| Chapter 83
1 And
now, my son Methuselah, I will show thee all my visions which I have seen,
recounting 2 them before thee. Two visions I saw before I took a wife,
and the one was quite unlike the other: the first when I was learning to
write: the second before I took thy mother, (when) I saw a terrible 3
vision. And regarding them I prayed to the Lord. I had laid me down in the
house of my grandfather Mahalalel, (when) I saw in a vision how the heaven
collapsed and was borne off and fell to 4 the earth. And when it fell
to the earth I saw how the earth was swallowed up in a great abyss, and
mountains were suspended on mountains, and hills sank down on hills, and
high trees were rent 5 from their stems, and hurled down and sunk in
the abyss. And thereupon a word fell into my mouth, 6 and I lifted up
(my voice) to cry aloud, and said: The earth is destroyed. And my
grandfather Mahalalel waked me as I lay near him, and said unto me: Why
dost thou cry so, my son, and why 7 dost thou make such lamentation?
And I recounted to him the whole vision which I had seen, and he said unto
me: A terrible thing hast thou seen, my son, and of grave moment is thy
dream- vision as to the secrets if all the sin of the earth: it must sink
into the abyss and be destroyed with 8 a great destruction. And now, my
son, arise and make petition to the Lord of glory, since thou art a
believer, that a remnant may remain on the earth, and that He may not
destroy the whole 9 earth. My son, from heaven all this will come upon
the earth, and upon the earth there will be great 10 destruction. After
that I arose and prayed and implored and besought, and wrote down my
prayer for the generations of the world, and I will show everything to
thee, my son Methuselah. And when I had gone forth below and seen the
heaven, and the sun rising in the east, and the moon setting in the west,
and a few stars, and the whole earth, and everything as He had known it in
the beginning, then I blessed the Lord of judgement and extolled Him
because He had made the sun to go forth from the windows of the east, and
he ascended and rose on the face of the heaven, and set out and kept
traversing the path shown unto him.
Chapter 84 1 And I
lifted up my hands in righteousness and blessed the Holy and Great One,
and spake with the breath of my mouth, and with the tongue of flesh, which
God has made for the children of the flesh of men, that they should speak
therewith, and He gave them breath and a tongue and a mouth that they
should speak therewith:
2 Blessed be Thou, O Lord, King, Great
and mighty in Thy greatness, Lord of the whole creation of the
heaven, King of kings and God of the whole world.
And Thy power
and kingship and greatness abide for ever and ever, And throughout all
generations Thy dominion; And all the heavens are Thy throne for
ever, And the whole earth Thy footstool for ever and ever.
3 For
Thou hast made and Thou rulest all things, And nothing is too hard for
Thee, Wisdom departs not from the place of Thy throne, Nor turns
away from Thy presence. And Thou knowest and seest and hearest
everything, And there is nothing hidden from Theefor Thou seest
everything. 4 And now the angels of Thy heavens are guilty of
trespass, And upon the flesh of men abideth Thy wrath until the great
day of judgement. 5 And now, O God and Lord and Great King, I
implore and beseech Thee to fulfil my prayer, To leave me a posterity
on earth, And not destroy all the flesh of man, And make the earth
without inhabitant, So that there should be an eternal
destruction. 6 And now, my Lord, destroy from the earth the flesh which
has aroused Thy wrath, But the flesh of righteousness and uprightness
establish as a plant of the eternal seed, And hide not Thy face from
the prayer of Thy servant, O Lord.
Chapter 85 1,2 And after
this I saw another dream, and I will show the whole dream to thee, my son.
