1. After this I beheld the secrets of the heavens and of paradise, 3 according to its divisions; and of human action, 4 as they weigh it there in balances.
4. I beheld also the receptacles of the moon, whence the moons 2 came, whither they proceeded, their glorious return, and how one became more splendid than another. I marked their rich progress, their unchangeable progress, their disunited and undiminished progress; their observance of a mutual fidelity by a stable oath 3; their proceeding forth before the sun, and their adherence to the
5. After this I perceived, that the path both concealed and manifest of the moon, as well as the progress of its path, was there completed by day and by night; while each, one with another, looked towards the Lord of spirits, magnifying and praising without cessation, since praise to them is rest; for in the splendid sun there is a frequent conversion to blessing and to malediction.
6. The course of the moon's path to the righteous is light, but to sinners it is darkness; in the name of the Lord of spirits, who created a division between light and darkness, and, separating the spirits of men, strengthened the spirits of the righteous in the name of his own righteousness.
7. Nor does the angel prevent this, neither is he endowed with the power of preventing it; for the Judge beholds them all, and judges them all in his own presence.
1. Wisdom found not a place on earth where she could inhabit; her dwelling therefore is in heaven.
2. Wisdom went forth to dwell among the sons of
1. I beheld another splendour, and the stars of heaven. I observed that he called them all by their respective names, and that they heard. In a righteous balance I saw that he weighed out with their light the amplitude of their places, and the day of their appearance, 1 and their conversion. Splendour produced splendour; and their conversion was into the number of the angels, and of the faithful.
2. Then I inquired of the angel, who proceeded with me, and explained to me secret things, What their names were. He answered, A similitude of those has the Lord of spirits shown thee. They are names of the righteous who dwell upon earth, and who believe in the name of the Lord of spirits for ever and for ever.
Another thing also I saw respecting splendour; that it rises out of the stars, and becomes splendour; being incapable of forsaking them.
1. Parable the second, respecting these who deny 2 the name of the habitation of the holy ones, and of the Lord of spirits.
2. Heaven they shall not ascend, nor shall they come on the earth. This shall be the portion of sinners, who deny the name of the Lord of spirits, and who are thus reserved for the day of punishment and of affliction.
3. In that day shall the Elect One sit upon a throne of glory; and shall choose their conditions and countless habitations (while their spirits within them shall be strengthened, when they behold my Elect One), shall choose them for those who have fled for protection to my holy and glorious name.
4. In that day I will cause my Elect One to dwell in the midst of them; will change the face of heaven; will bless it, and illuminate it for ever.
1. There I beheld the Ancient of days, 3 whose head was like white wool, and with him another, whose countenance resembled that of man. His countenance was full of grace, like that of one of the holy angels. Then I inquired of one of the angels, 4 who went with me, and who showed me every secret thing, concerning this Son of man; who he was; whence he was; and why he accompanied the Ancient of days.
2. He answered and said to me, This is the Son of man, to whom righteousness belongs; with whom righteousness has dwelt; and who will reveal all the treasures of that which is concealed: for the Lord of spirits has chosen him; and his portion has
3. This Son of man, whom thou beholdest, shall raise up kings and the mighty from their couches, and the powerful from their thrones; shall loosen the bridles of the powerful, and break in pieces the teeth of sinners.
4. He shall hurl kings from their thrones and their dominions; because they will not exalt and praise him, nor humble themselves before him, by whom 2 their kingdoms were granted to them. The countenance likewise of the mighty shall He cast down, filling them with confusion. Darkness shall be their habitation, and worms shall be their bed; nor from that their bed shall they hope to be again raised, because they exalted not the name of the Lord of spirits.
5. They shall condemn the stars of heaven, shall lift up their hands against the Most High, shall tread upon and inhabit the earth, exhibiting all their works of iniquity, even their works of iniquity. Their strength shall be in their riches, and their faith in the gods whom they have formed with their own hands. They shall deny the name of the Lord of spirits, and shall expel him from the temples, in which they assemble;
6. And with him the faithful, who suffer in the name of the Lord of spirits.
1. In that day the prayer of the holy and the righteous, and the blood of the righteous, shall ascend from the earth into the presence of the Lord of spirits.
