21 For a blameless man was quick to act as their champion;

he brought forward the shield of his ministry,

prayer and propitiation by incense;

he withstood the anger and put an end to the disaster,

showing that he was your servant.

22 He conquered the wrathh not by strength of body,

not by force of arms,

but by his word he subdued the avenger,

appealing to the oaths and covenants given to our ancestors.

23 For when the dead had already fallen on one another in heaps,

he intervened and held back the wrath,

and cut off its way to the living.