89 HANOCH - ENOCH 89
The Great Flood
89:1 Then one of those four went to those snow-white bull and taught one of them a secret: he was born a bull but became a person; and he built for himself a big boat and dwelt upon it. Three cows dwelt together with him in that boat, and that boat was covered over them.
89:2 And again I raised my eyes towards heaven and saw a lofty roof, with seven water torrents thereon, and those torrents flowed with much water into an enclosure.
89:3 Again I saw, and behold, fountains were opened upon the ground of that great enclosed area, and the water began to swell and rise upon the ground; and I saw that enclosed area until the whole ground was completely covered with water.
89:4 Water, darkness, and mist accumulated heavily upon it; and I looked at the ascent of that water going up and up until it rose above that enclosed area, and was streaming above the enclosed area; thus it was standing above the ground.
89:5 And everything that was in the enclosed area; and all those on the ground were gathered together until I saw them sinking, being swallowed up, and perishing in that water.
89:6 Yet that boat was floating above the water, though all the cattle, elephants, camels, and donkeys were sinking to the bottom; so I could no longer see anyone of the animals for they had no ability to come out but only to perish and sink into the deep water.
89:7 Again I kept seeing in the vision until those cascading streams were dissipated from that high ceiling, the fountains of the earth were normalized, and other pits were opened.
89:8 Then the water began to descend into them until the ground became visible, that boat settled upon the earth, the darkness vanished, and it became light.
89:9 Then the snow-white bulls which became a man came out from that boat together with three cows. One of those three cows was snow-white, similar to that first cow, and one of them red like blood. Now that first snow-white cow departed from them.
From the Flood to the Exodus
89:10 Then they began to bear the beasts of the fields and the birds. There arose out of them all classes of population: lions, leopards, wolves, snakes, hyenas, wild boars, foxes, squirrels, swine, hawks, eagles, kites, striped crows, and ravens. Among them there was also born a snow-white cow.
89:11 Then they began to bite one another among themselves. That snow-white cow which was born in their midst begat a wild ass, and a snow-white cow with it; and the wild asses multiplied.
89:12 And that cow which was born from him bore a black wild boar and a snow-white sheep; the former then bore healthy beasts and the latter bore twelve sheep.
89:13 When those twelve sheep had grown up, they gave away one of their own members to the donkeys, which in turn gave him away to the wolves; so this sheep grew up in the midst of the wolves.
89:14 Then the Master brought the eleven sheep to dwell with him, and to pasture in the midst of the wolves; and they multiplied and became many flocks of sheep.
89:15 Then the wolves began to fears them; so they tortured them until their little ones were being killed for they cast away their little ones into a river of great quantity of water. So those sheep began to cry aloud on behalf of their little ones and to complain unto their Master.
89:16 Then one sheep which had been saved from the wolves fled and escaped to the wild asses. But I saw the sheep continuing to lament and cry aloud; and they kept praying to their Master with all their strength until the Master of the sheep descended at their entreatment, from a lofty palace, arriving to visit them.
89:17 He called that sheep which had escaped from the wolves and told him concerning the wolves that he should warn the wolves not to touch the sheep.
89:18 That sheep then went to the wolves in accordance with the word of the Master, together with another sheep which he had met, so the two of them went on and arrived together into the assembly of those wolves, and spoke to them and warned them not to touch the sheep.
89:19 But thenceforth I saw how the wolves even intensified their pressure upon the sheep. They, the sheep, cried aloud; they cried aloud with all their strength.
89:20 Then their Master came to the rescue of the sheep, whereupon they began to whip those wolves. So the wolves began to make lamentations, but the sheep thereafter became quiet and stopped crying aloud.
89:21 I continued to see the sheep until they departed from the presence of the wolves, and the wolves until their eyes were dazzled; yet the wolves went out to pursue those sheep, with all their might.
89:22 But the Master of the sheep went with them as their leader, while all his sheep were following him; his face was splendid, adorable, and marvelous to behold.
89:23 As for the wolves, they continued to pursue those sheep until they found them at a certain pool of water.
89:24 Then the pool of water was rent asunder, and the water stood apart on this and on that side before their very eyes, and their Master, their leader, stood between them and the wolves.
89:25 Those wolves were still not able to see the sheep, and the sheep walked through that pool of water; then the wolves followed the sheep and ran after them into that pool of water.
89:26 Then when they saw the Master of the sheep, they turned in order to flee from before his face. But that pool of water gathered itself together and immediately returned to its normal state, the water became full and rose high until it covered completely those wolves.