And Enoch lifted up (his voice) and spake to his son Methuselah: To thee,
my son, will I speak: hear my words-incline thine ear to the dream-vision
of thy father. 3 Before I took thy mother Edna, I saw in a vision on my
bed, and behold a bull came forth from the earth, and that bull was white;
and after it came forth a heifer, and along with this (latter) came forth
two bulls, one of them black and 4 the other red. And that black bull
gored the red one and pursued him over the earth, and thereupon 5 I could
no longer see that red bull. But that black bull grew and that heifer went
with him, and 6 I saw that many oxen proceeded from him which resembled
and followed him. And that cow, that first one, went from the presence of
that first bull in order to seek that red one, but found him 7 not, and
lamented with a great lamentation over him and sought him. And I looked
till that first 8 bull came to her and quieted her, and from that time
onward she cried no more. And after that she bore another white bull, and
after him she bore many bulls and black cows. 9 And I saw in my sleep
that white bull likewise grow and become a great white bull, and from Him
proceeded many white bulls, and they resembled him. And they began to
beget many white bulls, which resembled them, one following the other,
(even) many.
Chapter 86 1 And again I saw with mine eyes as
I slept, and I saw the heaven above, and behold a star fell 2 from
heaven, and it arose and eat and pastured amongst those oxen. And after
that I saw the large and the black oxen, and behold they all changed their
stalls and pastures and their cattle, and began 3 to live with each
other. And again I saw in the vision, and looked towards the heaven, and
behold I saw many stars descend and cast themselves down from heaven to
that first star, and they became 4 bulls amongst those cattle and
pastured with themamongst them. And I looked at them and saw, and behold
they all let out their privy members, like horses, and began to cover the
cows of the oxen, 5 and they all became pregnant and bare elephants,
camels, and asses. 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 6 horns. 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.
Chapter 87 1 And again I saw how
they began to gore each other and to devour each other, and the earth 2
began to cry aloud. And I raised mine eyes again to heaven, and I saw in
the vision, and behold there came forth from heaven beings who were like
white men: and four went forth from that place 3 and three with them.
And those three that had last come forth grasped me by my hand and took me
up, away from the generations of the earth, and raised me up to a lofty
place, and showed me 4 a tower raised high above the earth, and all the
hills were lower. 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.
Chapter 88 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 2 narrow and deep, and horrible and dark. 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 3 because of them. And as I was beholding in the vision, lo, one
of those 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.
Chapter 89 1 And one of those four went to that white
bull and instructed him in a secret, without his being terrified: he was
born a bull and became a man, and built for himself a great vessel and
dwelt thereon; 2 and three bulls dwelt with him in that vessel and they
were covered in. And again I raised mine eyes towards heaven and saw a
lofty roof, with seven water torrents thereon, and those torrents 3
flowed with much water into an enclosure. And I saw again, and behold
fountains were opened on the surface of that great enclosure, and that
water began to swell and rise upon the surface, 4 and I saw that
enclosure till all its surface was covered with water. And the water, the
darkness, and mist increased upon it; and as I looked at the height of
that water, that water had risen above the height of that enclosure, and
was streaming over that enclosure, and it stood upon the earth. 5 And
all the cattle of that enclosure were gathered together until I saw how
they sank and were 6 swallowed up and perished in that water. But that
vessel floated on the water, while all the oxen and elephants and camels
and asses sank to the bottom with all the animals, so that I could no
longer see them, 7 and they were not able to escape, (but) perished and
sank into the depths. And again I saw in the vision till those water
torrents were removed from that high roof, and the chasms 8 of the
earth were leveled up and other abysses were opened. Then the water began
to run down into these, till the earth became visible; but that vessel
settled on the earth, and the darkness 9 retired and light appeared.
