Apocryphal books (Old Testament); Enoch (Biblical figure); Ethiopic book of Enoch -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.
And I saw till those shepherds
pastured in their season, and they began to slay and to destroy more
than they were bidden, and they delivered those sheep into the hand of
the lions. 66. And the lions and tigers ate and devoured the greater
part of those sheep, and the wild boars ate along with them; and they
burnt that tower and demolished that house. 67. And I became exceedingly
sorrowful over that tower because that house of the sheep was
demolished, and afterwards I was unable to see if those sheep entered
that house.
LXXXIX. 68-71. _First Period of the Angelic Rulers—from the Destruction
of Jerusalem to the Return from the Captivity._
68. And the shepherds and their associates delivered over those sheep to
all the wild beasts, to devour them, and each one of them received in
his time a definite number: it was written by the other in a book how
many each one of them destroyed of them. 69. And each one slew and
destroyed many more than was prescribed; and I began to weep and lament
on account of those sheep. 70. And thus in the vision I saw that one who
wrote how he wrote down every one that was destroyed by those shepherds,
day by day, and carried up and laid down and showed actually the whole
book to the Lord of the sheep—(even) everything that they had done, and
all that each one of them had made away with, and all that they had
given over to destruction. 71. And the book was read before the Lord of
the sheep, and He took the book from his hand and read it and sealed it
and laid it down.
LXXXIX. 72-77. _Second Period—from the time of Cyrus to that of
Alexander the Great._
72. And forthwith I saw how the shepherds pastured for twelve hours, and
behold three of those sheep turned back and came and entered and began
to build up all that had fallen down of that house; but the wild boars
tried to hinder them, but they were not able. 73. And they began again
to build as before, and they reared up that tower, and it was named the
high tower; and they began again to place a table before the tower, but
all the bread on it was polluted and not pure. 74. And as touching all
this the eyes of those sheep were blinded so that they saw not, and (the
eyes of) their shepherds likewise; and they delivered them in large
numbers to their shepherds for destruction, and they trampled the sheep
with their feet and devoured them. 75. And the Lord of the sheep
remained unmoved till all the sheep were dispersed over the field and
mingled with them (_i. e._ the beasts), and they (_i. e._ the shepherds)
did not save them out of the hand of the beasts. 76. And this one who
wrote the book carried it up, and showed it and read it before the Lord
of the sheep, and implored Him on their account, and besought Him on
their account as he showed Him all the doings of the shepherds, and gave
testimony before Him against all the shepherds. 77. And he took the
actual book and laid it down beside Him and departed.
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