89:27 Thus I saw till the wolves which pursued those sheep perished and were drowned.
From the Exodus to the Entrance to the Land of Canaan
89:28 So the sheep proceeded past that water and arrived in the desert, where there was no water or grass; but they began to open their eyes and see. Then I saw the Master of the sheep bringing them to a pasture and giving them grass and water. Also that sheep was leading them as they were proceeding forward.
89:29 That sheep then ascended to the summit of that lofty rock; and YAHWEH of the sheep sent him to them.
89:30 And after that I saw the Master of the sheep who stood before them, and His appearance was majestic, marvelous, and powerful; all those sheep beheld him and were afraid before his face.
89:31 All of them feared and trembled because of him, and cried aloud to that sheep who was leading them and to the other sheep who was also in their midst, saying: “We are not able to stand before the presence of our Master and to look at him.”
89:32 Then that sheep which was leading them turned back and again ascended to the summit of that rock; meanwhile the sheep began to be dim-sighted in their eyes, and went astray from the path which he had shown them; but that sheep was not aware of it.
89:33 So the Master of the sheep became angry at them with great wrath; and that sheep became aware of it, and having descended from the summit of that rock, came to the sheep and found that the majority of them had been blinded in their eyes and gone astray.
89:34 And those who saw him became afraid, trembling in his presence, and wanted to return to their folds.
89:35 So that sheep took some other different sheep together with them and came to those sheep which had gone astray, slaying them; and the sheep became frightened in his presence. He, that sheep, thus caused those sheep which went astray to return, and brought them back into their folds.
89:36 I continued to see in that vision till that sheep was transformed into a man and built a house for the Master of the sheep, and placed the sheep in it.
89:37 I, moreover, continued to see until that sheep, which had met the sheep that was their leader, fell asleep and all the senior sheep perished, junior ones rising to take their places. Then coming into a pasture they approached a stream of water.
89:38 There that sheep who was leading them; the one who had become a man; departed from them, and all of them went to sleep. Then the rest of the sheep sought him; and there took place a great cry over him.
89:39 And I kept looking till they quieted down from crying for that sheep, crossed that stream of water, and all of the sheep stopped. Those who were leading them made agreements with those whom they found and they led them.
89:40 I still kept seeing the sheep till they arrived at a very pleasant place and in a land beautiful and splendid; I saw those sheep being satiated; and that house was in their midst in the beautiful land, by which their eyes become opened.
From Judges to the building of the Temple
89:41 And when their eyes become dim -sighted until another sheep arose and led them, they would all return and their eyes became opened.
89:42 Now the dogs, foxes, and the wild boars began to devour those sheep till the Master of the sheep raised up another sheep one from among them -a ram which would lead them.
89:43 That ram began to fight on all sides those dogs, foxes, and wild boars until he destroyed all of them.
89:44 Then that sheep had his eyes opened; and he saw that ram which was among the sheep, how he abandoned his own splendor and began to attack those sheep, to trample upon them, and went away without dignity.
89:45 So the Master of the sheep sent the sheep to another sheep and promoted him to become a ram and lead the sheep in place of that sheep which had abandoned his own splendor.
89:46 After having gone to him, he spoke to him privately and raised that ram, making him a judge and a leader of the people -throughout this time the dogs were continuing to covet the sheep.
89:47 The first ram then persecuted that second ram, so that latter ram arose and escaped from before his the former's presence; and then I continued to look until those dogs toppled that first sheep.
89:48 But that second ram arose and led the little sheep. That ram begat many sheep and fell asleep before a little sheep became a ram in his place, a judge and a leader of those sheep.
89:49 Those sheep grew and multiplied, but all those dogs, foxes, and wild boars feared and fled before him. That ram attacked and killed all the wild beasts; and all the wild beasts were no longer able to return among the sheep or to rob absolutely anything from them.
89:50 Then that house became great and spacious; a lofty building was built upon it for that sheep, as well as a tall and great tower upon it for the Master of the sheep; that house was low but the tower was really elevated and lofty. Then the Master of the sheep stood upon that tower, and they offered a full table before him.
The two kingdoms of Israel and Judah: the destruction of Jerusalem
89:51 Again I saw those sheep, how they went astray, going in diverse ways and abandoning that house of his. Then the Master of the sheep called some from among the sheep and sent them to the sheep, but the sheep began to slay them.
89:52 However, one of them was not killed but escaped alive and fled away; he cried aloud to the sheep, and they wanted to kill him, but the Master of the sheep rescued him from the sheep and caused him to ascend to me and settle down.
89:53 He sent many other sheep to those sheep to testify to them and to lament over them.
