The Book of the Watchers

(Chapters 1–36)

Superscription to the Book

1:1 The words of the blessing with which Enoch blessed
the righteous chosen who will be present on the day of
tribulation, to remove all the enemies; and the righteous will
be saved.

Introduction: An Oracle of Judgment (1:2—5:9)

2 And he took up his discoursea and said,

“Enoch, a righteous man whose eyes were opened by God,
who had the vision of the Holy One and of heaven, which
he showed me.
From the words of the watchers and holy ones I heard every-
thing;
and as I heard everything from them, I also understood
what I saw.
Not for this generation do I expound,
but concerning one that is distant I speak.
3 And concerning the chosen I speak now,
and concerning them I take up my discourse.

The Theophany

“The Great Holy One will come forth from his dwelling,
4 and the eternal God will tread from thence upon Mount
Sinai.

a Lit. parable (Aram matla<: Gk paraboleμ).

19

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 20 1 Enoch 1:4-9

He will appear with his army,a

he will appear with his mighty host from the heaven of
heavens.
5 All the watchers will fear and <quake>,b
and those who are hiding in all the ends of the earth will
sing.
All the ends of the earth will be shaken,
and trembling and great fear will seize them (the watchers)
unto the ends of the earth.
6 The high mountains will be shaken and fall and break apart,
and the high hills will be made low and melt like wax
before the fire.
7 The earth will be wholly rent asunder,
and everything on the earth will perish,
and there will be judgment on all.
8 With the righteous he will make peace,
and over the chosen there will be protection,
and upon them will be mercy.
They will all be God’s,
and he will grant them his good pleasure.c
He will bless (them) all,
and he will help (them) all.
Light will shine upon them,
and he will make peace with them.
9 Look, he comes with the myriads of his holy ones,
to execute judgment on all,
and to destroy all the wicked,
and to convict all humanity
for all the wicked deeds that they have done,
and the proud and hard words that wicked sinners
spoke against him.

a Eth: Gk from his camp (same Gk noun).

b Eth all will fear and the watchers will quake: Gk all will fear and the watchers will
believe.
c Gk good pleasure (eudokian): Eth prosperity (=Gk euodian).

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 1 Enoch 2:1—5:3 21

The Indictmenta

2:1 “Contemplate all (his) works, and observe the works of

heaven, how they do not alter their paths; and the luminaries
<of>b heaven, that they all rise and set, each one ordered in
its appointed time; and they appear on their feasts and do
not transgress their own appointed order.
2 Observe the earth, and contemplate the works that take place
on it from the beginning until the consummation, that noth-
ing on earth changes, but all the works of God are manifest
to you.
3 Observe <the signs of summer and winter. Contemplate the
signs of>c winter, that all the earth is filled with water, and
clouds and dew and rain rest upon it.
3:1 Contemplate and observe how all the trees appear withered
and (how) all their leaves are stripped, except fourteen trees
that are not stripped, which remain with the old until the
new comes after two or three years.
4:1 Observe the signs of summer, whereby the sun burns and
scorches, and you seek shelter and shade from its presence,
and the earth burns with scorching heat, and you are unable
to tread on the dust or the rock because of the burning.
5:1 Contemplate all the trees; their leaves blossom green on them,
and they cover the trees. And all their fruit is for glorious
honor.
Contemplate all these works, and understand that he who lives
for all the ages made all these works. 2/ And his works take
place from year to year, and they all carry out their works for
him, and their works do not alter, but they all carry out his
word.
3 Observe how, in like manner, the sea and the rivers carry out
and do not alter their works from his words.

a The textual witnesses in this section are often at odds with one another, fre-
quently because of omissions in one or another. For details, see Nickelsburg, 1 Enoch
1, 150–51.
b Gk Eth in.
c Text of this section uncertain. For the rationale of this emendation, see 1 Enoch
1, 150.

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 22 1 Enoch 5:4-8

4 But you have not stood firm nor acted according to his
commandments;
but you have turned aside, you have spoken proud and
hard words with your unclean mouth against his
majesty.
Hard of heart! There will be no peace for you!

The Verdict

5 “Thena you will curse your days, and the years of your life
will perish,
and the years of your destruction will increase in an
eternal curse;
and there will be no mercy or peace for you!
6 Then you will leave your names as an eternal curse for all the
righteous,
and by you all who curse will curse,
and all the sinners and wicked will swear by you.b
But all the <chosen>c will rejoice;
and for them there will be forgiveness of sins and all mercy
and peace and clemency.
For them there will be salvation, a good light,
and they will inherit the earth.d
But for all you sinners there will be no salvation,
but on all of you a curse will abide.
7 For the chosen there will be light and joye and peace,
and they will inherit the earth.
But for you wicked there will be a curse.f
8 Then wisdom will be given to all the chosen;
and they will all live,
and they will sin no more through godlessness or pride.

a Aram: Gk Eth therefore.

b Eth omits the rest of this verse.
c Gk corrupt for sinners. Emendation by analogy with v 7a.
d Distich closely parallels v 7ab and could be a doublet.
e Eth (=Gk chara): Gk grace (charis).
f Gk adds a veritable doublet of v 7ab.

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 1 Enoch 5:8—6:3 23

In the enlightened man there will be light,

and in the wise man, understanding.a
And they will transgress no more,
nor will they sinb all the days of their life,
9 nor will they die in the heat of <God’s> wrath.c
But the number of the days of their life they will complete,
and their life will grow in peace,
and the years of their joy will increase in rejoicing and
eternal peace
all the days of their life.”

