66 |Enoch
teaches his sons and all the elders of the people how they should walk with fear
and trembling in front of the LORD, and worship him alone and not bow down to
idols, but to the God who created heaven and earth and every kind of creature *
and to his image. Word "62."|
"Now therefore, my children, guard your souls from every
kind of
injustice, such as the LORD hates. *And walk in front of
his face with fear |and trembling|, and worship him alone. |To the true God bow
down, not to idols which have no voice, but bow down to his statue|. And every
kind of oblation present justly in front of the face of the LORD; but what is
unjust the LORD detests.
For the LORD sees everything that a person thinks in his
heart. Then reason advises him. 〈For〉
every thought is presented before the LORD |who made the earth firm and settled
all the creatures upon it|.
If you look upon the sky, behold, the LORD is there; for
the LORD created the sky. If you look upon the earth, then the LORD is there;
for the LORD founded the earth, and placed upon it all his creatures. If you
meditate upon the depths of the ocean and on all that is beneath the earth, then
the LORD is there. Because the LORD created all things.
Do not bow down to anything created by man, nor to anything
created by God, so committing apostasy against the LORD of all creation. For no
kind of deed is hidden from the face of the LORD.
Walk, my children,
in long-suffering,
in meekness |honesty|,
in affliction,
in distress,
in faithfulness,
in truth,
in hope,
in weakness,
in derision,
in assaults,
in temptation,
in deprivation,
in nakedness,
having love for one another, until you go out from this age
of suffering, so that you may become inheritors of the never-ending age.
How happy are the righteous who shall escape the LORD's
great judgment; for they will be made to shine seven times brighter than the
sun.
For in that age everything is estimated sevenfold * light
and darkness and food and enjoyment and misery and paradise and torture |fire,
frost, et cetera|. All this I have put down in writing, so that you might read
it and think about it."
67 |The LORD
sent out darkness onto the earth, and it covered the people and Enoch. And he
was taken up to the highest heaven. And it became light. Word "63."|
And when Enoch had spoken to his people,
〈|the LORD|〉
sent the gloom onto the earth, and it became dark and covered the men who were
standing |and talking| with Enoch. *And the angels hurried and grasped Enoch and
carried him up to the highest heaven, where the LORD received him and made him
stand in front of his face for eternity. Then the darkness departed from the
earth, and it became light.
And the people looked, but they could not figure out how
Enoch had been taken away. And they glorified God. |And they found a scroll on
which was inscribed: THE INVISIBLE GOD.| And then they |all| went to their
homes.
68
Enoch was born of the 6th day of the month
Tsivan, and he lived for 365 years. |And| he was taken up to heaven
〈|in the month|〉
Nitsan, on the 1st day. And he remained in heaven for 50 days,
*writing down all |those| notes about all the creatures which the LORD had
created. And he wrote 366 books and he handed them over to his sons. And he
remained on the earth for 30 days, talking with them. *And then he was taken up
to heaven again in the month of Tsivan |on the 6th day|, on the very
same 6th day on which he was even born, and at the very same hour.
And just as every person has as his nature the darkness of
this present life, so also he has his conception and birth and departure from
his life. In |the hour in| which he was conceived, in that hour also he is born,
|and| in that also de departs.
And
Methusalam and his brothers and all the sons of Enoch hurried, and they
constructed an altar at the place |called| Akhuzan, |whence and| where Enoch had
been taken up |to heaven|.
And they obtained sheep and oxen, and they summoned all the
people, and they sacrificed sacrifices in front of the face of the LORD.
And |all| the people |and the elders of the people and the
whole assembly| came to them to the festival, and brought offerings for the sons
of Enoch. And they made a |great| festival, rejoicing and making merriment for
three days, |praising God who had given them such a sign through Enoch, his own
favored servant, even so that they might hand it on to their own sons, form
generation to generation, from age to age. AMEN|.
69
And on the third day, in the time of the evening, the
elders of the people spoke to Methusalam, saying, "Stand in front of the face of
the LORD and in front of the face of all the people and in front of the face of
the altar of the LORD, and you will be glorified in your people."
And Methusalam answered his people: "Wait, O men, until
〈the LORD〉,
the God of my father Enoch, shall himself raise up for himself
a priest over his own people." *And the people waited until
that night
in vain at the place Akhuzan. *And Methusalam remained near
the altar and prayed to the LORD and said, "O LORD, the only One of the whole
world, who has taken away my father Enoch, you raise up a priest for
〈your〉
people, and give their heart understanding to fear your glory and to perform
everything in accordance with your will."
