Sirach 48

¹And the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, and his word burned like a torch

²He 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

³By the word of the Lord, he closed the heavens, and he brought down fire from heaven three times

⁴In this way, Elijah was magnified in his wondrous works. So who can say that he is similar to you in glory

⁵He raised up a dead man from the grave, from the fate of death, by the word of the Lord God

⁶He threw down kings unto perdition, and he easily shattered their power and boasting from his bed

⁷He heeded the judgment at Sinai, and the judgments of punishment at Horeb

⁸He anointed kings unto repentance, and he chose the prophets who would follow after him

⁹He was received into a whirlwind of fire, into a swift chariot with fiery horses

¹⁰He 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

¹¹Blessed are those who saw you, and who were adorned with your friendship

¹²For we live only in our life, and after death, our name will not be the same

¹³Certainly, 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

¹⁴No word overwhelmed him, and after death, his body prophesied

¹⁵In his life, he gave great portents, and in death, he wrought miracles

¹⁶In 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

¹⁷And there was left behind a people very few in number, but with a leader in the house of David

¹⁸Some of these did what pleased God. But others committed many sins

¹⁹Hezekiah fortified his city, and he brought water into its midst, and he dug into rock with iron, and he built a well for water

²⁰In 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

²¹Then their hearts and hands shook. And they were in pain, like women giving birth

²²And 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

²³He 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

²⁴He threw down the army of the Assyrians, and the Angel of the Lord crushed them

²⁵For 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

²⁶In his days, the sun went backwards, and he added to the king’s life

²⁷With a great spirit he saw the final things. And he consoled the mourners in Zion

²⁸He revealed the future, even the distant future, and hidden things before they occurred