Sirach 48

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Till like a fire there appeared the prophet whose words were as a flaming furnace.	1 And the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, and his word burned like a torch.
2 Their staff of bread he shattered, in his zeal he reduced them to straits;	2 He brought a famine upon them, and those who provoked him in their envy became few. For they could not bear the precepts of the Lord.
3 By God's word he shut up the heavens and three times brought down fire.	3 By the word of the Lord, he closed the heavens, and he brought down fire from heaven three times.
4 How awesome are you, ELIJAH! Whose glory is equal to yours?	4 In this way, Elijah was magnified in his wondrous works. So who can say that he is similar to you in glory?
5 You brought a dead man back to life from the nether world, by the will of the LORD.	5 He raised up a dead man from the grave, from the fate of death, by the word of the Lord God.
6 You sent kings down to destruction, and nobles, from their beds of sickness.	6 He threw down kings unto perdition, and he easily shattered their power and boasting from his bed.
7 You heard threats at Sinai, at Horeb avenging judgments.	7 He heeded the judgment at Sinai, and the judgments of punishment at Horeb.
8 You anointed kings who should inflict vengeance, and a prophet as your successor.	8 He anointed kings unto repentance, and he chose the prophets who would follow after him.
9 You were taken aloft in a whirlwind, in a chariot with fiery horses.	9 He was received into a whirlwind of fire, into a swift chariot with fiery horses.
10 You are destined, it is written, in time to come to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD, To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to reestablish the tribes of Jacob.	10 He is written in the judgments of the times, so as to lessen the wrath of the Lord, to reconcile the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.
11 Blessed is he who shall have seen you before he dies,	11 Blessed are those who saw you, and who were adorned with your friendship.
12 O Elijah, enveloped in the whirlwind! Then ELISHA, filled with a twofold portion of his spirit, wrought many marvels by his mere word. During his lifetime he feared no one, nor was any man able to intimidate his will.	12 For we live only in our life, and after death, our name will not be the same.
13 Nothing was beyond his power; beneath him flesh was brought back into life.	13 Certainly, Elijah was covered by the whirlwind, and his spirit was completed in Elisha. In his days, he was not fearful of the ruler, and no power defeated him.
14 In life he performed wonders, and after death, marvelous deeds.	14 No word overwhelmed him, and after death, his body prophesied.
15 Despite all this the people did not repent, nor did they give up their sins, Until they were rooted out of their land and scattered all over the earth. But Judah remained, a tiny people, with its rulers from the house of David.	15 In his life, he gave great portents, and in death, he wrought miracles.
16 Some of these did what was right, but others were extremely sinful.	16 In all these things, the people did not repent, and they did not withdraw from their sins, even until they were cast out of their land, and were dispersed throughout all the earth.
17 HEZEKIAH fortified his city and had water brought into it; With iron tools he cut through the rock and he built reservoirs for water.	17 And there was left behind a people very few in number, but with a leader in the house of David.
18 During his reign Sennacherib led an invasion and sent his adjutant; He shook his fist at Zion and blasphemed God in his pride.	18 Some of these did what pleased God. But others committed many sins.
19 The people's hearts melted within them, and they were in anguish like that of childbirth.	19 Hezekiah fortified his city, and he brought water into its midst, and he dug into rock with iron, and he built a well for water.
20 But they called upon the Most High God and lifted up their hands to him; He heard the prayer they uttered, and saved them through ISAIAH.	20 In his days, Sennacherib rose up, and he sent Rabshakeh, and he lifted up his hand against them, and he extended his hand against Zion, and he became arrogant in his power.
21 God struck the camp of the Assyrians and routed them with a plague.	21 Then their hearts and hands shook. And they were in pain, like women giving birth.
22 For Hezekiah did what was right and held fast to the paths of David, As ordered by the illustrious prophet Isaiah, who saw the truth in visions.	22 And they called upon the merciful Lord. And they spread their hands and lifted them up to heaven. And the holy Lord God quickly heeded their voice.
23 In his lifetime he turned back the sun and prolonged the life of the king.	23 He was not mindful of their sins, and he did not give them over to their enemies. Instead, he purified them by the hand of Isaiah, the holy prophet.
24 By his powerful spirit he looked into the future and consoled the mourners of Zion;	24 He threw down the army of the Assyrians, and the Angel of the Lord crushed them.
25 He foretold what should be till the end of time, hidden things yet to be fulfilled.	25 For Hezekiah did what pleased God, and he went with fortitude in the way of David his father, just as he had been commanded by Isaiah, a prophet great and faithful in the sight of God.
	26 In his days, the sun went backwards, and he added to the king’s life.
	27 With a great spirit he saw the final things. And he consoled the mourners in Zion.
	28 He revealed the future, even the distant future, and hidden things before they occurred.