But that white bull which had become a man came out of that vessel, and
the three bulls with him, and one of those three was white like that bull,
and one of them was red as blood, and one black: and that white bull
departed from them. 10 And they began to bring forth beasts of the
field and birds, so that there arose different genera: lions, tigers,
wolves, dogs, hyenas, wild boars, foxes, squirrels, swine, falcons,
vultures, kites, eagles, and ravens; 11 and among them was born a white
bull. And they began to bite one another; but that white bull which was
born amongst them begat a wild ass and a white bull with it, and the 12
wild asses multiplied. But that bull which was born from him begat a black
wild boar and a white 13 sheep; and the former begat many boars, but
that sheep begat twelve sheep. And when those twelve sheep had grown, they
gave up one of them to the asses, and those asses again gave up that sheep
to the wolves, 14 and that sheep grew up among the wolves. And the Lord
brought the eleven sheep to live with it and to pasture with it among the
wolves: and they multiplied and became many flocks of sheep. 15And the
wolves began to fear them, and they oppressed them until they
destroyed 16 cry aloud on account of their little ones, and to complain
unto their Lord. And a sheep which had been saved from the wolves fled and
escaped to the wild asses; and I saw the sheep how they lamented and
cried, and besought their Lord with all their might, till that Lord of the
sheep descended at the voice of the sheep from a lofty abode, and came to
them and pastured them. 17 And He called that sheep which had escaped
the wolves, and spake with it concerning the wolves that it should 18
admonish them not to touch the sheep. And the sheep went to the wolves
according to the word of the Lord, and another sheep met it and went with
it, and the two went and entered together into the assembly of those
wolves, and spake with them and admonished them not to touch the 19
sheep from henceforth. And thereupon I saw the wolves, and how they
oppressed the sheep 20 exceedingly with all their power; and the sheep
cried aloud. And the Lord came to the sheep and they began to smite those
wolves: and the wolves began to make lamentation; but the sheep
became 21 quiet and forthwith ceased to cry out. And I saw the sheep
till they departed from amongst the wolves; but the eyes of the wolves
were blinded, and those wolves departed in pursuit of the sheep 22 with
all their power. And the Lord of the sheep went with them, as their
leader, and all His sheep 23 followed Him: and his face was dazzling
and glorious and terrible to behold. But the wolves 24 began to pursue
those sheep till they reached a sea of water. And that sea was divided,
and the water stood on this side and on that before their face, and their
Lord led them and placed Himself between 25 them and the wolves. And as
those wolves did not yet see the sheep, they proceeded into the midst of
that sea, and the wolves followed the sheep, and those wolves ran after
them into that sea. 26 And when they saw the Lord of the sheep, they
turned to flee before His face, but that sea gathered itself together, and
became as it had been created, and the water swelled and rose till it
covered 27 those wolves. And I saw till all the wolves who pursued
those sheep perished and were drowned. 28 But the sheep escaped from
that water and went forth into a wilderness, where there was no water and
no grass; and they began to open their eyes and to see; and I saw the Lord
of the sheep 29 pasturing them and giving them water and grass, and
that sheep going and leading them. And that 30 sheep ascended to the
summit of that lofty rock, and the Lord of the sheep sent it to them. And
after that I saw the Lord of the sheep who stood before them, and His
appearance was great and 31 terrible and majestic, and all those sheep
saw Him and were afraid before His face. And they all feared and trembled
because of Him, and they cried to that sheep with them which was
amongst 32 them: We are not able to stand before our Lord or to behold
Him. And that sheep which led them again ascended to the summit of that
rock, but the sheep began to be blinded and to wander 33 from the way
which he had showed them, but that sheep wot not thereof. And the Lord of
the sheep was wrathful exceedingly against them, and that sheep discovered
it, and went down from the summit of the rock, and came to the sheep, and
found the greatest part of them blinded and fallen 34 away. And when