The Rebellion of the Watchers (Chapters 6–11)

The Conspiracy

6:1 When the sons of mend had multiplied, in those days, beauti-
ful and comely daughters were born to them. 2/ And the
watchers, the sons of heaven, saw them and desired them.e
And they said to one another, “Come, let us choose for our-
selves wives from the daughters of men,f and let us beget
children for ourselves.”
3 And Shemihazah, their chief, said to them, “I fear that you
will not want to do this deed, and I alone shall be guilty of a
great sin.”

a For the distich Eth has but those who have wisdom will be humble.
b Eth nor will they be judged.
c Emending Gk to en orgeμ thymou <theou> positing an omitted word.
d Language about “sons of God,” “sons of men,” and “daughters of men” in these
chapters reflects Gen 6:1-4, on which this myth is based. We might translate “sons of
God” as “heavenly beings,” “sons of men” as “humans” or “human men,” and “daugh-
ters of men” as “human women.” However, to retain the complex relationships among
these terms, to indicate gender distinctions where they are evident, and to avoid the
confusion that would arise from the partial replacement of the terms, it seems best to
translate the text literally in this section, reminding the reader that this is a story about
the illicit mating of beings from the divine and the human realms.
e Gks adds and went astray after them: Syr adds and went astray.
f Gks Syr add of earth.

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 24 1 Enoch 6:4—7:2

4 And they all answered him and said, “Let us all swear an oath,
and let us all bind one another with a curse, that none of
us turn back from this counsel until we fulfill it and do this
deed.”
5 Then they all swore together and bound one another with
a curse. 6/ And they were, all of them, two hundred, who
descended in the days of Jared onto the peak of Mount Her-
mon. And they called the mountain “Hermon” because they
swore and bound one another with a curse on it.
7 And these are the names of their chiefs:a Shemihazah—this
one was their leader; Arteqoph, second to him; Remashel,
third to him; Kokabel, fourth to him; <Armumahel>, fifth
to him; Ramel, sixth to him; Daniel, seventh to him; Ziqel,
eighth to him; Baraqel, ninth to him; Asael, tenth to him;
Hermani, eleventh to him; Matarel, twelfth to him; Ananel,
thirteenth to him; Setawel, fourteenth to him; Samshiel, fif-
teenth to him; Sahriel, sixteenth to him; <Tummiel>, seven-
teenth to him; Turiel, eighteenth to him; Yamiel, nineteenth
to him; Yehadiel, twentieth to him. 8/ These are their chiefs
of tens.b

The Deed and Its Results

7:1 These and all the others with them took for themselves wives
from among them such as they chose.c And they began to
go in to them, and to defile themselves through them, and
to teach them sorcery and charms, and to reveal to them the
cutting of roots and plants.
2 And they conceived from them and bore to them great giants.
And the giants begot Nephilim, and to the Nephilim were
born †Elioud†. And they were growing in accordance with
their greatness.

a The angelic names, which are often corrupted in the Gk and Eth, are largely
attested in the Aram. For these and the emendations made here, see 1 Enoch 1, 175.
b The original wording of this verse is uncertain. See 1 Enoch 1, 175.
c For the textual problems in this chapter, see 1 Enoch 1, 182–83.

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 1 Enoch 7:3—8:3 25

3 They were devouring the labor of all the sons of men,a and
men were not able to supply them. 4/ And the giants began
to kill men and to devour them. 5/ And they began to sin
against the birds and beasts and creeping things and the fish,
and to devour one another’s flesh. And they drank the blood.
6 Then the earth brought accusation against the lawless ones.

The Secrets the Watchers Revealb

8:1 Asael taught men to make swords of iron and weapons and
shields and breastplates and every instrument of war.
He showed them metals of the earth and how they should
work gold to fashion it suitably, and concerning silver, to
fashion it for bracelets and ornaments for women. And he
showed them concerning antimony and eye paint and all
manner of precious stones and dyes.
And the sons of men made them for themselves and for their
daughters, and they transgressed and led the holy ones
astray.c 2/ And there was much godlessness on the earth, and
they made their ways desolate.
3 Shemihazah taught spells and the cutting of roots.
Hermani taught sorcery for the loosing of spells and magic
and skill.
Baraqel taught the signs of the lightning flashes.
Kokabel taught the signs of the stars.
Ziqel taught the signs of the shooting stars.
Arteqoph taught the signs of the earth.
Shamsiel taught the signs of the sun.
Sahriel taught the signs of the moon.

a Aram fragment attests sons of men: Gka, as often, has only men. This single word
has been left in the translation in its next two occurrences and elsewhere in these chap-
ters where no Aram exists.
b Translation of this chapter is based on a fairly certain resolution of very complex
textual data. See 1 Enoch 1, 188–90.
c Gka Eth omit this sentence, attested in Gks. It reflects a form of the myth in
which the angelic revelations are primary and lead to the seduction of the holy ones.
Cf. 10:8.

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 26 1 Enoch 8:3—9:6

And they all began to reveal mysteries to their wives and to

their children.a
4 (And) as men were perishing, the cry went up to heaven.

The Intercession of the Four Archangels

9:1 Then Michael and Sarielb and Raphael and Gabriel looked
down from the sanctuary of heaven upon the earth and saw
much bloodshed on the earth. All the earth was filled with
the godlessness and violence that had befallen it.
2 And entering in, they said to one another, “The earth, devoid
(of inhabitants), raises the voice of their cries to the gates of
heaven. 3/ And now to <us>, the holy ones of heaven, the
souls of men make suit, saying,
‘Bring in our judgment to the Most High,
and our destruction before the glory of the majesty,
before the Lord of all lords in majesty.’”
4 And approaching, they said to the Lord of the Ages,
“You are the God of gods and Lord of lords and King of
kings and God of the ages.
And the throne of your glory (exists) for every generation
of the generations that are from of old.
And your name (is) holy and great and blessed for all the
ages.
5 For you have made all things and have authority over all.
And all things are manifest and uncovered before you,
and you see all things, and there is nothing that can be
hidden from you.
6 You see what Asael has done,
who has taught all iniquity on the earth,
and has revealed the eternal mysteries that are in heaven,
<which the sons of men were striving to learn.>c

a Sentence attested in Gks, supported by Aram.

b For this name, attested in Aram, Gk has forms of Uriel (ourieμl/oueμl) and Eth
sure<eμl/sureyaμl, probably reflecting a Gk confusion of sigma and omicron. For the textual
evidence on this chapter, see 1 Enoch 1, 202–5.
c All textual witnesses of this line are corrupt. For emendation, see 1 Enoch 1, 204.

