1 Enoch 9
Study resource: not ScriptureR. H. Charles translation (1917) · public domain
1And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth.
2And they said one to another: ‘The earth made without inhabitant cries the voice of their cryings up to the gates of heaven.
3And now to you, the holy ones of heaven, the souls of men make their suit, saying, “Bring our cause before the Most High.”’
4And they said to the Lord of the ages: ‘Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, and God of the ages, the throne of Thy glory (standeth) unto all the generations of the ages, and Thy name holy and glorious and blessed unto all the ages!
5Thou hast made all things, and power over all things hast Thou: and all things are naked and open in Thy sight, and Thou seest all things, and nothing can hide itself from Thee.
6Thou seest what Azâzêl hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn:
7And Semjâzâ, to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates.
8And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins.
9And the women have borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness.
10And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are wrought on the earth.
11And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.’
The chapter, studied
Four Archangels Bring the Earth's Case to Heaven
Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel look down, see the bloodshed on earth, and bring the matter before God directly. They name Azazel's teaching and Semjaza's leadership specifically, and report that the murdered cry out and the women who bore giants have filled the earth with unrighteousness.
This chapter functions as the trial scene the previous two chapters have been building toward. Four named archangels, a set that recurs across Second Temple Jewish literature, take the role of prosecuting witnesses, and their prayer (vv. 4-11) opens with a stack of divine titles ("Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings") before laying out the charge in careful order: Azazel's forbidden teaching, Semjaza's leadership of the union with human women, and the resulting giants who have filled the earth with blood.
The archangels do not ask God to act because He is unaware: verse 11 says plainly, "Thou knowest all things before they come to pass" — they ask because the wrong itself must be publicly answered. It is an appeal for justice, not information, structured the way a courtroom plea is structured: here is the evidence, here is the harm, now render judgment.
Doors into the 66
- Daniel 10:13 — Michael appears as a contending prince in Daniel exactly as he appears here: a named archangel active in a heavenly dispute on behalf of the righteous.
- Luke 1:19 — Gabriel names himself as one who stands in God's presence, the same role of heavenly messenger and intercessor he holds in this chapter's court scene.
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. I — The Book of the Watchers (2019)
A verse-by-verse reader's commentary on chapters 1–36: the closest thing in print to a study Bible for this section.
Michael S. Heiser
Reversing Hermon: Enoch, the Watchers, and the Forgotten Mission of Jesus Christ (2017)
How the Watchers story of these chapters stands behind New Testament theology.
Gary Wayne
The Genesis 6 Conspiracy (2014)
A topical case for the Watchers reading these chapters narrate: giants, bloodlines, and the seed war.
Timothy Alberino
Birthright: The Coming Posthuman Apocalypse and the Usurpation of Adam's Dominion on Planet Earth (2020)
Reads the Watchers rebellion of these chapters into the Bible's larger dominion story.
1And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth.
2And they said one to another: ‘The earth made without inhabitant cries the voice of their cryings up to the gates of heaven.
3And now to you, the holy ones of heaven, the souls of men make their suit, saying, “Bring our cause before the Most High.”’
4And they said to the Lord of the ages: ‘Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, and God of the ages, the throne of Thy glory (standeth) unto all the generations of the ages, and Thy name holy and glorious and blessed unto all the ages!
5Thou hast made all things, and power over all things hast Thou: and all things are naked and open in Thy sight, and Thou seest all things, and nothing can hide itself from Thee.
6Thou seest what Azâzêl hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn:
7And Semjâzâ, to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates.
8And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins.
9And the women have borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness.
10And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are wrought on the earth.
11And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.’
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.