The Watchers in the Book of Enoch in the Ancient Writings

¹ And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. ² And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.’ ³ And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: ‘I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’ ⁴ And they all answered him and said: ‘Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.’ ⁵ Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. ⁶ And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. ⁷ And these are the names of their leaders: Sêmîazâz, their leader, Arâkîba, Râmêêl, Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl, Dânêl, Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl, Asâêl, Armârôs, Batârêl, Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl, Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl. ⁸ These are their chiefs of tens.

¹ And Azâzêl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them =the metals= ‹of the earth› and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. ² And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. ³ Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving of enchantments, Barâqîjâl, (taught) astrology, Kôkabêl the constellations, =Ezêqêêl the knowledge of the clouds=, ‹Araqiêl the signs of the earth, Shamsiêl the signs of the sun›, and Sariêl the course of the moon. ⁴ And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven....

¹ And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are wrought on the earth. ² And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.’ ³ And they said one to another: ‘The earth, made without inhabitant, cries the voice of their crying up to the gates of heaven. ⁴ And now to you, the holy ones of heaven, the souls of men make their suit, saying, “Bring our cause before the Most High”.’ ⁵ And they said to the Lord =of the ages=: ‘Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings ‹and God of the ages›, the throne of Thy glory (standeth) unto all the generations of the ages, and Thy name holy and glorious and blessed unto all the ages! ⁶ Thou hast made all things, and power over all things hast Thou: and all things are naked and open in Thy sight, and all things Thou seest, and nothing can hide itself from Thee. ⁷ Thou seest what Azâzêl hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn: ⁸ And Semjâzâ, to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates. ⁹ And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. ¹⁰ And the women have borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness.

¹ And I saw one of those four who had come forth first, and he seized that first star which had fallen from the heaven, and bound it hand and foot and cast it into an abyss: now that abyss was narrow and deep, and horrible and dark. ² And one of them drew a sword, and gave it to those elephants and camels and asses: then they began to smite each other, and the whole earth quaked because of them. ³ And as I was beholding in the vision, lo, one of the four who had come forth stoned (them) from heaven, and gathered and took all the great stars whose privy members were like those of horses, and bound them all hand and foot, and cast them in an abyss of the earth. ⁴ And one said unto me: ‘Remain here till thou seest everything that befalls those elephants, camels, and asses, and the stars and the oxen, and all of them.’ LXXXVIII. _The Punishment of the Fallen Angels by the Archangels._ LXXXVIII. ⁵ And all the oxen feared them and were affrighted at them, and began to bite with their teeth and to devour, and to gore with their horns. ⁶ And they began moreover to devour those oxen; and behold all the children of the earth began to tremble and quake before them and to flee from them. LXXXVII. _The Advent of the Seven Archangels._ LXXXVII.

¹ And through that oath the sun and moon complete their course, And deviate not from their ordinance from eternity to eternity. ² And through that oath the stars complete their course, And He calls them by their names, And they answer Him from eternity to eternity. [ ³ And in like manner the spirits of the water, and of the winds, and of all zephyrs, and (their) paths from all the quarters of the winds. ⁴ And there are preserved the voices of the thunder and the light of the lightnings: and there are preserved the chambers of the hail and the chambers of the hoar-frost, and the chambers of the mist, and the chambers of the rain and the dew. ⁵ And all these believe and give thanks before the Lord of Spirits, and glorify (Him) with all their power, and their food is in every act of thanksgiving: they thank and glorify and extol the name of the Lord of Spirits for ever and ever.] ⁶ And this oath is mighty over them, And through it their paths are preserved, And their course is not destroyed. _Close of the Third Parable._ ⁷ 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. ⁸ 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. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ And from henceforth there shall be nothing corruptible, For that Son of Man has appeared, And has 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 Spirits. This is the third Parable of Enoch.

