1 Enoch

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Chapter 98

1 And now I swear to you, to the wise and to the foolish, for you will experience many things on the earth. 2 For men will wear more ornaments than a woman, and colored garments more than a virgin: in royalty, grandeur, and power, and in silver, gold, and purple, and in splendor and food they will be lavished on as if with water. 3 So they will lack teaching and wisdom, and will perish along with their possessions; and with all their glory and splendor, and in shame, slaughter, and great poverty, their spirits will be thrown into the furnace of fire. 4 I have sworn to you, sinners, that just as a mountain has not become a servant, nor a hill the maidservant of a woman, so sin was not sent upon the earth, but man created it himself, and those who commit it will fall under a great curse.⁠ 5 Barrenness was not given to the woman, but she dies without children because of the deeds of her own hands. 6 I have sworn to you, sinners, by the Holy Great One, that all your evil deeds are revealed in the heavens, and none of your deeds of oppression are concealed or hidden. 7 Do not think in your spirit nor say in your heart that you do not know or see that every sin is recorded every day in heaven in the presence of the Most High.⁠ 8 From now on you know that all the oppression with which you oppress is recorded every day until the day of your judgment. 9 Woe to you, fools, for through your folly you will perish; and you transgress against the wise, and good fortune will not be your lot. 10 And now, know that you are prepared for the day of destruction; so do not hope to live, sinners, but you will depart and die; for you know no ransom, for you are prepared for the day of great judgment, for the day of tribulation and great shame for your spirits. 11 Woe to you, stubborn of heart, who do wickedness and eat blood: where do you expect to receive good things to eat and drink and be satisfied? From all the good things which the Lord the Most High has placed abundantly on the earth;⁠ so you will have no peace. 12 Woe to you who love the deeds of unrighteousness: why do you hope for good fortune for yourselves? Know that you will be handed over into the hands of the righteous, and they will cut off your heads and kill you, and have no mercy on you. 13 Woe to you who rejoice in the trouble of the righteous, for no grave will be dug for you. 14 Woe to you who reject the words of the righteous, for you will have no hope of life. 15 Woe to you who write down lying and godless words; for they write their lies so that men may hear them and act wickedly toward their neighbors.⁠ 16 So they will have no peace but die a sudden death.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 98:4 and James 1:14

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

Summary

James and 1 Enoch both reject the idea that sin comes from outside forces, including God. In 1 Enoch, sin is something humans create and are responsible for. James expresses a similar idea, teaching that temptation begins with a person’s own desires.

Passages

1 Enoch 98:4

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

2 For men will wear more ornaments than a woman, and colored garments more than a virgin: in royalty, grandeur, and power, and in silver, gold, and purple, and in splendor and food they will be lavished on as if with water. 3 So they will lack teaching and wisdom, and will perish along with their possessions; and with all their glory and splendor, and in shame, slaughter, and great poverty, their spirits will be thrown into the furnace of fire. 4 I have sworn to you, sinners, that just as a mountain has not become a servant, nor a hill the maidservant of a woman, so sin was not sent upon the earth, but man created it himself, and those who commit it will fall under a great curse. 5 Barrenness was not given to the woman, but she dies without children because of the deeds of her own hands.

300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

James 1:14

New Testament

12 Happy is the one who endures testing because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. 15 Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death. 16 Do not be led astray, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. 18 By his sovereign plan he gave us birth through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in James

References

"... As in Deuteronomy 30:19 the promise for those who are faithful is life, although this life is now an eschatological gift rather than the prolonging and blessing of life in this world. The alternative to this gift, as in Deuteronomy 30:19, is death as is evident from James 1:14-15. Therefore, the depiction of faithfulness and unfaithfulness in James 1:12-15 presents the audience with an implicit choice between life and death; the urgency of this choice being underscored by the preceding depiction of the fate of the `rich' brother in verses 10-11. The depiction of love, faith and endurance in James 1:12 contrasts sharply with the person who says, 'I am tested/tempted by God' (1:13). Such a speech seeks to pass the responsibility for one's own sin and suffering onto God, a tendency well documented in antiquity (Homer, Odessey 1.32-34; Aeschines, Timaeus 190; Philo, On the Flight and Finding of Moses 78-81; On the Confusion of Tongues 161; Proverbs 19:3; Sirach 15:15; 1 Enoch 98:4). However, James' prohibition warns the audience against adopting such a position because it represents not only a misconception of God, but also a misunderstanding of the origin of trials and sin. For James, the misconception of God's character involved in saying, `I am tested by God', is twofold in nature, since God does not test anyone. The latter claim that God does not test anyone explicitly denies that God is the source of trials, thus removing any ground for blaming God for the hardships and failures that occur when faced with trying situations ..."

Jonathan G. May, Covenant Loyalty and the Goodness of God: A Study in the Theology of James (University of Glasgow, 2002), 179–180.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

1 Enoch108 chapters

Compare 1 Enoch 98:4 and James 1:14

Summary

Passages

1 Enoch 98:4

James 1:14

References

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