First Reading
Sirach 48:1-14
1 Then the prophet Eliʹjah arose like a fire, and his word burned like a torch. 2 He brought a famine upon them, and by his zeal he made them few in number. 3 By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens, and also three times brought down fire. 4 How glorious you were, O Eliʹjah, in your wondrous deeds! And who has the right to boast which you have? 5 You who raised a corpse from death and from Hades, by the word of the Most High; 6 who brought kings down to destruction, and famous men from their beds; 7 who heard rebuke at Sinai and judgments of vengeance at Horeb; 8 who anointed kings to inflict retribution, and prophets to succeed you. 9 You who were taken up by a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with horses of fire; 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 Blessed are those who saw you, and those who have been adorned in love; for we also shall surely live. 12 It was Eliʹjah who was covered by the whirlwind, and Eliʹsha was filled with his spirit; in all his days he did not tremble before any ruler, and no one brought him into subjection. 13 Nothing was too hard for him, and when he was dead his body prophesied. 14 As in his life he did wonders, so in death his deeds were marvelous.