¹ Before these things Enoch was hidden, and no one of the children of men knew where he was hidden, and where he abode, and what had become of him. ² And his activities had to do with the Watchers, and his days were with the holy ones. ³ And I, Enoch, was blessing the Lord of majesty and the King of the ages, and lo! the Watchers called me—Enoch the scribe—and said to me: ⁴ ‘Enoch, thou scribe of righteousness, go, declare to the Watchers of the heaven who have left the high heaven, the holy eternal place, and have defiled themselves with women, and have done as the children of earth do, and have taken unto themselves wives: “Ye have wrought great destruction on the earth: ⁵ And ye shall have no peace nor forgiveness of sin: and inasmuch as they delight themselves in their children, ⁶ The murder of their beloved ones shall they see, and over the destruction of their children shall they lament, and shall make supplication unto eternity, but mercy and peace shall ye not attain.”’

¹ And I recounted before them all the visions which I had seen in sleep, and I began to speak the words of righteousness, and to reprimand the heavenly Watchers. ² And Enoch went and said: ‘Azâzêl, thou shalt have no peace: a severe sentence has gone forth against thee to put thee in bonds: ³ And thou shalt not have toleration nor request granted to thee, because of the unrighteousness which thou hast taught, and because of all the works of godlessness and unrighteousness and sin which thou hast shown to men.’ ⁴ Then I went and spoke to them all together, and they were all afraid, and fear and trembling seized them. ⁵ And they besought me to draw up a petition for them that they might find forgiveness, and to read their petition in the presence of the Lord of heaven. ⁶ For from thenceforward they could not speak (with Him) nor lift up their eyes to heaven for shame of their sins for which they had been condemned. ⁷ Then I wrote out their petition, and the prayer in regard to their spirits and their deeds individually and in regard to their requests that they should have forgiveness and length ‹of days›. ⁸ And I went off and sat down at the waters of Dan, in the land of Dan, to the south of the west of Hermon: I read their petition till I fell asleep. ⁹ And behold a dream came to me, and visions fell down upon me, and I saw visions of chastisement, and a voice came bidding (me) to tell it to the sons of heaven, and reprimand them. ¹⁰ And when I awaked, I came unto them, and they were all sitting gathered together, weeping in ’Abelsjâîl, which is between Lebanon and Sênêsêr, with their faces covered.

¹ As for the spirits of heaven, in heaven shall be their dwelling, but as for the spirits of the earth which were born upon the earth, on the earth shall be their dwelling.] ² And the spirits of the giants afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and work destruction on the earth, and cause trouble: they take no food, but nevertheless hunger and thirst, and cause offences. ³ And these spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them. ⁴ Wherefore have ye left the high, holy, and eternal heaven, and lain with women, and defiled yourselves with the daughters of men and taken to yourselves wives, and done like the children of earth, and begotten giants (as your) sons. ⁵ And though ye were holy, spiritual, living the eternal life, you have defiled yourselves with the blood of women, and have begotten (children) with the blood of flesh, and, =as the children= of men, have lusted after flesh and blood as those also do who die and perish. ⁶ Therefore have I given them wives also that they might impregnate them, and beget children by them, that thus nothing might be wanting to them on earth. ⁷ But you were formerly spiritual, living the eternal life, and immortal for all generations of the world. ⁸ And therefore I have not appointed wives for you; for as for the spiritual ones of the heaven, in heaven is their dwelling. ⁹ And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling. ¹⁰ Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because they are born from men, and from the holy Watchers is their beginning and primal origin; they shall be evil spirits on earth, and evil spirits shall they be called. [

¹ From the days of the slaughter and destruction and death of the giants, from the souls of whose flesh the spirits, having gone forth, shall destroy without incurring judgement—thus shall they destroy until the day of the consummation, the great judgement in which the age shall be consummated over the Watchers and the godless, yea, shall be wholly consummated.” ² And now as to the Watchers who have sent thee to intercede for them, who had been aforetime in heaven, (say to them): ³ “You have been in heaven, but all the mysteries had not yet been revealed to you, and you knew worthless ones, and these in the hardness of your hearts you have made known to the women, and through these mysteries women and men work much evil on earth.” ⁴ Say to them therefore: “You have no peace.”’ XVII-XXXVII. _Enoch’s Journeys through the Earth and Sheol._ XVII-XIX. _The First Journey._

