Ben Sira 48:1-12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 48
1 Until like fire a prophet appeared,
his words a flaming furnace.(A)
2 The staff of life, their bread, he shattered,
and in his zeal he made them few in number.
3 By God’s word he shut up the heavens
and three times brought down fire.(B)
4 How awesome are you, Elijah!
Whose glory is equal to yours?
5 You brought a dead body back to life
from Sheol, by the will of the Lord.(C)
6 You sent kings down to destruction,
and nobles, from their beds of sickness.(D)
7 You heard threats at Sinai,
at Horeb avenging judgments.(E)
8 You anointed the agent of these punishments,
the prophet to succeed in your place.(F)
9 You were taken aloft in a whirlwind,
in a chariot with fiery horses.(G)
10 You are destined, it is written, in time to come
to put an end to wrath before the day of the Lord,
To turn back the hearts of parents toward their children,
and to re-establish the tribes of Israel.(H)
11 Blessed is the one who shall have seen you before he dies![a]
12 When Elijah was enveloped in the whirlwind,
Elisha was filled with his spirit;[b]
He worked twice as many marvels,(I)
and every utterance of his mouth was wonderful.
During his lifetime he feared no one,
nor was anyone able to intimidate his will.
Footnotes
- 48:11 Verse 11b is not extant in the Hebrew; it is represented in the Greek tradition by “for we too shall certainly live.” But this can hardly be the original reading.
- 48:12–16 Elisha continued Elijah’s work (vv. 12–14), but the obstinacy of the people eventually brought on the destruction of the kingdom of Israel and the dispersion of its subjects. Judah, however, survived under the rule of Davidic kings, both good and bad (vv. 15–16).
James 5:17-18
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
17 Elijah was a human being like us; yet he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain upon the land.(A) 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.(B)
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