1 Enoch 56

And I saw there the hosts of the angels of punishment going, and they held scourges and chains of iron and bronze.

I now began to utter the third parable, concerning the saints and the elect.

And I saw there the hosts of the angels of punishment walking and holding chains of iron and of metal.

And I asked the angel of peace who went with me, saying: 'To whom are these who hold the scourges going?'

Blessed are ye, O saints and elect, for glorious is your lot.

And I asked the angel of peace, who went with me, saying : " To whom are these going, holding them [i.e. the chains] ?"

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.

The saints shall exist in the light of the sun, and the elect in the light of everlasting life, the days of whose life shall never terminate; nor shall the days of the saints be numbered, who seek for light, and obtain righteousness with the Lord of spirits.

And he said to me : " Each one to his chosen and his beloved, that they be thrown into the deep abyss of the valley.

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. LVI. 5-

Peace be to the saints with the Lord of the world.

And then that valley will be filled with their chosen and beloved, and the day of their lives will be ended, and the day of their error will, from that time on, not be counted."

And in those days the angels shall return And hurl themselves to the east upon the Parthians and Medes^a: 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.

Henceforward shall the saints be told to seek in heaven the secrets of righteousness, the portion of faith; for like the sun has it arisen upon the earth, while darkness has passed away. There shall be light interminable: [^l1] nor shall they enter upon the enumeration of time; for darkness shall be previously destroyed, and light shall increase before the Lord of spirits; before the Lord of spirits shall the light of uprightness increase for ever.

And in those days the angels will assemble, and turn their heads toward the east, towards the people of Parthia and Media, in order to excite the kings, and that a spirit of disturbance come over them, and disturb them from off their thrones, that they come forth from their resting places like lions, and like hungry wolves amidst their flocks. G. And they will ascend and step upon the land of their chosen, and the land of his chosen will be before them a threshing-floor and a path.

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:] 7 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. 8 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.'

(not present in Laurence 1821)

(not present in Schodde 1882)

(not present in Charles 1917)

(not present in Laurence 1821)

But the city of my just will be a hinderance to their horses, and they will take up a battle amongst themselves, and their right will become strong against themselves, and a man will not know his neighbor or his brother, nor the son his father or his mother, until there shall be sufficient bodies by their death and their punishment over them, — it will not be in vain.

Last struggle of heathen Powers against Israel.

(not present in Laurence 1821)

And in those days the mouth of Sheol will be opened, and they will sink into it; and their destruction, Sheol, will devour the sinners from the presence of the chosen. THE BOOK OF ENOCH. 133