89:54 Thereafter I saw that, when they abandoned the house of their Master and his tower, they went astray completely, and their eyes became blindfolded. Then I saw the Master of the sheep, how he executed much slaughter upon them, in their flocks, until those sheep began to invoke that slaughter, and he vindicated his place.
89:55 He left them in the hands of the lions, leopards, and wolves, hyenas, as well as in the hands of the foxes and to all the wild beasts; and these wild beasts of the wilderness began to tear those sheep into pieces.
89:56 I saw how he left that house of theirs and that tower of theirs and cast all of them into the hands of the lions -even into the hands of all the wild beasts -so that they may tear them into pieces and eat them.
89:57 Then I began to cry aloud with all my strength and to call upon the master of the lions and to reveal to him concerning the sheep, for he had fed them to all the wild beasts.
89:58 But he remained quiet and happy because they were being devoured, swallowed, and snatched; so he abandoned them into the hands of all the wild beasts for food.
89:59 He then summoned seventy shepherds and surrendered those sheep to them so that they might pasture them. He spoke to the shepherds and their colleagues, “From now on, let each and every one of you graze the sheep; and do everything which I command you.
89:60 I shall hand them over to you duly counted and tell you which among them are to be destroyed; and you shall destroy them!
89:61 So he handed over those sheep to them. Then calling another group of shepherds, he told them, “Take notice and see everything which the shepherds will do to those sheep; for they will destroy from among them a greater number than those which I have commanded them.”
89:62 “You write down every excess and destruction that will be wrought through the shepherds -how many they destroy according to my command, and how many they will destroy of their own accord! Write down every destruction that each and every shepherd causes, against their records!”
89:63 “And read aloud before me each particular case -how many they destroy and how many they give over to destruction -so that this may become a testimony for me against them, so that I may know all the deeds of the shepherds, and so that I may evaluate them and see what they do, whether they act according to my command which I have commanded them or not.”
89:64 “If they do not know it, do not reveal it to them, neither admonish them, but write down every destruction caused by the shepherds -for each and every one in his appointed time -and elevate all of it to me.”
89:65 And I saw till those shepherds in their appointed time pastured the sheep and began killing and destroying many in excess of what they had been commanded; and they abandoned those sheep into the hands of the lions.
89:66 So the lions and the leopards ate and devoured the majority of those sheep; the wild boars also ate along with them. Then they burned that tower and plowed that house.
89:67 And I became exceedingly sorrowful on account of that tower, for that house of the sheep was being plowed; thereafter I was unable to see whether those sheep could enter that house.
From the destruction of Jerusalem to the return from exile
89:68 So the shepherds and their colleagues handed over those sheep to all the wild beasts so that they might devour them. At the appointed time, each one among them the shepherds receives the sheep in a fixed number; and each one among them the shepherds hands them the sheep over to the other the colleague in a fixed number. Then they shall write down for the other the colleague in a book how many among them the sheep would perish.
89:69 Each and every one of them kills and destroys in excess of their order. So I began to weep and cry aloud on account of those sheep.
89:70 In this manner I saw that writer in my vision -how he writes down that which was destroyed by those shepherds, every day, and how he elevates, puts down, and shows the whole book to YAHWEH of the sheep; everything that each one has done; everything that each and every one of them has eliminated; and everything that they have given over to destruction.
89:71 The book was read before the Master of the sheep; and he took it from his hand, read it, sealed it, and laid it down.
89:72 Thereafter I saw the shepherds pasturing for twelve hours: behold, three of those sheep returning, arriving, entering, and beginning to build all the parts of that house which had fallen down! The wild boars came and tried to hinder them but were unsuccessful.
From the return of the exiles to the beginning of the Hellenistic period
89:73 They again began to build as before; and they raised up that tower which is called the high tower. But they started to place a table before the tower, with all the food which is upon it being polluted and impure.
89:74 Regarding all these matters, the eyes of the sheep became so dim -sighted that they could not see -and likewise in respect to their shepherds -and they were delivered to their shepherds for an excessive destruction, so that the sheep were trampled upon and eaten.
89:75 The Master of the sheep remained silent until all the sheep were dispersed into the woods and got mixed among the wild beasts, -and could not be rescued from the hands of the beasts.
89:76 The one who was writing a book elevated and showed it and read the grave words of the Master of the sheep. He then pleaded to him and begged him on account of the sheep, while manifesting to him all the deeds of the shepherds and giving testimony before him against all the shepherds.
89:77 Then taking it, he placed that very book beside him in this manner and departed.