Similtudes

The Similtudes

ENOCH

TESTAMONIA FORM

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. 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. Concerning the elect I said, and took up my parable concerning them:

The Holy Great One will come forth from His dwelling, 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. 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.

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

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.

For behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones to execute judgement upon all, and to destroy all the ungodly: 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.

And this is the second Parable concerning those who deny the name of the dwelling of the holy ones and the LORD of Hosts. And into the heaven they shall not ascend, and on the earth they shall not come: Such shall be the lot of the sinners who have denied the name of the LORD of Hosts, who are thus preserved for the day of suffering and tribulation.

On that day Mine Elect One shall sit on the throne of glory, and I shall try their works, and their places of rest shall be innumerable.

And their souls shall grow strong within them when they see Mine Elect Ones, and those who have called upon My glorious name: Then will I cause Mine Elect One to dwell among them.

And I will transform the heaven and make it an eternal blessing and light. And I will transform the earth and make it a blessing: and I will cause mine elect ones to dwell upon it: But the sinners and evil-doers shall not set foot thereon. For I have provided and satisfied with peace my righteous ones; and have caused them to dwell before Me:

But for the sinners there is judgment impending with me, so that I shall destroy them from the face of the earth.

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And there I saw One who had a head of days; and His head was white like wool; and with Him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of a man. And his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels.

And I asked the angel who went with me, and showed me all the hidden things, concerning that Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was, and why he went with the Head of Days? And he answered and said unto me: This is the Son of Man who hath righteousness, with whom dwelleth righteousness, and who revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden, because the LORD of Hosts hath chosen him; and whose lot hath the pre-eminence before the LORD of Hosts in uprightness for ever.

And this Son of Man whom thou hast seen shall raise up the kings and the mighty from their seats, and the strong from their thrones; and shall loosen the reins of the strong, and break the teeth of the sinners. And he shall put down the kings from their thrones and kingdoms because they do not extol and praise Him, nor humbly acknowledge whence the kingdom was bestowed upon them [him]. And he shall put down the countenance of the strong, and shall fill them with shame.

And darkness shall be their dwelling, and worms shall be their bed; and they shall have no hope of rising from their beds, because they do not extol the name of the LORD of Hosts.

And these are they who judge the stars of heaven, and raise their hands against the Most High, and tread upon the earth and dwell upon it. And all their deeds manifest unrighteousness, and their power rests upon their riches; and their faith is in the gods which they have made with their hands. And they deny the name of the LORD of Hosts, and they persecute the houses of His congregations and the faithful who hang upon the name of the LORD of Hosts.

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And in those days shall have ascended the prayer of the righteous, and the blood of the righteous from the earth before the LORD of Hosts.

In those days the holy ones who dwell above in the heavens shall unite with one voice and supplicate and pray and praise and give thanks and bless the name of the LORD of Hosts on behalf of the blood of the righteous which hath been shed; and that the prayer of the righteous may not be in vain before the LORD of Hosts; that judgment may be done unto them, and that they may not have to suffer for ever.

In those days I saw the Head of Days when He seated himself upon the throne of His glory, and the books of the living were opened before Him. And all His host which is in heaven above and His counselors stood before Him,

And the hearts of the holy were filled with joy because the number of the righteous had been offered, and the prayer of the righteous had been heard; and the blood of the righteous been required before the LORD of Hosts.

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And in that place I saw the fountain of righteousness which was inexhaustible. And around it were many fountains of wisdom, and all the thirsty drank of them and were filled with wisdom; and their dwellings were with the righteous and holy and elect.

And at that hour that Son of Man was named in the presence of the LORD of Hosts, and his name before the Head of Days. Yea, before the sun and the signs were created, before the stars of the heaven were made, His name was named before the LORD of Hosts.

He shall be a staff to the righteous whereon to stay themselves and not fall, and he shall be the light of the Gentiles, and the hope of those who are troubled of heart. All who dwell on earth shall fall down and worship before him, and will praise and bless and celebrate with song the LORD of Hosts.

