1 Enoch 38
Study resource: not ScriptureR. H. Charles translation (1917) · public domain
1The First Parable. When the congregation of the righteous shall appear, And sinners shall be judged for their sins, And shall be driven from the face of the earth:
2And when the Righteous One shall appear before the eyes of the righteous, Whose elect works hang upon the Lord of Spirits, And light shall appear to the righteous and the elect who dwell on the earth, Where then will be the dwelling of the sinners, And where the resting-place of those who have denied the Lord of Spirits? It had been good for them if they had not been born.
3When the secrets of the righteous shall be revealed and the sinners judged, And the godless driven from the presence of the righteous and elect,
4From that time those that possess the earth shall no longer be powerful and exalted: And they shall not be able to behold the face of the holy, For the Lord of Spirits has caused His light to appear On the face of the holy, righteous, and elect.
5Then shall the kings and the mighty perish And be given into the hands of the righteous and holy.
6And thenceforward none shall seek for themselves mercy from the Lord of Spirits For their life is at an end.
The chapter, studied
Where Will the Sinners Hide? The First Parable Begins
The First Parable opens with the righteous congregation appearing and sinners being judged and "driven from the face of the earth." When "the Righteous One shall appear" and light shines on the righteous, the chapter asks where the sinners will then find any resting place. It ends with "the kings and the mighty" perishing and being "given into the hands of the righteous and holy."
The chapter works by contrast: light appearing "on the face of the holy, righteous, and elect" is set directly against sinners who can no longer "behold the face of the holy." The reversal is total: those who now possess the earth and hold power lose it, and it passes to the ones they had oppressed.
The line "It had been good for them if they had not been born" is the chapter's harshest note, marking the finality the author gives to unrepented sin. There is no discussion here of a path back; the chapter is concerned only with outcome, not with offering the sinner a way out.
Doors into the 66
- Daniel 7:22 — "Judgement was given into the hands of the righteous and holy" echoes Daniel's vision of judgment given to the saints of the Most High.
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. II — The Parables of Enoch (2020)
The reader's commentary continued into the Son of Man visions of these chapters.
1The First Parable. When the congregation of the righteous shall appear, And sinners shall be judged for their sins, And shall be driven from the face of the earth:
2And when the Righteous One shall appear before the eyes of the righteous, Whose elect works hang upon the Lord of Spirits, And light shall appear to the righteous and the elect who dwell on the earth, Where then will be the dwelling of the sinners, And where the resting-place of those who have denied the Lord of Spirits? It had been good for them if they had not been born.
3When the secrets of the righteous shall be revealed and the sinners judged, And the godless driven from the presence of the righteous and elect,
4From that time those that possess the earth shall no longer be powerful and exalted: And they shall not be able to behold the face of the holy, For the Lord of Spirits has caused His light to appear On the face of the holy, righteous, and elect.
5Then shall the kings and the mighty perish And be given into the hands of the righteous and holy.
6And thenceforward none shall seek for themselves mercy from the Lord of Spirits For their life is at an end.
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.