¹ And cleanse thou the earth from all oppression, and from all unrighteousness, and from all sin, and from all godlessness: and all the uncleanness that is wrought upon the earth destroy from off the earth. ² And all the children of men shall become righteous, and all nations shall offer adoration and shall praise Me, and all shall worship Me. ³ And the earth shall be cleansed from all defilement, and from all sin, and from all punishment, and from all torment, and I will never again send (them) upon it from generation to generation and for ever. ⁴ In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: ‹and› to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined for ever. ⁵ And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed will from thenceforth be bound together with them to the end of all generations. ⁶ And destroy all the spirits of the reprobate, and the children of the Watchers, because they have wronged mankind. ⁷ Destroy all wrong from the face of the earth, and let every evil work come to an end: and let the plant of righteousness and truth appear: and it shall prove a blessing: the works of righteousness and truth shall be planted in truth and joy for evermore. ⁸ And then shall all the righteous escape, And shall live till they beget thousands of children, And all the days of their youth and their =old age= shall they complete in peace. ⁹ And then shall the whole earth be tilled in righteousness, and shall all be planted with trees and be full of blessing. ¹⁰ And all desirable trees shall be planted on it, and they shall plant vines on it: and the vine which they plant thereon shall yield wine in abundance, and as for all the seed which is sown thereon each measure (of it) shall bear a thousand, and each measure of olives shall yield ten presses of oil.

¹ And this has been made for sinners when they die and are buried in the earth and judgement has not been executed upon them in their lifetime. ² Here their spirits shall be set apart in this great pain, till the great day of judgement, scourgings, and torments of the accursed for ever, =so that= (there may be) retribution for their spirits. There He shall bind them for ever. ³ And this 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 of the sinners. ⁴ And this has been made for the spirits of men who shall not be righteous but sinners, who are godless, and of the lawless they shall be companions: but their spirits shall not be punished in the day of judgement nor shall they be raised from thence.’ ⁵ Then I blessed the Lord of Glory and said: ‘Blessed art Thou, Lord of righteousness, who rulest over the world.’ ⁶ I saw ‹the spirit of› =a dead man= making suit, and his voice went forth to heaven and made suit. ⁷ And I asked Raphael the angel who was with me, and I said unto him: ‘This spirit which maketh suit, whose is it, whose voice goeth forth and maketh suit to heaven?’ ⁸ 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.’ E ⁹ Then I asked regarding all the =hollow places=: ‘Why is one separated from the other?’ E ¹⁰ And he answered me saying: ‘These three have been made that the spirits of the dead might be separated. And this division has been made for the spirits of the righteous, in which there is the bright spring of water.

¹ Thus I speak and declare unto you: He who hath created you will overthrow you, And for your fall there shall be no compassion, And your Creator will rejoice at your destruction. ² And your righteous ones in those days shall be A reproach to the sinners and the godless. ³ And to certain men of a generation shall the paths of violence and of death be revealed, And they shall hold themselves afar from them, And shall not follow them. ⁴ And now I say unto you the righteous: Walk not in the paths of wickedness, nor on the paths of death, And draw not nigh to them, lest ye be destroyed. ⁵ But seek and choose for yourselves righteousness and an elect life, And walk in the paths of peace, And ye shall live and prosper. ⁶ And hold fast my words in the thoughts of your hearts, And suffer them not to be effaced from your hearts; For know that sinners will tempt men to evilly-entreat wisdom, So that no place may be found for her, And no manner of temptation may minish. XCIV. 6- ⁷ Woe to those who build unrighteousness and oppression, And lay deceit as a foundation; For they shall be suddenly overthrown, And they shall have no peace. ⁸ Woe to those who build their houses with sin; For from all their foundations shall they be overthrown, And by the sword shall they fall. ⁹ Woe to you, ye rich, for ye have trusted in your riches, And from your riches shall ye depart, Because ye have not remembered the Most High in the days of your riches. ¹⁰ Ye have committed blasphemy and unrighteousness, And have become ready for the day of slaughter, And the day of darkness and the day of the great judgement. ¹¹ Woe to you, ye obstinate of heart, who work wickedness and eat blood: Whence have ye good things to eat and to drink and to be filled? From all the good things which the Lord the Most High has placed in abundance on the earth; therefore ye shall have no peace.

