1 And the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, and his word burned like a torch.
2 He brought a famine upon them, and those who provoked him in their envy became few. For they could not bear the precepts of the Lord.
3 By the word of the Lord, he closed the heavens, and he brought down fire from heaven three times.
4 In this way, Elijah was magnified in his wondrous works. So who can say that he is similar to you in glory?
5 He raised up a dead man from the grave, from the fate of death, by the word of the Lord God.
6 He threw down kings unto perdition, and he easily shattered their power and boasting from his bed.
7 He heeded the judgment at Sinai, and the judgments of punishment at Horeb.
8 He anointed kings unto repentance, and he chose the prophets who would follow after him.
9 He was received into a whirlwind of fire, into a swift chariot with fiery horses.
10 He is written in the judgments of the times, so as to lessen the wrath of the Lord, to reconcile the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.
11 Blessed are those who saw you, and who were adorned with your friendship.
12 For we live only in our life, and after death, our name will not be the same.
13 Certainly, Elijah was covered by the whirlwind, and his spirit was completed in Elisha. In his days, he was not fearful of the ruler, and no power defeated him.
14 No word overwhelmed him, and after death, his body prophesied.
15 In his life, he gave great portents, and in death, he wrought miracles.
16 In all these things, the people did not repent, and they did not withdraw from their sins, even until they were cast out of their land, and were dispersed throughout all the earth.
17 And there was left behind a people very few in number, but with a leader in the house of David.
18 Some of these did what pleased God. But others committed many sins.
19 Hezekiah fortified his city, and he brought water into its midst, and he dug into rock with iron, and he built a well for water.
20 In his days, Sennacherib rose up, and he sent Rabshakeh, and he lifted up his hand against them, and he extended his hand against Zion, and he became arrogant in his power.
21 Then their hearts and hands shook. And they were in pain, like women giving birth.
22 And they called upon the merciful Lord. And they spread their hands and lifted them up to heaven. And the holy Lord God quickly heeded their voice.
23 He was not mindful of their sins, and he did not give them over to their enemies. Instead, he purified them by the hand of Isaiah, the holy prophet.
24 He threw down the army of the Assyrians, and the Angel of the Lord crushed them.
25 For Hezekiah did what pleased God, and he went with fortitude in the way of David his father, just as he had been commanded by Isaiah, a prophet great and faithful in the sight of God.
26 In his days, the sun went backwards, and he added to the king’s life.
27 With a great spirit he saw the final things. And he consoled the mourners in Zion.
28 He revealed the future, even the distant future, and hidden things before they occurred.
1 The memory of Josiah is like a blend of fragrances composed by the work of a perfumer.
2 His remembrance will be sweet like honey in every mouth, and like music at a banquet of wine.
3 He was divinely directed for the repentance of the nation, and he took away the abominations of impiety.
4 And he guided his heart toward the Lord. And during the days of sinners, he strengthened piety.
5 Other than David, and Hezekiah, and Josiah, everyone committed sin.
6 For the kings of Judah abandoned the law of the Most High, and they held contempt for the fear of God.
7 For they gave their kingdom to foreigners, and their glory to a strange people.
8 They set fire to the chosen city of sanctity, and they made its streets desolate, in accord with the hand of Jeremiah.
9 For they treated him wickedly, though he was consecrated as a prophet from his mother’s womb: to overthrow, and to root out, and to destroy, and also to rebuild and to renew.
10 It was Ezekiel who saw a vision of glory, which was revealed to him with the chariot of the Cherubim.
11 For it called to mind the enemies under the figure of rain, to do good to those who have revealed the upright ways.
12 And may the bones of the twelve prophets spring up from their place. For they strengthened Jacob, and they redeemed themselves with a virtuous faith.
13 How will we magnify Zerubbabel? For he, too, was like a signet on the right hand.
14 So also was Jesus, the son of Jozadak, who in their days built the house, and raised up a holy temple to the Lord, as a preparation for everlasting glory.
15 And may Nehemiah be remembered for a long time. He raised up for us the walls that had been torn down. And he made firm the gates and the bars. He raised up our houses.
16 No one has been born upon the earth like Enoch. And he was also taken up from the earth.
17 And there was no one like Joseph, who was a man born to be foremost among his brothers, the firmament of his clan, a guide to his brethren, the mainstay of his people.
18 And his bones were visited, and after death, they prophesied.
19 Shem and Seth obtained glory among men. And above every soul, at the very beginning, was Adam.
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1 But when Nicanor discovered Judas to be in the places of Samaria, he decided to meet him in warfare with all violence, on the Sabbath day.
2 In truth, the Jews who followed him out of necessity were saying: “Do not act so fiercely and barbarously, but give honor to the day of sanctification and reverence to him who beholds all things.”
3 That unhappy man asked, “Is there a powerful One in heaven, who commanded the day of the Sabbath to be kept.”
4 And they responded to him, “There is the living Lord himself in heaven, the powerful One, who ordered the seventh day to be kept.”
