1 Enoch 36
Study resource: not ScriptureR. H. Charles translation (1917) · public domain
1And from thence I went to the south to the ends of the earth, and saw there three open portals of the heaven: and thence there come dew, rain, and wind.
2And from thence I went to the east to the ends of the heaven, and saw here the three eastern portals of heaven open and small portals above them.
3Through each of these small portals pass the stars of heaven and run their course to the west on the path which is shown to them.
4And as often as I saw I blessed always the Lord of Glory, and I continued to bless the Lord of Glory who has wrought great and glorious wonders, to show the greatness of His work to the angels and to spirits and to men, that they might praise His work and all His creation: that they might see the work of His might and praise the great work of His hands and bless Him for ever.
The chapter, studied
The Circuit Completed, and a Doxology
Enoch completes the circuit by visiting the south, where three portals release dew, rain, and wind, then returns to the east, where three larger portals and smaller ones above them let the stars pass through on their appointed path to the west. The chapter, and the long cosmic tour that began several chapters earlier, closes with Enoch blessing the Lord of Glory for the greatness of his work.
With this chapter the four-direction survey is complete, north in chapter 34, west in chapter 35, south and east here, and the whole extended journey through judgment sites, paradise, and cosmic architecture that has run since chapter 17 comes to rest in worship rather than in one final piece of information. The last verse states the purpose of the entire tour outright: everything was shown "to show the greatness of His work to the angels and to spirits and to men, that they might praise His work."
This doxological close is worth noticing as a pattern across the whole Watchers section: chapters 22, 25, and 27 each also end with Enoch blessing God, and this final chapter makes that pattern explicit as the book's own stated purpose: revealed cosmology exists to produce praise, not merely knowledge.
Doors into the 66
- Psalms 19:1 — echoes the heavens declaring the glory of God
- Psalms 147:4 — stands beside God's greatness shown in numbering and naming the stars
- Revelation 7:1 — stands beside the four winds of the earth held at the four corners
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.
Michael S. Heiser
A Companion to the Book of Enoch: A Reader's Commentary, Vol. I — The Book of the Watchers (2019)
A verse-by-verse reader's commentary on chapters 1–36: the closest thing in print to a study Bible for this section.
1And from thence I went to the south to the ends of the earth, and saw there three open portals of the heaven: and thence there come dew, rain, and wind.
2And from thence I went to the east to the ends of the heaven, and saw here the three eastern portals of heaven open and small portals above them.
3Through each of these small portals pass the stars of heaven and run their course to the west on the path which is shown to them.
4And as often as I saw I blessed always the Lord of Glory, and I continued to bless the Lord of Glory who has wrought great and glorious wonders, to show the greatness of His work to the angels and to spirits and to men, that they might praise His work and all His creation: that they might see the work of His might and praise the great work of His hands and bless Him for ever.
The language it was written in
Aramaic (the Qumran fragments' language); parts possibly Hebrew. The Parables (chs. 37–71) have no Qumran witness and their original language is debated.
What survives, and where
Aramaic: Dead Sea Scrolls
Eleven fragmentary manuscripts from Qumran Cave 4 covering every section except the Parables (3rd c. BC – 1st c. AD).
Greek
Substantial portions: chs. 1–32 (Codex Panopolitanus), quotations in Syncellus, and the Chester Beatty papyrus of the Epistle.
Ge’ez (Ethiopic)
The only complete text, preserved by the Ethiopian church, whose canon receives the book; the base of every full translation.
What you are reading here
R. H. Charles's 1917 English translation, made from the Ge’ez against the Greek and Aramaic evidence then known — public domain, quotable in full.
No tagged word floor exists for the Aramaic or Ge’ez text; word-by-word study on this shelf awaits a future ingest. What stands here is the manuscript story itself.