And for this reason hath he been chosen and hidden before Him, before the creation of the world and for evermore. And the wisdom of the LORD of Hosts hath revealed him to the holy and righteous; for he hath preserved the lot of the righteous because they have hated and despised this world of unrighteousness, and have hated all its works and ways in the name of the LORD of Hosts. For in his name they are saved, and according to his good pleasure hath it been in regard to their life.

In these days downcast in countenance shall the kings of the earth have become, and the strong who possess the land because of the works of their hands. For on the day of their anguish and affliction they shall not be able to save themselves. And I will give them over into the hands of Mine elect; as straw in the fire so shall they burn before the face of the holy. As lead in the water shall they sink before the face of the righteous, and no trace of them shall any more be found.

And on the day of their affliction there shall be rest on the earth; and before them they shall fall and not rise again. And there shall be no one to take them with his hands and raise them. For they have denied the LORD of Hosts and His Anointed. The name of the LORD of Hosts be blessed. For wisdom is poured out like water, and glory faileth not before him for evermore.

For he is mighty in all the secrets of righteousness. Unrighteousness shall disappear as a shadow, and have no continuance because the Elect One standeth before the LORD of Hosts, and his glory is for ever and ever, and his might unto all generations.

And in him dwells the spirit of wisdom, and the spirit which gives insight, and the spirit of understanding and of might, and the spirit of those who have fallen asleep in righteousness.

And he shall judge the secret things, and none shall be able to utter a lying word before him; for he is the Elect One before the LORD of Hosts according to His good pleasure.

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And in those days a change shall take place for the holy and elect. The light of days shall abide upon them, and glory and honour shall turn to the holy on the day of affliction on which evil shall have been treasured up against the sinners.

And the righteous shall be victorious in the name of the LORD of Hosts. And He will cause the others to witness this that they may repent and forgo the works of their hands.

They shall have no honour through the name of the LORD of Hosts. Yet through His name shall they be saved, and the LORD of Hosts will have compassion on them, for His compassion is great.

And He is righteous also in His judgment; and in the presence of His glory unrighteousness also shall not maintain itself. At His judgement the unrepentant shall perish before Him. And from henceforth I will have no mercy on them, saith the LORD of Hosts.

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And in those days shall the earth also give back that which hath been entrusted to it, and Sheol also shall give back that which it hath received, and hell shall give back that which it oweth. For in those days the Elect One shall arise, and he shall choose the righteous and holy from among them: for the day hath drawn nigh that they should be saved.

And the Elect One shall in those days sit on My throne; and his mouth shall pour forth all the secrets of wisdom and counsel: For the LORD of Hosts hath given them to him and hath glorified him.

And in those days shall the mountains leap like rams and the hills also shall skip like lambs satisfied with milk, and the faces of all the angels in heaven shall be lighted up with joy. And the earth shall rejoice, and the righteous shall dwell upon it, and the elect shall walk thereon.

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And after those days in that place where I had seen all the visions of that which is hidden— for I had been carried off in a whirlwind and they had borne me towards the west— there mine eyes saw all the secret things of heaven that shall be, a mountain of iron, and a mountain of copper, and a mountain of silver, and a mountain of gold, and a mountain of soft metal, and a mountain of lead. And I asked the angel who went with me, saying, ‘What things are these which I have seen in secret?’ And he said unto me: ‘All these things which thou hast seen shall serve the dominion of His Anointed that he may be potent and mighty on the earth.’ And that angel of peace answered, saying unto me: ‘Wait a little, and there shall be revealed unto thee all the secret things which surround the LORD of Hosts.

‘And these mountains which thine eyes have seen— The mountain of iron, and the mountain of copper, and the mountain of silver, and the mountain of gold, and the mountain of soft metal, and the mountain of lead— all these shall be in the presence of the Elect One as wax before the fire, and like the water which streams down from above upon those mountains; and they shall become powerless before his feet.