Methusalam fell asleep, and the LORD appeared to him in a
night vision and said to him, "Listen, Methusalam! I am the LORD, the God of
your father Enoch. Give heed to the voice of these people and stand in
front of my altar, and I shall glorify you in
front of the face of all the people, and you will be glorified
all the days of your life, and I shall bless you." *And
Methusalam got up from his sleep and blessed the LORD who had appeared to him.
And the elders of the people hurried to Methusalam,
and the LORD God directed Methusalam's heart to give heed
to the voice of the people. And he said to them, "The LORD God is the one who
has
given grace to these people in front of my eyes today."
*And Sarkhasan and Kharmis and Zazas, the elders of the people, hurried and
attired Methusalam in the designated garments and place a blazing crown on his
head.
And the people hurried, and they brought sheep and oxen and
some birds, all of them having passed inspection, for Methusalam to sacrifice in
the name of the LORD and in the name of the people.
And Methusalam came up to the LORD's altar, and his face
was radiant, like the sun at midday rising up, with all the
people in procession behind him. *And Methusalam stood in
front of the altar of the LORD, with all the people standing around the place of
sacrifice.
And when the elders of the people had taken sheep and oxen,
they tied their four legs together, and place them at the head of the altar.
And they said to Methusalam, "Pick the knife! And slaughter
them in the required manner in the face of the LORD." *And
Methusalam stretched out his hands to heaven and he called out to the LORD thus,
saying, "Accept 〈me〉,
O LORD! Who am I, to stand at the head of your
place of sacrifice and over the head of these people? *And
now, O LORD, look upon your servant
〈and〉 upon all these
people. Now all the inquiries, let them come to pass! And give a blessing to
your servant in front of the face of all the people, so that they may realize
that you are the one who has appointed
〈me〉
to be priest over your people."
And it happened, when Methusalam had prayed, that the altar
was shaken, and the knife rose up from the altar, and leaped into Methusalam's
hand in front of the face of all the people. And the people trembled and
glorified God.
And Methusalam was honored in front of the face of the LORD
and in front of the face of all the people from that day.
And Methuselam took the knife and slaughtered all that had
been brought by the people. And 〈the
people〉 rejoiced greatly, and
they made merry in front of the face of the LORD and in front of the face of
Methusalam on that day. *And then the people went off to their own shelters,
each one of them.
70
And Methusalam began to stand at the altar in front of the
face of the LORD, and all the people, from that day for 10 years, hoping in an
eternal inheritance, and having thoroughly taught all the earth and all his own
people.
And there was not one single person turning himself away in vanity from the LORD
during all the days that
Methusalam lived. *And the LORD blessed Methusalam and was
gratified by his sacrifices and by his gifts and by every kind of service which
he performed in front of the face of the LORD. *And when the time of the
departure days of Methusalam arrived, the LORD appeared to him in a night vision
and said to him, "Listen, Methusalam! I am the LORD, the God of your father
Enoch. I want you to know that the days of your life have come to an end, and
the day of your rest has come close.
Call Nir, the second son of your son Lamekh, born after
Noe, and invest him in the garments of your consecration. And make him stand at
my altar. And tell him everything that will happen in his days, for the time of
the destruction of all the earth, and of every human being and of everything
that lives on
the earth, is drawing near. *For in his days there will be
a very great breakdown on the earth, for each one has begun to envy his
neighbor, and people against people have destroyed boundaries, and the nation
wages war. And all the earth is filled with vileness
and blood and every kind of evil. *〈And〉
even more than that, they have abandoned their LORD, and they will do obeisance
to unreal gods, and to the vault above the sky, and to what moves above the
earth, and to the waves of the sea. And the adversary will make himself great
and will be delighted with his deeds, to my great provocation.
And all the earth will change its seasons
〈and every tree and every
fruit will change their seeds〉
anticipating the time of destruction. And all the races will change on the earth
by my conflagration.
Then I shall give the command. The Bottomless will be
poured out over the earth, and the great storages of the waters of heaven will
come down onto the earth 〈in
a great substance and in accordance with the first substance〉.
And the whole constitution of the earth will perish, and
all the earth will quake, and it will be deprived of its strength from that day.
