1 Enoch 47
Study resource: not ScriptureR. H. Charles translation (1917) · public domain
1And in those days shall have ascended the prayer of the righteous, And the blood of the righteous from the earth before the Lord of Spirits.
2In those days the holy ones who dwell above in the heavens Shall unite with one voice And supplicate and pray [and praise, And give thanks and bless the name of the Lord of Spirits] On behalf of the blood of the righteous which has been shed, And that the prayer of the righteous may not be in vain before the Lord of Spirits, That judgement may be done unto them, And that they may not have to suffer for ever.
3In those days I saw the Head of Days when He seated himself upon the throne of His glory, And the books of the living were opened before Him: And all His host which is in heaven above and His counsellors stood before Him,
4And the hearts of the holy were filled with joy; Because the number of the righteous had been offered, And the prayer of the righteous had been heard, And the blood of the righteous been required before the Lord of Spirits.
The chapter, studied
The Books Are Opened: The Prayer of the Righteous Is Heard
The prayer of the righteous and "the blood of the righteous" rise before the Lord of Spirits, and the holy ones in heaven join their voices asking that judgment be done and that the righteous not have to suffer forever. Enoch then sees "the Head of Days" take his seat "upon the throne of His glory," and "the books of the living were opened before Him."
The chapter answers a real tension: the righteous have suffered and their blood has been shed, and the prayer here is not passive resignation but an active request that this be reckoned with: "that judgement may be done unto them." The scene resolves with a courtroom image: God enthroned, his heavenly council standing before him, and record books opened.
The closing note that "the hearts of the holy were filled with joy" because the number of the righteous "had been offered" and their blood "required" gives the chapter its emotional center: vindication, not mere punishment, is what brings joy in heaven.
Doors into the 66
- Daniel 7:9 — The Head of Days seated on his throne of glory with the books opened closely matches the Ancient of Days enthroned in Daniel's vision, where "the judgment was set, and the books were opened."
- Revelation 6:10 — The righteous' blood crying out for judgment echoes the souls under the altar in Revelation who cry, "How long, O Lord... dost thou not... avenge our blood?"
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.
1And in those days shall have ascended the prayer of the righteous, And the blood of the righteous from the earth before the Lord of Spirits.
2In those days the holy ones who dwell above in the heavens Shall unite with one voice And supplicate and pray [and praise, And give thanks and bless the name of the Lord of Spirits] On behalf of the blood of the righteous which has been shed, And that the prayer of the righteous may not be in vain before the Lord of Spirits, That judgement may be done unto them, And that they may not have to suffer for ever.
3In those days I saw the Head of Days when He seated himself upon the throne of His glory, And the books of the living were opened before Him: And all His host which is in heaven above and His counsellors stood before Him,
4And the hearts of the holy were filled with joy; Because the number of the righteous had been offered, And the prayer of the righteous had been heard, And the blood of the righteous been required before the Lord of Spirits.
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.