1 Enoch (Ethiopic) Parallel Translations

XCIII

1,2And after that Enoch both gave and began to recount from the books. And Enoch said:

'Concerning the children of righteousness and concerning the elect of the world,
And concerning the plant of uprightness, I will speak these things,
Yea, I Enoch will declare [them] unto you, my sons:

According to that which appeared to me in the heavenly vision,
And which I have known through the word of the holy angels,
And have learnt from the heavenly tablets.'

3And Enoch began to recount from the books and said:
'I was born the seventh in the first week,
While judgement and righteousness still endured.

4And after me there shall arise in the second week great wickedness,
And deceit shall have sprung up;
And in it there shall be the first end.

And in it a man shall be saved;
And after it is ended unrighteousness shall grow up,
And a law shall be made for the sinners.

5And after that in the third week at its close
A man shall be elected as the plant of righteous judgement,
And his posterity shall become the plant of righteousness for evermore.

6And after that in the fourth week, at its close,
Visions of the holy and righteous shall be seen,
And a law for all generations and an enclosure shall be made for them.

7And after that in the fifth week, at its close,
The house of glory and dominion shall be built for ever.

8And after that in the sixth week all who live in it shall be blinded,
And the hearts of all of them shall godlessly forsake wisdom.

And in it a man shall ascend;
And at its close the house of dominion shall be burnt with fire,
And the whole race of the chosen root shall be dispersed.

9And after that in the seventh week shall an apostate generation arise,
And many shall be its deeds,
And all its deeds shall be apostate.

10And at its close shall be elected
The elect righteous of the eternal plant of righteousness,
To receive sevenfold instruction concerning all His creation.

XCI.12-17. THE LAST THREE WEEKS.

XCI

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.

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,
14dAnd all mankind shall look to the path of uprightness.

14aAnd after that, in the ninth week, the righteous judgement shall be revealed to the whole world,
bAnd all the works of the godless shall vanish from all the earth,
cAnd the world shall be written down for destruction.

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.

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.

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.

11{For who is there of all the children of men that is able to hear the voice of the Holy One without being troubled? And who can think His thoughts? and who is there that can behold all the works 12of heaven? And how should there be one who could behold the heaven, and who is there that could understand the things of heaven and see a soul or a spirit and could tell thereof, or ascend and see 13all their ends and think them or do like them? And who is there of all men that could know what is the breadth and the length of the earth, and to whom has been shown the measure of all of them? 14Or is there any one who could discern the length of the heaven and how great is its height, and upon what it is founded, and how great is the number of the stars, and where all the luminaries rest?}

92

92:1 After this, Enoch began to speak from a book.

92:2 And Enoch said, Concerning the children of righteousness, concerning the elect of the world, and concerning the plant of righteousness and integrity.

92:3 [Concerning] these things will I speak, and [these things] will I explain to you, my children: I [who] am Enoch. In consequence of that which has been shown to me, from my heavenly vision and from the voice of the holy angels (129) have I acquired knowledge; and from the tablet of heaven have I acquired understanding.

(129) Holy angels. A Qumran text reads, "Watchers and Holy Ones," clearly denoting heavenly Watchers who did not fall along with the wicked ones (Milik, p. 264). See also Dan. 4:13, "a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven"; 4:17, "watchers, and…holy ones."

92:4 Enoch then began to speak from a book, and said, I have been born the seventh in the first week, while judgment and righteousness wait with patience.

92:5 But after me, in the second week, great wickedness shall arise, and fraud shall spring forth.

92:6 In that week the end of the first shall take place, in which mankind shall be safe. (130)

(130) Mankind shall be safe. Or, "a man will be saved" (Knibb, p. 224).

92:7 But when [the first] is completed, iniquity shall grow up; and [during the second week] he shall execute the decree (131) upon sinners.

(131) The Deluge after the first (in the middle of the second) Millennium (2500 B.C.).

92:8 Afterwards, in the third week, during its completion, a man (132) of the plant of righteous judgment shall be selected; and after him the Plant (133) of righteousness shall come for ever.

(132) King David at the end of the third Millennium (1000 B.C.).
(133) The Messiah at the end of the fourth Millennium (4 B.C. to 30 A.D.).

92:9 Subsequently, in the fourth week, during its completion, the visions of the holy and the righteous shall be seen, the order of generation after generation [shall take place], and a habitation shall be made for them. Then in the fifth week, during its completion, the house of glory and of dominion (134) shall be erected for ever.

(134) The establishment (30 A.D.) and building of the Church through the fifth (and sixth) Millennium.

92:10 After that, in the sixth week, all those who are in it shall be darkened, the hearts of all of them shall be forgetful of wisdom, and in it shall a Man (135) arise and come forth.

(135) The Messiah at the end of the sixth Millennium.

92:11 And during its completion He shall burn the house of dominion with fire, and all the race of the elect root shall be dispersed. (136)

(136) The destruction of Jerusalem and the disbursement of those who dwell in that land at the end of the sixth (and the beginning of the seventh) Millennium.

92:12 Afterwards, in the seventh week, a perverse generation shall arise; abundant shall be its deeds, and all its deeds perverse. During its completion, the righteous shall be selected from the everlasting plant of righteousness; and to them shall be given the sevenfold doctrine of his whole creation.

92:13 Afterwards there shall be another week, the eighth (137) of righteousness, to which shall be given a sword to execute judgment and justice upon all oppressors.

(137) The beginning of the eighth Millennium.

92:14 Sinners shall be delivered up into the hands of the righteous, who during its completion shall acquire habitations by their righteousness; and the house of the great King shall be established for celebrations for ever. After this, in the ninth week, shall the judgment of righteousness be revealed to the whole world.

92:15 Every work of the ungodly shall disappear from the whole earth; the world shall be marked for destruction; and all men shall be on the watch for the path of integrity.

92:16 And after this, on the seventh day of the tenth week, there shall be an everlasting judgment, which shall be executed upon the Watchers; and a spacious eternal heaven shall spring forth in the midst of the angels.

92:17 The former heaven shall depart and pass away; a new heaven shall appear; and all the celestial powers [shall] shine with sevenfold splendour for ever. Afterwards likewise shall there be many weeks, which shall externally exist in goodness and in righteousness.

92:18 Neither shall sin be named there for ever and for ever.

92:19 Who is there of all the children of men, capable of hearing the voice of the Holy One without emotion?

92:20 Who is there capable of thinking his thoughts? Who capable of contemplating all the workmanship of heaven? Who of comprehending the deeds of heaven?

92:21 He may behold its animation, but not its spirit. He may be capable of conversing [respecting it], but not of ascending [to it]. He may see all the boundaries of these things, and meditate upon them; but he can make nothing like them.

92:22 Who of all men is able to understand the breadth and length of the earth?

92:23 By whom have been seen the dimensions of all these things? Is it every man who is capable of comprehending the extent of heaven; what its elevation is, and by what it is supported?

92:24 How many are the numbers of the stars; and where all the luminaries remain at rest?