1 Enoch / Chapter 50

1 Enoch 50

5 verses • Ge'ez (Ethiopic)

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

In those days the righteous will undergo a transformation and be given glory. Some among the sinners will repent and be forgiven. The righteous will be exalted, and the elect will possess the earth in peace.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

This chapter introduces a surprising note of mercy: even at the last, some sinners may repent and find forgiveness. This qualifies the otherwise stark dualism of the Parables and shows that the judgment tradition was not uniformly merciless. The transformation of the righteous — becoming luminous and glorious — is an early witness to the resurrection/glorification theology developed in Paul (1 Corinthians 15:42-44) and the Synoptic transfiguration narrative.

Translation Friction

The tension between this chapter's openness to repentance and the earlier declaration that sinners will have 'no hope' (46:5-6) has led some scholars to see chapter 50 as from a different hand or tradition. Within the Parables' composite literary structure, such tensions are to be expected.

Connections

Daniel 12:2-3 — the wise shining like stars. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 — the resurrection body. Matthew 13:43 — 'the righteous will shine like the sun.' 2 Esdras 7:97 — the righteous shining like stars.

1 Enoch 50:1

Ge'ez: wa-ba-ye'eti mawā'el — 'and in those days'

In those days a transformation will take place for the holy and chosen: the light of days will rest upon them, and glory and honor will return to the holy ones.

REF 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The 'change' (Ge'ez: lewṭ) is a transformation of the righteous — they become luminous beings. The 'light of days' resting upon them echoes the Aaronic blessing of Numbers 6:25 ('the LORD make his face shine upon you') extended to eschatological fulfillment.
1 Enoch 50:2

Ge'ez: wa-ba-yom ṣegā — 'and on the day of affliction'

On the day of affliction, when evil has been stored up against the sinners, the righteous will be victorious in the name of the Lord of Spirits. He will let the others witness this so they may repent and abandon the works of their hands.

REF On the day of affliction when 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The purpose of the visible vindication is evangelistic: 'the others' are allowed to see the righteous' victory so that they might repent. This missionary dimension of eschatological judgment — judgment as a call to repentance — is unusual in apocalyptic literature and anticipates the universalist strains in Paul's theology (Romans 11:25-32).
1 Enoch 50:3

Ge'ez: wa-'i-yekwennanomu sebḥat — 'they shall have no honor'

They will have no honor in the name of the Lord of Spirits, yet through his name they will be saved, and the Lord of Spirits will have compassion on them, because his compassion is great.

REF They shall have no honour in 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Salvation without honor — the repentant sinners are saved but not glorified. This creates a two-tier eschatological community: the righteous who receive glory and honor, and the repentant who receive mercy but not exaltation. The distinction resembles Paul's 'saved, but only as through fire' (1 Corinthians 3:15).
  2. The emphasis on divine compassion ('his compassion is great') qualifies the Parables' otherwise severe judgment theology with a note of mercy characteristic of Exodus 34:6 ('the LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious').
1 Enoch 50:4

Ge'ez: wa-ṣādeq we'etu — 'and he is righteous'

He is righteous in his judgment, and in the presence of his glory unrighteousness cannot sustain itself. At his judgment, the unrepentant will perish before him.

REF 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The key qualifier: compassion extends to the repentant, but the 'unrepentant' perish. Repentance is the dividing line between those who receive mercy and those who face destruction. This is consistent with the prophetic call to repentance throughout the Hebrew Bible.
1 Enoch 50:5

Ge'ez: wa-'em-ye'eti gizē — 'and from that time'

'From that time on I will have no mercy on them,' says the Lord of Spirits.

REF And from henceforth I will have no mercy on them, saith the Lord of Spirits.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. God's own voice delivers the final verdict. The mercy described in verses 2-3 has a deadline — once the opportunity for repentance passes, judgment becomes irrevocable. The direct divine speech adds weight and finality to the declaration.
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