‘And it shall come to pass in those days that none shall be saved, either by gold or by silver, and none be able to escape. And there shall be no iron for war, nor shall one clothe oneself with a breastplate. Bronze shall be of no service, and tin shall be of no service and shall not be esteemed, and lead shall not be desired. And all these things shall be denied and destroyed from the surface of the earth when the Elect One shall appear before the face of the LORD of Hosts.’

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There mine eyes saw a deep valley with open mouths, and all who dwell on the earth and sea and islands shall bring to him gifts and presents and tokens of homage, but that deep valley shall not become full.

Their hands commit lawless deeds, and the sinners devour all whom they lawlessly oppress: Yet the sinners shall be destroyed before the face of the LORD of Hosts. They shall be banished from off the face of His earth, and they shall perish for ever and ever. For I saw all the angels of punishment abiding there and preparing all the instruments of Satan.

And I asked the angel of peace who went with me: ‘For whom are they preparing these Instruments?’ And he said unto me: ‘They prepare these for the kings and the mighty of this earth, that they may thereby be destroyed. And after this the Righteous and Elect One shall cause the house of his congregation to appear: henceforth they shall be no more hindered in the name of the LORD of Hosts. And these mountains shall not stand as the earth before his righteousness, but the hills shall be as a fountain of water, and the righteous shall have rest from the oppression of sinners.’

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And I looked and turned to another part of the earth, and saw there a deep valley with burning fire. And they brought the kings and the mighty, and began to cast them into this deep valley. And there mine eyes saw how they made these their instruments, iron chains of immeasurable weight. And I asked the angel of peace who went with me, saying: ‘For whom are these chains being prepared?’ And he said unto me: ‘These are being prepared for the hosts of Azazel, so that they may take them and cast them into the abyss of complete condemnation, and they shall cover their jaws with rough stones as the LORD of Hosts commanded.

And Michael, and Gabriel, and Raphael, and Phanuel shall take hold of them on that great day, and cast them on that day into the burning furnace, that the LORD of Hosts may take vengeance on them for their unrighteousness in becoming subject to Satan and leading astray those who dwell on the earth.’

And in those days shall punishment come from the LORD of Hosts, and he will open all the chambers of waters which are above the heavens, and of the fountains which are beneath the earth. And all the waters shall be joined with the waters: that which is above the heavens is the masculine, and the water which is beneath the earth is the feminine.

And they shall destroy all who dwell on the earth and those who dwell under the ends of the heaven. And when they have recognized their unrighteousness which they have wrought on the earth, then by these shall they perish.

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When I have desired to take hold of them by the hand of the angels on the day of tribulation and pain because of this, I will cause My chastisement and My wrath to abide upon them, saith God, the LORD of Hosts. Ye mighty kings who dwell on the earth, ye shall have to behold Mine Elect One, how he sits on the throne of glory and judges Azazel and all his associates, and all his hosts in the name of the LORD of Hosts.

And I saw there the hosts of the angels of punishment going, and they held scourges and chains of iron and bronze. And I asked the angel of peace who went with me, saying: ‘To whom are these who hold the scourges going?’ And he said unto me: ‘To their elect and beloved ones, that they may be cast into the chasm of the abyss of the valley. 4 And then that valley shall be filled with their elect and beloved, And the days of their lives shall be at an end, and the days of their leading astray shall not thenceforward be reckoned.

‘And in those days the angels shall return and hurl themselves to the east upon the Parthians and Medes: They shall stir up the kings, so that a spirit of unrest shall come upon them, and they shall rouse them from their thrones, that they may break forth as lions from their lairs, and as hungry wolves among their flocks.

And they shall go up and tread under foot the land of His elect ones and the land of His elect ones shall be before them a threshing-floor and a highway. But the city of my righteous shall be a hindrance to their horses. And they shall begin to fight among themselves, and their right hand shall be strong against themselves, and a man shall not know his brother, nor a son his father or his mother till there be no number of the corpses through their slaughter; and their punishment be not in vain.

