Sirach 38

1Honor the physician according to your need of him, for God has also given him a portion.

2From God the physician becomes wise, and from the king he receives a gift.

3A physician’s knowledge will raise his horn, and before nobles he will stand.

4The Lord created medicines from the earth, and a sensible man will not despise them.

5Was not water made sweet by wood, so that his power might be made known to every man?

6And he gave man understanding, to glory in his might.

7By them the physician eases pain, and so the perfumer prepares a mixture.

8so that his work may not cease, and success may come through men.

9My son, in your sickness do not be negligent; pray to God, for he will heal you.

10Turn away from wrongdoing, and make your hands straight; and from every sin cleanse your heart.

11Present a memorial offering of soothing aroma, and enrich the arranged offering with the best of your wealth.

12Also give the physician a place, and do not dismiss him, for there is need of him as well.

13For there is a time when success is in his hands, for he too will make supplication to God.

14for his plea may succeed, and his healing serves to preserve life.

15Whoever sins before his Maker will be defiant before a physician.

16My son, shed tears for the dead, be bitter, and begin the lament.

17My son, make the mourning bitter and complete the lament; perform his mourning as is fitting for him. For a day or two, because of slander, shed tears; then be comforted because of grief.

18For from grief disaster comes forth; so a sorrowful heart wastes away in sadness.

19Do not set your heart on him any longer; let his memory go, and remember the end.

20Remember his lot, for it is your lot: his yesterday, and your today.

21Do not keep remembering him, for there is no return; you will not help him, and you will harm yourself.

22The resting place of the dead is his dwelling; and be comforted when his life departs.

23A scribe’s wisdom increases wisdom, and one free from busyness will become wise.

24The wisdom of a scribe comes with the opportunity for leisure, and the one who is less occupied with his work will become wise.

25How can one who guides the plow become wise, who drives the ox with a goad and whose concerns are with the cattle?

26His diligence is to finish the foddering place; he sets his heart on plowing the furrows.

27So too every craftsman and planner, who labors by night as by day.

28So the smith sits near the anvil and studies the raw iron; the vapor of the fire wastes his flesh, and he struggles with the heat of the furnace.

29The sound of the hammer strikes his ear, and his eyes are on the form of the vessel;

30He will apply his heart to the completion of his work, and his wakefulness is to bring it to perfection.

31So the potter, sitting at his work and turning the wheel with his feet, is continually anxious over his work, and all his labor is by number;

32With his arm he will shape clay, and before his feet he will bend his strength.

33He will apply his heart to complete the glaze, and his wakefulness is to cleanse the furnace.

34All these have trusted in their hands, and each becomes skillful in his own work.

35but they will sustain the order of the age, and their prayer is in the work of their craft.