Book of Enoch (Part 2)

XXIV-XXV. The Seven Mountains in the North-West and the Tree of Life.

And from thence I went to another place of the earth, and he showed me a mountain range of fire which burnt day and night. And I went beyond it and saw seven magnificent mountains all differing each from the other, and the stones (thereof) were magnificent and beautiful, magnificent as a whole, of glorious appearance and fair exterior: three towards the east, one founded on the other, and three towards the south, one upon the other, and deep rough ravines, no one of which joined with any other. And the seventh mountain was in the midst of these, and it excelled them in height, resembling the seat of a throne: and fragrant trees encircled the throne. And amongst them was a tree such as I had never yet smelt, neither was any amongst them nor wwere others like it: it had a fragrance beyond all fragrance, and it leaves and blooms and wood wither not for ever: and its fruit is beautiful, and its fruit resembles the dates of a palm. Then I said: ‘How beautiful is this tree, and fragrant, and its leaves are fair, and its blooms very delightful in appearance.’ Then answered Michael, one of the holy and honored angels who was with me, and was their leader.

And he said unto me: ‘Enoch, why dost thou ask me regarding the fragrance of the tree, and why dost thou wish to learn the truth?’ Then I answered him saying: ‘I wish to know about everything, but especially about this tree.’ And he answered saying: ‘This high mountain which thou hast seen, whose summit is like the throne of God, is His throne, where the Holy Great One, the Lord of Glory, the Eternal King, will sit, when He shall come down to visit the earth with goodness. And as for this fragrant tree no mortal is permitted to touch it til the great judgement, when He shall take vengeance on all and bring (everything) to its consummation for ever. It shall then be given to the righteous and holy. Its fruit shall be for food to the elect: it shall be transplanted to the holy place, to the temple of the Lord, the Eternal King.

Then shall they rejoice with joy and be glad, and into the holy place shall they enter; and its fragrance shall be in their bones, and they shall live a long life on earth, such as thy fathers lived:

And in their days shall no sorrow or plague or torment or calamity touch them.’

Then blessed I the God of Glory, the Eternal King, who hath prepared such things for the righteous, and hath created them and promised to give to them.

XXVI. Jerusalem and the Mountains, Ravines, and Streams

And I went from thence to the middle of the earth, and I saw a blessed place in which there were trees with branches abiding and blooming [of a dismembered tree]. And there I saw a holy mountain, and underneath the mountain to th eeast there was a stream and it flowed towards the south. And I saw towards the east another mountain higher than this, and between them a deep and narrow ravine: in it also ran a stream underneath the mountain. And to the west thereof there was another mountain, lower than the former and of small elevation, and a ravine deep and dry between them: and another deep and dry ravine was at the extremities of the three mountains. And all the ravines were deep and narrow, (being formed) of hard rock, and trees were not planted upon them. And I marveled at the rocks, and I marveled at the ravine, yea, I marveled very much.

XXVII. The Purpose of the Accursed Valley

Then said I: ‘For what object is this blessed land, which is entirely filled with trees, and this accursed valley between?’ Then Uriel, one of the holy angels who was with me, answered and said: ‘This accursed valley is for those who are accursed for ever: Here shall all the accursed be gathered together who utter with their lips against the Lord unseemly words of His glory speak hard things. Here shall they be gathered together, and here shall be their place of judgement. In the last days there shall be upon them the spectacle of righteous judgement in the presence of the righteous for ever: here shall the merciful bless the Lord of glory, the Eternal King. In the days of judgement over the former, they shall bless Him for the mercy in accordance with which He has assigned them (their lot).’ Then I blessed the Lord of Glory and set forth His glory and lauded Him gloriously.

XXVIII-XXXIII. Further Journey to the East

And thence I went towards the east, into the midst of the mountain range of the desert, and I saw a wilderness and it was solitary, full of trees and plants. And water gushed forth from above. Rushing like a copious watercourse [which flowed] towards the north-west it caused clouds and dew to ascend on every side.

And thence I went to another place in the desert, and approached to the east of this mountain range. And there I saw aromatic trees exhaling the fragrance of frankincense and myrrh, and the trees also were similar to the almond tree.