they saw it they feared and trembled at its presence, and desired to
return to their 35 folds. And that sheep took other sheep with it, and
came to those sheep which had fallen away, and began to slay them; and the
sheep feared its presence, and thus that sheep brought back those 36
sheep that had fallen away, and they returned to their folds. And I saw in
this vision till that sheep became a man and built a house for the Lord of
the sheep, and placed all the sheep in that house. 37 And I saw till
this sheep which had met that sheep which led them fell asleep: and I saw
till all the great sheep perished and little ones arose in their place,
and they came to a pasture, and 38 approached a stream of water. Then
that sheep, their leader which had become a man, withdrew 39 from them
and fell asleep, and all the sheep sought it and cried over it with a
great crying. And I saw till they left off crying for that sheep and
crossed that stream of water, and there arose the two sheep as leaders in
the place of those which had led them and fallen asleep (lit. had fallen
asleep and led 40 them ). And I saw till the sheep came to a goodly
place, and a pleasant and glorious land, and I saw till those sheep were
satisfied; and that house stood amongst them in the pleasant land. 41
And sometimes their eyes were opened, and sometimes blinded, till another
sheep arose and led them and brought them all back, and their eyes were
opened. 42 And the dogs and the foxes and the wild boars began to devour
those sheep till the Lord of the sheep raised up another sheep a ram from
their 43 midst, which led them. And that ram began to butt on either
side those dogs, foxes, and wild 44 boars till he had destroyed them
all. And that sheep whose eyes were opened saw that ram, which was amongst
the sheep, till it forsook its glory and began to butt those sheep, and
trampled upon them, and behaved itself 45 unseemly. And the Lord of
the sheep sent the lamb to another lamb and raised it to being a ram and
leader of the sheep instead of that 46 ram which had forsaken its
glory. And it went to it and spake to it alone, and raised it to being a
ram, and made it the prince and leader of the sheep; but during all these
things those dogs 47 oppressed the sheep. And the first ram pursued
that second ram, and that second ram arose and fled before it; and I saw
till those dogs pulled 48 down the first ram. And that second ram
arose 48b and led the little sheep. And those sheep grew and
multiplied; but all the dogs, and foxes, and wild boars feared and fled
before it, and that ram butted and killed the wild beasts, and those wild
beasts had no longer any power among the 49sheep and robbed them no more
of ought. And that ram begat many sheep and fell asleep; and a little
sheep became ram in its stead, and became prince and leader of those sheep
50 And that house became great and broad, and it was built for those
sheep: (and) a tower lofty and great was built on the house for the Lord
of the sheep, and that house was low, but the tower was elevated and
lofty, and the Lord of the sheep stood on that tower and they offered a
full table before Him. 51 And again I saw those sheep that they again
erred and went many ways, and forsook that their house, and the Lord of
the sheep called some from amongst the sheep and sent them to the
sheep, 52 but the sheep began to slay them. And one of them was saved
and was not slain, and it sped away and cried aloud over the sheep; and
they sought to slay it, but the Lord of the sheep saved it from 53 the
sheep, and brought it up to me, and caused it to dwell there. And many
other sheep He sent to those sheep to testify unto them and lament over
them. 54 And after that I saw that when they forsook the house of the
Lord and His tower they fell away entirely, and their eyes were blinded;
and I saw the Lord of the sheep how He wrought much slaughter amongst them
in their herds until 55 those sheep invited that slaughter and betrayed
His place. And He gave them over into the hands of the lions and tigers,
and wolves and hyenas, and into the hand of the foxes, and to all the
wild 56 beasts, and those wild beasts began to tear in pieces those
sheep. And I saw that He forsook that their house and their tower and gave
them all into the hand of the lions, to tear and devour them, 57 into
the hand of all the wild beasts. And I began to cry aloud with all my
power, and to appeal to the Lord of the sheep, and to represent to Him in
regard to the sheep that they were devoured 58 by all the wild beasts.