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 1 Enoch 9:7—10:3 27

7 And (what) Shemihazah (has done) to whom you gave

authority to rule over them who are with him.
8 They have gone in to the daughters of the men of earth,
and they have lain with them, and have defiled themselves
with the women.
And they have revealed to them all sins, and have taught
them to make hate-inducing charms.
9 And now look, the daughters of men have borne sons from
them, giants, half-breeds.
<And the blood of men is shed on the earth,>a
And the whole earth is filled with iniquity.
10 And now look, the spirits of the souls of the men who have
died make suit,
and their groan has come up to the gates of heaven,
and it <does not cease>b to come forth from the presence
of the iniquities that have come upon the earth.
11 You know all things before they happen,
and you see these things and you permit them,
and you do not tell us what we ought to do to them with
regard to these things.”

The Commissioning of the Four Archangels

Sariel Commissioned to Instruct Noah

10:1 Then the Most High declared, and the Great Holy One
spoke.
And he sent <Sariel>c to the son of Lamech, saying,
2 “Go to Noah and say to him in my name, ‘Hide yourself.’
And reveal to him that the end is coming, that the whole
earth will perish;
and tell him that a deluge is about to come on the whole
earth and destroy everything on the earth.
3 Teach the righteous one what he should do,
the son of Lamech how he may preserve himself alive and
escape forever.

a Line attested only in Gks, which is corrupt. See 1 Enoch 1, 204.

b Positing an Aram corruption from does not cease to is unable (Gk Eth).
c Name emended to match 9:1.

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 28 1 Enoch 10:3-8

From him a plant will be planted,

and his seed will endure for all the generations of
eternity.”a

Raphael Commissioned to Imprison Asael

4 To Raphael he said,
“Go, Raphael, and bind Asael hand and foot, and cast him
into the darkness;
And make an opening in the wilderness that is in
Doudael.b
5 Throw him there, and lay beneath himc sharp and jagged
stones.
And cover him with darkness, and let him dwell there for
an exceedingly long time.
Cover up his face, and let him not see the light.
6 And on the day of the great judgment, he will be led away
to the burning conflagration.
7 And heal the earth, which the watchers have desolated;
and announce the healing of the earth, that the plague
may be healed,
and all the sons of men may not perish because of the
mystery that the watchers told and taught their sons.
8 And all the earth was made desolate by the deeds of the
teaching of Asael,
and over himd write all the sins.”

a The translation of Aram >alam and its Gk and Eth equivalents is problematic.
No single English translation is satisfactory. Normally, it is translated eternity and in its
adjectival form eternal. Here the plural is translated ages, and the singular is rendered
eternity, which better conveys the immense time than does the age. For the adjec-
tive, everlasting seems better to convey the notion of an extended time than eternal,
although this latter is used with reference to the Deity. The >alam is thought of as con-
sisting of an everlasting sequence of periods (alternatively all the ages or all the days [or
generations] of eternity). When >alam follows a preposition, the noun is rendered from
of old or forever or for an exceedingly long time where appropriate (cf. 10:5 with 10:6).
No English word indicates the fact that in the Greco-Roman period >alam is acquiring
spatial as well as temporal connections (world as well as age).
b Gks Eth: Gka: Dadoueμl. See 1 Enoch 1, 222.
c Eth over him.
d Or concerning him.

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 1 Enoch 10:9-15 29

Gabriel Commissioned to Destroy the Giants

9 And to Gabriel he said,

“Go, Gabriel, to the bastards, to the half-breeds, to the sons
of miscegenation;
and destroy the sons of the watchers from among the sons
of men;
send them against one another in a war of destruction.
Length of days they will not have;
10 and no petition will be (granted) to their fathers in their
behalf,
that they should expect to live an everlasting life, nor even
that each of them should live five hundred years.”

Michael Commissioned to Imprison Shemihazah

and his Associates and to Destroy the Giantsa

11 And to Michael he said,

“Go, Michael, bind Shemihazah and the others with him, who
have mated with the daughters of men, so that they were
defiled by them in their uncleanness.
12 And when their sons perish and they see the destruction of
their beloved ones, bind them for seventy generations in
the valleys of the earth, until the day of their judgment and
consummation, until the everlasting judgment is consum-
mated.
13 Then they will be led away to the fiery abyss, and to the tor-
ture, and to the prison where they will be confined forever.
14 And everyone who is condemned and destroyed henceforth
will be bound together with them until the consummation
of their generation. <And at the time of the judgment, which
I shall judge, they will perish for all generations.>
15 Destroy all the spirits of the half-breeds and the sons of the
watchers, because they have wronged men.

a For the textual problems of this section, see 1 Enoch 1, 217–19.

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 30 1 Enoch 10:16-22

Michael Is to Renovate the Earth

16 Destroy all perversity from the face of the earth,

and let every wicked deed be gone;
and let the plant of righteousness and trutha appear, and it
will become a blessing,
(and) the deeds of righteousness and truth will be planted
forever with joy.
17 And now all the righteous will escape,
and they will live until they beget thousands,
and all the days of their youth and their old age will be
completed in peace.
18 Then all the earth will be tilled in righteousness,
and all of it will be planted with trees and filled with
blessing;
19 and all the trees of joy will be planted on it.
They will plant vines on it,
and every vine that will be planted on it will yield a
thousand jugs of wine,
and of every seed that is sown on it, each measure will
yield a thousand measures,
and each measure of olives will yield ten baths of oil.
20 Cleanse the earth from all impurity and from all wrong and
from all lawlessness and from all sin,
and godlessness and all impurities that have come upon
the earth, remove.
21 And all the sons of men will become righteous,
and all the peoples will worship (me),
and all will bless me and prostrate themselves.
22 And all the earth will be cleansed from all defilement and
from all uncleanness,
and I shall not again send upon them any wrath or
scourge for all the generations of eternity.

a These two nouns here and in the next line may be double translations of Aram
qushta<.