And beyond these, I went afar to the east, and I saw anotehr place, a valley (full) of water. And therein there was a tree, the color (?) of fragrant trees such as the mastic. And on the sides of those valleys I saw fragrant cinnamon. And beyond these I proceeded to the east.

And I saw other mountains, and amongst them were groves of trees, and there flowed forth from them nectar, which is named sarara and galbanum. And beyond these mountains I saw another mountain to the east of the ends of the earth, whereon were aloe trees, and all the trees were full of stacte, being like almond trees. And when one burnt it, it smelt sweeter than any fragrant odor.

And after these fragrant odors, as I looked towards the north over the mountains I saw seven mountains full of choice nard and fragrant trees and cinnamon and pepper. And thence I went over the summits of all these mountains, far towards the east of the earth, and passed above the Erythraean sea and went far from it, and passed over the angel Zotiel. And I came to the Garden of Righteousness, I and from afar off trees more numerous than I these trees and great-two trees there, very great, beautiful, and glorious, and magnificent, and the tree of knowledge, whose holy fruit they eat and know great wisdom. That tree is in the height like the fir, and its leaves are like (those of) the Carob tree: and its fruit is like the clusters of the vine, very beautiful: and the fragrance of the tree pentrates afar. Then I said: ‘How beautiful is the tree, and how attractive is its look!’ Then Raphael the holy angel, who was with me, answered me and said: ‘This is the tree of wisdom, of which thy father old (in years) and thy aged mother, who were before thee, have eaten, and they learnt wisdom and their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked and they were driven out of the garden.’

And from thence I went to the ends of the earth and saw there great beasts, and each differed from the other; and (I saw) birds also differing in appearance and beauty and voice, the one differing from the other. And to the east of those beasts I saw the ends of the earth whereon the heaven rests, and the portals of the heaven open. And I saw how the stars of heaven come forth, and I counted the portals out of which they proceed, and wrote down all their outlets, of each individual star by itself, according to their number and their names, their courses and their positions, and their times and their months, as Uriel the holy angel who was with me showed me. He showed all things to me and wrote them down for me: also their names he wrote for me, and their laws and their companies.

XXXIV-XXXV. Enoch’s Journey to the North

And from thence I went towards the north to the ends of the earth, and there I saw a great and glorious device at the ends of the whole earth. And here I saw three portals of heaven open in the heaven: through each of them proceed north winds: when they blow there is cold, hail, frost, snow, dew, and rain. And out of open portal they blow for good: but when they blow through the other two portals, kit is with violence and affliction on the earth, and they blow with violence.

And from thence I went towards the west to the ends of the earth, and saw there three portals of the heaven open such as I had seen in the east, the same number of portals, and the same number of outlets.

XXXVI. The Journey to the South

And from thence I went to the south to the ends of the earth, and saw there three open portals of the heaven: and thence there come dew, rain, and wind. And from thence I went to the east to the ends of the heaven, and saw here the three eastern portals of heaven open and small portals above them. Through each of these small portals pass the stars of heaven and run their course to the west on the path which is shown to them. And as often as I saw I blessed always the Lord of Glory, and I continued to bless the Lord of Glory who has wrought great and glorious wonders, to show the greatness of His work to the angels and to spirits and to men, that they might praise His work and all His creation: that they might see the work of His might and praise the great work of His hands and bless Him for ever.

Section II. Chapters XXXVII-LXXI The Parables

The second vision which he saw, the vision of wisdom – which Enoch the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, saw. And this is the beginning of the words of wisdom which I lifted up my voice to speak and say to those which dwell on earth: Hear, ye men of old time, and see, ye that come after, the words of the Hoy One which I will speak before the Lord of Spirits. It were better to declare (them only) to the men of old time, but even from those that come after we will not withhold the beginning of wisdom. Till the present day such wisdom has never been given by the Lord of Spirits as I have received according to my insight, according to the good pleasure of the Lord of Spirits by whom the lot of eternal life has been given to me. Now three Parables were imparted to me, and I lifted up my voice and recounted them to those that dwell on the earth.

