Enoch sees the angels prepare the ark of Noah. He also sees a valley of fire where the kings and mighty ones are punished. The hot springs and volcanic activity are explained as the fire by which the fallen angels are tormented. The chapter blends Flood preparation with eschatological punishment geography.
The naturalistic explanation of hot springs and geothermal activity as evidence of subterranean angelic punishment is a fascinating intersection of ancient cosmology and theology. The Enochic tradition reads the physical landscape as a moral map — volcanic features prove that judgment is already in progress beneath the earth's surface.
The chapter moves between Noah-era events and what appear to be eschatological visions without clear transitions, reflecting the composite nature of the text. The identification of specific geographic features (hot springs, burning valleys) with angelic punishment sites is difficult to map onto any known geography.
Genesis 7-8 — the Flood narrative. 2 Peter 2:4-5 — angels cast into Tartarus, and the Flood. Jude 7 — punishment of eternal fire. Revelation 19:20 — the lake of fire.
Ge'ez: wa-re'iku — 'and I saw'
In that vision I saw how Enoch was taken up and placed in the midst of those angels.
REF And I saw in that vision how Enoch was taken up and set down in the midst of those angels.
Ge'ez: wa-mal'akāt — 'and the angels'
The angels — first and last — came to me and took me to a place. They commanded me to observe, and there I saw the first and last secrets concerning all of this.
REF And the angels came to me — the first and the last — and took me up to a place and commanded me to walk. And there I saw the first and the last secrets concerning all that.
Ge'ez: wa-'em-de'eri re'iku — 'and after this I saw'
I asked the angel of peace who accompanied me: 'Who are these angels guiding me?' He told me: 'The first is the holy Michael, the leader; the second the holy Raphael; the third the holy Gabriel; and the fourth the holy Phanuel. These four angels of the Lord of Spirits are the presiding ones.'
REF In those days I asked the angel of peace who was with me, saying: These angels who guided me — who are they? And he said to me: The first is the holy Michael, the leader, and the second the holy Raphael, and the third the holy Gabriel, and the fourth the holy Phanuel. These four angels of the Lord of Spirits are the ones who preside.
Ge'ez: wa-re'iku ba-ye'eti mawā'el — 'and I saw in those days'
In those days I saw long cords given to those angels. They took wings, flew, and headed north.
REF And I saw in those days how a long cord was given to those angels, and they took to themselves wings and flew, and went toward the north.
Ge'ez: wa-se'alku mal'aka — 'and I asked the angel'
I asked the angel: 'Why have they taken the cords and gone off?' He told me: 'They have gone to take measurements.'
REF And I asked the angel, saying: 'Why have these taken cords and gone off?' And he said to me: 'They have gone to measure.'
Ge'ez: wa-yebēlani mal'ak — 'and the angel said to me'
The angel of peace said to me: 'They are measuring the righteous with the ropes of the righteous, so they may cling to the name of the Lord of Spirits forever and ever.'
REF And the angel of peace who was with me said to me: 'These measure the righteous, the ropes of the righteous, that they may stay themselves on the name of the Lord of Spirits for ever and ever.'
Ge'ez: wa-ba-ye'eti mawā'el — 'and in those days'
In that place I saw the inexhaustible fountain of righteousness surrounded by many fountains of wisdom. All who were thirsty drank from them and were filled with wisdom, and their dwellings were with the righteous, holy, and chosen.
REF And in that place I saw the fountain of righteousness which was inexhaustible. And around it were many fountains of wisdom. And all the thirsty drank of them and were filled with wisdom, and their dwellings were with the righteous and holy and elect.
Ge'ez: wa-re'iku 'esa — 'and I saw fire'
I saw that burning valley where there was a flowing stream of fire. Within it was a division of waters and a column of fire, and the streams of fire flowed downward into the great sea toward the east.
REF And I saw that burning valley in which there was a flux of fire; and in it there was a division of waters, a column of fire: and the streams of fire flowed downward into the great sea toward the east.
Ge'ez: wa-re'iku ye'eti māyāt — 'and I saw those waters'
There I saw a great river, the great darkness within it, the flood of darkness and thick mist. I saw where all the rivers of great darkness flowed.
REF And there I saw that great river: and the great darkness which was in it, and the flood of darkness and the mist which was thick; and I saw where all the rivers of the great darkness went.
Ge'ez: wa-heyya re'iku — 'and there I saw'
Uriel said to me: 'Here the angels who consorted with women are confined. Their spirits, taking many forms, defile humanity and lead people astray into sacrificing to demons as though they were gods. Here they will stand until the day of the great judgment, when they will be judged and their end will come.'
REF And Uriel said to me: 'Here those angels who cohabited with women are kept: and their spirits, assuming many different forms, are defiling mankind and shall lead them astray into sacrificing to demons as gods, here shall they stand, till the day of the great judgement in which they shall be judged till they are made an end of.'
Ge'ez: wa-'ella 'anest — 'and the women'
The women who were partners of the fallen angels will become sirens.
REF And the women also of the angels who went astray shall become sirens.
Ge'ez: wa-'anā Ḥanok — 'and I, Enoch'
I, Enoch, alone saw this vision — the culmination of all things. No one has seen what I have seen.
REF And I, Enoch, alone saw the vision, the ends of all things: and no man shall see as I have seen.
Ge'ez: wa-'ellu — 'and these'
In those days the angels returned from the east, and judgment was executed upon the kings, the mighty, and the exalted who possess the earth.
REF And in those days the angels returned and came from the east: and the judgement was made upon the kings, the mighty and the exalted who possess the earth.