Ecclesiasticus 48

¹And there arose Elias the prophet, as it were fire, and his word burnt as a little torch.

²Who brought famine upon them, and they provoking him in their envy were made few, for they could not abide the precepts of our Lord.

³By the word of our Lord he stayed heaven, and he brought down fire from heaven thrice.

⁴So was Elias magnified in his marvelous works. And who can so glory like unto thee?

⁵Who didst raise up the dead from hell, from the lot of death, in the word of our Lord God.

⁶Who didst cast down kings to destruction, and didst easily break their might, and the glorious from their bed.

⁷Who hearest judgement in Sina, and in Horeb judgements of defence.

⁸Who anointest kings to repentance, and makest Prophets successors after thee.

⁹Who wast received in a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot of fiery horses.

¹⁰Who art written in the judgements of times, to appease the wrath of our Lord, to reconcile the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.

¹¹Blessed are they that saw thee, and were honoured in thy friendship.

¹²For we live by life only, but after death our name shall not be such.

¹³Elias was indeed hid in the whirlwind, & his spirit was complete in Eliseus: in his days he feared not the Prince, and no man overcame him by might.

¹⁴Neither did any word overcome him, and his body prophesied being dead.

¹⁵In his life he did wonders, and in death he wrought marvelous things.

¹⁶In all these things the people repented not, and they departed not from their sins, till they were cast out of their land, and were dispersed into all the earth.

¹⁷And there was left a very small nation, and a Prince in the house of David.

¹⁸Some of them did that which pleased God: but others committed many sins.

¹⁹Ezechias fenced his city, and brought in water into the midst thereof, and digged a rock with iron, and built a well for water.

²⁰In his days came up Sennacherib, and sent Rabsaces, and lifted up his hand against them, and put forth his hand upon Sion, and became proud by his mightiness.

²¹Then were their hearts and hands moved: and they were in sorrow as travailing women.

²²And they invocated our merciful Lord, and spreading their hands, they lifted them up to heaven, and the holy Lord God quickly heard their voice.

²³He was not mindful of their sins, neither did he give them to their enemies, but purged them by the hand of Isaie the holy Prophet.

²⁴He overthrew the camp of the Assyrians, and the Angel of our Lord destroyed them.

²⁵For Ezechias did that which pleased God, and went strongly in the way of David his father, which Isaie commanded him, the great prophet, and faithful in the sight of God.

²⁶In his days the sun returned backward, & added life to the king.

²⁷By a great spirit he saw the last things, and comforted the mourners in Sion.

²⁸For ever he shewed the things to come, & secret things before they came to pass.