2. In that day shall the holy ones assemble, who dwell above the heavens, and with united voice petition, supplicate, praise, laud, and bless the name of the Lord of spirits, on account of the blood of the righteous which has been shed; that the prayer of the righteous may not be intermitted before the Lord of spirits; that for them he would execute judgment; and that his patience may not endure for ever.
3. At that time I beheld the Ancient of days, while he sat upon the throne of his glory, while the book of the living was opened in his presence, and while all the powers which were above the heavens stood around and before him.
4. Then were the hearts of the saints full of joy, because the consummation 1 of righteousness was arrived, the supplication of the saints heard, and the blood of the righteous appreciated by the Lord of spirits.
1. In that place I beheld a fountain of righteousness, which never failed, encircled by many springs of wisdom. Of these all the thirsty drank, and were filled with wisdom, having their habitation with the righteous, the elect, and the holy.
2. In that hour was this Son of man invoked before the Lord of spirits, and his name in the presence of the Ancient of days.
3. Before the sun and the signs were created, before the stars of heaven were formed, his name was invoked in the presence of the Lord of spirits. A support shall he be for the righteous and the holy to lean upon, without falling; and he shall be the light of nations.
4. He shall be the hope of those whose hearts are troubled. All, who dwell on earth, shall fall down and worship before him; shall bless and glorify him, and sing praises to the name of the Lord of spirits.
5. Therefore the Elect and the Concealed One existed in his presence, before the world was created, and for ever.
6. In his presence he existed, and has revealed to the saints and to the righteous the wisdom of the Lord of spirits; for he has preserved the lot of the righteous, because they have hated and rejected
8. For in the day of their anxiety and trouble their souls shall not be saved; and they shall be in subjection to 2 those whom I have chosen.
9. I will cast them like hay into the fire, and like lead into the water. Thus shall they burn in the presence of the righteous, and sink in the presence of the holy; nor shall a tenth part of them be found.
10. But in the day of their trouble, the world shall obtain tranquillity. 3
11. In his presence shall they fall, and not be raised up again; nor shall there be any one to take them out of his hands, and to lift them up: for they have denied the Lord of spirits, and his Messiah. The name of the Lord of spirits shall be blessed.
1. Wisdom is poured forth like water, and glory fails not before him for ever and ever; for potent is he in all the secrets of righteousness.
2. But iniquity passes away like a shadow, and possesses not a fixed station: for the Elect One stands before the Lord of spirits; and his glory is for ever and ever; and his power from generation to generation.
3. With him dwells the spirit of intellectual wisdom, the spirit of instruction and of power, and the spirit of those who sleep in righteousness; he shall judge secret things.
4. Nor shall any be able to utter a single word before him; for the Elect One is in the presence of the Lord of spirits, according to his own pleasure.
1. In those days the saints and the chosen shall undergo a change. The light of day shall rest upon them; and the splendour and glory of the saints shall be changed.
2. In the day of trouble evil shall be heaped up
1. In those days shall the earth deliver up from her womb, and hell deliver up from hers, that which it has received; and destruction shall restore that which it owes.
2. He shall select the righteous and holy from among them; for the day of their salvation has approached.
3. And in those days shall the Elect One sit upon his throne, while every secret of intellectual wisdom shall proceed from his mouth; for the Lord of spirits has gifted and glorified him.
5. Their countenance shall be bright with joy; for in those days shall the Elect One be exalted. The earth shall rejoice; the righteous shall inhabit it, and the elect possess it. 2
1. After that period, in the place where I had seen every secret sight, I was snatched up in a whirlwind, and carried off westwards.
2. There my eyes beheld the secrets of heaven, and all which existed on earth; a mountain of iron, a mountain of copper, 3 a mountain of silver, a mountain of gold, a mountain of fluid metal, and a mountain of lead.
3. And I inquired of the angel who went with me, saying, What are these things, which in secret I behold?
4. He said, All these things which thou beholdest shall be for the dominion of the Messiah, that he may command, and be powerful upon earth.
