1 Enoch / Chapter 95

1 Enoch 95

7 verses • Ge'ez (Ethiopic)

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Enoch expresses his wish that he could weep, but his spirit has been exhausted by the magnitude of the injustice he must denounce. He pronounces further woes against those who work iniquity and against those who devour the finest wheat — a metaphor for exploiting the poor. The righteous are urged not to fear the sinners.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

Enoch's emotional cry — essentially, 'I wish I had enough tears' — humanizes the prophetic voice in a way that recalls Jeremiah 9:1 ('Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears'). The denunciation of those who 'devour the finest wheat' may specifically target temple aristocrats who exploited the tithe system.

Translation Friction

The identity of those who 'devour the finest wheat' is uncertain. It may refer to literal economic exploitation (taking grain from the poor), corrupt sacrificial practices, or both. The metaphor is deliberately multi-layered.

Connections

Jeremiah 9:1 — the weeping prophet. Amos 8:4-6 — trampling the needy and buying the poor for silver. Micah 3:1-3 — rulers who tear the skin off the people. Luke 20:47 — scribes who 'devour widows' houses.'

1 Enoch 95:1

Ge'ez: 'efaqqed — 'O that'

If only my eyes were a cloud of waters so that I might weep over you and pour down my tears like rain — then I might find rest from the trouble of my heart!

REF O that mine eyes were a cloud of waters that I might weep over you, and pour down my tears as a cloud of waters: that so I might rest from my trouble of heart!

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. One of the most emotionally raw verses in all of 1 Enoch. The prophetic lament tradition — weeping over the sins of the people — reaches its fullest expression here. Compare Jesus weeping over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44).
1 Enoch 95:2

Ge'ez: man faqqada — 'who has permitted you'

Who gave you permission to practice cruelty and wickedness? Judgment will overtake you, sinners.

REF Who has permitted you to practise reproaches and wickedness? And so judgement shall overtake you, sinners.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The rhetorical question implies the sinners act without divine authorization — their power is usurped, not granted. Judgment is personified as a pursuer who will 'overtake' them.
1 Enoch 95:3

Ge'ez: 'iye-tefrahū — 'fear not'

Do not fear the sinners, you righteous. For the Lord will deliver them into your hands again, so that you may carry out judgment on them as you see fit.

REF Fear not the sinners, ye righteous; for again will the Lord deliver them into your hands, that ye may execute judgement upon them according to your desires.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The promise that the righteous will judge the wicked anticipates 1 Corinthians 6:2 — 'do you not know that the saints will judge the world?' The reversal of power is a central Enochic theme.
1 Enoch 95:4

Ge'ez: way lakemu — 'woe to you'

Woe to you who pronounce curses that cannot be reversed — healing will therefore be far from you because of your sins.

REF Woe to you who fulminate anathemas which cannot be reversed: healing shall therefore be far from you because of your sins.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Those who wield religious authority to curse others find that they have cursed themselves. 'Healing far from you' reverses the promise of Isaiah 58:8 — 'then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily.'
1 Enoch 95:5

Ge'ez: way lakemu — 'woe to you'

Woe to you who repay your neighbor with evil — for you will be repaid according to your works.

REF Woe to you who requite your neighbour with evil; for ye shall be requited according to your works.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The principle of proportional retribution — repaid according to works — is foundational to biblical justice (Proverbs 24:12, Romans 2:6, Revelation 20:12).
1 Enoch 95:6

Ge'ez: way lakemu — 'woe to you'

Woe to you, false witnesses, and to you who devise oppression — for you will suddenly perish.

REF Woe to you, ye witnesses of falsehood, and to you that devise oppression, for ye shall suddenly perish.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. False witnesses are condemned in the Decalogue (Exodus 20:16) and are a recurring target in the wisdom tradition (Proverbs 19:5, 9). The pairing of false testimony with systemic oppression suggests complicity between legal corruption and economic exploitation.
1 Enoch 95:7

Ge'ez: way lakemu ḫāṭe'ān — 'woe to you sinners'

Woe to you, sinners, for you persecute the righteous. You yourselves will be handed over and persecuted for your injustice, and its yoke will be heavy upon you.

REF Woe to you, sinners, for ye persecute the righteous; for ye shall be delivered up and persecuted because of injustice, and heavy shall its yoke be upon you.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The reversal motif: persecutors become the persecuted. The 'yoke' metaphor inverts the Enochic promise of liberation and echoes the oppressive yoke of Deuteronomy 28:48 and Isaiah 9:4.
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