But He remained unmoved, though He saw it, and rejoiced that they were
devoured and swallowed and robbed, and left them to be devoured in the
hand of all the beasts. 59 And He called seventy shepherds, and cast those
sheep to them that they might pasture them, and He spake to the shepherds
and their companions: Let each individual of you pasture the sheep 60
henceforward, and everything that I shall command you that do ye. And I
will deliver them over unto you duly numbered, and tell you which of them
are to be destroyed-and them destroy ye. And 61 He gave over unto them
those sheep. And He called another and spake unto him: Observe and mark
everything that the shepherds will do to those sheep; for they will
destroy more of them than 62 I have commanded them. And every excess
and the destruction which will be wrought through the shepherds, record
(namely) how many they destroy according to my command, and how many
according to their own caprice: record against every individual shepherd
all the destruction he 63 effects. And read out before me by number how
many they destroy, and how many they deliver over for destruction, that I
may have this as a testimony against them, and know every deed of the
shepherds, that I may comprehend and see what they do, whether or not they
abide by my 64 command which I have commanded them. But they shall not
know it, and thou shalt not declare it to them, nor admonish them, but
only record against each individual all the destruction which 65 the
shepherds effect each in his time and lay it all before me. And I saw till
those shepherds pastured in their season, and they began to slay and to
destroy more than they were bidden, and they delivered 66 those sheep
into the hand of the lions. And the lions and tigers eat and devoured the
greater part of those sheep, and the wild boars eat along with them; and
they burnt that tower and demolished 67 that house. And I became
exceedingly sorrowful over that tower because that house of the sheep was
demolished, and afterwards I was unable to see if those sheep entered that
house. 68 And the shepherds and their associates delivered over those
sheep to all the wild beasts, to devour them, and each one of them
received in his time a definite number: it was written by the other 69
in a book how many each one of them destroyed of them. And each one slew
and destroyed many 70 more than was prescribed; and I began to weep
and lament on account of those sheep. And thus in the vision I saw that
one who wrote, how he wrote down every one that was destroyed by those
shepherds, day by day, and carried up and laid down and showed actually
the whole book to the Lord of the sheep-(even) everything that they had
done, and all that each one of them had made 71 away with, and all that
they had given over to destruction. And the book was read before the Lord
of the sheep, and He took the book from his hand and read it and sealed it
and laid it down. 72 And forthwith I saw how the shepherds pastured for
twelve hours, and behold three of those sheep turned back and came and
entered and began to build up all that had fallen down of that 73
house; but the wild boars tried to hinder them, but they were not able.
And they began again to build as before, and they reared up that tower,
and it was named the high tower; and they began again to place a table
before the tower, but all the bread on it was polluted and not pure. 74
And as touching all this the eyes of those sheep were blinded so that they
saw not, and (the eyes of) their shepherds likewise; and they delivered
them in large numbers to their shepherds for 75 destruction, and they
trampled the sheep with their feet and devoured them. And the Lord of the
sheep remained unmoved till all the sheep were dispersed over the field
and mingled with them (the beasts), 76 and they (the shepherds) did not
save them out of the hand of the beasts. And this one who wrote the book
carried it up, and showed it and read it before the Lord of the sheep, and
implored Him on their account, and besought Him on their account as he
showed Him all the doings 77 of the shepherds, and gave testimony
before Him against all the shepherds. And he took the actual book and laid
it down beside Him and departed.
Chapter 90 1 And I saw till
that in this manner thirty-five shepherds undertook the pasturing (of the
sheep), and they severally completed their periods as did the first; and
others receive them into their 2 hands, to pasture them for their period,
each shepherd in his own period. And after that I saw in my vision all the
birds of heaven coming, the eagles, the vultures, the kites, the ravens;
but the eagles led all the birds; and they began to devour those sheep,
and to pick out their eyes and to 3 devour their flesh. And the sheep
cried out because their flesh was being devoured by the birds, 4 and as
for me I looked and lamented in my sleep over that shepherd who pastured
the sheep. And I saw until those sheep were devoured by the dogs and
eagles and kites, and they left neither flesh nor skin nor sinew remaining
on them till only their bones stood there: and their bones too fell 5
to the earth and the sheep became few. And I saw until that twenty-three
had undertaken the pasturing and completed in their several periods
fifty-eight times. 6 But behold lambs were borne by those white sheep, and
they began to open their eyes and to see, 7 and to cry to the sheep.