²⁰ And I saw till the Lord of the sheep brought a new house greater and loftier than that first, and set it up in the place of the first which had been folded up: all its pillars were new, and its ornaments were new and larger than those of the first, the old one which He had taken away, and all the sheep were within it. ²¹ And I saw all the sheep which had been left, and all the beasts on the earth, and all the birds of the heaven, falling down and doing homage to those sheep and making petition to and obeying them in every thing. ²² And thereafter those three who were clothed in white and had seized me by my hand, who had taken me up before, and the hand of that ram also seizing hold of me, they took me up and set me down in the midst of those sheep before the judgment took place. ²³ And those sheep were all white, and their wool was abundant and their fleece heavy and clean. ²⁴ And all that had been destroyed and dispersed, and all the beasts of the field, and all the birds of the heaven, assembled in that house, and the Lord of the sheep rejoiced with great joy because they were all good and had returned to His house. ²⁵ And I saw till they laid down that sword, which had been given to the sheep, and they brought it back into the house, and it was sealed before the presence of the Lord, and all the sheep were invited into that house, but it held them not. ²⁶ And the eyes of them all were opened, and they saw the good, and there was not one among them that did not see. ²⁷ And I saw that that house was large and broad and very full.

¹ 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— ² 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. ³ And I asked the angel who went with me, saying, ‘What things are these which I have seen in secret?’ ⁴ 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.’ ⁵ 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 Spirits. ⁶ 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 , And they shall become powerless before his feet. ⁷ 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. ⁸ 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 not be esteemed, And lead shall not be desired. ⁹ And all these things shall be destroyed from the surface of the earth, When the Elect One shall appear before the face of the Lord of Spirits.’

¹ Then said I: ‘For what object is this blessed land, which is entirely filled with trees, and this accursed valley between?’ ² Then Uriel, one of the holy angels who was with me, answered and said: ‘This valley is for those who are accursed for ever: here shall all the accursed be gathered together who utter with their lips against the Lord unseemly words and of His glory speak hard things. E Here shall they be gathered together, and here shall be their place of judgement. ³ In the last times, in the days of the true judgement in the presence of the righteous for ever: here shall the godly bless the Lord of Glory, the Eternal King. ⁴ In the days of judgement over the former, they shall bless Him for the mercy in accordance with which He has assigned them (their lot).’ ⁵ Then I blessed the Lord of Glory and set forth His glory and lauded Him gloriously. XXVIII-XXXIII. _Further Journey to the East._

⁷ 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 Spirits may take vengeance on them for their unrighteousness in becoming subject to Satan and leading astray those who dwell on the earth.’ LIV. 7-LV. ⁸ ‘And in those days shall punishment come from the Lord of Spirits, and He will open all the chambers of waters which are above the heavens, and of the fountains which are beneath the earth. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ And they shall destroy all who dwell on the earth and those who dwell under the ends of the heaven.

