Sirach 48

Then stood up ^aElias the prophet as fire,

And his word ^bburnt like a lamp.

^2cHe ^dbrought a sore famine upon them,

And by his zeal he diminished their number.

^3cBy the word of the Lord he shut up the heaven,

And also ^dthree times brought down fire.

⁴O Elias, ^ddhow wast thou honoured in thy wondrous deeds!

And who may glory like unto thee!

^5eWho didst raise up a dead man from death,

And his soul from the place of the dead, by the word of the most High:

^6fWho broughtest kings to destruction,

And ^ghonourable men from their ^gbed:

^7hWho heardest the rebuke of the Lord in Sinai,

And in ⁱHoreb the judgment of vengeance:

^8kWho anointedst kings to take revenge,

And ^kprophets to succeed after him:

^9lWho wast taken up in a whirlwind of fire,

And in a chariot of fiery horses:

¹⁰Who wast ordained for reproofs in their times,

To pacify the wrath of the Lord’s judgment, before it break forth into fury,

And ^mto turn the heart of the father unto the son,

And ⁿto restore the tribes of Jacob.

¹¹Blessed are they that saw thee,

And slept in love;

For we shall surely live.

^12lElias it was, who was covered with a whirlwind:

And ^oEliseus was filled with his spirit:

Whilst he lived, ^phe was not moved with the presence of any prince,

Neither could any bring him into subjection.

^13qNo word could overcome him;

And ^rafter his ^sdeath his body prophesied.

¹⁴He did wonders in his life,

And at his death were his works marvellous.

¹⁵For all this the people repented not,

Neither departed they from their sins,

^tTill they were spoiled and carried out of their land,

And were scattered through all the earth:

^uYet there remained a small people,

And a ruler in the house of David:

¹⁶Of whom some did that which was pleasing to God,

And some multiplied sins.

^17vEzekias ^wfortified his city,

And ^xbrought in water into the midst thereof:

He digged the hard rock with iron,

And made ^xwells for waters.

¹⁸In his time ^ySennacherib came up,

And sent Rabsaces,

And lift up his hand against Sion,

And boasted proudly.

¹⁹Then trembled their hearts and hands,

And they ^zwere in pain, as women in travail.

^20aBut they called upon the Lord which is merciful,

And ^bstretched out their hands towards him:

And immediately the Holy One heard them out of heaven,

And delivered them by the ministry of Esay.

^21cHe smote the host of the Assyrians,

And ^chis angel destroyed them.

^22dFor Ezekias had done the thing that pleased the Lord,

And was strong in the ways of David his father,

^eAs Esay the prophet, who was great

And ^ffaithful in his vision, had commanded him.

^23gIn his time the sun went backward,

And he lengthened the king’s life.

²⁴He saw by an excellent spirit what should come to pass at the last,

And ^hhe comforted them that mourned in Sion.

²⁵He shewed what should come to pass for ever,

And secret things or ever they came.

XLIX.