Sirach 38–39

Chapter 38

¹Honor the physician with the honor due him,^c according to your need of him,

for the Lord created him;

²for healing comes from the Most High,

and he will receive a gift from the king.

³The skill of the physician lifts up his head,

and in the presence of great men he is admired.

⁴The Lord created medicines from the earth,

and a sensible man will not despise them.

⁵Was not water made sweet with a tree

in order that his^d power might be known?

⁶And he gave skill to men

that he^e might be glorified in his marvelous works.

⁷By them he heals and takes away pain;

⁸the pharmacist makes of them a compound.

His works will never be finished;

and from him health^f is upon the face of the earth.

⁹My son, when you are sick do not be negligent,

but pray to the Lord, and he will heal you.

¹⁰Give up your faults and direct your hands aright,

and cleanse your heart from all sin.

¹¹Offer a sweet-smelling sacrifice, and a memorial portion of fine flour,

and pour oil on your offering, as much as you can afford.^g

¹²And give the physician his place, for the Lord created him;

let him not leave you, for there is need of him.

¹³There is a time when success lies in the hands of physicians,^h

¹⁴for they too will pray to the Lord

that he should grant them success in diagnosisⁱ

and in healing, for the sake of preserving life.

¹⁵He who sins before his Maker,

may he fall into the care^j of a physician.

¹⁶My son, let your tears fall for the dead,

and as one who is suffering grievously begin the lament.

Lay out his body with the honor due him,

and do not neglect his burial.

¹⁷Let your weeping be bitter and your wailing fervent;

observe the mourning according to his merit,

for one day, or two, to avoid criticism;

then be comforted for your sorrow.

¹⁸For sorrow results in death,

and sorrow of heart saps one’s strength.

¹⁹In calamity sorrow continues,

and the life of the poor man weighs down his heart.

²⁰Do not give your heart to sorrow;

drive it away, remembering the end of life.

²¹Do not forget, there is no coming back;

you do the dead^k no good, and you injure yourself.

²²“Remember my doom, for yours is like it:

yesterday it was mine, and today it is yours.”

²³When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance cease,

and be comforted for him when his spirit is departed.

²⁴The wisdom of the scribe depends on the opportunity of leisure;

and he who has little business may become wise.

²⁵How can he become wise who handles the plow,

and who glories in the shaft of a goad,

who drives oxen and is occupied with their work,

and whose talk is about^l bulls?

²⁶He sets his heart on plowing furrows,

and he is careful about fodder for the heifers.

²⁷So too is every craftsman and master workman

who labors by night as well as by day;

those who cut the signets of seals,

each is diligent in making a great variety;

he sets his heart on painting a lifelike image,

and he is careful to finish his work.

²⁸So too is the smith sitting by the anvil,

intent upon his handiwork in iron;

the breath of the fire melts his flesh,

and he wastes away in^m the heat of the furnace;

he inclines his ear to the sound of the hammer,ⁿ

and his eyes are on the pattern of the object.

He sets his heart on finishing his handiwork,

and he is careful to complete its decoration.

²⁹So too is the potter sitting at his work

and turning the wheel with his feet;

he is always deeply concerned over his work,

and all his output is by number.

³⁰He moulds the clay with his arm

and makes it pliable with his feet;

he sets his heart to finish the glazing,

and he is careful to clean the furnace.

³¹All these rely upon their hands,

and each is skilful in his own work.

³²Without them a city cannot be established,

and men can neither sojourn nor live there.

³³Yet they are not sought out for the council of the people,

nor do they attain eminence in the public assembly.

They do not sit in the judge’s seat,

nor do they understand the sentence of judgment;

they cannot expound discipline or judgment,

and they are not found using proverbs.

³⁴But they keep stable the fabric of the world,

and their prayer is in the practice of their trade.

Chapter 39

¹On the other hand he who devotes himself

to the study of the law of the Most High

will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients,

and will be concerned with prophecies;

²he will preserve the discourse of notable men

and penetrate the subtleties of parables;

³he will seek out the hidden meanings of proverbs

and be at home with the obscurities of parables.

⁴He will serve among great men

and appear before rulers;

he will travel through the lands of foreign nations,

for he tests the good and the evil among men.

⁵He will set his heart to rise early

to seek the Lord who made him,

and will make supplication before the Most High;

he will open his mouth in prayer

and make supplication for his sins.

⁶If the great Lord is willing,

he will be filled with the spirit of understanding;

he will pour forth words^o of wisdom

and give thanks to the Lord in prayer.

⁷He will direct his counsel and knowledge aright,

and meditate on his secrets.

⁸He will reveal instruction in his teaching,

and will glory in the law of the Lord’s covenant.

⁹Many will praise his understanding,

and it will never be blotted out;

his memory will not disappear,

and his name will live through all generations.

¹⁰Nations will declare his wisdom,

and the congregation will proclaim his praise;

¹¹if he lives long, he will leave a name greater than a thousand,

and if he goes to rest, it is enough^p for him.

¹²I have yet more to say, which I have thought upon,

and I am filled, like the moon at the full.

¹³Listen to me, O you holy sons,

and bud like a rose growing by a stream of water;

¹⁴send forth fragrance like frankincense,

and put forth blossoms like a lily.

Scatter the fragrance, and sing a hymn of praise;

bless the Lord for all his works;

¹⁵ascribe majesty to his name

and give thanks to him with praise,

with songs on your lips, and with lyres;

and this you shall say in thanksgiving:

¹⁶“All things are the works of the Lord, for they are very good,

and whatever he commands will be done in his time.”

¹⁷No one can say, “What is this?” “Why is that?”

for in God’s^q time all things will be sought after.

At his word the waters stood in a heap,

and the reservoirs of water at the word of his mouth.

¹⁸At his command whatever pleases him is done,

and none can limit his saving power.

¹⁹The works of all flesh are before him,

and nothing can be hid from his eyes.

²⁰From everlasting to everlasting he beholds them,

and nothing is marvelous to him.

²¹No one can say, “What is this?” “Why is that?”

for everything has been created for its use.

²²His blessing covers the dry land like a river,

and drenches it like a flood.

²³The nations will incur his wrath,

just as he turns fresh water into salt.

²⁴To the holy his ways are straight,

just as they are obstacles to the wicked.

²⁵From the beginning good things were created for good people,

just as evil things for sinners.

²⁶Basic to all the needs of man’s life

are water and fire and iron and salt

and wheat flour and milk and honey,

the blood of the grape, and oil and clothing.

²⁷All these are for good to the godly,

just as they turn into evils for sinners.

²⁸There are winds that have been created for vengeance,

and in their anger they scourge heavily;

in the time of consummation they will pour out their strength

and calm the anger of their Maker.

²⁹Fire and hail and famine and pestilence,

all these have been created for vengeance;

³⁰the teeth of wild beasts, and scorpions and vipers,

and the sword that punishes the ungodly with destruction;

³¹they will rejoice in his commands,

and be made ready on earth for their service,

and when their times come they will not transgress his word.

³²Therefore from the beginning I have been convinced,

and have thought this out and left it in writing:

³³The works of the Lord are all good,

and he will supply every need in its hour.

³⁴And no one can say, “This is worse than that,”

for all things will prove good in their season.

³⁵So now sing praise with all your heart and voice,

and bless the name of the Lord.