*Then I will preserve the son of your son Lamekh, his first son, Noe. And from
his seed I will raise up another world, and his seed will exist forever, until
the second destruction when once again mankind will have committed sin in front
of my face."
And Methusalam leaped up from his sleep, and his dream was
very disturbing. And he summoned all the elders of the people, and recounted to
them all that the LORD had said to him and all the vision that had been revealed
to him by the LORD. *And all the people were disturbed by his vision. And they
answered him, "The LORD is lord, and he will act in accordance with his own
will. And now, Methusalam, you do everything just as the LORD has told
you."
And Methusalam summoned Nir, the son of Lamekh, Noe's
younger brother, and he invested him with the vestments of priesthood in front
of the face of all the people, and made him stand at the head of the altar of
the LORD. And he taught him everything that he would have to do among the
people.
〈And
Methusalam spoke to the people:〉
"Here is Nir. He will be in front of your face from the present day as a prince
and a leader."
And the people said to Methusalam, "Let it be so
〈for us〉
in accordance with your word. And you will be the voice of the LORD, just as he
said to you."
And when Methusalam had spoken to the people in front of
the altar, his spirit was convulsed, and, having knelt on his knees, he
stretched out his hands to heaven, and prayed to the LORD. And, as he was
praying to him, his spirit went
out in accordance with
〈the will of〉
the LORD. *And Nir and all the people hurried and constructed a sepulcher for
Methusalam in the place Akhuzan, very thoughtfully adorned with all holy things,
with lamps.
And Nir came with many praises, and the people lifted up
Methusalam's body, glorifying 〈God〉;
they performed the service for him at the sepulcher which they had made for him
and they covered him over.
And they said, "〈How〉
blessed was Methusalam in front of the face of the LORD and in front of the face
of all the people!" And when they wanted to go away to their own places, Nir
said to the people, "Hurry up today and bring sheep and bulls and turtledoves
and pigeons, so that you may make a sacrifice in front of the face of the LORD
today.
And then go away to your houses." *And the people gave heed
to Nir the priest, and they hurried and they brought
〈them〉
and tied 〈them〉
up at the head of the altar. *And Nir took the knife of sacrifice, and
slaughtered all that had been brought to be sacrificed in front of the face of
the LORD. *And all the people made merry in front of the face of the LORD, and
on that day they glorified the LORD, the God of heaven and earth, (the God) of
Nir. And from that day there was peace and order over all the earth in the days
of Nir * 202 years.
And then the people turned away from the LORD, and they
began to be envious one against another, and people went to war against people,
and race rose up against race and struggled and insulted one another.
Even if the lips were the same, nevertheless the hearts
chose different
things. *For the devil became ruler for the third time. The
first was before paradise, the second time was in paradise; the third time was
after paradise, 〈and〉
continuing right up to the Flood.
And there arose disputation and great turbulence. And Nir
the priest heard and was greatly aggrieved. And he said in his heart, "In truth
I have come to understand how the time has arrived and the saying which the LORD
said to Methusalam, the father of my father Lamekh."
71
Behold, the wife of Nir,
〈whose〉
name was Sopanim, being sterile and never having at any time given birth to a
child by Nir *
And Sopanim was in the time of her old age, and in the day
of her death. She conceived in her womb, but Nir the priest had not slept with
her, nor had he touched her, from the day that the LORD had appointed him to
conduct the liturgy in front of the face of the people.
And when Sopanim saw her pregnancy, she was ashamed and
embarrassed, and she hid herself during all the days until she gave birth. And
not
one of the people knew about it. *And when 282 days had
been completed, and the day of birth had begun to approach, and Nir remembered
his wife, and he called her to himself in his house, so that he might converse
with her.
〈And〉
Sopanim came to Nir, her husband; and, behold, she was pregnant, and the day
appointed for giving birth was drawing near.
And Nir saw her, and he became very ashamed. And he said to
her, "What is this that you have done, O wife? And (why) have you disgraced me
in front of the face of these people? And now, depart from me, and go where you
began the disgrace of your womb, so that I might not defile my hand on account
of you, and sin in front of the face of the LORD."
And Sopanim spoke to Nir, her husband, saying, "O my lord!
Behold, it is the time of my old age, and the day of my death has arrived.
I do not understand how
my
menopause and the barrenness of my womb have been
reversed."
And Nir did not believe his wife, and for the second time
he said to her, "Depart from me, or else I might assault you, and commit a sin
in front of the face of the LORD."
