Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 48

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¹And Elijah, the prophet, rose up as fire, that is, burning in the fervent love of God; for why his word burnt as a brand. And Elijah, the prophet, rose as fire; and his word as a brand burned.

²Which brought in hunger on them, and they pursuing or follow-ing him were made few for envy; for they might not suffer the command-ments of the Lord.

³By the word of the Lord he held together heaven, and casted down from it fire to the earth, that is, by the virtue of his prayer, he made fire come down from heaven, on his burnt sacrifice.

⁴So Elijah was alarged in his marvels; and who may have glory in like manner with thee,

⁵which tookest away a dead man from hells or the which hast borne up the dead from hell, from the heritage or lot of death, in the word of the Lord God?

⁶Which castedest down kings to death, and hast broken altogether lightly the power of them, and glor-ious men from their bed.

⁷Which heardest doom in Sinai, and in Horeb dooms of defence, that is, of God’s vengeance.

⁸Which anointest kings to penance, and makest prophets to be successors after thee.

⁹Which were received in a whirl-wind of fire, in a chariot of horses of fire or of fiery horses.

¹⁰Which art written in the dooms of times, to please the wrathfulness or to assuage the wrath of the Lord, to reconcile, or to join, or accord, the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the lineages of Jacob.

¹¹They be blessed or Blessful be they, that saw thee, and were made fair in thy friendship; for why we live only in life, but after death our name shall not be such or such shall not be our name.

¹²Elijah, that was covered in a whirlwind; and his spirit was filled into Elisha. Elisha in his days dreaded not the prince, and no man overcame him by power or by might;

¹³neither any word overcame him, and his dead body prophesied.

¹⁴In his life he did wonders against kind or huge marvels; and in death he wrought marvels.

¹⁵In all these things the people did not penance, and they went not away from their sins, till when they were cast away from their land, and were scattered into each land. And a full few folk was left, and a prince in the house of David.

¹⁶Some of them did that, that pleased God; but others did many sins.

¹⁷Hezekiah made strong or strengthened his city, and brought water into the midst thereof; and he digged a rock with iron, and builded a pit to water.

¹⁸In his days Sennacherib went up, and sent Rabshakeh; and he raised his hand against Zion, and was made proud in his power or might.

¹⁹Then the hearts and hands of them were moved; and they had sorrow as women travailing of or with child.

²⁰And they called to help the merciful Lord, and they spreaded abroad or stretching out the hands, and raised them un to heaven; and the holy Lord God heard soon the voice of them. He had not mind on or remembered not their sins, neither gave them to their enemies; but he purged them in the hand of Isaiah, the holy prophet, by Isaiah praying for them.

²¹The angel of the Lord casted down the castles of Assyrians, and all-brake them. He threw down the tents of Assyrians, and them bruised the angel of the Lord.

²²For why Hezekiah did that that pleased the Lord, and went strongly in the way of David, his father; which way Isaiah, the great prophet, and faithful in the sight of God, com-manded or sent to him.

²³In the days of him the sun went again aback; and God increased life to the king. In his days backward went again the sun; and added to the king’s life.

²⁴With a great spirit he saw the last things; and he comforted the mourners in Zion, into without end.

²⁵He showed things to coming and hid things, before that those came. He showed things to come, and hid, ere that they fell.