Sirach 48

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Then the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, his word flaring like a torch.	1 Till like a fire there appeared the prophet whose words were as a flaming furnace.
2 It was he who brought famine on them and decimated them in his zeal.	2 Their staff of bread he shattered, in his zeal he reduced them to straits;
3 By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens, three times also he brought down fire.	3 By God's word he shut up the heavens and three times brought down fire.
4 How glorious you were in your miracles, Elijah! Has anyone reason to boast as you have? -	4 How awesome are you, ELIJAH! Whose glory is equal to yours?
5 rousing a corpse from death, from Sheol, by the word of the Most High;	5 You brought a dead man back to life from the nether world, by the will of the LORD.
6 dragging kings down to destruction, and high dignitaries from their beds;	6 You sent kings down to destruction, and nobles, from their beds of sickness.
7 hearing a rebuke on Sinai and decrees of punishment on Horeb;	7 You heard threats at Sinai, at Horeb avenging judgments.
8 anointing kings as avengers, and prophets to succeed you;	8 You anointed kings who should inflict vengeance, and a prophet as your successor.
9 taken up in the whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with fiery horses;	9 You were taken aloft in a whirlwind, in a chariot with fiery horses.
10 designated in the prophecies of doom to allay God's wrath before the fury breaks, to turn the hearts offathers towards their children, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.	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.
11 Blessed, those who wil see you, and those who have fal en asleep in love; for we too shal certainlyhave life.	11 Blessed is he who shall have seen you before he dies,
12 Such was Elijah, who was enveloped in a whirlwind; and Elisha was fil ed with his spirit; throughout hislife no ruler could shake him, and no one could subdue him.	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.
13 No task was too hard for him, and even in death his body prophesied.	13 Nothing was beyond his power; beneath him flesh was brought back into life.
14 In his lifetime he performed wonders, and in death his works were marvel ous.	14 In life he performed wonders, and after death, marvelous deeds.
15 Despite al this the people did not repent, nor did they give up their sins, until they were herded out oftheir country and scattered al over the earth;	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.
16 only a few of the people were left, with a ruler of the House of David. Some of them did what pleasedthe Lord, others piled sin on sin.	16 Some of these did what was right, but others were extremely sinful.
17 Hezekiah fortified his city, and laid on a water-supply inside it; with iron he tunnelled through the rockand constructed storage-tanks.	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.
18 In his days Sennacherib invaded and sent Rabshakeh; he lifted his hand against Zion, and boastedloudly in his arrogance.	18 During his reign Sennacherib led an invasion and sent his adjutant; He shook his fist at Zion and blasphemed God in his pride.
19 Then their hearts and hands trembled, they felt the pangs of a woman in labour,	19 The people's hearts melted within them, and they were in anguish like that of childbirth.
20 but they cal ed on the merciful Lord, stretching out their hands towards him. Swiftly the Holy Oneheard them from heaven and delivered them by the agency of Isaiah;	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.
21 he struck the camp of the Assyrians and his Angel annihilated them.	21 God struck the camp of the Assyrians and routed them with a plague.
22 For Hezekiah did what is pleasing to the Lord, and was steadfast in the ways of David his father,enjoined on him by the prophet Isaiah, a great man trustworthy in his vision.	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.
23 In his days the sun moved back; he prolonged the life of the king.	23 In his lifetime he turned back the sun and prolonged the life of the king.
24 In the power of the spirit he saw the last things, he comforted the mourners of Zion,	24 By his powerful spirit he looked into the future and consoled the mourners of Zion;
25 he revealed the future to the end of time, and hidden things long before they happened.	25 He foretold what should be till the end of time, hidden things yet to be fulfilled.