Ecclesiasticus, 48

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

1. And after him Nathan rose up to prophesy in the days of David.

2. It was he who brought famine on them and decimated them in his zeal.

2. As the fat is selected from the peace offering, so David was selected from the sons of Israel.

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

3. He played with lions as with young goats, and with bears as with lambs of the flock.

4. How glorious you were in your miracles, Elijah! Has anyone reason to boast as you have? -

4. In his youth did he not kill a giant, and take away reproach from the people, when he lifted his hand with a stone in the sling and struck down the boasting of Goliath?

5. rousing a corpse from death, from Sheol, by the word of the Most High;

5. For he appealed to the Lord, the Most High, and he gave him strength in his right hand to slay a man mighty in war, to exalt the power of his people.

6. dragging kings down to destruction, and high dignitaries from their beds;

6. So they glorified him for his ten thousands, and praised him for the blessings of the Lord, when the glorious diadem was bestowed upon him.

7. hearing a rebuke on Sinai and decrees of punishment on Horeb;

7. For he wiped out his enemies on every side, and annihilated his adversaries the Philistines; he crushed their power even to this day.

8. anointing kings as avengers, and prophets to succeed you;

8. In all that he did he gave thanks to the Holy One, the Most High, with ascriptions of glory; he sang praise with all his heart, and he loved his Maker.

9. taken up in the whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with fiery horses;

9. He placed singers before the altar, to make sweet melody with their voices.

10. designated in the prophecies of doom to allay God's wrath before the fury breaks, to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.

10. He gave beauty to the feasts, and arranged their times throughout the year, while they praised God's holy name, and the sanctuary resounded from early morning.

11. Blessed, those who will see you, and those who have fallen asleep in love; for we too shall certainly have life.

11. The Lord took away his sins, and exalted his power for ever; he gave him the covenant of kings and a throne of glory in Israel.

12. Such was Elijah, who was enveloped in a whirlwind; and Elisha was filled with his spirit; throughout his life no ruler could shake him, and no one could subdue him.

12. After him rose up a wise son who fared amply because of him;

13. No task was too hard for him, and even in death his body prophesied.

13. Solomon reigned in days of peace, and God gave him rest on every side, that he might build a house for his name and prepare a sanctuary to stand for ever.

14. In his lifetime he performed wonders, and in death his works were marvellous.

14. How wise you became in your youth! You overflowed like a river with understanding.

15. Despite all this the people did not repent, nor did they give up their sins, until they were herded out of their country and scattered all over the earth;

15. Your soul covered the earth, and you filled it with parables and riddles.

16. only a few of the people were left, with a ruler of the House of David. Some of them did what pleased the Lord, others piled sin on sin.

16. Your name reached to far-off islands, and you were loved for your peace.

17. Hezekiah fortified his city, and laid on a water-supply inside it; with iron he tunnelled through the rock and constructed storage-tanks.

17. For your songs and proverbs and parables, and for your interpretations, the countries marveled at you.

18. In his days Sennacherib invaded and sent Rabshakeh; he lifted his hand against Zion, and boasted loudly in his arrogance.

18. In the name of the Lord God, who is called the God of Israel, you gathered gold like tin and amassed silver like lead.

19. Then their hearts and hands trembled, they felt the pangs of a woman in labour,

19. But you laid your loins beside women, and through your body you were brought into subjection.

20. but they called on the merciful Lord, stretching out their hands towards him. Swiftly the Holy One heard them from heaven and delivered them by the agency of Isaiah;

20. You put stain upon your honor, and defiled your posterity, so that you brought wrath upon your children and they were grieved at your folly,

21. he struck the camp of the Assyrians and his Angel annihilated them.

21. so that the sovereignty was divided and a disobedient kingdom arose out of Ephraim.

22. For Hezekiah did what is pleasing to the Lord, and was steadfast in the ways of David his father, enjoined on him by the prophet Isaiah, a great man trustworthy in his vision.

22. But the Lord will never give up his mercy, nor cause any of his works to perish; he will never blot out the descendants of his chosen one, nor destroy the posterity of him who loved him; so he gave a remnant to Jacob, and to David a root of his stock.

23. In his days the sun moved back; he prolonged the life of the king.

23. Solomon rested with his fathers, and left behind him one of his sons, ample in folly and lacking in understanding, Rehoboam, whose policy caused the people to revolt. Also Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin and gave to Ephraim a sinful way.

24. In the power of the spirit he saw the last things, he comforted the mourners of Zion,

24. Their sins became exceedingly many, so as to remove them from their land.

25. he revealed the future to the end of time, and hidden things long before they happened.

25. For they sought out every sort of wickedness, till vengeance came upon them.