5 And so he said: “I also am powerful upon the earth, so I command arms to be taken up and the king’s plans to be fulfilled.” Nevertheless, he did not succeed in accomplishing his plan.
6 And Nicanor, being certainly lifted up with the greatest arrogance, had decided to establish a public monument of his victory over Judas.
7 But Maccabeus, as always, trusted with all hope that God would be present to help them.
8 And he exhorted his own not to fear the arrival of the nations, but to keep in mind the assistance they had received before from heaven, and now to hope for a future victory from the Almighty.
9 And speaking to them from the law and the prophets, reminding them even of the conflicts they had fought before, he made them more willing.
10 And so, having raised up their courage, at the same time he revealed the deceitful plan of the Gentiles and their betrayal of the oaths.
11 Then he armed every one of them, not with the weapons of shield and spear, but with the best speeches and exhortations; and he explained to them a dream, worthy to be believed, in which he rejoiced with them all.
12 Now the vision was in this manner: Onias, who had been high priest, a good and kind man, modest in appearance, gentle in manners, and noble in speech, and who from boyhood was trained in the virtues, extending his hands, prayed on behalf of all the people of the Jews.
13 After this, there appeared also another man, admirable in age and glory, and with a bearing of great dignity about him.
14 In truth, Onias responded by saying: “This one loves his brothers and the people of Israel. This is he who prays greatly for the people and for all the holy city: Jeremiah, the prophet of God.”
15 Then Jeremiah extended his right hand, and he gave to Judas a sword of gold, saying:
16 Receive this holy sword as a gift from God, with it you shall cast down the adversaries of my people Israel.
17 And so, having been exhorted by the very good words of Judas, by which the readiness and courage of the young men were able to be raised and strengthened, they resolved to strive and to contend with fortitude, so that virtue would judge the matter, because the holy city and the temple were in peril.
18 For their concern was less for their wives and sons, and likewise less for their brothers and relatives; in truth, their greatest and first fear was for the sanctity of the temple.
19 But those also who were in the city had no small concern for those who had gathered together.
1 Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: let his praise be in the church of the saints.
2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: and let the children of Sion be joyful in their king.
3 Let them praise his name in choir: let them sing to him with the timbrel and the psaltery.
4 For the Lord is well pleased with his people: and he will exalt the meek unto salvation.
5 The saints shall rejoice in glory: they shall be joyful in their beds.
6 The high praise of God shall be in their mouth: and two-edged swords in their hands:
7 To execute vengeance upon the nations, chastisements among the people:
8 To bind their kings with fetters, and their nobles with manacles of iron.
9 To execute upon them the judgment that is written: this glory is to all his saints. Alleluia.
1 I saw the new heaven and the new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and the sea is no more.
2 And I, John, saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying: “Behold the tabernacle of God with men. And he will dwell with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be their God with them.
4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. And death shall be no more. And neither mourning, nor crying out, nor grief shall be anymore. For the first things have passed away.”
5 And the One who was sitting upon the throne, said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And he said to me, “Write, for these words are entirely faithful and true.”
6 And he said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To those who thirst, I will give freely from the fountain of the water of life.
7 Whoever prevails shall possess these things. And I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the fearful, and the unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and drug users, and idolaters, and all liars, these shall be a part of the pool burning with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.”
9 And one of the seven Angels, those holding the bowls filled with the seven last afflictions, approached and spoke with me, saying: “Come, and I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
10 And he took me up in spirit to a great and high mountain. And he showed me the Holy City Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 having the glory of God. And its light was like that of a precious stone, even like that of the jasper stone or like crystal.
12 And it had a wall, great and high, having twelve gates. And at the gates were twelve Angels. And names were written upon them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel.
13 On the East were three gates, and on the North were three gates, and on the South were three gates, and on the West were three gates.
14 And the wall of the City had twelve foundations. And upon them were the twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he who was speaking with me was holding a golden measuring reed, in order to measure the City, and its gates and wall.
16 And the city is laid out as a square, and so its length is as great as the width. And he measured the city with the golden reed for twelve thousand stadia, and its length and height and breadth were equal.
17 And he measured its wall as one hundred and forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, which is of an Angel.
18 And the structure of its wall was of jasper stone. Yet truly, the city itself was of pure gold, similar to pure glass.
19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was of jasper, the second was of sapphire, the third was of chalcedony, the fourth was of emerald,
20 the fifth was of sardonyx, the sixth was of sardius, the seventh was of chrysolite, the eighth was of beryl, the ninth was of topaz, the tenth was of chrysoprasus, the eleventh was of jacinth, the twelfth was of amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, one for each, so that each gate was made from a single pearl. And the main street of the city was of pure gold, similar to transparent glass.
22 And I saw no temple in it. For the Lord God Almighty is its temple, and the Lamb.
23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine in it. For the glory of God has illuminated it, and the Lamb is its lamp.
24 And the nations shall walk by its light. And the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into it.
25 And its gates shall not be closed throughout the day, for there shall be no night in that place.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.
27 There shall not enter into it anything defiled, nor anything causing an abomination, nor anything false, but only those who have been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb.
