1 Enoch 51
Study resource: not ScriptureR. H. Charles translation (1917) · public domain
1And in those days shall the earth also give back that which has been entrusted to it, And Sheol also shall give back that which it has received, And hell shall give back that which it owes.
2And he shall choose the righteous and holy from among them: For the day has drawn nigh that they should be saved.
3And the Elect One shall in those days sit on My throne, And his mouth shall pour forth all the secrets of wisdom and counsel: For the Lord of Spirits hath given (them) to him and hath glorified him.
4And in those days shall the mountains leap like rams, And the hills also shall skip like lambs satisfied with milk, And the faces of [all] the angels in heaven shall be lighted up with joy.
5For in those days the Elect One shall arise, And the earth shall rejoice, And the righteous shall dwell upon it, And the elect shall walk thereon.
The chapter, studied
The Earth and Sheol Give Back Their Dead
In those days, the chapter says, "the earth also give back that which has been entrusted to it," and Sheol and hell likewise return what they have received. God chooses the righteous and holy out from among the dead, "the Elect One shall in those days sit on My throne," and even the mountains and hills leap for joy at the resurrection of the righteous.
The chapter pictures resurrection as restitution: the earth and the grave are described as holding the dead "in trust," obligated to give them back rather than owning them permanently. This is a resurrection scene stated plainly, one of the clearest in the book.
The image of mountains leaping "like rams" and hills skipping "like lambs satisfied with milk" gives the resurrection a note of pure celebration rather than solemnity alone: creation itself rejoices when the righteous rise.
Doors into the 66
- Revelation 20:13 — The earth, Sheol, and hell giving back the dead echoes Revelation's picture of the sea, death, and hell delivering up their dead for judgment.
- Daniel 12:2 — The righteous being chosen out from among the dead stands beside Daniel's promise that "many that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake."
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 the earth also give back that which has been entrusted to it, And Sheol also shall give back that which it has received, And hell shall give back that which it owes.
2And he shall choose the righteous and holy from among them: For the day has drawn nigh that they should be saved.
3And the Elect One shall in those days sit on My throne, And his mouth shall pour forth all the secrets of wisdom and counsel: For the Lord of Spirits hath given (them) to him and hath glorified him.
4And in those days shall the mountains leap like rams, And the hills also shall skip like lambs satisfied with milk, And the faces of [all] the angels in heaven shall be lighted up with joy.
5For in those days the Elect One shall arise, And the earth shall rejoice, And the righteous shall dwell upon it, And the elect shall walk thereon.
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.