Sirach 38

KING JAMES BIBLE	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Honour a physician with the honour due unto him for the uses which ye may have of him: for the Lord hath created him.	1 Hold the physician in honor, for he is essential to you, and God it was who established his profession.
2 For of the most High cometh healing, and he shall receive honour of the king.	2 From God the doctor has his wisdom, and the king provides for his sustenance.
3 The skill of the physician shall lift up his head: and in the sight of great men he shall be in admiration.	3 His knowledge makes the doctor distinguished, and gives him access to those in authority.
4 The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth; and he that is wise will not abhor them.	4 God makes the earth yield healing herbs which the prudent man should not neglect;
5 Was not the water made sweet with wood, that the virtue thereof might be known?	5 Was not the water sweetened by a twig that men might learn his power?
6 And he hath given men skill, that he might be honoured in his marvellous works.	6 He endows men with the knowledge to glory in his mighty works,
7 With such doth he heal [men,] and taketh away their pains.	7 Through which the doctor eases pain and the druggist prepares his medicines;
8 Of such doth the apothecary make a confection; and of his works there is no end; and from him is peace over all the earth,	8 Thus God's creative work continues without cease in its efficacy on the surface of the earth.
9 My son, in thy sickness be not negligent: but pray unto the Lord, and he will make thee whole.	9 My son, when you are ill, delay not, but pray to God, who will heal you:
10 Leave off from sin, and order thine hands aright, and cleanse thy heart from all wickedness.	10 Flee wickedness; let your hands be just, cleanse your heart of every sin;
11 Give a sweet savour, and a memorial of fine flour; and make a fat offering, as not being.	11 Offer your sweet-smelling oblation and petition, a rich offering according to your means.
12 Then give place to the physician, for the Lord hath created him: let him not go from thee, for thou hast need of him.	12 Then give the doctor his place lest he leave; for you need him too.
13 There is a time when in their hands there is good success.	13 There are times that give him an advantage,
14 For they shall also pray unto the Lord, that he would prosper that, which they give for ease and remedy to prolong life.	14 and he too beseeches God That his diagnosis may be correct and his treatment bring about a cure.
15 He that sinneth before his Maker, let him fall into the hand of the physician.	15 He who is a sinner toward his Maker will be defiant toward the doctor.
16 My son, let 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.	16 My son, shed tears for one who is dead with wailing and bitter lament; As is only proper, prepare the body, absent not yourself from his burial:
17 Weep 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.	17 Weeping bitterly, mourning fully, pay your tribute of sorrow, as he deserves,
18 For of heaviness cometh death, and the heaviness of the heart breaketh strength.	18 One or two days, to prevent gossip; then compose yourself after your grief,
19 In affliction also sorrow remaineth: and the life of the poor is the curse of the heart.	19 For grief can bring on an extremity and heartache destroy one's health.
20 Take no heaviness to heart: drive it away, and member the last end.	20 Turn not your thoughts to him again; cease to recall him; think rather of the end.
21 Forget it not, for there is no turning again: thou shalt not do him good, but hurt thyself.	21 Recall him not, for there is no hope of his return; it will not help him, but will do you harm.
22 Remember my judgment: for thine also shall be so; yesterday for me, and to day for thee.	22 Remember that his fate will also be yours; for him it was yesterday, for you today.
23 When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest; and be comforted for him, when his Spirit is departed from him.	23 With the departed dead, let memory fade; rally your courage, once the soul has left.
24 The wisdom of a learned man cometh by opportunity of leisure: and he that hath little business shall become wise.	24 The scribe's profession increases his wisdom; whoever is free from toil can become a wise man.
25 How 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 talk is of bullocks?	25 How can he become learned who guides the plow, who thrills in wielding the goad like a lance, Who guides the ox and urges on the bullock, and whose every concern is for cattle?
26 He giveth his mind to make furrows; and is diligent to give the kine fodder.	26 His care is for plowing furrows, and he keeps a watch on the beasts in the stalls.
27 So every carpenter and workmaster, that laboureth night and day: and they that cut and grave seals, and are diligent to make great variety, and give themselves to counterfeit imagery, and watch to finish a work:	27 So with every engraver and designer who, laboring night and day, Fashions carved seals, and whose concern is to vary the pattern. His care is to produce a vivid impression, and he keeps watch till he finishes his design.
28 The 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; he setteth his mind to finish his work, and watcheth to polish it perfectly:	28 So with the smith standing near his anvil, forging crude iron. The heat from the fire sears his flesh, yet he toils away in the furnace heat. The clang of the hammer deafens his ears, His eyes are fixed on the tool he is shaping. His care is to finish his work, and he keeps watch till he perfects it in detail.
29 So doth the potter sitting at his work, and turning the wheel about with his feet, who is alway carefully set at his work, and maketh all his work by number;	29 So with the potter sitting at his labor, revolving the wheel with his feet. He is always concerned for his products, and turns them out in quantity.
30 He fashioneth the clay with his arm, and boweth down his strength before his feet; he applieth himself to lead it over; and he is diligent to make clean the furnace:	30 With his hands he molds the clay, and with his feet softens it. His care is for proper coloring, and he keeps watch on the fire of his kiln.
31 All these trust to their hands: and every one is wise in his work.	31 All these men are skilled with their hands, each one an expert at his own task;
32 Without these cannot a city be inhabited: and they shall not dwell where they will, nor go up and down:	32 Without them no city could be lived in, and wherever they stay, they need not hunger.
33 They 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 they shall not be found where parables are spoken.	33 They do not occupy the judge's bench, nor are they prominent in the assembly; They set forth no decisions or judgments, nor are they found among the rulers;
34 But they will maintain the state of the world, and [all] their desire is in the work of their craft.	34 Yet they maintain God's ancient handiwork, and their concern is for exercise of their skill.