XXXVIII-XLIV. The First Parable. XXXVIII. The Coming Judgement of the Wicked

The first Parable.

When the congregation of the righteous shall appear and sinners shall be judged for their sins, and shall be driven from the face of the earth:

And when the Righteous One shall appear before the eyes of the righteous, whose elect works hang upon the Lord of Spirits, and light shall appear to the righteous and the elect who dwell on the earth, where then will be the dwelling of the sinners, and where the resting-place of those who have denied the Lord of Spirits?

It had been good for them if they had not been born. When the secrets of the righteous shall be revealed and the sinners judged, and the godless driven from the presence of the righteous and elect, from that time those that possess the earth shall no longer be powerful and exalted: and they shall not be able to behold the face of the holy, for the Lord of Spirits has caused His light to appear on the face of the holy, righteous, and elect.

Then shall the kings and the mighty perish and be given into the hands of the righteous and holy. And thenceforth none shall seek for themselves mercy from the Lord of Spirits for their life is at an end.

XXXIX. The Abode of the Righteous and the Elect One: the Praises of the Blessed

[And it shall come to pass in those days that elect and holy children will descend from the high heaven, and their seed will become one with the children of men. And in those days Enoch received books of zeal and wrath, and books of disquiet and explusion.]

And mercy shall not be accorded to them, saith the Lord of Spirits. And in those days a whirlwind carried me off from the earth, and set me down at the end of the heavens.

And there I saw another vision, the dwelling-laces of the holy, and the resting-places of the righteous.

Here mine eyes saw their dwellings with His righteous angels, and their resting-places with the holy.

And they petitioned and interceded and prayed for the children of men, and righteousness flowed before them as water, and mercy like dew upon the earth: thus it is amongst them for ever and ever.

And in that place mine eyes saw the Elect One of righteousness and of faith, and I saw his dwelling-place under the wings of the Lord of Spirits.

And righteousness shall prevail in his days, and the righteous and elect shall be without number before Him for ever and ever.

And all the righteous and elect before Him shall be strong as fiery lights, and their mouth shall be full of blessing.

And their lips extol the name of the Lord of Spirits, and righteousness before Him shall never fail, [And uprightness shall never fail before Him.] There I wished to dwell, and my spirit longed for that dwelling-place: and there heretofore hath been my portion, for so has it been established concerning me before the Lord of Spirits.

In those days I praised and extolled the name of the Lord of Spirits with blessings and praises, because He hath destined me for blessing and glory according to the good please of the Lord of Spirits. For a long time my eyes regarded that place, and I blessed Him and praised Him, saying: ‘Blessed is He, and may He be blessed from the beginning and for evermore. And before Him there is no ceasing. He knows before teh world was created what is for ever and what will be from generation unto generation. Those who sleep not bless Thee: they stand before Thy glory and bless, praise, and extol, saying: “holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Spirits: He filleth the earth with spirits.”‘ And here my eyes saw all those who sleep not: they stand before Him and bless and say: ‘Blessed be Thou, and blessed be the name of the Lord for ever and ever.’ And my face was changed; for I could no longer behold.

XL-XLI. 2. The Four Archangels

And after that I saw thousands of thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand, I saw a multitude beyond number and reckoning, who stood before the Lord of Spirits. And on the four sides of the Lord of Spirits I saw four presences, different from those that sleep not, and I learnt their names: for the angel that went with me made known to me their names, and showed me all the hidden things. And I heard the voices of those four presences as they uttered praises before the Lord of glory. The first voice blesses the Lord of Spirits for ever and ever. And the second voice I heard blessing the Elect One and the elect ones who hang upon the Lord of Spirits. And I heard the fourth voice fending off the Satans and forbidding them to come before the Lord of Spirits to accuse them who dwell on the earth. After that I asked the angel of peace who went with me, who showed me everything that is hidden: ‘Who are these four presences which I have seen and whose words I have heard and written down?’ And he said to me: ‘This first is Michael, the mericful and long-suffering: and the second, who is set over all the diseases and all the sounds of the children of men, is Raphael: and the third, who is set over all the powers, is Gabriel: and the fourth, who is set over the repentance unto hope of those who inherit eternal life, is named Phanuel.’ And these are the four angels of the Lord of Spirits and the four voices I heard in those days.

