The Son of Man in 1 Enoch in the Ancient Writings

¹ 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. ² 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? ³ 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 Spirits hath chosen him, And whose lot hath the pre-eminence before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness for ever. ⁴ And this Son of Man whom thou hast seen Shall raise up the kings and the mighty from their seats, And shall loosen the reins of the strong, And break the teeth of the sinners; ⁵ Because they do not extol and praise Him, Nor humbly acknowledge whence the kingdom was bestowed upon them. ⁶ 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 Spirits. ⁷ And these are they who judge the stars of heaven, , 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 Spirits, ⁸ And they persecute the houses of His congregations, And the faithful who hang upon the name of the Lord of Spirits.

¹ Nevertheless that Lord of Spirits will so press them That they shall hastily go forth from His presence, And their faces shall be filled with shame, And the darkness shall grow deeper on their faces. ² And =He will deliver= them to the angels for punishment, To execute vengeance on them because they have oppressed His children and His elect. ³ 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 Spirits resteth upon them, And His sword is drunk with their blood. ⁴ And the righteous and elect shall be saved on that day, And they shall never thenceforward see the face of the sinners and unrighteous. ⁵ And the Lord of Spirits will abide over them, And with that Son of Man shall they eat And lie down and rise up for ever and ever. ⁶ And the righteous and elect shall have risen from the earth, And ceased to be of downcast countenance. ⁷ And they shall have been clothed with garments of glory, And they shall be the garments of life from the Lord of Spirits: And your garments shall not grow old, Nor your glory pass away before the Lord of Spirits. ⁸ 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. ⁹ And the congregation of the elect and holy shall be sown, And all the elect shall stand before him on that day. ¹⁰ 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.

¹ For wisdom is poured out like water, And glory faileth not before him for evermore. ² For he is mighty in all the secrets of righteousness, And unrighteousness shall disappear as a shadow, And have no continuance; Because the Elect One standeth before the Lord of Spirits, And his glory is for ever and ever, And his might unto all generations. ³ 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. ⁴ 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 Spirits according to His good pleasure.

¹ 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 Spirits and His Anointed. The name of the Lord of Spirits be blessed. ² 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. ³ And at that hour that Son of Man was named In the presence of the Lord of Spirits, And his name before the Head of Days. ⁴ 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 Spirits. ⁵ 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. ⁶ All who dwell on earth shall fall down and worship before him, And will praise and bless and celebrate with song the Lord of Spirits. ⁷ And for this reason hath he been chosen and hidden before Him, Before the creation of the world and for evermore. ⁸ And the wisdom of the Lord of Spirits 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 Spirits: For in his name they are saved, And according to his good pleasure hath it been in regard to their life. ⁹ In those 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, ¹⁰ 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.

¹ 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 Spirits. ² In those days the holy ones who dwell above in the heavens Shall unite with one voice And supplicate and pray On behalf of the blood of the righteous which has been shed, And that the prayer of the righteous may not be in vain before the Lord of Spirits, That judgement may be done unto them, And that they may not have to suffer for ever. ³ 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 counsellors stood before Him, ⁴ 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 Spirits.

¹ And in those days a change shall take place for the holy and elect, And the light of days shall abide upon them, And glory and honour shall turn to the holy, ² 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 Spirits: And He will cause the others to witness (this), That they may repent And forgo the works of their hands. ³ They shall have no honour through the name of the Lord of Spirits, Yet through His name shall they be saved, And the Lord of Spirits will have compassion on them, For His compassion is great. ⁴ And He is righteous also in His judgement, And in the presence of His glory unrighteousness also shall not maintain itself: At His judgement the unrepentant shall perish before Him. ⁵ And from henceforth I will have no mercy on them, saith the Lord of Spirits.

¹ The first Parable. When the congregation of the righteous shall appear, And sinners shall be judged for their sins, And shall be driven from the face of the earth. ² And when the Righteous One shall appear before the eyes of the righteous, Whose elect works hang upon the Lord of Spirits, And light shall appear to the righteous and the elect who dwell on the earth, Where then will be the dwelling of the sinners, And where the resting-place of those who have denied the Lord of Spirits? It had been good for them if they had not been born. ³ When the secrets of the righteous shall be revealed and the sinners judged, And the godless driven from the presence of the righteous and elect.

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.