Sirach 38–39

Honour a physician with the ^ahonour due unto him for the ^luses which you may have of him:

^bFor the Lord hath created him.

²For of the most High cometh healing,

And he shall receive ^chonour of the king.

³The skill of the physician shall lift up his head:

And in the sight of great men he shall be in admiration.

⁴The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth;

And he that is wise will not abhor them.

^5dWas not the water made sweet with wood,

That the virtue thereof might be known?

⁶And he hath given men skill,

That he might be honoured in his marvellous works.

⁷With such doth he heal men,

And taketh away their pains.

⁸Of such doth the apothecary make a ^econfection;

And of his works there is no end;

And from him is ^fpeace over all the earth.

⁹My son, in thy sickness be not negligent:

But ^gpray unto the Lord, and he will make thee whole.

^10hLeave off from sin, and order thine hands aright,

And ⁱcleanse thy heart from all wickedness.

¹¹Give a ^jsweet savour, and a memorial of ^jfine flour;

And make a fat offering, as not being.

¹²Then ^kgive place to the physician, ^bfor the Lord hath created him:

Let him not go from thee, for thou hast ^lneed of him.

¹³There is a time when in their hands there is ^mgood success.

¹⁴For they shall also pray unto the Lord, that he would prosper

That, which they give for ^fease and remedy to prolong life.

¹⁵ⁿHe that sinneth before his Maker,

Let him fall into the hand of the physician.

¹⁶My son, ^olet tears fall down over the dead,

And begin to lament, as if thou hadst suffered great harm thyself;

And then cover his body according to the custom,

And neglect not his burial.

¹⁷Weep bitterly, and make great moan,

And use lamentation, as he is worthy,

And that a day or two, lest thou be evil spoken of:

And then comfort thyself for thy heaviness.

¹⁸For ^pof heaviness cometh death,

And ^qthe heaviness of the heart breaketh strength.

¹⁹In ^raffliction also sorrow remaineth:

And the life of the poor is the curse of the heart.

²⁰Take no heaviness to heart:

Drive it away, and ^sremember the last end.

²¹Forget it not, for there is no turning again:

Thou shalt not do him good, but hurt thyself.

²²Remember my judgment: for thine also shall be so;

Yesterday for me, and to day for thee.

^23tWhen the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest;

And be comforted for him, when his spirit is departed from him.

²⁴The wisdom of a ^ulearned man cometh by opportunity of leisure:

And he that hath little business shall become wise.

²⁵How can he get wisdom that holdeth the plough,

And that glorieth in the goad,

That driveth oxen, and is occupied in their labours,

And whose ^vtalk is of bullocks?

²⁶He giveth his mind to make furrows;

And is diligent to give the kine fodder.

²⁷So every carpenter and ^wworkmaster,

That laboureth night and day:

And they that cut and grave seals,

And are diligent to ^xmake great variety,

And ^ygive themselves to counterfeit imagery,

And ^ywatch to finish a work:

^28zThe smith also sitting by the anvil,

And considering the iron work,

The vapour of the fire wasteth his flesh,

And he fighteth with the heat of the furnace:

The noise of the hammer and the anvil is ever in his ears,

And his eyes look still upon the pattern of the thing that he maketh;

^yHe setteth his mind to finish his work,

And ^ywatcheth to polish it ^aperfectly:

²⁹So doth the potter sitting at his work,

And ^bturning the wheel about with his feet,

Who is alway carefully set at his work,

And maketh all his work by number;

³⁰He fashioneth the clay with his arm,

And boweth down his strength before his feet;

^yHe applieth himself to lead it over;

And ^yhe is diligent to make clean the furnace:

³¹All these trust to their hands:

And every one is wise in his work.

³²Without these cannot a city be inhabited:

And they shall not dwell where they will, nor go up and down:

³³They shall not be sought for in publick counsel,

Nor sit high in the congregation:

They shall not sit on the judges’ seat,

Nor understand the sentence of judgment:

They cannot declare justice and judgment;

And ^cthey shall not be found where parables are spoken.

³⁴But they will maintain the state of the world,

And all their desire is in the work of their craft.

