Enoch's Blessings and Curses Before His Departure

With his departure drawing near, Enoch delivered a series of blessings and curses — a final reckoning, sharp as a blade, that laid bare the difference between the righteous and the wicked.

Blessed is the man who opens his lips in praise of God and worships with his whole heart. Cursed is the one who opens his lips to slander his neighbor — for in doing so, he brings God into contempt.

Blessed is the one who blesses all the Lord's works. Cursed is the one who holds creation in contempt.

Blessed is the one who looks down and lifts up the fallen. Cursed is the one who looks eagerly toward the destruction of what is not his.

Blessed is the one who keeps the foundations laid by his fathers from the beginning. Cursed is the one who perverts the decrees of his ancestors.

Blessed is the one who brings peace and love. Cursed is the one who disturbs those who love their neighbors.

Blessed is the one who speaks with a humble tongue and heart to all. Cursed is the one who speaks peace with his tongue while carrying a sword in his heart.

"All these things," Enoch declared, "will be laid bare on the weighing-scales and in the books, on the day of the great judgment."

Then a harder truth: "Do not say, 'Our father stands before God and prays for our sins.' There is no helper for any man who has sinned. I wrote down every person's works before their creation — everything done among all people for all time. The Lord sees every imagination. He knows how vain they are, where they hide in the treasure-houses of the heart."

"Mark well my words," he urged them, "lest you regret it later, saying: 'Why did our father not tell us?'"

He handed them the books one final time. "Let these be your inheritance of peace. Give them to all who want them. Instruct them, that they may see the Lord's marvelous works."

Then Enoch looked at the angels standing beside him — the ones who had been waiting on earth for the appointed moment — and said: "My children, the day of my term has arrived. The angels who will go with me are standing before me, urging my departure. They are here on earth, waiting for what has been ordained."

"Tomorrow I shall ascend to heaven," he told them, "to the uppermost Jerusalem — my eternal inheritance. Therefore I command you: do all good things before the Lord's face."