1 Enoch 71
Study resource: not ScriptureR. H. Charles translation (1917) · public domain
1And it came to pass after this that my spirit was translated And it ascended into the heavens: And I saw the holy sons of God. They were stepping on flames of fire: Their garments were white [and their raiment], And their faces shone like snow.
2And I saw two streams of fire, And the light of that fire shone like hyacinth, And I fell on my face before the Lord of Spirits.
3And the angel Michael [one of the archangels] seized me by my right hand, And lifted me up and led me forth into all the secrets, And he showed me all the secrets of righteousness.
4And he showed me all the secrets of the ends of the heaven, And all the chambers of all the stars, and all the luminaries, Whence they proceed before the face of the holy ones.
5And he translated my spirit into the heaven of heavens, And I saw there as it were a structure built of crystals, And between those crystals tongues of living fire.
6And my spirit saw the girdle which girt that house of fire, And on its four sides were streams full of living fire, And they girt that house.
7And round about were Seraphin, Cherubin, and Ophannin: And these are they who sleep not And guard the throne of His glory.
8And I saw angels who could not be counted, A thousand thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand, Encircling that house. And Michael, and Raphael, and Gabriel, and Phanuel, And the holy angels who are above the heavens, Go in and out of that house.
9And they came forth from that house, And Michael and Gabriel, Raphael and Phanuel, And many holy angels without number.
10And with them the Head of Days, His head white and pure as wool, And His raiment indescribable.
11And I fell on my face, And my whole body became relaxed, And my spirit was transfigured; And I cried with a loud voice, . . . with the spirit of power, And blessed and glorified and extolled.
12And these blessings which went forth out of my mouth were well pleasing before that Head of Days.
13And that Head of Days came with Michael and Gabriel, Raphael and Phanuel, thousands and ten thousands of angels without number. [Lost passage wherein the Son of Man was described as accompanying the Head of Days, and Enoch asked one of the angels (as in xlvi. 3) concerning the Son of Man as to who he was.]
14And he (i.e. the angel) came to me and greeted me with His voice, and said unto me: ‘This is the Son of Man who is born unto righteousness, And righteousness abides over him, And the righteousness of the Head of Days forsakes him not.’
15And he said unto me: ‘He proclaims unto thee peace in the name of the world to come; For from hence has proceeded peace since the creation of the world, And so shall it be unto thee for ever and for ever and ever.
16And all shall walk in his ways since righteousness never forsaketh him: With him will be their dwelling-places, and with him their heritage, And they shall not be separated from him for ever and ever and ever.
17And so there shall be length of days with that Son of Man, And the righteous shall have peace and an upright way In the name of the Lord of Spirits for ever and ever.’
The chapter, studied
Thou Art the Son of Man: Enoch's Ascent and the Book's Most Debated Verse
In a first-person vision, Enoch's spirit is carried up into the heavens, where he sees angelic "sons of God" stepping on flames, a crystal structure ringed with living fire, and the full ranks of Cherubin, Seraphin, and Ophannin guarding the throne. Michael leads him further in, and Enoch sees "the Head of Days," His head "white and pure as wool." Overwhelmed and transfigured, Enoch falls on his face: and an angel greets him with words that have divided readers for a century: "This is the Son of Man who is born unto righteousness," promising Enoch peace and an unending place with him forever.
This chapter is 1 Enoch's own closing ascent, distinct from chapter 70's brief translation notice, and it deliberately gathers back nearly every image the Parables have built: the throne of the Head of Days from chapter 46, the crystal and fire of chapter 61's court, and the named archangels Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, and Phanuel who appear together here for the first time as a complete group, going "in and out" of the fiery house around God's throne.
The chapter's final turn is the most contested verse in the entire Book of Parables. The angel addresses Enoch directly and says, "This is the Son of Man who is born unto righteousness": language that, read at its most natural in this setting, appears to identify Enoch himself as the Son of Man figure the Parables have described since chapter 46, now seated on judgment's throne. Scholars are genuinely divided over what this means: some read it as a late, awkward identification of Enoch with the pre-existent Son of Man he had been shown throughout the book; others argue the underlying text is better rendered as the angel announcing news about a separate figure rather than declaring Enoch to be that figure, or that this chapter belongs to a distinct layer that does not fully cohere with chapters 46-62's picture of a figure "hidden" and pre-existent before Enoch ever saw him. The honest position for the student is that this text does not resolve cleanly, and no reading should be presented as settled.
What the text does say plainly is that Enoch receives here the same promise given to the righteous throughout the Parables, "length of days," "an upright way," and a dwelling that will "not be separated... for ever", closing the central figure's story with the same peace it has promised every one of the elect since chapter 58.
Doors into the 66
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 it came to pass after this that my spirit was translated And it ascended into the heavens: And I saw the holy sons of God. They were stepping on flames of fire: Their garments were white [and their raiment], And their faces shone like snow.
2And I saw two streams of fire, And the light of that fire shone like hyacinth, And I fell on my face before the Lord of Spirits.
3And the angel Michael [one of the archangels] seized me by my right hand, And lifted me up and led me forth into all the secrets, And he showed me all the secrets of righteousness.
4And he showed me all the secrets of the ends of the heaven, And all the chambers of all the stars, and all the luminaries, Whence they proceed before the face of the holy ones.
5And he translated my spirit into the heaven of heavens, And I saw there as it were a structure built of crystals, And between those crystals tongues of living fire.
6And my spirit saw the girdle which girt that house of fire, And on its four sides were streams full of living fire, And they girt that house.
7And round about were Seraphin, Cherubin, and Ophannin: And these are they who sleep not And guard the throne of His glory.
8And I saw angels who could not be counted, A thousand thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand, Encircling that house. And Michael, and Raphael, and Gabriel, and Phanuel, And the holy angels who are above the heavens, Go in and out of that house.
9And they came forth from that house, And Michael and Gabriel, Raphael and Phanuel, And many holy angels without number.
10And with them the Head of Days, His head white and pure as wool, And His raiment indescribable.
11And I fell on my face, And my whole body became relaxed, And my spirit was transfigured; And I cried with a loud voice, . . . with the spirit of power, And blessed and glorified and extolled.
12And these blessings which went forth out of my mouth were well pleasing before that Head of Days.
13And that Head of Days came with Michael and Gabriel, Raphael and Phanuel, thousands and ten thousands of angels without number. [Lost passage wherein the Son of Man was described as accompanying the Head of Days, and Enoch asked one of the angels (as in xlvi. 3) concerning the Son of Man as to who he was.]
14And he (i.e. the angel) came to me and greeted me with His voice, and said unto me: ‘This is the Son of Man who is born unto righteousness, And righteousness abides over him, And the righteousness of the Head of Days forsakes him not.’
15And he said unto me: ‘He proclaims unto thee peace in the name of the world to come; For from hence has proceeded peace since the creation of the world, And so shall it be unto thee for ever and for ever and ever.
16And all shall walk in his ways since righteousness never forsaketh him: With him will be their dwelling-places, and with him their heritage, And they shall not be separated from him for ever and ever and ever.
17And so there shall be length of days with that Son of Man, And the righteous shall have peace and an upright way In the name of the Lord of Spirits for ever and 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.