¹ Have ye seen the righteous how their end falls out, that no manner of violence is found in them till their death? ² “Nevertheless they perished and became as though they had not been, and their spirits descended into Sheol in tribulation.” ³ And all the luminaries shall be affrighted with great fear, And all the earth shall be affrighted and tremble and be alarmed. ⁴ And all the angels shall execute their commands And shall seek to hide themselves from the presence of the Great Glory, And the children of earth shall tremble and quake; And ye sinners shall be accursed for ever, And ye shall have no peace. ⁵ Fear ye not, ye souls of the righteous, And be hopeful ye that have died in righteousness. ⁶ And grieve not if your soul into Sheol has descended in grief, And that in your life your body fared not according to your goodness, But =wait for= the day of the judgement of sinners, And for the day of cursing and chastisement. ⁷ And yet when ye die the sinners speak over you: “As we die, so die the righteous, And what benefit do they reap for their deeds? ⁸ Behold, even as we, so do they die in grief and darkness, And what have they more than we? From henceforth we are equal. ⁹ And what will they receive and what will they see for ever? Behold, they too have died, And henceforth for ever shall they see no light.” ¹⁰ I tell you, ye sinners, ye are content to eat and drink, and rob and sin, and strip men naked, and acquire wealth and see good days. ¹¹ And now, I swear unto you, the righteous, by the glory of the Great One and by His kingdom and by His majesty, I swear to you that I know this mystery; and I have read the heavenly tablets, and have seen the holy books, and have found written therein and inscribed regarding them:

¹ Observe the heaven, ye children of heaven, and every work of the Most High, and fear ye Him and work no evil in His presence. ² If He closes the windows of heaven, and withholds the rain and the dew from descending on the earth on your account, what will ye do then? ³ And if He sends His anger upon you because of your deeds, ye cannot petition Him; for ye spake proud and insolent words against His righteousness: therefore ye shall have no peace. ⁴ And see ye not the sailors of the ships, how their ships are tossed to and fro by the waves, and are shaken by the winds, and are in sore trouble? ⁵ And therefore do they fear because all their goodly possessions go upon the sea with them, and they have evil forebodings of heart that the sea will swallow them and they will perish therein. ⁶ Are not the entire sea and all its waters, and all its movements, the work of the Most High, and has He not set limits to its doings, and confined it throughout by the sand? ⁷ And at His reproof it is afraid and dries up, and all its fish die and all that is in it; but ye sinners that are on the earth fear Him not. ⁸ Has He not made the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein? Who has given understanding and wisdom to everything that moves on the earth and in the sea? ⁹ And now, will not the angels investigate their deeds and make them known? And they will be destroyed, and they will have no peace.

¹ Be hopeful, ye righteous; for suddenly shall the sinners perish before you, And ye shall have lordship over them according to your desires. [ ² And in the day of the tribulation of the sinners, Your children shall mount and rise as eagles, And higher than the vultures will be your nest, And ye shall ascend and enter the crevices of the earth, And the clefts of the rock for ever as coneys before the unrighteous, And the sirens shall sigh because of you and weep.] ³ Wherefore fear not, ye that have suffered; For healing shall be your portion, And a bright light shall enlighten you, And the voice of rest ye shall hear from heaven. ⁴ Woe unto you, ye sinners, for your riches make you appear like the righteous, But your hearts convict you of being sinners, And this fact shall be a testimony against you for a memorial of (your) evil deeds. ⁵ Woe to you who devour the finest of the wheat, And drink =wine in large bowls=, And tread under foot the lowly with your might. ⁶ Woe to you who drink water =from every fountain=, For suddenly shall ye be consumed and wither away, Because ye have forsaken the fountain of life. ⁷ Woe to you who work unrighteousness, And deceit and blasphemy: It shall be a memorial against you for evil. ⁸ Woe to you, ye mighty, Who with might oppress the righteous; For the day of your destruction is coming. In those days many and good days shall come to the righteous—in the day of your judgement.