5. And that angel of peace answered me, saying,
7. Nor shall they have it in their power to secure themselves, and to fly.
8. There shall be neither iron for war, nor a coat of mail for the breast.
9. Copper shall be useless; useless also that which neither rusts nor consumes away; and lead shall not be coveted.
10. All these things shall be rejected, and perish from off the earth, when the Elect One shall appear in the presence of the Lord of spirits.
1. There my eyes beheld a deep valley; and wide was its entrance.
6. After which the righteous and chosen house of his congregation shall appear, thenceforward unchangeable, in the name of the Lord of spirits.
7. Nor shall those mountains exist in his presence, as the earth and the hills, as the fountains of water exist. And the righteous shall be relieved from the vexation of sinners.
1. Then I looked and turned myself to another part of the earth, where I beheld a deep valley burning with fire.
2. To this valley they brought monarchs and the mighty.
3. And there my eyes beheld the instruments which they were making, fetters of iron without weight. 1
4. Then I inquired of the angel of peace, who proceeded with me, saying, For whom are these fetters and instruments prepared?
5. He replied, These are prepared for the host of Azazeel, that they may be delivered over and adjudged to the lowest condemnation; and that their angels may be overwhelmed with hurled stones, as the Lord of' spirits has commanded.
6. Michael and Gabriel, Raphael and Phanuel shall be strengthened in that day, and shall then cast them into a furnace of blazing fire, that the Lord of spirits may be avenged of them for their crimes; because they became ministers of Satan, and seduced those who dwell upon earth.
7. In those days shall punishment go forth from the Lord of spirits; and the receptacles of water which are above the heavens shall be opened, and
10. And the water which is under the earth shall be the recipient 2: and all shall be destroyed who dwell upon earth, and who dwell under the extremities of heaven.
11. By these means shall they understand the iniquity which they have committed on earth: and by these means shall they perish.
1. Afterwards the Ancient of days repented, and said, In vain have I destroyed all the inhabitants of the earth.
2. And he sware by his great name, saying, Henceforwards I will not act thus towards all those who dwell upon earth.
3. But I will place a sign in the heavens; 3 and it shall be a faithful witness 4 between me and them
1. After this I beheld another army of chariots, with men riding in them.
2. And they came upon the wind from the east, from the west, and from the south. 1
1. I now began to utter the third parable, concerning the saints and the elect.
2. Blessed are ye, O saints and elect, for glorious is your lot.
3. The saints shall exist in the light of the sun, and the elect in the light of everlasting life, the days of whose life shall never terminate; nor shall the days of the saints be numbered, who seek for light, and obtain righteousness with the Lord of spirits.
4. Peace be to the saints with the Lord of the world.
5. Henceforward shall the saints be told to seek in heaven the secrets of righteousness, the portion
1. In those days my eyes beheld the secrets of the lightnings and the splendours, and the judgment belonging to them.
2. They lighten for a blessing and for a curse, according to the will of the Lord of spirits.
3. And there I saw the secrets of the thunder, when it rattles 2 above in heaven, and its sound is heard.
4. The habitations also of the earth were shown to me. The sound of the thunder is for peace and for blessing, as well as for a curse, according to the word of the Lord of spirits.
5. Afterwards every secret of the splendours and of the lightnings was seen by me. For blessing and for fertility they lighten.
1. In the five hundredth year, and in the seventh month, on the fourteenth day of the month, of the lifetime of Enoch, in that parable, I saw that the heaven of heavens shook; that it shook violently; and that the powers of the Most High, and the angels, thousands of thousands, and myriads of myriads, were agitated with great agitation. And when I looked, the Ancient of days was sitting on the throne of his glory, while the angels and saints were standing around him. A great trembling came upon me, and terror seized me. My loins were bowed down and loosened; my reins were dissolved; and I fell upon my face. The holy Michael, another holy angel, one of the holy ones, was sent, who raised me up.
2. And when he raised me, my spirit returned; for I was incapable of enduring this vision of violence, its agitation, and the concussion of heaven.
3. Then holy Michael said to me, Wherefore art thou disturbed at this vision?
4. Hitherto has existed the day of mercy; and he has been merciful and longsuffering towards all who dwell upon the earth.
