its last line placed before its first three, reflecting his judgment about how the lines had been disturbed in transmission.

15And after this, in the tenth week, in its seventh part, there will be the great judgment that lasts forever, in which he will carry out vengeance among the angels.

15And after this, in the tenth week in the seventh part, There shall be the great eternal judgement, In which He will execute vengeance amongst the angels.

NoteEach week in this scheme can be subdivided, so "the seventh part" of the tenth week is its final section. The angels among whom vengeance is carried out are the fallen watchers of chapters 6 through 16 of this book, the heavenly beings who came down, took human wives and taught forbidden arts; their judgment was announced there and is completed here.

16And the first heaven will depart and pass away, and a new heaven will appear, and all the powers of the heavens will give light seven times as bright.

16And the first heaven shall depart and pass away, And a new heaven shall appear, And all the powers of the heavens shall give sevenfold light.

NoteLight "seven times as bright" uses seven in its common ancient sense of completeness rather than as an exact measurement; compare Isaiah 30:26, where the sun's light becomes sevenfold.

17And after that there will be many weeks beyond counting, forever, and all will be in goodness and righteousness, and sin will never be spoken of again, forever.

17And after that there will be many weeks without number for ever, And all shall be in goodness and righteousness, And sin shall no more be mentioned for ever.

18And now I tell you, my sons, and show you the paths of righteousness and the paths of violence. Yes, I will show them to you again, so that you may know what is going to happen.

18And now I tell you, my sons, and show you The paths of righteousness and the paths of violence. Yea, I will show them to you again That ye may know what will come to pass.

Note"Paths" belongs to a widespread ancient teaching pattern that sets two roads before a hearer, one of right conduct and one of violence, and asks for a choice between them. The wording is meant to be heard as a fork in a road, not as a general figure for lifestyle.

19And now listen to me, my sons, and walk in the paths of righteousness, and do not walk in the paths of violence. For all who walk in the paths of wrongdoing will perish forever.”

19And now, hearken unto me, my sons, And walk in the paths of righteousness, And walk not in the paths of violence; For all who walk in the paths of unrighteousness shall perish for ever.’