¹ And now, know ye that ye are prepared for the day of destruction: wherefore do not hope to live, ye sinners, but ye shall depart and die; for ye know no ransom; for ye are prepared for the day of the great judgement, for the day of tribulation and great shame for your spirits. ² Woe to you, ye obstinate of heart, who work wickedness and eat blood: Whence have ye good things to eat and to drink and to be filled? From all the good things which the Lord the Most High has placed in abundance on the earth; therefore ye shall have no peace. ³ Woe to you who love the deeds of unrighteousness: wherefore do ye hope for good hap unto yourselves? know that ye shall be delivered into the hands of the righteous, and they shall cut off your necks and slay you, and have no mercy upon you. ⁴ Woe to you who rejoice in the tribulation of the righteous; for no grave shall be dug for you. ⁵ Woe to you who set at nought the words of the righteous; for ye shall have no hope of life. ⁶ Woe to you who write down lying and godless words; for they write down their lies that men may hear them and act godlessly towards (their) neighbour. ⁷ Therefore they shall have no peace, but die a sudden death. ⁸ And do not think in your spirit, nor say in your heart, that ye do not know and that ye do not see that every sin is every day recorded in heaven in the presence of the Most High. ⁹ From henceforth ye know that all your oppression wherewith ye oppress is written down every day till the day of your judgement. ¹⁰ Woe to you, ye fools, for through your folly shall ye perish: and ye transgress against the wise, and so good hap shall not be your portion. ¹¹ Woe to you, ye obstinate of heart, who work wickedness and eat blood: Whence have ye good things to eat and to drink and to be filled? From all the good things which the Lord the Most High has placed in abundance on the earth; therefore ye shall have no peace. ¹² Woe to you who love the deeds of unrighteousness: wherefore do ye hope for good hap unto yourselves? Know that ye shall be delivered into the hands of the righteous, and they shall cut off your necks and slay you, and have no mercy upon you. ¹³ Woe to you who rejoice in the tribulation of the righteous; for no grave shall be dug for you. ¹⁴ Woe to you who set at nought the words of the righteous; for ye shall have no hope of life. ¹⁵ Woe to you who write down lying and godless words; for they write down their lies that men may hear them and act godlessly towards their neighbour. Therefore they shall have no peace but die a sudden death. ¹⁶ Woe to you who work godlessness, and glory in lying and extol them: ye shall perish, and no happy life shall be yours.

¹ But in those days blessed are all they who accept the words of wisdom, and understand them, And observe the paths of the Most High, and walk in the path of His righteousness, And become not godless with the godless; For they shall be saved. ² Woe to you who spread evil to your neighbours; For you shall be slain in Sheol. ³ Woe to you who make deceitful and false measures, And (to them) who cause bitterness on the earth; For they shall thereby be utterly consumed. ⁴ Woe to you who build your houses through the grievous toil of others, And all their building materials are the bricks and stones of sin; I tell you ye shall have no peace. ⁵ Woe to them who reject the measure and eternal heritage of their fathers, And whose souls follow after idols; For they shall have no rest. ⁶ Woe to them who work unrighteousness and help oppression, And slay their neighbours until the day of the great judgement. ⁷ For He shall cast down your glory, And bring affliction on your hearts, And shall arouse =His fierce indignation=, And destroy you all with the sword; And all the holy and righteous shall remember your sins. ⁸ And they who worship stones, and grave images of gold and silver and wood ‹and stone› and clay, and those who worship impure spirits and demons, and all kinds of idols not according to knowledge, shall get no manner of help from them. ⁹ And they shall become godless by reason of the folly of their hearts, And their eyes shall be blinded through the fear of their hearts, And through visions in their dreams. ¹⁰ Through these they shall become godless and fearful; For they shall have wrought all their work in a lie, And shall have worshipped a stone: Therefore in an instant shall they perish. ¹¹ Woe to you who spread evil to your neighbours; for you shall be slain in Sheol. ¹² Woe to you who make deceitful and false measures, and to them who cause bitterness on the earth; for they shall thereby be utterly consumed. ¹³ Woe to you who build your houses through the grievous toil of others, and all their building materials are the bricks and stones of sin; I tell you, ye shall have no peace. ¹⁴ Woe to them who reject the measure and eternal heritage of their fathers and whose souls follow after idols; for they shall have no rest. ¹⁵ Woe to them who work unrighteousness and help oppression, and slay their neighbours until the day of the great judgment. ¹⁶ For He shall cast down your glory, and bring affliction on your hearts, and shall arouse His fierce indignation, and destroy you all with the sword; and all the holy and righteous shall remember your sins.