The Book of Enoch

R. H. Charles

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9780486120997
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christianity

R. H. Charles provides a definitive translation of one of the most noted apocalyptic works still in existence. Often described as `the lost book` of the Bible, The Book of Enoch seems to have been written in Palestine by several different authors in the first and second centuries B.C. For hundreds of years it was accepted by the early church fathers, but it was rejected by the council of Laodicea in A.D. 364. Today, it remains a written remnant of the Apocalypse—an ardent testament to hope and the triumph of good over evil in the dawning of a world to come. Rife with concepts of original sin, fallen angels, demonology, resurrection, and the last judgment, it is a vital document to the origins of Christianity.
The Book of Enoch is comprised of various monumental works: The Book of Enoch, The Parables, The Book of the Courses of the Heavenly Luminaries, The Dream Visions, The Concluding Section, and The Noah Fragments. Each work is independent, but all the works are bound by a common theme: the punishment of the wicked and the blessedness of the righteous. This edition, complete with analysis and notes, is an indispensable resource for the study and understanding of both the Old and New Testaments.

ABBREVIATIONS, BRACKETS, AND SYMBOLS SPECIALLY USED IN THE TRANSLATION OF 1 ENOCH

E denotes the Ethiopic Version.

G^s denotes the fragments of the Greek Version preserved in Syncellus : in the case of 8^b—9^b there are two forms of the text, G^s1 G^s2.

G^g denotes the large fragment of the Greek Version discovered at Akhmîm, and deposited in the Gizeh Museum, Cairo.

The following brackets are used in the translation of 1 Enoch :

. The use of these brackets means that the words so enclosed are found in G^g but not in E.

. The use of these brackets means that the words so enclosed are found in E but not in G^g or G^s.

〈 〉. The use of these brackets means that the words so enclosed are restored.

[ ]. The use of these brackets means that the words so enclosed are interpolations.

( ). The use of these brackets means that the words so enclosed are supplied by the editor.

The use of thick type denotes that the words so printed are emended.

† † = corruption in the text.

... = some words which have been lost.

I-XXXVI.

I-V. Parable of Enoch on the Future Lot of the Wicked and the Righteous.

I. 1. The words of the blessing of Enoch, wherewith he blessed the elect

and

righteous, who will be living in the day of tribulation, when all the wicked

and godless

are to be removed. 2. And he took up his parable and said—Enoch a righteous man, whose eyes were opened by God, saw the vision of the Holy One in the heavens,

which

the angels showed me, and from them I heard everything, and from them I understood as I saw, but not for this generation, but for a remote one which is for to come. 3. Concerning the elect I said, and took up my parable concerning them :

The Holy Great One will come forth from His
dwelling,
4. And the eternal God will tread upon the earth,
(even) on Mount Sinai,
[And appear from His camp]
And appear in the strength of His might from
the heaven

of heavens

.

5. And all shall be smitten with fear,
And the Watchers shall quake,
And great fear and trembling shall seize them
unto the ends of the earth.

6. And the high mountains shall be shaken,
And the high hills shall be made low,
And shall melt like wax before the flame

7. And the earth shall be

wholly

rent in sunder,
And all that is upon the earth shall perish,
And there shall be a judgement upon all (men).

8. But with the righteous He will make peace,
And will protect the elect,
And mercy shall be upon them.
And they shall all belong to God,
And they shall be prospered,
And they shall

all

be blessed.

And He will help them all

,
And light shall appear unto them,

And He will make peace with them

.

9. And behold ! He cometh with ten thousands
of

His

holy ones
To execute judgement upon all,
And to destroy

all

the ungodly :
And to convict all flesh
Of all the works

of their ungodliness

which they
have ungodly committed,

And of all the hard things which

ungodly
sinners

have spoken

against Him.

II. 1. Observe ye every thing that takes place in the heaven, how they do not change their orbits,

and

the luminaries which are in the heaven, how they all rise and set in order each in its season, and transgress not against their appointed order. 2. Behold ye the earth, and give heed to the things which take place upon it from first to last,

how steadfast they are

, how

none of the things upon earth

change,

but

all the works of God appear

to you

. 3. Behold the summer and the winter,

how the whole earth is filled with water, and clouds and dew and rain lie upon it

.

III. Observe and see how (in the winter) all the trees

seem as though they had withered and shed all their leaves, except fourteen trees, which do not lose their foliage but retain the old foliage from two to three years till the new c...