5. But when the time shall come, then shall the
1. Then another angel, who proceeded with me, spoke to me;
2. And showed me the first and last secrets in heaven above, and in the depths of the earth:
3. In the extremities of heaven, and in the foundations of it, and in the receptacle of the winds.
4. He showed me how their spirits were divided; how they were balanced; and how both the springs and the winds were numbered according to the force of their spirit.
5. He showed me the power of the moon's light, that its power is a just one; as well as the divisions of the stars, according to their respective names;
8. For when the lightning lightens, the thunder sounds, and the spirit at a proper period pauses, making an equal division between them; for the receptacle, upon which their periods depend, is loose as sand. 2 Each of them at a proper season is restrained with a bridle; and turned by the power of the spirit, which thus propels them according to the spacious extent of the earth.
9. The spirit likewise of the sea is potent and strong; and as a strong power causes it to ebb, 3 so is it driven forwards, and scattered against the mountains of the earth. The spirit of the frost has its angel; in the spirit of hail there is a good angel; the spirit of snow ceases in its strength, and a solitary spirit is in it, which ascends from it like vapour, and is called refrigeration.
10. The spirit also of mist dwells with them in their receptacle; but it has a receptacle to itself; for its progress is in splendour,
15. These things I saw; all of them, even paradise. 2
1. In those days I beheld long ropes given to those angels; who took to their wings, and fled, advancing towards the north.
2. And I inquired of the angel, saying, Wherefore
4. The elect shall begin to dwell with the elect.
5. And these are the measures which shall be given to faith, and which shall strengthen the words of righteousness.
6. These measures shall reveal all the secrets in the depth of the earth.
7. And it shall be, that those who have been destroyed in the desert, and who have been devoured by the fish of the sea, and by wild beasts, shall return, and trust in 1 the day of the Elect One; for none shall perish in the presence of the Lord of spirits, nor shall any be capable of perishing.
8. Then they received the commandment, all who were in the heavens above; to whom a combined power, voice, and splendour, like fire, were given.
9. And first, with their voice, they blessed him, they exalted him, they glorified him with wisdom, and ascribed to him wisdom with the word, and with the breath of life.
10. Then the Lord of spirits seated upon the throne of his glory the Elect One;
16. For great is the mercy of the Lord of spirits; long-suffering is he; and all his works, all his power, great as are the things which he has done, has he revealed to the saints and to the elect, in the name of the Lord of spirits.
45:3 the kingdom or paradise.
45:4 the work or labour of man.
46:1 of woods.
46:2 they.
46:3 by an oath to which they adhered.
47:1 to their path.
48:1 of their existing.
49:1 In the Paris MS. it is section viii. In the Bodleian MS. section vii.
49:2 In the Bodleian MS. there seems here an evident omission. This omission is supplied in the Paris MS. I have followed the latter.
50:1 tread upon it.
50:2 for I have seen them.
50:3 The Chief or Head of days, Dan. vii. 9.
50:4 The words, Then I inquired of one of the angels, are omitted in the Bodleian MS. They occur in the Paris MS.
51:1 conquered.
51:2 from whence.
52:1 the number.
54:1 by the work of their own hands.
54:2 in the hand of.
54:3 rest shall be on earth.
55:1 Chap. xlviii. occurs twice.
57:1 Psalm cxiv. 4.
57:2 go and walk upon it.
57:3 nummus minutissimus. Obolus.
58:1 they.
59:1 by this.
60:1 in which there was not weight.
61:1 male.
61:2 female.
61:3 Gen. ix. 12. "I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
61:4 faith, or fidelity.
63:1 from the midst of the day. The army alluded to was probably Roman.
64:1 Paris MS.
65:1 which cannot be numbered.
65:2 it is grinding, as in a mortar.
66:1 There is no chap. lviii. in the MS. I have therefore divided chap. lix. into two parts, denominating this first part chap. lviii.
66:2 Paris MS.
67:1 These last three verses, viz. 12, 13, 14, are placed in both MSS.
69:2 the receptacle of their times is what sand is.
69:3 turns it back with a bridle.
70:1 a measure in the rain.
70:2 even to the garden of the righteous.
71:1 lean upon.
73:1 all of flesh.
