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“To whom are these going, holding them [i.e. the chains]?” 3. And he said to me: “Each one to his chosen and his beloved, that they be thrown into the deep abyss of the valley. 4. And then that valley will be filled with their chosen and beloved, and the day of their lives will be ended, and the day of their error will, from that time on, not be counted.” 5. And in those days the angels will assemble, and turn their heads toward the east, towards the people of Parthia and Media, in order to excite the kings, and that a spirit of disturbance come over them, and disturb them from off their thrones, that they come forth from their resting places like lions, and like hungry wolves amidst their flocks. 6. And they will ascend and step upon the land of their chosen, and the land of his chosen will be before them a threshing-floor and a path. 7. But the city of my just will be a hindrance to their horses, and they will take up a battle amongst themselves, and their right will become strong against themselves, and a man will not know his neighbor or his brother, nor the son his father or his mother, until there shall be sufficient bodies by their death and their punishment over them,—it will not be in vain. 8. And in those days the mouth of Sheol will be opened, and they will sink into it; and their destruction, Sheol, will devour the sinners from the presence of the chosen. CuHap. 57.—And it came to pass after this that I saw again a host of wagons, upon which men were riding, and they came upon the wind from the east and from the west to the south. 2. And the noise of their wagons was heard, and as this commotion took place, the holy ones from heaven noticed it; and the pillars of the earth were moved from their place, and it was heard from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens in ONE day. 3. And they will all fall down and bend the knee before the Lord of the spirits. And this is the end of the second Parable. Cuap. 45, 1. With this chapter commences the most interesting and most important part of the whole book, the second parable, which extends to chapter 57, and gives an account of the Messiah,—his person, his judgment, with its consequences for both righteous and unrighteous. The first verse, which is manifestly intended as a superscription, has been the cause of some trouble, as it does not seem to indicate the contents of the parable, and Drummond, p. 63, has made use of this apparent discrepancy for his curious theory of interpolation. Yet a proper understanding of the word concerning will probably clear up the matter. The original word is diba, and is a preposition very frequently used in an adversative and inimical sense, like GTR, adversus, contra, in. It is so used in our own book 10:9; 56:7, and often in the Ethiopic version of the Bible, e.g. Ex. xvii. 3; Num. xvi. 3; Deut. xv. 9; Ps. xiv. 4; Ezek. xxxii. 9, 10; Matt. xii. 32; xxiv. 7; Acts xxiii. 5, 30; Mark iii. 29, etc; cf. Dillmann, Lexicon Aethiopico-Latin. col. 1104, and Aethiopis. Gramm. p. 313. The author does not so much desire to give a description of the unhappy fate of the unjust, but ratherin a general manner directs his polemics against those who will not believe in a Messianic rule and judgment; it is his defense of HTR against those who accept only HTR. That this object as stated here is in strict conformity with the contents of the parable is apparent at first glance.—2. Cf. notes on 38:1; 41:2.—3. Chosen One, the most frequent name of the Messiah in the Parables; cf. note on 40:5. Throne of glory, 51:3; 62:1-9; 69:27-29, also throne of God, 47:3; 55:4; 62:1-9. In the first part God himself is judge, but here it is the Messiah, 51:3; 55:4; 69:27; but according to 47:3; 62:2 it may seem as if God himself will judge. The difficulty is solved in 69:27, where we learn that although God is in reality the judge he has empowered the Messiah to act in his name; what is done by God’s deputy is virtually done by himself; cf. note on 10:7. Choose, cf. note on 41:1. Without number, 39:6; probably to indicate that many shall enjoy this happy time. Strong, i.e. hopeful and encouraged because the day of their oppression is over.—4. Cf. notes on 1:2 and 39:1.—5. Heaven and earth changed is a characteristic of the Messianic times portrayed by both the first and this part of Enoch, based on Isa. lxv.