And it came to pass, when Nir had spoken to his wife,
Sopanim, that Sopanim fell down at Nir's feet and died.
Nir was extremely distressed, and he said in his heart,
"Could this have happened because of my word, since by word and thought a person
can sin in front of the face of the LORD?
Now may God have mercy upon me! I know in truth in my heart
that my hand was not upon her. And so I say, *Glory to you, O LORD, because no
one among mankind knows about this deed which the LORD has done.' "
And Nir hurried, and he shut the door of his house, and he
went to Noe his brother, and he reported to him everything that had happened in
connection with his wife. *And Noe hurried. He came with Nir his brother; he
came into Nir's house, because of the death of Sopanim, and they discussed
between themselves how her womb
was at the time of giving birth. *And Noe said to Nir,
"Don't let yourself be sorrowful, Nir, my brother! For the LORD today has
covered up our scandal, in that nobody from the people knows this.
Now, let us go quickly and let us bury her secretly, and
the LORD will
cover up the scandal of our shame." *And they placed
Sopanim on the bed, and they wrapped her around with black garments, and shut
her in the
house, prepared for burial. They dug a grave in secret. *
And a child came out from the dead Sopanim. And he sat on
the bed at her side. And Noe and Nir came in to bury Sopanim, and they saw the
child
sitting beside the dead Sopanim, and wiping his clothing.
*And Noe and Nir were very terrified with a great fear, because the child was
fully developed physically, like a three-year-old. And he spoke with
his lips, and he blessed the LORD. *And Noe and Nir looked
at him,
and behold,
the badge of priesthood was on his chest, and it was
glorious in appearance. And Noe and Nir said, "Behold, God is renewing the
priesthood from blood related to us, just as he pleases." *And Noe and Nir
hurried, and they washed the child, and they dressed him in the garments of
priesthood, and they gave him the holy bread and he ate it. And they called his
name Melkisedek.
And Noe and Nir lifted up the body of Sopanim, and divested
her of the black garments, and they washed her, and they clothed her in
exceptionally bright garments, and they built a shrine for her.
Noe and Nir and Melkisedek came, and they buried her
publicly. And Noe said to his brother Nir, "Look after this child in secret
until the time, because people will become treacherous in all the earth, and
they will begin to turn away from God, and having become totally ignorant, they
will put him to death."
And then Noe went away to his own place.
And great lawlessness began to become abundant over all the
earth in the
days of Nir. *And Nir began to worry excessively,
especially about the child, saying,
"How miserable it is for me, eternal LORD, that in my days all lawlessness has
begun to become abundant over the earth. And I realize how much nearer out end
is, {and} over all the earth, on account of the lawlessness of the people.
And now, LORD, what is the vision about this child, and
what is his destiny, and what will I do for him? Is it possible that he too will
be joined with us in the destruction?" *And the LORD heeded Nir, and appeared to
him in a night vision. He said to him, "Nir, the great lawlessness which has
come about on the earth among the
multitude {which} I shall not tolerate.
And behold, I desire now to send out a great destruction
onto the earth, and everything that stands on the earth shall perish.
But, concerning the child, don't be anxious, Nir; because
in a short while I shall send my archistratig, Michael. And he will take the
child, and put him in the paradise of Edem, in the Paradise where Adam was
formerly for 7 years, having heaven open all the time up until when he sinned.
And this child will not perish along with those who are
perishing in this generation, as I have revealed it, so that Melkisedek will be
the priest to all holy priests, and I will establish him so that
he will be the head of the priests of the future." *And Nir
arose from his sleep and blessed the LORD who had appeared to him, saying,
"Blessed be the LORD, the God of
my fathers,
who has told me how he has made a
great priest in my day,
in the womb of Sopanim, my wife.
Because I had no child in this
tribe who might become the great
priest, but this is
my son and your servant, and you
are the great God.
Therefore honor him together with your servants and great
priests, with Sit, and Enos, and Rusi, and Amilam, and Prasidam, and Maleleil,
and Serokh, and Arusan, and Aleem, and Enoch, and Methusalam, and me, your
servant Nir.
