1 Enoch / Chapter 63

1 Enoch 63

12 verses • Ge'ez (Ethiopic)

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

The kings and mighty ones offer a final, detailed plea for mercy. They confess their sins — their reliance on worldly power, their oppression, their failure to acknowledge God — but are told that their repentance comes too late. The Son of Man drives them from his presence.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

This chapter gives voice to the damned in a way rare in apocalyptic literature. The kings' confession is theologically coherent — they acknowledge exactly what they did wrong and why — yet it avails them nothing. The pathos of genuine but too-late repentance raises the most difficult questions in eschatological theology. Their confession reads almost like a systematic theology of their own failure.

Translation Friction

The chapter raises the question of whether God is unjust in refusing genuine repentance. The Parables' answer seems to be that the kings' 'repentance' is motivated by fear of punishment rather than genuine moral transformation — they confess because they are caught, not because they are changed.

Connections

Luke 16:19-31 — the rich man's too-late plea from Hades. Hebrews 12:17 — Esau finding no place for repentance though he sought it with tears. Revelation 6:15-17 — kings crying to the mountains to hide them. Wisdom of Solomon 5:1-13 — the wicked confessing their error before the righteous.

1 Enoch 63:1

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

In those days the mighty and the kings who possess the earth will beg him to grant them a brief respite from the angels of punishment to whom they were delivered, so they might fall down and worship before the Lord of Spirits and confess their sins before him.

REF In those days shall the mighty and the kings who possess the earth implore Him to grant them a little respite from His angels of punishment to whom they were delivered, that they might fall down and worship before the Lord of Spirits, and confess their sins before Him.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. They ask not for pardon but for a 'respite' — a delay in punishment long enough to pray. Even this minimal request frames their relationship with God as transactional: they want time to perform religious acts that might change their sentence.
1 Enoch 63:2

Ge'ez: wa-yebarreku — 'and they shall bless'

They will bless and glorify the Lord of Spirits, saying: 'Blessed is the Lord of Spirits, the Lord of kings, the Lord of the mighty, the Lord of the rich, the Lord of glory, and the Lord of wisdom.'

REF And they shall bless and glorify the Lord of Spirits, and say: 'Blessed is the Lord of Spirits and the Lord of kings, and the Lord of the mighty, and the Lord of the rich, and the Lord of glory, and the Lord of wisdom.'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The doxology is ironic — they now acknowledge God as 'Lord of kings,' 'Lord of the mighty,' 'Lord of the rich' — exactly the titles that describe God's sovereignty over them. Every title is an admission that their own power was always subordinate to his.
1 Enoch 63:3

Ge'ez: wa-kwellu mestir — 'and every secret'

Every secret thing is brought to light. Your power spans generation to generation, your glory lasts forever and ever. All your secrets are deep and innumerable, and your righteousness is beyond calculation.

REF And every secret thing shall be brought to light, and Thy power is from generation to generation, and Thy glory for ever and ever: deep are all Thy secrets and innumerable, and Thy righteousness is beyond reckoning.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The confession acknowledges God's omniscience ('every secret brought to light'), eternal power, and immeasurable righteousness. This is orthodox theology — but spoken too late and under duress.
1 Enoch 63:4

Ge'ez: ye'ize 'a'marnā — 'now we know'

Now we have learned that we should glorify and bless the Lord of kings — the one who is king over all kings.

REF We have now learnt that we should glorify and bless the Lord of kings and Him who is king over all kings.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. 'Now we have learned' — the admission that they should have known this before but didn't (or wouldn't). The knowledge they now possess was always available; their crime was refusing to learn it.
1 Enoch 63:5

Ge'ez: wa-yebēlu — 'and they shall say'

They will say: 'If only we had rest to glorify, give thanks, and confess our faith before his glory!'

REF And they shall say: 'Would that we had rest to glorify and give thanks and confess our faith before His glory!'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The conditional 'if only' expresses the futility of their wish. They want time that has already run out. The desire to 'confess our faith' is particularly poignant — they now want to do what the righteous have been doing all along.
1 Enoch 63:6

Ge'ez: wa-ye'ize nefaqqed — 'now we desire rest'

Now we long for a little rest but cannot find it. We pursue it desperately but cannot obtain it. Light has vanished from before us, and darkness is our dwelling place forever and ever.

