Saturday, August 22, 2009

Chapter 17

1 And they took and brought me to a place in which those who were there were like flaming fire,
2 and, when they wished, they appeared as men. And they brought me to the place of darkness, and to a mountain the point of whose summit reached to heaven.
3 And I saw the places of the luminaries and the treasuries of the stars and of the thunder and in the uttermost depths, where were
4 a fiery bow and arrows and their quiver, and a fiery sword and all the lightnings. And they took
5 me to the living waters, and to the fire of the west, which receives every setting of the sun. And I came to a river of fire in which the fire flows like water and discharges itself into the great sea towards
6 the west. I saw the great rivers and came to the great river and to the great darkness, and went
7 to the place where no flesh walks. I saw the mountains of the darkness of winter and the place
8 whence all the waters of the deep flow. I saw the mouths of all the rivers of the earth and the mouth of the deep.

Chapter 18

1 I saw the treasuries of all the winds: I saw how He had furnished with them the whole creation
2 and the firm foundations of the earth. And I saw the corner-stone of the earth: I saw the four
3 winds which bear [the earth and] the firmament of the heaven. And I saw how the winds stretch out the vaults of heaven, and have their station between heaven and earth: these are the pillars
4 of the heaven. I saw the winds of heaven which turn and bring the circumference of the sun and
5 all the stars to their setting. I saw the winds on the earth carrying the clouds: I saw the paths
6 of the angels. I saw at the end of the earth the firmament of the heaven above. And I proceeded and saw a place which burns day and night, where there are seven mountains of magnificent stones,
7 three towards the east, and three towards the south. And as for those towards the east, was of coloured stone, and one of pearl, and one of jacinth, and those towards the south of red stone.
8 But the middle one reached to heaven like the throne of God, of alabaster, and the summit of the
9,10 throne was of sapphire. And I saw a flaming fire. And beyond these mountains Is a region the end of the great earth: there the heavens were completed.
11 And I saw a deep abyss, with columns of heavenly fire, and among them I saw columns of fire fall, which were beyond measure alike towards
12 the height and towards the depth. And beyond that abyss I saw a place which had no firmament of the heaven above, and no firmly founded earth beneath it: there was no water upon it, and no
13 birds, but it was a waste and horrible place. I saw there seven stars like great burning mountains,
14 and to me, when I inquired regarding them, The angel said: 'This place is the end of heaven and earth: this has become a prison for the stars and the host of heaven.
15And the stars which roll over the fire are they which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord in the beginning of
16 their rising, because they did not come forth at their appointed times. And He was wroth with them, and bound them till the time when their guilt should be consummated (even) for ten thousand years.'

Chapter 19

1 And Uriel said to me: 'Here shall stand the angels who have connected themselves with women, and their spirits assuming many different forms are defiling mankind and shall lead them astray into sacrificing to demons as gods, (here shall they stand,) till the day of the great judgement in
2 which they shall be judged till they are made an end of. And the women also of the angels who
3 went astray shall become sirens.' And I, Enoch, alone saw the vision, the ends of all things: and no man shall see as I have seen.

Chapter 20

1,2 And these are the names of the holy angels who watch. Uriel, one of the holy angels, who is
3 over the world and over Tartarus. Raphael, one of the holy angels, who is over the spirits of men.
4,5 Raguel, one of the holy angels who takes vengeance on the world of the luminaries. Michael, one
6 of the holy angels, to wit, he that is set over the best part of mankind and over chaos. Saraqael,
7 one of the holy angels, who is set over the spirits, who sin in the spirit. Gabriel, one of the holy
8 angels, who is over Paradise and the serpents and the Cherubim. Remiel, one of the holy angels, whom God set over those who rise.

Chapter 21

1,2 And I proceeded to where things were chaotic. And I saw there something horrible: I saw neither
3 a heaven above nor a firmly founded earth, but a place chaotic and horrible. And there I saw
4 seven stars of the heaven bound together in it, like great mountains and burning with fire. Then
5 I said: 'For what sin are they bound, and on what account have they been cast in hither?' Then said Uriel, one of the holy angels, who was with me, and was chief over them, and said: 'Enoch, why
6 dost thou ask, and why art thou eager for the truth? These are of the number of the stars of heaven, which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and are bound here till ten thousand years,
7 the time entailed by their sins, are consummated.' And from thence I went to another place, which was still more horrible than the former, and I saw a horrible thing: a great fire there which burnt and blazed, and the place was cleft as far as the abyss, being full of great descending columns of
8 fire: neither its extent or magnitude could I see, nor could I conjecture. Then I said: 'How
9 fearful is the place and how terrible to look upon!' Then Uriel answered me, one of the holy angels who was with me, and said unto me: 'Enoch, why hast thou such fear and affright?' And
10 I answered: 'Because of this fearful place, and because of the spectacle of the pain.' And he said unto me: 'This place is the prison of the angels, and here they will be imprisoned for ever.'

Chapter 22

1 And thence I went to another place, and he mountain [and] of hard rock.
2 And there was in it four hollow places, deep and wide and very smooth. How smooth are the hollow places and deep and dark to look at.
3 Then Raphael answered, one of the holy angels who was with me, and said unto me: 'These hollow places have been created for this very purpose, that the spirits of the souls of the dead should
4 assemble therein, yea that all the souls of the children of men should assemble here. And these places have been made to receive them till the day of their judgement and till their appointed period [till the period appointed], till the great judgement (comes) upon them.' I saw (the spirit of) a dead man making suit,
5 and his voice went forth to heaven and made suit. And I asked Raphael the angel who was
6 with me, and I said unto him: 'This spirit which maketh suit, whose is it, whose voice goeth forth and maketh suit to heaven ?'
7 And he answered me saying: 'This is the spirit which went forth from Abel, whom his brother Cain slew, and he makes his suit against him till his seed is destroyed from the face of the earth, and his seed is annihilated from amongst the seed of men.'
8 The I asked regarding it, and regarding all the hollow places: 'Why is one separated from the other?'
9 And he answered me and said unto me: 'These three have been made that the spirits of the dead might be separated. And such a division has been make (for) the spirits of the righteous, in which there is the bright spring of
10 water. And such has been made for sinners when they die and are buried in the earth and judgement has not been executed on them in their
11 lifetime. Here their spirits shall be set apart in this great pain till the great day of judgement and punishment and torment of those who curse for ever and retribution for their spirits. There
12 He shall bind them for ever. And such a division has been made for the spirits of those who make their suit, who make disclosures concerning their destruction, when they were slain in the days
13 of the sinners. Such has been made for the spirits of men who were not righteous but sinners, who were complete in transgression, and of the transgressors they shall be companions: but their spirits shall not be slain in the day of judgement nor shall they be raised from thence.'
14 The I blessed the Lord of glory and said: 'Blessed be my Lord, the Lord of righteousness, who ruleth for ever.'

Chapter 23

1,2 From thence I went to another place to the west of the ends of the earth. And I saw a burning
3 fire which ran without resting, and paused not from its course day or night but (ran) regularly. And
4 I asked saying: 'What is this which rests not?' Then Raguel, one of the holy angels who was with me, answered me and said unto me: 'This course of fire which thou hast seen is the fire in the west which persecutes all the luminaries of heaven.'