Sirach 48

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Then the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, his word flaring like a torch.	1 And the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, and his word burned like a torch.
2 It was he who brought famine on them and decimated them in his zeal.	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 the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens, three times also he 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 glorious you were in your miracles, Elijah! Has anyone reason to boast as you have? -	4 In this way, Elijah was magnified in his wondrous works. So who can say that he is similar to you in glory?
5 rousing a corpse from death, from Sheol, by the word of the Most High;	5 He raised up a dead man from the grave, from the fate of death, by the word of the Lord God.
6 dragging kings down to destruction, and high dignitaries from their beds;	6 He threw down kings unto perdition, and he easily shattered their power and boasting from his bed.
7 hearing a rebuke on Sinai and decrees of punishment on Horeb;	7 He heeded the judgment at Sinai, and the judgments of punishment at Horeb.
8 anointing kings as avengers, and prophets to succeed you;	8 He anointed kings unto repentance, and he chose the prophets who would follow after him.
9 taken up in the whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with fiery horses;	9 He was received into a whirlwind of fire, into a swift 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 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, those who wil see you, and those who have fal en asleep in love; for we too shal certainlyhave life.	11 Blessed are those who saw you, and who were adorned with your friendship.
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 For we live only in our life, and after death, our name will not be the same.
13 No task was too hard for him, and even in death his body prophesied.	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 his lifetime he performed wonders, and in death his works were marvel ous.	14 No word overwhelmed him, and after death, his body prophesied.
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 In his life, he gave great portents, and in death, he wrought miracles.
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 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 laid on a water-supply inside it; with iron he tunnelled through the rockand constructed storage-tanks.	17 And there was left behind a people very few in number, but with a leader in the house of David.
18 In his days Sennacherib invaded and sent Rabshakeh; he lifted his hand against Zion, and boastedloudly in his arrogance.	18 Some of these did what pleased God. But others committed many sins.
19 Then their hearts and hands trembled, they felt the pangs of a woman in labour,	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 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 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 he struck the camp of the Assyrians and his Angel annihilated them.	21 Then their hearts and hands shook. And they were in pain, like women giving birth.
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 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 days the sun moved back; he 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 In the power of the spirit he saw the last things, he comforted the mourners of Zion,	24 He threw down the army of the Assyrians, and the Angel of the Lord crushed them.
25 he revealed the future to the end of time, and hidden things long before they happened.	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.