XXXIX.But he that giveth his mind to the law of the most High,

And is occupied in the meditation thereof,

Will seek out the wisdom of all the ancient,

And ^abe occupied in prophecies.

²He will keep the sayings of the renowned men:

And ^aawhere subtil parables are, he will be there also.

³He will seek out the secrets of ^bgrave sentences,

And be conversant in ^cdark parables.

⁴He shall serve among great men,

And ^dappear before princes:

He will travel through strange countries;

For he hath tried the good and the evil among men.

⁵He will give his heart ^eto resort early to the Lord that made him,

And will pray before the most High,

And will open his mouth in prayer,

And make supplication for his sins.

^6fWhen the great Lord will,

^eHe shall be filled with the spirit of understanding:

He shall ^gpour out wise sentences,

And give thanks unto the Lord in his prayer.

⁷He shall direct his counsel and knowledge,

And in his secrets shall he meditate.

⁸He shall shew forth that which he hath learned,

And shall glory in the law of the covenant of the Lord.

^9hMany shall commend his understanding;

And so long as the world endureth, ⁱit shall not be blotted out;

ⁱHis memorial shall not depart away,

And his name shall live from generation to generation.

^10jNations shall shew forth his wisdom,

^jAnd the congregation shall declare his praise.

¹¹If he die, he shall leave a greater name than a thousand:

And if he live, he shall increase it.

¹²Yet have I more to say, which ^kI have thought upon;

For I am filled as the moon at the full.

¹³Hearken unto me, ye holy children,

And bud forth ^las a rose growing by the brook of the field:

¹⁴And ^mgive ye a sweet savour as ⁿfrankincense,

And flourish as a ^olily,

Send forth a smell, and sing a song of praise,

Bless the Lord in all his works.

¹⁵Magnify his name,

And shew forth his praise

With the songs of your lips, and with ^pharps,

And in praising him you shall say after this manner:

^16qAll the works of the Lord are exceeding good,

And ^rwhatsoever he commandeth shall be accomplished in due season.

^17sAnd none may say, What is this? wherefore is that?

For at time convenient they shall all be sought out:

^tAt his commandment the waters stood as a heap,

And at the words of his mouth the receptacles of waters.

^18uAt his commandment is done whatsoever pleaseth him;

And ^xnone can hinder, when he will save.

^19yThe works of all flesh are before him,

And nothing can be hid from his eyes.

²⁰He seeth from everlasting to everlasting;

And there is nothing ^zwonderful before him.

²¹A man need not to say, What is this? wherefore is that?

For he hath made all things for their uses.

²²His blessing covered the dry land as a river,

And ^awatered it as a flood.

²³As he hath turned the waters into saltness:

So shall the heathen inherit his wrath.

²⁴As ^bhis ways are plain unto the holy;

So are they stumblingblocks unto the wicked.

²⁵For the good are good things created from the beginning:

^cSo evil things for sinners.

^26dThe principal things for the whole use of man’s life

Are ^dwater, fire, iron, and salt,

^dFlour of wheat, honey, milk,

And ^ethe blood of the grape, and oil, and ^dclothing.

^27fAll these things are for good to the godly:

So to the sinners they are turned into evil.

²⁸There be spirits that are created for vengeance,

Which in their fury lay on sore strokes;

In the time of destruction they pour out their force,

And appease the wrath of him that made them.

^29kFire, and ^khail, and ^gfamine, and ^gdeath,

All these were created for vengeance;

^30hTeeth of ⁱwild beasts, and ⁱscorpions, ⁱserpents,

And ^gthe sword, punishing the wicked to destruction.

^31kThey shall rejoice in his commandment,

And they shall be ready upon earth, when need is;

And when their time is come, they shall not transgress his word.

³²Therefore from the beginning I was resolved,

And ^lthought upon these things, and have left them in writing.

^33mAll the works of the Lord are good:

And he will give every needful thing in due season.

³⁴So that a man cannot say, This is worse than that:

For in time they shall all be well approved.

³⁵And therefore praise ye the Lord with the whole heart and mouth,

And bless the name of the Lord.

XL.