1 Enoch (Ethiopic) Parallel Translations

LXIII

1In those days shall the mighty and the kings who possess the earth implore [Him] to grant them a little respite from His angels of punishment to whom they were delivered, that they might fall 2down and worship before the Lord of Spirits, and confess their sins before Him. And they shall bless and glorify the Lord of Spirits, and say:

' Blessed is the Lord of Spirits and the Lord of kings,
And the Lord of the mighty and the Lord of the rich,
And the Lord of glory and the Lord of wisdom,

3And splendid in every secret thing is Thy power from generation to generation,
And Thy glory for ever and ever:

Deep are all Thy secrets and innumerable,
And Thy righteousness is beyond reckoning.

4We have now learnt that we should glorify
And bless the Lord of kings and Him who is king over all kings.'
5And they shall say:
'Would that we had rest to glorify and give thanks
And confess our faith before His glory!

6And now we long for a little rest but find it not:
We follow hard upon and obtain [it] not:

And light has vanished from before us,
And darkness is our dwelling-place for ever and ever:

7For we have not believed before Him
Nor glorified the name of the Lord of Spirits, {nor glorified our Lord}

But our hope was in the sceptre of our kingdom,
And in our glory.

8And in the day of our suffering and tribulation He saves us not,
And we find no respite for confession

That our Lord is true in all His works, and in His judgements and His justice,
And His judgements have no respect of persons.

9And we pass away from before His face on account of our works,
And all our sins are reckoned up in righteousness.'

10Now they shall say unto themselves: 'Our souls are full of unrighteous gain, but it does not prevent us from descending from the midst thereof into the burden of Sheol.'

11And after that their faces shall be filled with darkness
And shame before that Son of Man,
And they shall be driven from his presence,
And the sword shall abide before his face in their midst.

12Thus spake the Lord of Spirits: 'This is the ordinance and judgement with respect to the mighty and the kings and the exalted and those who possess the earth before the Lord of Spirits.'

62

62:1 In those days the kings who possess the earth shall be punished by the angels of his wrath, wheresoever they shall be delivered up, that he may give rest for a short period; and that they may fall down and worship before the Lord of spirits, confessing their sins before him.

62:2 They shall bless and glorify the Lord of spirits, saying, Blessed is the Lord of spirits, the Lord of kings, the Lord of princes, the Lord of the rich, the Lord of glory, and the Lord of wisdom.

62:3 He shall enlighten every secret thing.

62:4 Your power is from generation to generation; and your glory for ever and ever.

62:5 Deep are all your secrets, and numberless; and your righteousness cannot be calculated.

62:6 Now we know, that we should glorify and bless the Lord of kings, him who is King over all things.

62:7 They shall also say, Who has granted us rest to glorify, laud, bless, and confess in the presence of his glory?

62:8 And now small is the rest we desire; but we do not find [it]; we reject, and do not possess [it]. Light has passed away from before us; and darkness [has covered] our thrones for ever.

62:9 For we have not confessed before him; we have not glorified the name of the Lord of kings; we have not glorified the Lord in all his works; but we have trusted in the sceptre of our dominion and of our glory.

62:10 In the day of our suffering and of our trouble he will not save us, neither shall we find rest. We confess that our Lord is faithful in all his works, in all his judgments, and in his righteousness.

62:11 In his judgments he pays no respect to persons; and we must depart from his presence, on account of our [evil] deeds.

62:12 All our sins are truly without number.

62:13 Then shall they say to themselves, Our souls are satiated with the instruments of crime;

62:14 But that prevents us not from descending to the flaming womb of hell.

62:15 Afterwards, their countenances shall be filled with darkness and confusion before the Son of man; from whose presence they shall be expelled, and before whom the sword shall remain to expel them.

62:16 Thus saith the Lord of spirits, This is the decree and the judgment against the princes, the kings, the exalted, and those who possess the earth, in the presence of the Lord of spirits.