XLI. Astronomical Secrets

And after that I saw all the secrets of the heavens, and how the kingdom is divided, and how the actions of men are weighed in the balance. And there I saw the mansions of the elect and the mansions of the holy, and mine eyes saw there all the sinners being driven from thence which deny the name of the Lord of Spirits, and being dragged off: and they could not abide because of the punishment which proceeds from the Lord of Spirits. And there mine eyes saw the secrets of the lightning and of the thunder, and the secrets of the winds, how they are divided to blow over the earth, and the secrets of the clouds and dew,, and there I saw from whence they proceed in that place and from whence they saturate the dusty earth. And there I saw closed chambers out of which the winds are divided, the chamber of the hail and winds, the chamber of the mist, and of the clouds, and the cloud thereof hovers over the earth from teh beginning of the world. And I saw the chambers of the sun and moon, whence they proceed and whither they come again, and their glorious return, and how one is superior to the other, and their stately orbit, and how they do not leave their orbit, and they add nothing to their orbit and they take nothing from it, and they keep faith with each other, in accordance with the oath by which they are bound together. And first the sun goes forth and traverses his path according to the commandment of the Lord of Spirits, and mighty is His name for ever and ever. And after that I saw the hidden and the visible path of the moon, and she accomplishes the course of her path in that place by day and by night – the one holding a position opposite to the other before the Lord of Spirits.

And they give thanks and praise and rest not; for unto them is their thanksgiving rest. For the sun changes oft for a blessing or a curse, and the course of the path of the moon is light to the righteous and darkness to the sinners in the name of the Lord, Who made a separation between the light and the darkness, and divided the spirits of men, and strengthened the spirits of the righteous, in the name of His righteousness.

For no angel hinders and no power is able to hinder; for He appoints a judge for them all and He judges them all before Him.

XLII. The Dwelling-places of Wisdom and of Unrightouesness

Wisdom found no place where she might dwell; then a dwelling-place was assigned her in the heavens.

Wisdom went forth to make her dwelling among the children of men, and found no dwelling-place:

Wisdom returned to her place, and took her seat among the angels.

And unrightousness went forth from her chambers: Whom she sought not she found, and dwelt with them, as rain in a desert and dew on a thirsty land.

XLIII-XLIV. Astronomical Secrets

And I saw other lightnings and the stars of heaven, and I saw how He called them all by their names and they hearkened unto Him. And I saw how they are weighed in a righteous balance according to their proportions of light: (I saw) the width of their spaces and the day of their appearing, and how their revolution produces lightning; and (I saw) their revolution according to the number of the angels, and (how) they keep faith with each other. And I asked the angel who went with me who showed me what was hidden: ‘What are these?’ And he said to me: ‘The Lord of Spirits hath showed thee their parabolic meaning (lit. ‘their parable’): these are the names of the holy who dwell on the earth and believe in the name of the Lord of Spirits for ever and ever.’

Also another phenomenon I saw in regard to the lightnings: how some of the stars arise and become lightnings and cannot part with their new form.

XLV-LVII. The Second Parable. XLV. The Lot of the Apostates: the New Heaven and the New Earth

And this is the second Parable concerning those who deny the name of the dwelling of the holy ones and the Lord of Spirits.

And into the heaven they shall not ascend, and on the earth they shall not come: such shall be the lot of the sinners who have denied the name of the Lord of Spirits, who are thus preserved for the day of suffering and tribulation.

On that day Mine Elect One shall sit on the throne of glory and shall try their works, and their places of rest shall be innumerable.

And their souls shall grow strong within them when they see Mine Elect Ones, and those who have called upon My glorious name: Then will I cause Mine Elect One to dwell among them.

And I will transofrm the heaven and make it an eternal blessing and light and I will transform the earth and make it a blessing:

And I will cause Mine elect ones to dwell upon it: but the sinners and evil-doers shall not set foot thereon.

For I have provided and satisified with peace My righteous ones and have caused them to dwell before Me:

But for the sinners there is judgement impending with Me, so that I shall destroy them from the face of the earth.