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 1 Enoch 11:1—12:6 31

11:1 Then I shall open the storehouses of blessing that are in

heaven,
and make them descend upon the earth, upon the works
and the labor of the sons of men.
2 And then truth and peace will be united together
for all the days of eternity and for all the generations of
humanity.”

Enoch’s Interaction with the Fallen Watchers

(Chapters 12–16)

An Editorial Introduction

12:1 Before these things, Enoch was taken; and no human beinga
knew where he had been taken, or where he was, or what had
happened to him.
2 His works were with the watchers,
and with the holy ones were his days.

Enoch’s First Mission to the Fallen Watchers

Enoch Is Sent to the Watchers

3 I, Enoch, was standing, blessing the Lord of majesty, the King

of the ages. And look, the watchers of the Great Holy One
called me, Enoch the scribe, and said to me,
4 “Enoch, righteous scribe, go and say to the watchers of
heaven—who forsook the highest heaven, the sanctuary of
the(ir) eternal station, and defiled themselves with women.
As the sons of earth do, so they did and took wives for them-
selves. And they worked great desolation on the earth—
5/ ‘You will have no peace or forgiveness.’
6 “And concerning their sons, in whom they rejoice—

a Lit. none of the sons of men. This translation for the generic term is adopted here-
after where feasible.

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 32 1 Enoch 12:6—13:7

The slaughter of their beloved ones they will see,

and over the destruction of their sons they will lament and
make perpetual petition,
and they will have no mercy or peace.

Enoch Is Sent to Asael

13:1 “And, Enoch, go and say to Asael,

‘You will have no peace.
A great sentence has gone forth against you, to bind you.
2 You will have no relief or petition,
because of the unrighteous deeds that you revealed,
{and because of all the godless deeds and the unrighteous-
ness and the sin that you revealed to humans.’”}a
3 Then I went and spoke to all of them together.
And they were all afraid,
and trembling and fear seized them.

The Fallen Watchers Commission Enoch

to Intercede for Them

4 And they asked that I write a memorandum of petition for

them, that they might have forgiveness, and that I recite the
memorandum of petition for them in the presence of the
Lord of heaven. 5/ For they were no longer able to speak
or to lift their eyes to heaven out of shame for the deeds
through which they had sinned and for which they had
been condemned. 6/ Then I wrote out the memorandum of
their petition, and the requests concerning themselves, with
regard to their deeds individually, and concerning <their
sons> for whom they were making request, that they might
have forgiveness and longevity. 7/ And I went off and sat
by the waters of Dan in the land of Dan, which is south of
Hermon, to the west. I recited (to God) the memorandum of
their petition until I fell asleep.

a Bracketed passage appears to be an expanded doublet of the previous line.

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 1 Enoch 13:8—14:4 33

Enoch’s Ascent to Heaven and

Second Commission to Preach to the Watchers

Narrative Summary

8 And look, dreams came upon me, and visions fell upon me.
And I saw visions of wrath, and there came a voice, saying,
“Speak to the sons of heaven to reprimand them.” 9/ And
when I had awakened, I went to them. And all of them were
assembled together, and they were sitting and weeping at Abel-
Main,a which is between Lebanon and Senir, covering their
faces. 10/ And I recited in their presence all the visions that I
had seen in the dream, and I began to speak the words of truth
and the vision and reprimand to the watchers of heaven.

The Commission Summarized

14:1 The Book of the Words of Truth and the Reprimand

of the Watchers Who Were from of Old, according to
the command of the Great Holy One <in the dream that
I dreamed>.b 2/ In this vision I saw in my dream what I
now speak with a human tongue and with the breath of my
mouth, which the Great One has given to humans, to speak
with them and to understand with the heart. 3/ As he created
and destined humans to understand the words of knowledge,
so he created and destined mec to reprimand the watchers,
the sons of heaven.
4 I wrote up your petition, and in the vision it was shown to
me thus,
that you will not obtain your petition for all the days of
eternity;
but judgment has been consummated in the decree against
you,

a For these place names and the text of v 10, see 1 Enoch 1, 248–50.
b Bracketed words, omitted in Gk and Eth, supplied from Aram. See 1 Enoch 1,
251.
c For this clause Aram reads he destined and made and created me.

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 34 1 Enoch 14:5-12

5 that from now on you will not ascend into heaven for all the
ages;
and it has been decreed to bind you in bonds in the earth
for all the days of eternity.
6 And that before these things, you will see the destruction of
your sons, your beloved ones,
and that you will have no pleasure in them,
but they will fall before you by the sword.a
7 Accordingly, you will not obtain your petition concerning
them, nor concerning yourselves.
You will be petitioning and making supplication;
. . . but you will not be speaking any word from the writ-
ing that I have written.b

Enoch’s Ascent and Vision

8 In the vision it was shown to me thus:

Look, clouds in the vision were summoning me, and mists
were crying out to me;
and shooting stars and lightning flashes were hastening me
and speeding me along,
and winds in my vision made me fly up and lifted me
upward and brought me to heaven.
9 And I went in until I drew near to a wall built of hailstones;
and tongues of fire were encircling them all around,
and they began to frighten me.
10 And I went into the tongues of fire, and I drew near to a
great house built of hailstones;
and the walls of this house were like stone slabs,
and they were all of snow, and the floor was of snow.
11 And the ceiling was like shooting stars and lightning flashes;
and among them were fiery cherubim, and their heaven
was water,
12 and a flaming fire encircled all their walls, and the doors
blazed with fire.

a The text of this verse is problematic. See 1 Enoch 1, 251–52.

b The text of this verse is also problematic and perhaps missing a line. See 1 Enoch
1, 252–53.