‘In those days Sheol shall open its jaws, and they shall be swallowed up therein and their destruction shall be at an end; Sheol shall devour the sinners in the presence of the elect.’

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And it came to pass after this that I saw another host of wagons, and men riding thereon, and coming on the winds from the east, and from the west to the south. And the noise of their wagons was heard, and when this turmoil took place the holy ones from heaven remarked it, and the pillars of the earth were moved from their place, and the sound thereof was heard from the one end of heaven to the other, in one day; and they shall all fall down and worship the LORD of Hosts. And this is the end of the Second Parable.

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And I began to speak the Third Parable concerning the righteous and elect:

Blessed are ye, ye righteous and elect, for glorious shall be your lot. The righteous shall be in the light of the sun and the elect in the light of eternal life— the days of their life shall be unending, and the days of the holy without number.

And they shall seek the light and find righteousness with the LORD of Hosts. There shall be peace to the righteous in the name of the Eternal LORD.

And after this it shall be said to the holy in heaven that they should seek out the secrets of righteousness, the heritage of faith; for it hath become bright as the sun upon earth and the darkness is past.

6 And there shall be a light that never endeth, and to a number of days they shall not come, for the darkness shall first have been destroyed and the light established before the LORD of Hosts— the light of uprightness established forever before the LORD of Hosts.

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And I saw in those days how long cords were given to those angels, and they took to themselves wings and flew, and they went towards the north. And I asked the angel, saying unto him: ‘Why have those angels taken these cords and gone off?’ And he said unto me: ‘They have gone to measure.’

And the angel who went with me said unto me: ‘These shall bring the measures of the righteous, and the ropes of the righteous to the righteous, that they may stay themselves on the name of the LORD of Hosts for ever and ever.

‘The elect shall begin to dwell with the elect, and those are the measures which shall be given to faith and which shall strengthen righteousness.

‘And these measures shall reveal all the secrets of the depths of the earth; and those who have been destroyed by the desert; and those who have been devoured by the beasts; and those who have been devoured by the fish of the sea; that they may return and stay themselves on the day of the Elect One. For none shall be destroyed before the LORD of Hosts; and none can be destroyed.’

And all who dwell above in the heaven received a command and power and one voice and one light like unto fire.

And that One with their first words they blessed and extolled and lauded with wisdom; and they were wise in utterance and in the spirit of life.

And the LORD of Hosts placed the Elect one on the throne of glory. And he shall judge all the works of the holy above in the heaven, and in the balance shall their deeds be weighed.

And when he shall lift up his countenance to judge their secret ways according to the word of the name of the LORD of Hosts, and their path according to the way of the righteous judgement of the LORD of Hosts, then shall they all with one voice speak and bless and glorify and extol and sanctify the name of the LORD of Hosts.

And He will summon all the host of the heavens: all the holy ones above, and the host of God, the Cherubim, Seraphim and Ophannim, and all the angels of power, and all the angels of principalities, and the Elect One, and the other powers on the earth. And over the water on that day shall raise one voice, and bless and glorify and exalt in the spirit of faith, and in the spirit of wisdom, and in the spirit of patience, and in the spirit of mercy, and in the spirit of judgement and of peace, and in the spirit of goodness, and shall all say with one voice: “Blessed is He, and may the name of the LORD of Hosts be blessed for ever and ever.”

All who sleep not above in heaven shall bless Him: all the holy ones who are in heaven shall bless Him, and all the elect who dwell in the garden of life; and every spirit of light who is able to bless, and glorify, and extol, and hallow Thy blessed name, and all flesh shall beyond measure glorify and bless Thy name for ever and ever.

For great is the mercy of the LORD of Hosts, and He is long-suffering, and all His works and all that He hath created He hath revealed to the righteous and elect in the name of the LORD of Hosts.

