Sirach · WEB-C
Sirach
48
Bible textSynthetic voice (AI)
Then Elijah arose, the prophet like fire. His word burned like a torch. He brought a famine upon them, and by his zeal made them few in number. By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens. He brought down fire three times. How you were glorified, O Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Whose glory is like yours? You raised up a dead man from death, from Hades, by the word of the Most High. You brought down kings to destruction, and honorable men from their sickbeds. You heard rebuke in Sinai, and judgments of vengeance in Horeb. You anointed kings for retribution, and prophets to succeed after you. You were taken up in a tempest of fire, in a chariot of fiery horses. You were recorded for reproofs in their seasons, to pacify anger, before it broke out into wrath, to turn the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob. Blessed are those who saw you, and those who have been beautified with love; for we also shall surely live. Elijah was wrapped in a whirlwind. Elisha was filled with his spirit. In his days he was not moved by the fear of any ruler, and no one brought him into subjection. Nothing was too hard for him. When he was buried, his body prophesied. As in his life he did wonders, so his works were also marvelous in death. For all this the people didn’t repent. They didn’t depart from their sins, until they were carried away as a plunder from their land, and were scattered through all the earth. The people were left very few in number, but with a ruler from the house of David. Some of them did that which was right, but some multiplied sins. Hezekiah fortified his city, and brought water into its midst. He tunneled through rock with iron, and built cisterns for water. In his days Sennacherib invaded, and sent Rabshakeh, and departed. He lifted up his hand against Zion, and boasted great things in his arrogance. Then their hearts and their hands were shaken, and they were in pain, as women in labor. But they called upon the Lord who is merciful, spreading out their hands to him. The Holy One quickly heard them out of Heaven, and delivered them by the hand of Isaiah. He struck the camp of the Assyrians, and his angel utterly destroyed them. For Hezekiah did that which was pleasing to the Lord, and was strong in the ways of his ancestor David, which Isaiah the prophet commanded, who was great and faithful in his vision. In his days the sun went backward. He prolonged the life of the king. He saw by an excellent spirit what would come to pass in the future; and he comforted those who mourned in Zion. He showed the things that would happen through the end of time, and the hidden things before they came.
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Notes · Haydock (1859, public domain)17 notes
Notes in English 19th-century Catholic commentary by Fr. George Leo Haydock, shown as published.
These notes keep the polemics of their time: some speak harshly of the Jewish people or of other Christians. The Church teaches otherwise today. The Jewish people may not be blamed for the death of Christ (Nostra Aetate 4; Catechism 597–598), and Christians of other communities are our brothers and sisters in the Lord (Unitatis Redintegratio 3). Christian unity
Sirach 48:1
Ver. 1. Torch. He was animated with a burning zeal, (M.) like John the Baptist, admonishing kings, &c. Jo. v. 35. Lu. i. 17. C.
↑ 1Sirach 48:2
Ver. 2. And they. Gr. "and by his zeal he diminished them. By," &c. H. --- He slew the priests of Baal, and many perished by famine. 4 K. xviii. Grot. C.
↑ 2Sirach 48:3
Ver. 3. Heaven. That it should not rain for three years and a-half. 3 K. xvii. 1. ---
Thrice. First upon his sacrifice, and twice to destroy fifty soldiers. Ib. 38. and 4
K. i. 10. C. W.
↑ 3Sirach 48:5
Ver. 5. Man. The son of the widow of Sarepta.
↑ 5Sirach 48:6
Ver. 6. Destruction. The prophets are said to perform what they foretell; to indicate the certainty of the event. Elias denounced death to Achab, Jezabel, Ochozias, and the two Jorams. 4 K. ix.
12. and 2 Par. xxi. 12. &c. C. --- Brokest. Gr. "those in honour from," &c.
alluding to (H.) Ochozias and Joram. 4 K. i. 16. and 1 Par. xxi. 15. C.
↑ 6Sirach 48:7
Ver. 7. Judgment. Gr. "the reprimand of the Lord," for betraying fear, (3 K. xix.
3. 9. 12. H.) or the reprimand regarded Israel. C.
↑ 7Sirach 48:8
Ver. 8. Penance. Gr. "reward," (H.) or punish the guilty. Hazael and Jehu were anointed by Eliseus, though by order of Elias. --- Thee. Eliseus was called from the plough, and adhered to his master, who governed the sons of the prophets in large communities.
↑ 8Sirach 48:10
Ver. 10. Jacob. Prot. reject the authority of this book, partly (H.) on account of this (W.) ancient tradition. Enoch and Elias will appear in the days of antichrist, to convert many. The Jews will then agree with the Patriarchs, and embrace the religion of Christ. C. --- Elias came in the person of John the Baptist, at the first coming of our Saviour, but he will come in person before his second appearance. H. --- The application which Christ makes of the prediction of Malachy (iv.
6.) to the Baptist, does not exclude this more distant accomplishment. Elias is still alive in some part of the world, as well as Enoch, whom S. Aug. styled "the first-born ( primogenitor) of our resurrection." De Civ. Dei. xv. 19. 4 K. ii. 11.
↑ 10Sirach 48:11
Ver. 11. Friendship. Like Eliseus, or the disciples of both. C. --- Gr. "who slept in love, for we also shall live indeed; (13.) Elias," &c. H. --- When we shall witness thy return, if we prove faithful, we may expect an immortal name, and not otherwise. C. --- He speaks in the person of those who shall live at that time. H.
↑ 11Sirach 48:13
Ver. 13. Eliseus. Who received his double spirit, with his garment. 4 K. ii. 15. ---
Prince.
Joram. 4 K. iii. 14. and vi. 32.
↑ 13Sirach 48:14
Ver. 14. Overcome. Or "escape." Gr. Syr. He knew what Giezi and the Syrians were doing, at a distance. 4 K. v. 26. and vi. 12. --- Prophesied. Or raised the dead to life. 4 K. xiii. 21. C. ---
On his death-bed (v. 15.) he also foretold the victory of Joas. Ib. 14. Vatab. &c.
--- The miracle wrought by his relics (H.) shewed that he was a true prophet. W.
↑ 14Sirach 48:19
Ver. 19. Thereof. From Gehon, a fountain on the west. 2 Par. xxxii. 30. C.
↑ 19Sirach 48:20
Ver. 20. Lifted. Gr. "removed from Lachis, and, "&c. 4 K. xviii. &c.
↑ 20Sirach 48:23
Ver. 23. He was. Gr. "and he purified (H. or redeemed, C.) them by the hand ( ministry) of Isaias.
(24.) He," &c. H. --- Prayer prevailed when troops were insufficient. 4 K. xix. W.
↑ 23Sirach 48:25
Ver. 25. Sight. Gr. "vision." All his predictions were verified. C.
↑ 25Sirach 48:26
Ver. 26. Life. Fifteen years. Is. xxxviii. and 4 K. xl. 11. H.
↑ 26Sirach 48:27
Ver. 27. At last. After the captivity, (Is. ii. 2. C.) or in the days of the Messias. M.
↑ 27License: Notes by Fr. George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), from the Douay-Rheims Bible with Haydock's commentary (first ed. Thomas Haydock, Manchester/Dublin, 1811–1814; New York: Edward Dunigan & Brother, 1859); New Testament notes compiled with Fr. Benedict Rayment. Public domain. Digital text: "The Haydock Bible", Internet Archive (archive.org/details/TheHaydockBible), uploaded 2011 under the Public Domain Mark. · Credits and licenses