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 1 Enoch 14:13-22 35

13 And I went into that house—hot as fire and cold as snow,

and no delight of life was in it.
Fear enveloped me, and trembling seized me,
14 and I was quaking and trembling, and I fell upon my face.
And I saw in my vision,
15 And look, another open door before me:
and a house greater than the former one,
and it was all built of tongues of fire.
16 All of it so excelled in glory and splendor and majesty
that I am unable to describe for you its glory and majesty.
17 Its floor was of fire,
and its upper part was flashes of lightning and shooting
stars,
and its ceiling was a flaming fire.
18 And I was looking and I saw a lofty throne;
and its appearance was like ice,
and its wheels were like the shining sun,
and †the voice (or sound) of†a the cherubim,
19 and from beneath the throne issued rivers of flaming fire.
And I was unable to see.
20 The Great Glory sat upon it;
his apparel was like the appearance of the sun
and whiter than much snow.
21 No angel could enter into this house and look at his face
because of the splendor and glory,
and no human could look at him.
22 Flaming fire encircled him and a great fire stood by him,
and none of those about him approached him.
Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him,
but he needed no counselor; his every word was deed.b

a Eth, which could reflect Ezek 10:5: Gk (its) boundary was (horos), perhaps sug-
gesting the sides of the throne, or it may be a corruption of choros (choir). For other
alternatives, see 1 Enoch 1, 258, 264.
b Gk omits first clause, and Eth, the second. Cf. 2 Enoch 33:4.

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 36 1 Enoch 14:23—15:5

23 And the holy ones of the watchersa who approached him did
not depart by night,
nor <by day>b did they leave him.

The Oracle

24 Until now I had been on my face, prostrate and trembling.

And the Lord called me with his mouth and said to me,
“Come here, Enoch, and hear my word(s).” 25/ And one of
the holy ones came to me and raised me up and stood me (on
my feet) and brought me up to the door. But I had my face
bowed down.
15:1 But he answered and said to me—and I heard his voice—
“Fear not, Enoch, righteous man and scribe of truth;
come here, and hear my voice.
2 Go and say to the watchers of heaven, who sent you to
petition in their behalf,
‘You should petition in behalf of humans,
and not humans in behalf of you.
3 Why have you forsaken the high heaven, the eternal
sanctuary;
and lain with women, and defiled yourselves with the
daughters of men;
and taken for yourselves wives, and done as the sons of
earth;
and begotten for yourselves sons, giants?
4 You were holy ones and spirits, living forever.
With the blood of women you have defiled yourselves,
and with the blood of flesh you have begotten,
and with the blood of men you have lusted,
and you have done as they do—
flesh and blood, who die and perish.
5 Therefore I gave them women,
that they might cast seed into them,
and thus beget children by them,
that nothing fail them on the earth.

a For watchers Gk reads angels. For the reading see 1 Enoch 1, 258.
b Conjectured phrase added to fill out parallelism. See 1 Enoch 1, 259, 265–66.

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 1 Enoch 15:6—16:3 37

6 But you originally existed as spirits, living forever,

and not dying for all the generations of eternity;
7 therefore I did not make women among you.’
The spirits of heaven, in heaven is their dwelling;
8 But now the giants who were begotten by the spirits and
flesh—
they will call them evil spirits on the earth,
for their dwelling will be on the earth.
9 The spirits that have gone forth from the body of their flesh
are evil spirits,
for from humansa they came into being, and from the
holy watchers was the origin of their creation.
Evil spirits they will be on the earth, and evil spirits they
will be called.
10 The spirits of heaven, in heaven is their dwelling;
but the spirits begotten on the earth, on the earth is their
dwelling.b
11 And the spirits of the giants <lead astray>, do violence, make
desolate, and attack and wrestle and hurl upon the earth
and <cause illnesses>. They eat nothing, but abstain from
food and are thirsty and smite. 12/ These spirits (will) rise up
against the sons of men and against the women, for they have
come forth from them.
16:1 From the day of the slaughter and destruction and death of the
giants, from the soul of whose flesh the spirits are proceed-
ing, they are making desolate without (incurring) judgment.
Thus they will make desolate until the day of the consum-
mation of the great judgment, when the great age will be
consummated. It will be consummated all at once.
2 And now (say) to the watchers who sent you to petition in
their behalf, who formerly were in heaven,
3 ‘You were in heaven, and no mystery was revealed to you;
but a stolen mystery you learned;

a Gks: Gka Eth for from above. One reading is a Gk corruption of the other. See 1
Enoch 1, 268.
b For the textual problems and conjectures in the rest of this section, see 1 Enoch
1, 268–69.

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 38 1 Enoch 16:3—18:1

and this you made known to the women in your hardness

of heart;
and through this mystery the women and men are
multiplying evils on the earth.’
4 Say to them,
‘You will have no peace.’”

Enoch’s Journey to the Northwest (Chapters 17–19)

The Journey Narrative Begun

17:1 And they took me (and) led (me) away to a certain place in
which those who were there were like a flaming fire; and
whenever they wished, they appeared as human beings.
2 And they led me away to a dark place and to a mountain
whose summit reached to heaven. 3/ And I saw the place
of the luminaries and the treasuries of the stars and of the
thunders, and to the depths of the ether, where the bow of
fire and the arrows and their quivers (were) and the sword of
firea and all the lightnings.
4 And they led me away to the living waters and to the fire of the
west, which providesb all the sunsets.
5 And I came to the river of fire, in which fire flows down like
water and discharges into the great sea of the west. 6/ I saw
all the great rivers.
And I arrived at the great river and the great darkness.
And I departed (for) where no humanc walks. 7/ I saw the
wintry winds of darkness and the gushing of all the waters of
the abyss. 8/ I saw the mouth of all the rivers of the earth and
the mouth of the abyss.

A Digression: A Summary of What Enoch Saw

18:1 I saw the treasuries of all the winds. I saw how through them
he ordered all created things.

a Gk omits the phrase.

b Eth receives.
c Lit. no flesh, which could mean no living being.