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And thus the LORD commanded the kings and the mighty and the exalted, and those who dwell on the earth, and said: “Open your eyes and lift up your horns if ye are able to recognize the Elect One.”

The LORD of Hosts seated him on the throne of His glory, and the spirit of righteousness was poured out upon him, and the word of his mouth slays all the sinners; and all the unrighteous are destroyed from before his face.

And there shall stand up in that day all the kings and the mighty, and the exalted and those who hold the earth, and they shall see and recognize How he sits on the throne of his glory. And righteousness is judged before him; and no lying word is spoken before him.

Then shall pain come upon them as on a woman in travail— and she hath pain in bringing forth— when her child enters the mouth of the womb; and she hath pain in bringing forth.

And one portion of them shall look on the other. And they shall be terrified, and they shall be downcast of countenance, and pain shall seize them when they see that Son of Man sitting on the throne of his glory.

And the kings and the mighty and all who possess the earth shall bless and glorify and extol him who rules over all, who was hidden.

For from the beginning the Son of Man was hidden, and the Most High preserved him in the presence of His might, and revealed him to the elect.

And the congregation of the elect and holy shall be sown, and all the elect shall stand before him on that day.

And all the kings and the mighty and the exalted and those who rule the earth shall fall down before him on their faces and worship and set their hope upon that Son of Man, and petition him and supplicate for mercy at his hands.

Nevertheless the LORD of Hosts will so press them that they shall hastily go forth from His presence. And their faces shall be filled with shame, and the darkness grow deeper on their faces.

And He will deliver them to the angels for punishment, to execute vengeance on them because they have oppressed His children and His elect and they shall be a spectacle for the righteous and for His elect: they shall rejoice over them because the wrath of the LORD of Hosts resteth upon them, and His sword is drunk with their blood.

And the righteous and elect shall be saved on that day, and they shall never thenceforward see the face of the sinners and unrighteous.

And the LORD of Hosts will abide over them, and with that Son of Man shall they eat and lie down and rise up for ever and ever.

And the righteous and elect shall have risen from the earth, and ceased to be of downcast countenance. And they shall have been clothed with garments of glory. And these shall be the garments of life from the LORD of Hosts: your garments shall not grow old; nor your glory pass away before the LORD of Hosts.

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In those days shall the mighty and the kings who possess the earth implore Him to grant them a little respite from His angels of punishment to whom they were delivered, that they might fall down and worship before the LORD of Hosts and confess their sins before Him. And they shall bless and glorify the LORD of Hosts, and say:

“Blessed is the Lord of Spirits and the Lord of kings, and the Lord of the mighty and the Lord of the rich, and the Lord of glory and the Lord of wisdom. Splendid in every secret thing is Thy power from generation to generation, and Thy glory for ever and ever. Deep are all Thy secrets and innumerable, and Thy righteousness is beyond reckoning.

We have now learnt that we should glorify and bless the Lord of kings and Him who is king over all kings.” And they shall say: “Would that we had rest to glorify and give thanks and confess our faith before His glory ! And now we long for a little rest but find it not: We follow hard upon and obtain it not. And light hath vanished from before us, and darkness is our dwelling-place for ever and ever. For we have not believed before Him nor glorified the name of the LORD of Hosts, nor glorified our Lord. But our hope was in the sceptre of our kingdom and in our glory.

And in the day of our suffering and tribulation He saves us not, and we find no respite for confession that our Lord is true in all His works, and in His judgements and His justice, and His judgements have no respect of persons. And we pass away from before His face on account of our works, and all our sins are reckoned up in righteousness.”

Now they shall say unto themselves: “Our souls are full of unrighteous gain, but it does not prevent us from descending from the midst thereof into the burden of Sheol.”

And after that their faces shall be filled with darkness and shame before that Son of Man, and they shall be driven from his presence, and the sword shall abide before his face in their midst.

Thus spake the LORD of Hosts: “This is the ordinance and judgement with respect to the mighty and the kings and the exalted and those who possess the earth before the LORD of Hosts.”

