1 Enoch 102:3
Study resource: not ScriptureR. H. Charles translation (1917) · public domain
And all the angels shall execute their commands And shall seek to hide themselves from the presence of the Great Glory, And the children of earth shall tremble and quake; And ye sinners shall be cursed for ever, And ye shall have no peace.
This verse’s chapter, studied
The Doubt of the Dying: Does Righteousness Pay?
Enoch warns that when God's judgment-fire comes, even the sun, moon, stars, and angels will tremble. He tells the righteous dead not to be troubled that their bodies did not fare well in life, then gives voice to the sinners' own doubt that righteousness pays off at all: "as we die, so die the righteous...henceforth we are equal."
- Ecclesiastes 9:2 : "henceforth we are equal" matches the Preacher's own observation that "all things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked".
- 1 Corinthians 15:32 : the sinners' logic: no lasting benefit for the righteous, so "let us eat and drink" in effect: stands beside Paul's own "if the dead rise not...let us eat and drink, for to morrow we die".
- Psalms 73:3 : the doubt voiced in the sinners' mouths stands beside the psalmist's own confession, "I was envious...when I saw the prosperity of the wicked", before he saw their end.
Teachers on this ground
R. H. Charles
The Book of Enoch (1917)
The public-domain translation this shelf reads, with the critical introduction the field still builds on.
Johnny Enlow
The Book of Enoch: Paraphrase and Commentary (2025)
A living teacher's paraphrase of the whole book with his own running commentary, from the prophetic stream.