Liber Ecclesiasticus, 49

1. Memoria Iosiae in compositionem odoris facta opere pigmentarii;

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

2. in omni ore quasi mel indulcabitur eius memoria et ut musica in convivio vini.

2. He brought a famine upon them, and by his zeal he made them few in number.

3. Ipse est directus divinitus in paenitentia gentis et tulit abominationes impietatis;

3. By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens, and also three times brought down fire.

4. et gubernavit ad Dominum cor suum et in diebus peccatorum corroboravit pietatem.

4. How glorious you were, O Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! And who has the right to boast which you have?

5. Praeter David et Ezechiam et Iosiam, omnes peccatum commiserunt;

5. You who raised a corpse from death and from Hades, by the word of the Most High;

6. nam reliquerunt legem Altissimi reges Iudae et contempserunt timorem Dei;

6. who brought kings down to destruction, and famous men from their beds;

7. dederunt enim regnum suum aliis et gloriam suam alienae genti;

7. who heard rebuke at Sinai and judgments of vengeance at Horeb;

8. incenderunt electam sanctuarii civitatem et desertas fecerunt vias ipsius in manu Ieremiae.

8. who anointed kings to inflict retribution, and prophets to succeed you.

9. Nam male tractaverunt illum, ipse autem a ventre matris consecratus est propheta evertere et eruere et perdere et iterum aedificare et plantare et renovare.

9. You who were taken up by a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with horses of fire;

10. Ezechiel, qui vidit visionem gloriae, quam ostendit illi in curru cherubim.

10. you who are ready at the appointed time, it is written, to calm the wrath of God before it breaks out in fury, to turn the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.

11. Nam et commemoratus est inimicorum in imbre et benefacere illis, qui ostenderunt rectas vias.

11. Blessed are those who saw you, and those who have been adorned in love; for we also shall surely live.

12. Et duodecim prophetarum ossa pullulent de loco suo; nam corroboraverunt Iacob et redemerunt eos in fide virtutis.

12. It was Elijah who was covered by the whirlwind, and Elisha was filled with his spirit; in all his days he did not tremble before any ruler, and no one brought him into subjection.

13. Quomodo amplificemus Zorobabel? Nam et ipse quasi signum in dextera manu;

13. Nothing was too hard for him, and when he was dead his body prophesied.

14. sic et Iesua filius Iosedec. Qui in diebus suis aedificaverunt domum et exaltaverunt templum sanctum Domino paratum in gloriam sempiternam.

14. As in his life he did wonders, so in death his deeds were marvelous.

15. Et Nehemias: in memoria multi temporis, qui erexit nobis muros eversos et stare fecit portas et seras; qui erexit domos nostras.

15. For all this the people did not repent, and they did not forsake their sins, till they were carried away captive from their land and were scattered over all the earth; the people were left very few in number, but with rulers from the house of David.

16. Nemo creatus est in terra qualis Henoch; nam et ipse assumptus est a terra.

16. Some of them did what was pleasing to God, but others multiplied sins.

17. Neque ut Ioseph natus est homo, princeps fratrum, firmamentum gentis;

17. Hezekiah fortified his city, and brought water into the midst of it; he tunneled the sheer rock with iron and built pools for water.

18. et ossa ipsius visitata sunt et post mortem prophetaverunt.

18. In his days Sennacherib came up, and sent the Rabshakeh; he lifted up his hand against Zion and made great boasts in his arrogance.

19. Seth et Sem apud homines gloriam adepti sunt et super omnem animam in origine Adam.

19. Then their hearts were shaken and their hands trembled, and they were in anguish, like women in travail.

20.

20. But they called upon the Lord who is merciful, spreading forth their hands toward him; and the Holy One quickly heard them from heaven, and delivered them by the hand of Isaiah.

21.

21. The Lord smote the camp of the Assyrians, and his angel wiped them out.

22.

22. For Hezekiah did what was pleasing to the Lord, and he held strongly to the ways of David his father, which Isaiah the prophet commanded, who was great and faithful in his vision.

23.

23. In his days the sun went backward, and he lengthened the life of the king.

24.

24. By the spirit of might he saw the last things, and comforted those who mourned in Zion.

25.

25. He revealed what was to occur to the end of time, and the hidden things before they came to pass.