REF And now we long for a little rest but find it not: we follow hard upon and obtain it not: and light has vanished from before us, and darkness is our dwelling-place for ever and ever.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The pursuit of rest that cannot be found reverses the earlier theme of the righteous finding rest in heavenly dwellings. The wicked's restlessness is eternal — the opposite of the sabbath rest promised to the faithful (Hebrews 4:9-11).
1 Enoch 63:7

Ge'ez: 'esma 'i-'āmannā — 'for we did not believe'

For we did not believe before him. We did not glorify the name of the Lord of Spirits or honor the Lord in all his works. Instead, our hope was in the scepter of our realm and in our own glory.

REF For we have not believed before Him, and have not glorified the name of the Lord of Spirits, and have not glorified the Lord in all His doing, but our hope was in the sceptre of our realm, and in our glory.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The core confession: they placed their hope in political power ('scepter of our realm') and self-glory rather than in God. This is the fundamental sin of the Parables — the substitution of human sovereignty for divine sovereignty.
1 Enoch 63:8

Ge'ez: wa-ba-yoma ṣegānā — 'and in the day of our suffering'

In the day of our suffering and tribulation he does not save us. We find no respite to confess that our Lord is faithful in all his works, in his judgments and his justice — his judgments show no favoritism.

REF And in the day of our suffering and tribulation He saves us not, and we find no respite for confession that our Lord is true in all His works, and in His judgements and His justice, and His judgements have no respect of persons.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. They acknowledge God's impartiality — 'no respect of persons' (no favoritism). Their wealth and power, which bought them every earthly advantage, purchase nothing in the divine court. This echoes Deuteronomy 10:17 and Acts 10:34.
1 Enoch 63:9

Ge'ez: wa-nāḥnā ne'abbed — 'and we pass away'

We pass away from his face because of our works, and all our sins are counted in righteousness.

REF And we pass away from before His face on account of our works, and all our sins are reckoned up in righteousness.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. They 'pass away from his face' — expelled from the divine presence permanently. Their sins 'counted in righteousness' means the ledger is accurate; God's accounting is just. There is no complaint of unfairness, only recognition that the books are correct.
1 Enoch 63:10

Ge'ez: wa-ye'ize yebēlomu — 'now he shall say to them'

Now he will say to them: 'Your souls are full of unrighteousness and ill-gotten gain, but these do not prevent you from descending into the flames of Sheol.'

REF Now they shall say unto them: 'Our souls are full of unrighteousness and of gain, but they do not prevent our from descending into the burden of Sheol.'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The final verdict: their wealth ('gain') and wickedness ('unrighteousness') fill their souls but provide no protection against judgment. The accumulated riches that defined their earthly identity are now the weight that drags them down.
1 Enoch 63:11

Ge'ez: wa-yewaddequ gefēhomu — 'and their faces shall be filled'

After that their faces will be filled with darkness and shame before that Son of Man. They will be driven from his presence, and the sword will remain before his face in their midst.

REF And after that their faces shall be filled with darkness and shame before that Son of Man, and they shall be driven from his presence, and the sword shall abide before his face in their midst.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The final expulsion: darkness on their faces, shame before the Son of Man, driven out, the sword between them and him. Every element emphasizes permanent separation. The 'sword before his face' may echo the cherubim's flaming sword guarding Eden (Genesis 3:24) — the way back is permanently barred.
1 Enoch 63:12

Ge'ez: wa-yebēla Egzi'a manfasāt — 'the Lord of Spirits said'

The Lord of Spirits declared: 'This is the decree and judgment concerning the mighty, the kings, the exalted, and those who possess the earth — before the Lord of Spirits.'

REF Thus spake the Lord of Spirits: 'This is the ordinance and judgement with respect to the mighty and the kings and the exalted and those who possess the earth before the Lord of Spirits.'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The closing formula seals the judgment as a divine decree (Ge'ez: śer'at). It is not a suggestion, prediction, or possibility but an ordinance — binding cosmic law. The repetition of the full list (mighty, kings, exalted, earth-possessors) ensures no member of the ruling class can claim exemption.
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