XLVI. The Head of Days and the Son of Man

And there I saw One who had a head of days, and His head was white like wool, and with Him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of a man, and his face was full or graciousness, like one of the holy angels. And I asked the angel who went with me and showed me all the hidden things, concerning the Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was, (and) why he went with the Head of Days? And he answered me and said unto me:

This is the son of Man who hath righteousness, with whom dwelleth righteousness, and who revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden,

Because the Lord of Spirits hath chosen him, and whose lot hath the pre-eminence before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness for ever.

And this Son of Man whom thou hast seen shall raise up the kings and the mighty from their seats, [And the strong from their thrones] and shall loosen the reins of the strong, and break the teeth of the sinners.

[And he shall put down the kings from their thrones and kingdoms] because they do not extol and praise Him, nor humbly acknowledge whence the kingdom was bestowed upon them. And he shall put down the countenance of the strong, and shall fill them with shame.

And darkness shall be their dwelling, and worms shall be their bed, and they shall have no hope of rising from their beds, because they do not extol the name of the Lord of Spirits.

And these are they who judge the stars of heaven, [And raise their hands against the Most High], and tread upon the earth and dwell upon it. And all their deeds manifest unrighteousness, and their power rests upon their riches, and their faith is in the gods which they have made with their hands, and they deny the name of the Lord of Spirits, and they persecute the houses of His congregations, and the faithful who hang upon the name of the Lord of Spirits.

XLVII. The Prayer of the Righteous for Vengeance and their Joy at its coming

And in those days shall have ascended the prayer of the righteous, and the blood of the righteous from the earth before the Lord of Spirits.

In those days the holy ones who dwell above in the heaevns Shallunite with one voice and supplicate and pray [and praise, and give thanks and bless the name of the Lord of Spirits on behalf of the blood the righteous which has been shed, and that the prayer of the righteous may not bein vain before the Lord of Spirits, that judgement may be done unto them, and that they may not have to suffer for ever.

In those days I saw the Head of Days when He seated himself upon the throne of His glory, and the books of the living were opened before Him: and all His host which is in heaven above and His counselors stood before Him,

And the hearts of the holy were filled with joy; because the number of the righteous had been offered, and the prayer of the righteous had been heard, and the blood of the righteous had been required before the Lord of Spirits.

XLVIII. The Fount of Righteousness: the Son of Man – the Stay of the Righteous: Judgement of the Kings and the Mighty

And in that place I saw the fountain of righteousness which was inexhaustible: and around it were many fountains of wisdom: and all the thirsty drank of them, and were filled with wisdom, and their dwellings were with the righteous and holy and elect. And at that hour that Son of Man was named in the resence of the Lord of Spirits, and his name before the Head of Days.

Yea, before the sun and the signs were created, before the stars of the heaven were made, his name was named before the Lord of Sirits.

He shall be a staff to the righteous whereon to stay themselves and not fall, and he shall be the light of the Gentiles, and the hope of those who are troubled of heart.

All who dwell on earth shall fall down and worship before him, and will praise and bless and celebrate with son the Lord of Spirits.

And for this reason hath he been chosen and hidden before Him, before the creation of the world and for evermore. And the wisdom of the Lord of Spirits hath revealed him to the holy and righteous; for he hath preserved the lot of the righteous,m because they have hated and despised this world of unrighteousness, and have hated all its works and ways in the name of the Lord of Spirits: for in his name they are saved, and according to his good pleasure hath it been in regard to their life.

In these days downcast in countenance shall the kings of the earth have become, and the strong who possess the land because of the works of their hands, for on the day of their anguish and affliction they shall not (be able to) save themsleves. And I will give them over into the hands of Mine elect: as straw in the fire so shall they burn before the face of the holy: as lead in the water shall they sink before the face of the righteous, and no trace of them shall any more be found.

And on the day of their affliction there shall be rest on the eaerth, and before them they shall fall and not rise again: and there shall be no one to take them with his hands and raise them: for they have denied the Lord of Spirits and His Anointed. The name of the Lord of Spirits is blessed.