The Fall of the Angels and their Punishment; the Deluge foretold (v. 1-20)

The Fall of the Angels and their Punishment; the Deluge foretold (v. 1-20; cf. Gen. vi. 1-12).

V. And it came to pass when the children of men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born unto them, that the angels of God ⁴ saw them on a certain year of this jubilee, that they were

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beautiful to look upon; and they took themselves wives of all whom they chose, and they bare unto them sons and they were giants. ¹ 2. And lawlessness increased on the earth and all flesh corrupted its way, ² alike men and cattle and beasts and birds and everything that walketh on the earth-all of them corrupted their ways and their orders, and they began to devour ³ each other, and lawlessness increased on the earth and every imagination of the thoughts of all men (was) thus evil continually. ⁴ 3. And God looked upon the earth, and behold it was corrupt, and all flesh had corrupted its orders, and all that were upon the earth ⁵ had wrought all manner of evil before His eyes. 4. And He said: "I shall destroy man and all flesh upon the face of the earth which I have created." 5. But Noah found grace before the eyes of the Lord. ⁶ 6. And against the angels whom He had sent upon the earth, He was exceedingly wroth, and He gave commandment to root them out of all their dominion, and He bade us to bind them in the depths of the earth, and behold they are bound in the midst of them, and are (kept) separate. 7. And against their sons went forth a command from before His face that they should be smitten with the sword, and be removed from under heaven. 8. And He said "Thy spirit will not always abide ⁷ on man; for they also are flesh and their days shall be one hundred and twenty years." 9. And He sent His sword into their midst that each should slay his neighbour, and they began to slay each other till they all fell by the sword and were destroyed from the earth. 10. And their fathers were witnesses (of their destruction), and after this they were bound in the depths of the earth for ever, until the day of the great condemnation ⁸ when judgment is executed on all those who have corrupted their ways and their works before

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the Lord. 11. And He †destroyed† all from their places, and there †was† not left one of them whom He judged not according to all their wickedness. 12. And He †made† for all His works a new and righteous nature, ¹ so that they should not sin in their whole nature for ever, but should be all righteous each in his kind alway. 13. And the judgment of all is ordained and written on the heavenly tables in righteousness--even (the judgment of) all who depart from the path which is ordained for them to walk in; and if they walk not therein judgment is written down for every creature and for every kind. 14. And there is nothing in heaven or on earth, or in light or in darkness, or in Sheol or in the depth, or in the place of darkness (which is not judged); and all their judgments are ordained and written and engraved. 15. In regard to all He will judge, the great according to his greatness, and the small according to his smallness, and each according to his way. 16. And He is not one who will regard the person (of any), nor is He one who will receive gifts, if He saith that He will execute judgment on each: if one gave everything that is on the earth, He will not regard the gifts or the person (of any), nor accept anything at his hands, for He is a righteous judge. ² [17. And of the children of Israel it hath been written and ordained: If they turn to Him in righteousness, He will forgive all their transgressions and pardon all their sins. 18. It is written and ordained that He will show mercy to all who turn from all their guilt once each year.] ³ 19.

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[paragraph continues] And as for all those who corrupted their ways and their thoughts before the flood, no man's person was accepted save that of Noah alone; for his person was accepted in behalf of his sons, whom (God) saved from the waters of the flood on his account; for his heart was righteous in all his ways, according as it was commanded regarding him, and he had not departed from aught that was ordained for him. 20. And the Lord said that He would destroy everything which was upon the earth, both men and cattle, and beasts, and fowls of the air, and that which moveth on the earth. ¹

Footnotes

56:4 This is the LXX rendering of Gen, vi. 2 (R.V. "sons of God"). and represents the older Jewish exegesis, which was later given up.

57:1 Giants, i. e. "Nephilim."

57:2 Cf. Gen. vi. 12.

57:3 Cf. 1 Enoch vii. 5.

57:4 Cf. Gen. vi. .5.

57:5 Cf. Gen. vi. 12.

57:6 Cf. Gen. vi. 7, 8.

57:7 Cf. Gen. vi. 3, R.V. marg.

57:8 Cf. 1 Enoch x. 12.

58:1 10-12, as Charles has shown, describe the final judgment. The tenses must be altered from past to future. Render: "until the day of the great condemnation, when judgment shall be executed. . . . And He shall destroy . . . and there shall not be left one of them whom He shall not have judged. . . . And He shall make," etc.

58:2 Cf. xl. 8; Deut. x. 17; 2 Chron. xix. 7.

58:3 The bracketed clauses have been either transposed here or interpolated from xxxiv. 18-19. The reference is to the Day of Atonement which takes place on the 10th of the 7th month. For "once each year," cf. Heb. ix. 7.

59:1 Cf. Gen. vi. 7.