Sirach 38

38Cultivate the physician in accordance with the need of him,

For him also hath God ordained.

It is from God that the physician getteth wisdom,

And from the king he receiveth gifts.

The skill of the physician lifteth up his head,

And he may stand before nobles.

God hath created medicines out of the earth,

And let not a discerning man reject them.

Was not the water made sweet by the wood,

That He might make known to all men His power?

And He gave men discernment,

That they might glory in His mighty works.

By means of them the physician assuageth pain,

And likewise the apothecary prepareth a confection:

That His work may not cease,

Nor healthfrom the face of His earth.

My son, in sicknessbe not negligent;

Pray unto God, for He can heal.

^[Turn^[ from iniquity, and ^[purify thy hands^[;

And from all transgressions cleanse thy heart.

^[Give a meal-offering with^[ a memorial,

And offer a fat sacrificeto the utmost of thy means.

And to the physician also give a place;

Nor should he be far away, for of him there is need.

For there is a time when successful help is in his power;

For he also maketh supplication to God,

To make his diagnosis successful,

And the treatment, that it may promote recovery.

He that sinneth before his Maker

Shall be delivered into the hands of the physician.

My son, let tears fall over the dead;

Show thy grief and wail out thy lamentation.

In accordance with what is due to him bury his body,

And hide not thyselfwhen he expires.

Let thy weeping be bitter and thy wailing passionate;

And make mourning such as befits him:

A day or two on account of gossip—

And be consoled on account of ⁽thy^{( [}sorrow^[.

For out of sorrow proceedeth bane;

Even sosadness of heart^[prostrateth^[ vigour.

^[Worse than death is abiding sorrow^[,

And an unfortunate life is cursed by the heart.

And let him no more occupy thy thoughts:

Dismiss the remembrance of him, and remember the end.

Remember him not, for he hath no hope;

Thou canst not profit him, while thou harmest thyself.

Remember his doom, for it is the doom of thyself—

His yesterday, and thine to-day!

When the dead is at rest, let his memory rest;

And be consoled when his soul departeth.

The wisdom of the scribe increaseth wisdom,

And he that hath little business can become wise.

How can he become wise that holdeth the goad,

And glorieth in brandishing the lance?

Who leadeth cattleand turneth about oxen,

And whose discourse is with bullocks?

He is careful to harrow ^[the seed-strip^[,

And his anxiety is to complete the provender.

Likewise the maker of carving and cunning device,

Who by night as by day hath no rest;

Who engraveth signet-engravings,

And whose art it is to make variety of design;

He is careful to make the likeness true,

And his anxiety is to complete his work.

So also the smith that sitteth by the furnace,

And regardeth the weighty vessels:

The flame of the fire cracketh his flesh,

And with the heat of the furnace he gloweth;

To the sound of the hammer he inclineth his ear,

And to the pattern of the vessel directeth his eyes.

He is careful to complete his work,

And his anxiety is to measure it off exactly.

Likewise the potter who sitteth at his wheel,

And driveth the vessel with the soles of his feet;

Who is all the time in anxiety over his work,

And all his handiwork is by number;

His arms are cracked by the clay,

And ^[before old age^[ he is bent and bowed;

He is careful to complete the glazing,

And his anxiety is for the heating of the furnace.

All these are deft with their hands,

And each is wise in his handiwork.

Without them a city cannot be inhabited,

And wherever they dwell they hunger not.

But they shall not be inquired of for public counsel,

And in the assembly they enjoy no precedence.

On the seat of the judge they do not sit,

And law and justice they understand not.

They do not expoundthe instruction of wisdom,

Nor understand the proverbs of the wise;

But they understand the work ^[they have wrought^[,

And their thought is on the practice of their craft.