Chapter 3

Heavenly Tablets

  1. And in those days the angel Uriel answered and said to me: "Behold, I have shown thee everything Enoch and I have revealed everything to thee that thou shouldst see this sun and this moon, and the leaders of the stars of the heaven and all those who turn them, their tasks and times and departures.

  2. And in the days of the sinners the years shall be shortened and their seed shall be tardy on their lands and fields.

  3. And all things on the earth shall alter and shall not appear in their time: The rain shall be kept back and the heaven shall withhold it.

  4. And in those times the fruits of the earth shall be backward and shall not grow in their time, and the fruits of the trees shall be withheld in their time.

  5. And the moon shall alter her order and not appear at her time.

  6. And in those days the sun shall be seen and he shall journey in the evening on the extremity of the great chariot in the west and shall shine more brightly than accords with the order of light.

  7. And many chiefs of the stars shall transgress the order and these shall alter their orbits and tasks and not appear at the seasons prescribed to them.

  8. And the whole order of the stars shall be concealed from the sinners and the thoughts of those on the earth shall err concerning them. And they shall be altered from all their ways. Yea, they shall err and take them to be gods.

  9. And evil shall be multiplied upon them, and punishment shall come upon them so as to destroy all."

  10. And He said unto me: "Observe, Enoch, these heavenly tablets and read what is written thereon, and mark every individual fact."

  11. And I observed the heavenly tablets, and read everything which was written and understood everything, and read the book of all the deeds of mankind, and of all the children of flesh that shall be upon the earth to the remotest generations.

  12. And forthwith I blessed the great Lord the King of glory for ever, in that He has made all the works of the world.

  13. And I extolled the Lord because of His patience and blessed Him because of the children of men.

  14. And after that I said: "Blessed is the man who dies in righteousness and goodness concerning whom there is no book of unrighteousness written, and against whom no day of judgement shall be found."

  15. And those seven holy ones brought me and placed me on the earth before the door of my house, and said to me: "Declare everything to thy son Methuselah, and show to all thy children that no flesh is righteous in the sight of the Lord, for He is their Creator.

  16. One year we will leave thee with thy son, till thou givest thy commands, that thou mayest teach thy children and record for them, and testify to all thy children; and in the second year they shall take thee from their midst.

  17. Let thy heart be strong, for the good shall announce righteousness to the good; The righteous with the righteous shall rejoice and shall offer congratulation to one another.

  18. But the sinners shall die with the sinners and the apostate go down with the apostate.

  19. And those who practice righteousness shall die on account of the deeds of men and be taken away on account of the doings of the godless.

  20. And in those days they ceased to speak to me, and I came to my people, blessing the Lord of the world.