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And there was great joy amongst them, and they blessed and glorified and extolled because the name of that Son of Man had been revealed unto them.

And he sat on the throne of his glory, and the sum of judgement was given unto the Son of Man, and he caused the sinners to pass away and be destroyed from off the face of the earth, and those who have led the world astray.

With chains shall they be bound, and in their assemblage-place of destruction shall they be imprisoned, and all their works vanish from the face of the earth.

And from henceforth there shall be nothing corruptible; for that Son of Man hath appeared, and hath seated himself on the throne of his glory, and all evil shall pass away before his face, and the word of that Son of Man shall go forth and be strong before the LORD of Hosts.

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And it came to pass after this that my spirit was translated and it ascended into the heavens: And I saw the holy sons of God. They were stepping on flames of fire; their garments were white, and their raiment and their faces shone like snow.

And I saw two streams of fire, and the light of that fire shone like hyacinth. And I fell on my face before the LORD of Hosts.

And the angel Michael, one of the archangels, seized me by my right hand and lifted me up and led me forth into all the secrets, and he showed me all the secrets of righteousness.

And he showed me all the secrets of the ends of the heaven, and all the chambers of all the stars, and all the luminaries, whence they proceed before the face of the holy ones.

And he translated my spirit into the heaven of heavens. And I saw there as it were a structure built of crystals, and between those crystals tongues of living fire. And my spirit saw the girdle which girt that house of fire. On its four sides were streams full of living fire, and they girt that house.

And round about were Seraphim, Cherubim, and Ophannim: And these are they who sleep not and guard the throne of His glory.

And I saw angels who could not be counted— a thousand thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand— encircling that house.

And Michael, and Raphael, and Gabriel, and Phanuel, and the holy angels who are above the heavens, go in and out of that house.

And they came forth from that house— Michael and Gabriel, Raphael and Phanuel, and many holy angels without number.

And with them there was the Head of Days. His head white and pure as wool, and His raiment indescribable.

And I fell on my face, and my whole body became relaxed, and my spirit was transfigured; and I cried with a loud voice . . .with the spirit of power, and blessed and glorified and extolled.

And these blessings which went forth out of my mouth were well pleasing before that Head of Days. And that Head of Days came with Michael and Gabriel, Raphael and Phanuel, thousands and ten thousands of angels without number.

[Lost passage wherein the Son of Man was described as accompanying the Head of Days, and Enoch asked one of the angels (as in xlvi. 3) concerning the Son of Man as to who he was.]

And he (i.e. the angel) came to me and greeted me with His voice, and said unto me “This is the Son of Man who is born unto righteousness, and righteousness abides over him, and the righteousness of the Head of Days forsakes him not.”

And he said unto me: “He proclaims unto thee peace in the name of the world to come; for from hence hath proceeded peace since the creation of the world, and so shall it be unto thee for ever and for ever and ever.

And all shall walk in his ways since righteousness never forsaketh him. With him will be their dwelling-places, and with him their heritage; and they shall not be separated from him for ever and ever and ever.

And so there shall be length of days with that Son of Man, and the righteous shall have peace and an upright way in the name of the LORD of Hosts for ever and ever.”

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The book written by Enoch- [Enoch indeed wrote this complete doctrine of wisdom (which is) praised of all men and a judge of all the earth] for all my children who shall dwell on the earth. And for the future generations who shall observe uprightness and peace.

Let not your spirit be troubled on account of the times, for the Holy and Great One hath appointed days for all things.

And the righteous one shall arise from sleep, shall arise and walk in the paths of righteousness, and all his path and conversation shall be in eternal goodness and grace.

He will be gracious to the righteous and give him eternal uprightness, and He will give him power so that he shall be endowed with goodness and righteousness. And he shall walk in eternal light.

And sin shall perish in darkness for ever, and shall no more be seen from that day for evermore.

Testamonia