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 1 Enoch 18:2—19:2 39

2 I saw the foundation of the earth and the cornerstone of the

earth. I saw the four winds bearing the earth and the firma-
ment of heaven. 3/ And I saw how the winds stretch out the
height of heaven. They stand between earth and heaven; they
are the pillars of heaven.
4 I saw the winds of heaven that turn and bring to (their) setting
the disk of the sun and all the stars.
5 I saw the winds on the earth bearing the clouds.
I saw the paths of the angels.
I saw at the ends of the earth the firmament of heaven above.

The Journey Narrative Concluded

6 I came and saw a place that was burning night and day, where
(there were) seven mountains of precious stones—three lying
to the east and three to the south. 7/ And of those to the east,
(one was) of colored stone, and one was of pearl, and one was
of <jasper>.a And those to the south were of flame-colored
stone. 8/ And the middle one of them reached to heaven like
the throne of God—of antimony; and the top of the throne
was of lapis lazuli. 9/ And I saw a burning fire.
10 And beyond these mountains is a place, the edge of the great
earth; there the heavens come to an end. 11/ And I saw a great
chasm among pillars of heavenly fire. And I saw in it pillars
of fire descending; and they were immeasurable toward the
depth and toward the height.b
19:1 And Uriel said to me, “There stand the angels who mingled
with the women. And their spirits—having assumed many
forms—bring destruction on men and lead them astray to
sacrifice to demons as to gods until the day of the great judg-
ment, in which they will be judged with finality. 2/ And the
wives of the transgressing angels will become sirens.”

a The identity of the stone is uncertain. See 1 Enoch 1, 286.

b As it is preserved, the text narrates Enoch’s progress to two places, followed by
two angelic interpretations. Additionally, in Enoch’s next journey, from west to east
(chaps. 21–32), the order of stations suggests the transposition here of 19:1-2 between
18:11 and 18:12. See 1 Enoch 1, 287.

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 40 1 Enoch 18:12—20:6

18:12 Beyond this chasm I saw a place where there was neither fir-
mament of heaven above, nor firmly founded earth beneath
it. Neither was there water on it, nor bird; but the place was
desolate and fearful. 13/ There I saw seven stars like great
burning mountains.
14 To me, when I inquired about them, the angel said, “This
place is the end of heaven and earth; this has become a prison
for the stars and the hosts of heaven. 15/ The stars that are
rolling over in the fire, these are they that transgressed the
command of the Lord in the beginning of their rising, for
they did not come out in their appointed times. 16/ And he
was angry with them and bound them until the time of the
consummation of their sins—ten thousand years.”
19:3 I, Enoch, alone saw the visions, the extremities of all things.
And no one among humans has seen as I saw.

Enoch’s Journey Eastward (Chapters 20–36)

List of the Seven Archangels

20:1 These are the names of the holy angels who watch.
2 Uriel, one of the holy angels, who is in charge of the world and
Tartarus.
3 Raphael, one of the holy angels, who is in charge of the spirits
of men.
4 Reuel, one of the holy angels, who takes vengeance on the
world of the luminaries.
5 Michael, one of the holy angels, who has been put in charge of
the good ones of the people.a
6 Sariel, one of the holy angels, who is in charge of the spiritsb
who sin against the spirit.

a Textual witnesses are confused here. The verse may originally have ascribed to
Michael supervision over all of Israel or over the righteous of Israel. See 1 Enoch 1,
294–96.
b Eth adds of the sons of men.

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 1 Enoch 20:7—21:9 41

7 Gabriel, one of the holy angels, who is in charge of paradise

and the serpents and the cherubim.
8 Remiel, one of the holy angels, whom God has put in charge
of them that rise.
The names of the seven archangels.a

The Place of Punishment for the Disobedient Stars

21:1 I traveled to where it was chaotic. 2/ And there I saw a terrible

thing; I saw neither heaven above, nor firmly founded earth,
but a chaotic and terrible place. 3/ And there I saw seven of
the stars of heaven, bound and thrown in it together, like
great mountains, and burning in fire.
4 Then I said, “For what reason have they been bound, and for
what reason have they been thrown here?”
5 Then Uriel said to me, one of the holy angels who was with
me, and he was their leader, he said to me, “Enoch, why do
you inquire, and why are you eager for the truth? 6/ These
are the stars of heaven that transgressed the command of the
Lord; they have been bound here until ten thousand years are
fulfilled—the time of their sins.”

The Prison of the Fallen Angels

7 From there I traveled to another place, more terrible than this

one. And I saw terrible things—a great fire burning and flam-
ing there. And the place had a narrow cleft (extending) to the
abyss, full of great pillars of fire, borne downward. Neither
the measure nor the size was I able to see or to estimate.
8 Then I said, “How terrible is this place and fearful to look at!”
9 Then Urielb answered me, one of the holy angels who was with
me, and said to me, “Enoch, why are you so frightened and
shaken?”

a Eth omits this verse.

b Gk omits the name. Perhaps it is a gloss. Cf. 19:1-2; 18:13, which have only one
name.

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 42 1 Enoch 21:9—22:7

And I replied, “Because of this terrible place and because of

the fearful sight.”
10 And he said, “This place is a prison for the angels. Here they
will be confined forever.”

The Mountain of the Dead

22:1 From there I traveled to another place. And he showed me

to the west a great and high mountain of hard rock. 2/ And
there were four hollow places in it, deep and very smooth.
Three of them were dark and one, illuminated; and a foun-
tain of water was in the middle of it.
And I said, “How smooth are these hollows and altogether
deep and dark to view.”
3 Then Raphael answered me, one of the holy angels who was
with me, and said to me, “These hollow places (are intended)
that the spirits of the souls of the dead might be gathered into
them. For this very (purpose) they were created, (that) here
the souls of all human beings should be gathered. 4/ And
look, these are the pits for the place of their confinement.
Thus they were made until the day (on) which they will be
judged, and until the time of the day of the end of the great
judgment that will be exacted from them.”
5 There I saw the spirit of a dead man making suit, and his lam-
entation went up to heaven and cried and made suit.
6 Then I asked Raphael, the watcher and holy onea who was with
me, and said to him, “This spirit that makes suit—whose is
it—that thus his lamentation goes up and makes suit unto
heaven?”
7 And he answered me and said, “This is the spirit that went
forth from Abel, whom Cain his brother murdered. And Abel

a Aram: Gk Eth angel suggesting that elsewhere in this section, where there are
no Aram counterparts, holy angel may also have translated Aram watcher(s) and holy
one(s).