And behold,
Melkisedek will be the head of the 13 priests who existed before. *And
afterward, in the last generation, there will be another Melkisedek, the first
of 12 priests. And the last will be the head of all, a great archpriest, the
Word and Power of God, who will perform
miracles, greater and more glorious than all the previous
ones. *He, Melkisedek, will be priest and king in the place Akhuzan, that is to
say, in the center of the earth, where Adam was created, and there will
be his final grave. *And in connection with that archpriest
it is written how he also will be buried there, where the center of the earth
is, just as Adam also buried his own son there * Abel, whom his brother Cain
murdered; for he lay for 3 years unburied, until he saw a bird called Jackdaw,
how it buried his own young.
I know that great confusion has come and in confusion this
generation will come to an end; and everyone will perish, except that Noe, my
brother, will be preserved. And afterward there will be a planting from his
tribe, and there will be other people, and there will be another Melkisedek, the
head of priests reigning over the people, and performing the liturgy for the
LORD."
72
And when the child had been 40 days in Nir's tent, the LORD
said to Michael, "Go down onto the earth to Nir the priest, and take my child
Melkisedek, who is with him, and place him in the paradise of Edem for
preservation. For the time is approaching, and I will pour out all the water
onto the earth, and everything that is on the earth will perish."
Michael hurried,
and he came down when it was night, and Nir was sleeping on
his bed. And Michael appeared to him, and said to him, "Thus says the LORD:
*Nir! Send the child to me whom I entrusted to you.' "
And Nir did not realize who was speaking to him, and his
heart was confused. And he said, "When the people find out about the child, then
they will seize him and kill him, because the heart of these people is deceitful
in front of the face of the LORD." Nir said to the one who was speaking, "The
child is not with me, and I don't know who you are."
And he who was speaking to me answered, "Don't be
frightened, Nir! I am the LORD's archistratig. The LORD has sent me, and behold,
I shall take your child today. I will go with him and I will place him in the
paradise of Edem, and there he will be forever.
And when the twelfth generation shall come into being, and
there will be one thousand and seventy years, and there will be born in that
generation a righteous man. And the LORD will tell him that he should to out to
that mountain where stands the ark of Noe, your brother. And he will find there
another Melkisedek, who has been living there for 7 years, hiding himself from
the people who sacrifice to idols, so that they might not kill him. He will
bring him out, and he will be the first priest and king in the city Salim in the
style of this Melkisedek, the originator of the priests. The years will be
completed up to that time * 3 thousand and 4 hundred and 32 *
from the beginning and the creation of Adam. *And from that
Melkisedek the priests will be 12 in number until the great Igumen, that is to
say, Leader, will bring out everything visible and invisible."
And Nir understood the first dream and believed it. And
having answered Michael he said, "Blessed be the LORD who has glorified you
today for me! And now, bless your servant Nir! For we are coming close to
departure from this world. And take the child, and do to him just as the LORD
said
to you." *And Michael took the child on the same night on
which he had come down; and he took him on his wings, and he placed him in the
paradise of Edom. *And Nir got up in the morning. He went into his tent and he
did not find the child. And there was instead of joy very
great grief, because he had no other son except this one.
*Thus Nir ended his life. And after him there was no priest among the people.
And from that time great confusion arose on the earth.
73
And the LORD called Noe onto the mount Ararat, between
Assyria and Armenia, in the land of Arabia, beside the ocean. And he said to
him, "Make there an ark with 300 lakets in length and in width 50 lakets and in
height 30. And two stories in the middle, and its doors of one laket.
And of their lakets 300, but of ours also 15 thousand; and
so of theirs 50, but of ours 2000 and 500, and so of theirs 30, but of ours 900,
and of theirs one laket, but of ours 50." *In agreement with this numeral the
Jews keep their measurements of Noe's ark, just as the LORD said to him, and
they carry out all their measurements in the same way, and all their
regulations, even up to the present.
The LORD God opened the doors of heaven. Rain came onto the
earth for 150 days, and all flesh died.
And Noe was in the year 500. He fathered 3 sons: Sim, Kham,
Afet. *After 100 years, after the birth of his three sons, he went into the ark
in the month, according to the Hebrews, Iuars, according to the Egyptians,
Famenoth, on the 18th day. And the ark floated for 40 days. And in
all they were in the ark for 120 days.
And he went into the ark, a son of 600 years, and in the
six hundred first year of his life he went out from the ark in the month Farmout
according to the Egyptians, but according to the Hebrews Nisan, on the 28th
day. *After the Flood he lived 350 years, and he died. He lived in all 950
years, according to the LORD our God.
And to him be glory, from the
beginning and now
and until the end of the whole
era. AMEN+