Yea, they cried to them, but they did not hearken to what they said
to 8 them, but were exceedingly deaf, and their eyes were very
exceedingly blinded. And I saw in the vision how the ravens flew upon
those lambs and took one of those lambs, and dashed the sheep 9 in
pieces and devoured them. And I saw till horns grew upon those lambs, and
the ravens cast down their horns; and I saw till there sprouted a great
horn of one of those sheep, and their eyes 10 were opened. And it
looked at themand their eyes opened, and it cried to the sheep, and
the 11 rams saw it and all ran to it. 12And notwithstanding all
this those eagles and vultures and ravens and kites 13 still kept
tearing the sheep and swooping down upon them 14and devouring them:
still the sheep remained silent, but the rams lamented and cried
out. 15 And those ravens fought and battled with it and sought to lay
low its horn, but they had no power over it. 16 All the eagles and
vultures and ravens and kites were gathered together, 17 and there
came with them all the sheep of the field, 18 yea, they all came
together, and helped each other to break that horn of the ram. 19 And I
saw till a great sword was given to the sheep, and the sheep proceeded
against all the beasts of the field to slay them, and all the beasts and
the birds of the heaven fled before their face. And I saw that man, who
wrote the book according to the command of the Lord, till he opened that
book concerning the destruction which those twelve last shepherds had
wrought, and showed that they had destroyed much more than their
predecessors, before the Lord of the sheep. And I saw till the Lord of the
sheep came unto them and took in His hand the staff of His wrath, and
smote the earth, and the earth clave asunder, and all the beasts and all
the birds of the heaven fell from among those sheep, and were swallowed up
in the earth and it covered them. 20 And I saw till a throne was
erected in the pleasant land, and the Lord of the sheep sat Himself
thereon, and the other took the sealed books and opened those books before
the Lord of the sheep. 21 And the Lord called those men the seven first
white ones, and commanded that they should bring before Him, beginning
with the first star which led the way, all the stars whose privy
members 22 were like those of horses, and they brought them all before
Him. And He said to that man who wrote before Him, being one of those
seven white ones, and said unto him: Take those seventy shepherds to whom
I delivered the sheep, and who taking them on their own authority slew
more 23 than I commanded them. And behold they were all bound, I saw,
and they all stood before Him. 24 And the judgement was held first over
the stars, and they were judged and found guilty, and went to the place of
condemnation, and they were cast into an abyss, full of fire and flaming,
and full 25 of pillars of fire. And those seventy shepherds were judged
and found guilty, and they were cast 26 into that fiery abyss. And I
saw at that time how a like abyss was opened in the midst of the earth,
full of fire, and they brought those blinded sheep, and they were all
judged and found guilty and 27 cast into this fiery abyss, and they
burned; now this abyss was to the right of that house. And I saw those
sheep burning and their bones burning. 28 And I stood up to see till
they folded up that old house; and carried off all the pillars, and all
the beams and ornaments of the house were at the same time folded up with
it, and they carried 29 it off and laid it in a place in the south of
the land. 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 beer 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. 30 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 31 them in every thing. 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 32 took
me up and set me down in the midst of those sheep before the judgement
took place. And those 33 sheep were all white, and their wool was
abundant and clean. 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 34 His house. 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 35 were invited into that house, but it held them
not. And the eyes of them all were opened, and they 36 saw the good,
and there was not one among them that did not see. And I saw that that
house was large and broad and very full. 37 And I saw that a white bull
was born, with large horns and all the beasts of the field and all
the 38 birds of the air feared him and made petition to him all the
time. of And I saw till all their generations were transformed, and they
all became white bulls; and the first among them became a lamb, and that
lamb became a great animal and had great black horns on its head; and the
Lord of the sheep 39 rejoiced over it and over all the oxen. And I
slept in their midst: and I awoke and saw everything. 40 This is the
vision which I saw while I slept, and I awoke and blessed the Lord of
righteousness and 41 gave Him glory. Then I wept with a great weeping
and my tears stayed not till I could no longer endure it: when I saw, they
flowed on account of what I had seen; for everything shall come and 42
be fulfilled, and all the deeds of men in their order were shown to me. On
that night I remembered the first dream, and because of it I wept and was
troubled-because I had seen that vision.
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