1 Enoch 41:8
Study resource: not ScriptureR. H. Charles translation (1917) · public domain
For the sun changes oft for a blessing or a curse, And the course of the path of the moon is light to the righteous And darkness to the sinners in the name of the Lord, Who made a separation between the light and the darkness, And divided the spirits of men, And strengthened the spirits of the righteous, In the name of His righteousness.
This verse’s chapter, studied
The Secrets of the Balance: Deeds Weighed, Heavens Measured
Enoch is shown "how the actions of men are weighed in the balance," then a tour of cosmic secrets: lightning, thunder, wind, cloud, dew, hail, and the "chambers" of the sun and moon. The heavenly bodies keep their courses "in accordance with the oath by which they are bound together," and the chapter closes by declaring that God alone judges all things, since "no angel hinders and no power is able to hinder."
- Daniel 5:27 : "Weighed in the balance" recalls the writing on the wall that judged Belshazzar's kingdom "weighed in the balances, and art found wanting."
- Job 38:31 : The secrets of sun, moon, and the "ordinances of heaven" stand beside God's questions to Job about who governs the heavens' fixed courses.
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.