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 1 Enoch 22:7—23:2 43

makes accusation against him until his posteritya perishes

from the face of the earth, and his posterity is obliterated
from the posterity of men.”
8 Then I asked about all the hollow places, why they were sepa-
rated one from the other.
9 And he answered me and said, “These three were made that
the spirits of the dead might be separated.
And this has been separated for the spirits of the righteous,
where the bright fountain of water is.
10 And this has been created for <the spirits of the> sinners, when
they die and are buried in the earth, and judgment has not
been executed on them in their life. 11/ Here their spirits
are separated for this great torment, until the great day of
judgment, of scourges and tortures of the cursed forever, that
there might be a recompense for their spirits. There he will
bind them forever.
12 And this has been separated for the spirits of them that make
suit, who make disclosure about the destruction, when they
were murdered in the days of the sinners.
13 And this was created for the spirits of the people who will
not be pious, but sinners, who were godless, and they were
companions with the lawless. And their spirits will not be
punished on the day of judgment, nor will they be raised
from there.”
14 Then I blessed the Lord of glory and said, “Blessed is the judg-
ment of righteousness and blessed are you, O Lord of majesty
and righteousness, who are Lord of eternity.”b

The Fire of the West

23:1 And from there I traveled to another place, to the west of the
ends of the earth. 2/ And I saw a fire that ran and did not rest
or quit its course day and night, but continued.

a Lit. seed.
b Textual witnesses to this verse differ. See 1 Enoch 1, 301–2.

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 44 1 Enoch 23:3-25:1

3 And I asked and said, “What is this that has no rest?”

4 Then Reuel answered me, one of the holy angels who was
with me, and said to me, “This course of fire is the fire of
the west, which pursuesa all the luminaries of heaven.”b
24:1/ And he showed me mountains of fire that burned day
and night.

The Mountain of God and the Tree of Life

24:2 And I proceeded beyond them, and I saw seven glorious

mountains, all differing each from the other, whose stones
were precious in beauty. And all (the mountains) were pre-
cious and glorious and beautiful in appearance—three to the
east were firmly set one on the other, and three to the south,
one on the other, and deep and rugged ravines, one not
approaching the other. 3/ The seventh mountain (was) in the
middle of these, and it rose above them in height, likec the
seat of a throne. And fragrantd trees encircled it. 4/ Among
them was a tree such as I had never smelled, and among them
was no other like it.e It had a fragrance sweeter smelling than
all spices, and its leaves and its blossom and the treef never
wither. Its fruit is beautiful, like dates of the palm trees.
5 Then I said, “How beautiful is this tree and fragrant,g and its
leaves are lovely, and its blossomsh are lovely to look at.”
6 Then Michael answered me, one of the holy angels who
was with me and was their leader, 25:1/ and he said to me,

a Gk to ekdioμkon: Eth corrupt. However, cf. 20:4, which applies the verb ekdeikoμn
(takes vengeance on) to Reuel. See 1 Enoch 1, 310–11.
b Eth adds a clause here that indicates Enoch’s movement to a new place. See
1 Enoch 1, 311.
c Text of previous clause uncertain. See 1 Enoch 1, 312.
d Eth (= Gk euoμdeμ): Gk beautiful to see (eueideμ).
e On the text, see 1 Enoch 1, 312.
f Perhaps originally and the blossom of the tree.
g Gk: Eth. beautiful to see. See above note h.
h Eth its fruit.

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 1 Enoch 25:1—26:2 45

“Enoch, why do you inquire and why do you marvel about

the fragrance of this tree, and why do you wish to learn the
truth?”
25:2 Then I answered him—I, Enoch—and said, “Concerning all
things I wish to know, but especially concerning this tree.”
3 And he answered me and said, “This high mountain that you
saw, whose peak is like the throne of God, is the seat where
the Great Holy One, the Lord of glory, the King of eter-
nity, will sit, when he descends to visit the earth in good-
ness. 4/ And (as for) this fragrant tree, no flesh has the right
to touch it until the great judgment, in which there will be
vengeance on all and a consummation forever.
Then it will be given to the righteous and the pious,
5 and its fruit will be food for the chosen.
And it will be transplanted to the holy place,
by the house of God, the King of eternity.
6 Then they will rejoice greatly and be glad,
and they will enter into the sanctuary.
Its fragrances <will be>a in their bones,
and they will live a long life on the earth,
such as your fathers lived also in their days,b
and torments and plagues and suffering will not touch
them.”
7 Then I blessed the God of glory, the King of eternity, who has
prepared such things for people (who are) righteous, and has
created them and promised to give (them) to them.

Jerusalem, the Center of the Earth

and the Place of Punishment

26:1 And from there I proceeded to the center of the earth, and I
saw a blessed place where there were trees that had branches
that abide and sprout. 2/ And there I saw a holy mountain.

a Emending an evident corruption in Aram original, 1 Enoch 1, 313.

b Eth adds sorrow at the beginning of the next line.

