Chanuk (Enoch) — 21

1 Then I made a circuit to a place in which nothing was completed.

2 And there I beheld neither the tremendous workmanship of an exalted Shamaym, nor of an established Arath, but a desolate spot, prepared, and terrific.

3 There, too, I beheld seven stars of Shamaym bound in it together, like great mountains, and like a blazing fire. I exclaimed: For what species of crime have they been bound, and why have they been removed to this place? Then Uriy'Al, one of the Qadash Malak who was with me, and who conducted me, answered: Chanuk, wherefore do you ask; wherefore do you reason with yourself, and anxiously inquire? These are those of the stars which have transgressed the commandment of AL'ALYUN; and are here bound, until the infinite number of the days of their crimes be completed.

4 From there I afterwards passed on to another terrific place;

5 Where I beheld the operation of a great fire blazing and glittering, in the midst of which there was a division. Columns of fire struggled together to the end of the abyss, and deep was their descent. But neither its measurement nor magnitude was I able to discover; neither could I perceive its origin. Then I exclaimed: How terrible is this place, and how difficult to explore!

6 Uriy'Al, one of the Qadash Malak who was with me, answered and said: Chanuk, why are you alarmed and amazed at this terrific place, at the sight of this suffering? This, he said, is the prison of the Malakym; and here they are kept forever.