1 Enoch (Ethiopic) Parallel Translations

LXXXIII

1And now, my son Methuselah, I will show thee all my visions which I have seen, recounting 2them before thee. Two visions I saw before I took a wife, and the one was quite unlike the other: the first when I was learning to write: the second before I took thy mother, [when] I saw a terrible 3vision. And regarding them I prayed to the Lord. I had laid me down in the house of my grandfather Mahalalel, [when] I saw in a vision how the heaven collapsed and was borne off and fell to 4the earth. And when it fell to the earth I saw how the earth was swallowed up in a great abyss, and mountains were suspended on mountains, and hills sank down on hills, and high trees were rent 5from their stems, and hurled down and sunk in the abyss. And thereupon a word fell into my mouth, 6and I lifted up [my voice] to cry aloud, and said: 'The earth is destroyed.' And my grandfather Mahalalel waked me as I lay near him, and said unto me: 'Why dost thou cry so, my son, and why 7dost thou make such lamentation?' And I recounted to him the whole vision which I had seen, and he said unto me: 'A terrible thing hast thou seen, my son, and of grave moment is thy dream- vision as to the secrets of all the sin of the earth: it must sink into the abyss and be destroyed with 8a great destruction. And now, my son, arise and make petition to the Lord of glory, since thou art a believer, that a remnant may remain on the earth, and that He may not destroy the whole 9earth. My son, from heaven all this will come upon the earth, and upon the earth there will be great 10destruction. After that I arose and prayed and implored and besought, and wrote down my prayer 11for the generations of the world, and I will show everything to thee, my son Methuselah. And when I had gone forth below and seen the heaven, and the sun rising in the east, and the moon setting in the west, and a few stars, and the whole earth, and everything as He had known it in the beginning, then I blessed the Lord of judgement and extolled Him because He had made the sun to go forth from the windows of the east, and he ascended and rose on the face of the heaven, and set out and kept traversing the path shown unto him.

82

82:1 And now I have shown you, my son Mathusala, every sight which I saw prior to your birth. I will relate another vision, which I saw before I was married; they resemble each other.

82:2 The first was when I was learning a book; and the other before I was married to your mother. I saw a potent vision;

82:3 And on account of these things besought the Lord.

82:4 I was lying down in the house of my grandfather Malalel, [when] I saw in a vision heaven purifying, and snatched away. (90)

(90) Purifying, and snatched away. Or, "was thrown down and removed" (Knibb, p. 192).

82:5 And falling to the earth, (91) I saw likewise the earth absorbed by a great abyss; and mountains suspended over mountains.

(91) And falling to the earth. Or, "and when it fell upon the earth" (Knibb, p. 192).

82:6 Hills were sinking upon hills, lofty trees were gliding off from their trunks, and were in the act of being projected, and of sinking into the abyss.

82:7 [Being alarmed] at these things, my voice faltered. (92) I cried out and said, The earth is destroyed. Then my grandfather Malalel raised me up, and said to me: Why do you thus cry out, my son? And wherefore thus do you lament?

(92) My voice faltered. Literally, "the word fell down in my mouth" (Laurence, p. 118).

82:8 I related to him the whole vision which I had seen. He said to me, Confirmed is that which you have seen, my son;

82:9 And potent the vision of your dream respecting every secret sin of the earth. Its substance shall sink into the abyss, and a great destruction take place.

82:10 Now, my son, rise up; and beseech the Lord of glory (for you are faithful), that a remnant may be left upon earth, and that he would not wholly destroy it. My son, all this [calamity] upon earth comes down from heaven; upon earth shall there be a great destruction.

82:11 Then I arose, prayed, and entreated; and wrote down my prayer for the generations of the world, explaining everything to my son Mathusala.

82:12 When I went down below, and looking up to heaven, beheld the sun proceeding from the east, the moon descending to the west, a few [scattered] stars, and everything which God has known from the beginning, I blessed the Lord of judgment, and magnified him: because he hath sent forth the sun from the chambers (93) of the east; that, ascending and rising in the face of heaven, it might spring up, and pursue the path which has been pointed out to it.

(93) Chambers. Literally, "windows" (Laurence, p. 119).