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 46 1 Enoch 26:2—27:5

From beneath the mountain water (came) from the east, and
it flowed toward the south. 3/ And I saw to the east another
mountain higher than it, and between them a deep valley that
had no breadth, and through it water was flowing beneatha
the mountain. 4/ And to the west of this, another mountain
lower than it and not rising very high, and a deep and dry
valley beneath it, between them, and another deep and dry
valley,b at the apex of the three mountains. 5/ And all the
valleys were deep, of hard rock, and no tree was planted on
them.
6 And I marveled at the mountain, and I marveled at the valley,
I marveled exceedingly.
27:1 Then I said, “Why is this land blessed and all filled with trees,
but this valley is cursed?”
2 Then <Sariel>c answered, one of the holy angels who was with
me, and said to me, “This cursed valley is for those who are
cursed forever. Here will be gathered all the cursed, who utter
with their mouth an improper word against the Lord and
speak hard things against his glory. Here they will be gath-
ered, and here will be (their) habitation 3/ at the last times,
in the days of righteous judgment in the presence of the righ-
teous for all time. Here the godlessd will bless the Lord of
glory, the King of eternity. 4/ In the days of their judgment
they will bless †in mercy†e in accordance with how he has
apportioned to them.”
5 Then I blessed the Lord of glory, and his glory I made known
and praised magnificently.

a Eth toward.
b Aram evidently omitted deep and dry.
c Gk Eth read Uriel. Emendation follows 20:6, where Sariel’s place in the sequence
and his function agree with this vision. Aram at 9:1 indicates that the names are
confused.
d Eth the merciful, perhaps influenced by in mercy in v 4.
e Meaning is obscure. Perhaps the text originally referred to a plea for mercy. Cf.
63:1, 5-6.

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 1 Enoch 28:1—32:3 47

To the Paradise of Righteousnessa

28:1 And from there I went to the midst of the mountain range
of the desert. And I saw it desolate, and it alone was full
of trees <and plants>. 2/ Water was pouring forth from
above. 3/ Flowing like a copious watercourse, approximately
to the northwest, it brought water and also dew from all
around.
29:1 From there I went to another place in the desert, and I departed
to the east of this mountain range. 2/ I saw trees <of the
field> breathing fragrances of frankincense and myrrh, and
their trees were like nut trees.
30:1 Beyond these I departed far to the east. And I saw another
vast place—valleys of water, 2/ in which were aromatic cane
like reeds. 3/ On the banks of these valleys I saw the fragrant
cinnamon.
31:1 Beyond these valleys, I departed to the east. And I saw other
mountains, and also on them I saw trees, from which flowed
the nectar called storax and galbanum.
2 Beyond these mountains I was shown another mountain, and
on it were aloe trees. All the trees were full of . . . . . . . . , and
it was like the bark of the almond tree. 3/ When they grind
this bark, it is sweeter than any perfume.
32:1 Beyond these mountains, approximately to their northeastern
side I saw other mountains, filled with choice nard and tspr
and cardamom and pepper.
2 From there I proceeded to the east of all these mountains, far
from them to the east of the earth. And I passed over the Red
Sea and departed far from it. And I crossed over the darkness,
far from it.
3 I passed by the paradise of righteousness, and I saw from afar
trees more plentiful and larger than these trees, differing

a The textual situation in these chapters is especially complex due to the pleth-
ora of sometimes obscure proper names, the technical nature of the subject matter,
and the disagreements among Gk, Eth, and two Aram mss. For details, see 1 Enoch 1,
320–28.

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 48 1 Enoch 32:3—33:4

from those—very large <and> beautiful and glorious and

magnificent—and the tree of wisdom, whose fruit the holy
ones eat and learn great wisdom. 4/ That tree is in height like
the fir, and its leaves, like (those of ) the carob, and its fruit
like the clusters of the vine—very cheerful; and its fragrance
penetrates far beyond the tree.
5 Then I said, “How beautiful is the tree and how pleasing in
appearance.”
6 Then <Gabriel>,a the holy angel who was with me, answered,
“This is the tree of wisdom from which your father of old and
your mother of old, who were before you, ate and learned
wisdom. And their eyes were opened, and they knew that
they were naked, and they were driven from the garden.”

To the Ends of the Earth

33:1 And from there I proceeded to the ends of the earth, and I saw
there great beasts, and they differed each from the other; and
birds also, differing (in) their appearance and their beauty
and their voices, differed each from the other.
To the east of these beasts I saw the ends of the earth, on which
the heaven rests, and the gates of heaven open. 2/ I saw how
the stars of heaven come forth, and I counted the gates from
which they emerge, 3/ and I wrote down all their outlets, one
by one, according to their number and their names, accord-
ing to their conjunction and their position and their time
and their months, as Uriel, the holy angelb who was with
me, showed me. 4/ He showed me and wrote down for me
everything, and also he wrote down their names and their
appointed times and their functions.

a Raphael in Gk and Eth is emended to Gabriel, following the sequence in 20:7,

and the consonance of Gabriel’s responsibility there with the present station of Enoch’s
journey.
b For angel, Aram has [one of the] watchers. Cf. 22:6, note b.

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 1 Enoch 34:1—36:4 49

Enoch’s Journeys North, West, South,

and East: A Summary

34:1 And from there I proceeded to the north, at the ends of the
earth, and there I saw great and glorious wonders at the ends
of the whole earth. 2/ There I saw three gates of heaven open
in heaven. From them the winds in the north emerge. When
they blow, (there is) cold and hail and hoarfrost and snow
and dew and rain. 3/ Through one gate they blow for good,
and when they blow through two of the gates, they blow
with violence, and there is affliction on the earth.
35:1 From there I proceeded toward the west, at the ends of the
earth, and I saw there three gates of heaven open, as I saw in
the east, the same number of gates and the same number of
outlets.
36:1 From there I proceeded toward the south, at the ends of the
earth, and there I saw three gates of heaven open, and from
there the south wind and dew and rain emerge.
2 From there I proceeded toward the east, at the ends of the
earth, and there I saw three gates of heaven open toward the
east and above them, small gates. 3/ Through each of these
small gates pass the stars of heaven, and they proceed west-
ward on the path that is shown them.
4 And when I saw, I blessed—and I shall always bless—the Lord
of glory, who has wrought great and glorious wonders, to
show his great deeds to his angels and to the spirits of human
beings,a so that they might see the work of his might and
glorify the deeds of his hands and bless him forever.

a All Eth mss add here so that they might glorify his work and all his deeds, which
appears to be a doublet of the following two clauses whose parallelism seems original.

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