Enoch 22

1 And from there I went to another place, and he showed me in the west another great and high mountain of hard rock. [a] 2 In it were four hollow places, deep and wide and very smooth. How smooth these hollow places are, and deep and dark to look at!

3 Then Raphael answered — one of the holy messengers who was with me — and said to me, “These hollow places have been created for this very purpose: that the spirits of the souls of the dead should assemble in them — yes, that all the souls of the children of men should assemble here. [b] 4 And these places have been made to receive them until the day of their judgment, and until their appointed time, until the time appointed, until the great judgment comes upon them.”

5 I saw the spirit of a dead man bringing a complaint, and his voice went out to heaven and made its complaint. [c] 6 And I asked Raphael the messenger who was with me, and I said to him, “This spirit that is bringing a complaint — whose is it, whose voice goes out and makes its complaint to heaven?” 7 And he answered me, saying, “This is the spirit that went out from Abel, whom his brother Cain killed; and he brings his complaint against him until his offspring is destroyed from the face of the earth, and his offspring is wiped out from among the offspring of men.”

8 Then I asked about it, and about all the hollow places, “Why is one separated from the other?”

9 And he answered me and said to me, “These three have been made so that the spirits of the dead might be separated. And such a division has been made for the spirits of the righteous, in which there is the bright spring of water. [d] 10 And such has been made for sinners when they die and are buried in the earth, and judgment has not been carried out on them in their lifetime. 11 Here their spirits will be set apart in this great pain, until the great day of judgment and punishment and torment of those who curse forever, and retribution for their spirits. There he will bind them forever. 12 And such a division has been made for the spirits of those who bring their complaint, who make known their destruction, when they were killed in the days of the sinners. 13 Such has been made for the spirits of men who were not righteous but sinners, who were complete in transgression; and they will be companions of the transgressors. But their spirits will not be killed on the day of judgment, nor will they be raised from there.”

14 Then I blessed the Lord of glory and said, “Blessed be my Lord, the Lord of righteousness, who rules forever.”