Sirach 38

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Honor the physician with the honor due him, according to your need of him, for the Lord created him;	1 Honor the physician because of necessity, and because the Most High created him.
2 for healing comes from the Most High, and he will receive a gift from the king.	2 For all healing is from God, and so he will receive gifts from the King.
3 The skill of the physician lifts up his head, and in the presence of great men he is admired.	3 The expertise of the physician will lift up his head, and in the sight of great men, he will be praised.
4 The Lord created medicines from the earth, and a sensible man will not despise them.	4 The Most High has created medicines from the earth, and a prudent man will not abhor them.
5 Was not water made sweet with a tree in order that his power might be known?	5 Was not bitter water made sweet with wood?
6 And he gave skill to men that he might be glorified in his marvelous works.	6 The benefits of these things is recognized by men, and the Most High has given this knowledge to men, so that he may be honored in his wonders.
7 By them he heals and takes away pain;	7 By these things, he will cure or mitigate their suffering, and the pharmacist will make soothing ointments, and he will form healing medicines, and there will be no end to his works.
8 the pharmacist makes of them a compound. His works will never be finished; and from him health is upon the face of the earth.	8 For the peace of God is upon the surface of the earth.
9 My son, when you are sick do not be negligent, but pray to the Lord, and he will heal you.	9 Son, in your infirmity, you should not neglect yourself, but pray to the Lord, and he will cure you.
10 Give up your faults and direct your hands aright, and cleanse your heart from all sin.	10 Turn away from sin, and direct your hands, and cleanse your heart from every offense.
11 Offer a sweet-smelling sacrifice, and a memorial portion of fine flour, and pour oil on your offering, as much as you can afford.	11 Give a sweet offering, and a memorial of fine flour, and fatten your oblation, but also give a place to the physician.
12 And give the physician his place, for the Lord created him; let him not leave you, for there is need of him.	12 For the Lord created him. And so, do not let him depart from you, for his works are necessary.
13 There is a time when success lies in the hands of physicians,	13 For there is a time when you may fall into their hands.
14 for they too will pray to the Lord that he should grant them success in diagnosis and in healing, for the sake of preserving life.	14 Truly, they will beseech the Lord, so that he may direct their treatments and cures, for the sake of their way of life.
15 He who sins before his Maker, may he fall into the care of a physician.	15 He who sins in the sight of the One who made him will fall into the hands of the physician.
16 My 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.	16 Son, shed tears over the dead, and begin to weep, as if you had suffered dreadfully. And according to judgment, cover his body, and you should not neglect his burial.
17 Let 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.	17 And though you will sink down into bitterness, bear his mourning for one day, and then be consoled in your sadness.
18 For sorrow results in death, and sorrow of heart saps one's strength.	18 And carry out his mourning, according to his merit, for one or two days because of this loss.
19 In calamity sorrow continues, and the life of the poor man weighs down his heart.	19 Yet sadness hastens death and overwhelms strength, and the sorrow of the heart bows down the neck.
20 Do not give your heart to sorrow; drive it away, remembering the end of life.	20 When one is taken away, sorrow remains. But the resources of a destitute man is found in his heart.
21 Do not forget, there is no coming back; you do the dead no good, and you injure yourself.	21 You should not give your heart over to sadness, but push it away from you. And remember the very end.
22 "Remember my doom, for yours is like it: yesterday it was mine, and today it is yours."	22 Do not be willing to forget this; for there is no turning back. Otherwise, it will not benefit you, and you will cause great harm to yourself.
23 When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance cease, and be comforted for him when his spirit is departed.	23 Call to mind my judgment. For so shall it be for you also. Yesterday is mine, and today is yours.
24 The wisdom of the scribe depends on the opportunity of leisure; and he who has little business may become wise.	24 When the deceased is at rest, let his memory rest also. And console him at the departure of his spirit.
25 How 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 bulls?	25 The wisdom of a scribe is found in his time of leisure. So whoever has less to do will gain wisdom.
26 He sets his heart on plowing furrows, and he is careful about fodder for the heifers.	26 With what wisdom will someone be filled who holds the plow, and who boasts of the cattle prod that drives the oxen forward, and who is occupied in these labors, and whose only conversation is about the offspring of bulls?
27 So 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.	27 He will give his mind over to the plowing of furrows, and his vigilance to the fattening of the cows.
28 So 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 the heat of the furnace; he inclines his ear to the sound of the hammer, 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.	28 Similarly, every craftsman and artisan, who crafts in the night as well as in the day, who sculpts graven seals, and who, by his diligence, varies the image, will give his mind over to the likeness of the image. And he will complete the work by his vigilance.
29 So 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.	29 The blacksmith, sitting by his anvil and considering a work of iron, is similar. The steam from the fire singes his flesh, and he struggles against the heat of the furnace.
30 He 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.	30 The voice of the hammer is ever in his ears, and his eye is upon the pattern of the ironwork.
31 All these rely upon their hands, and each is skilful in his own work.	31 He gives his heart to the completion of his work, and his vigilance adorns it to perfection.
32 Without them a city cannot be established, and men can neither sojourn nor live there.	32 The potter, sitting at his work and turning the wheel with his feet, is similar. He has settled into a continual concern for his work, and there is a rhythm in all that he does.
33 Yet 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.	33 He forms the clay with his arm, and he bends his strength over his feet.
34 But they keep stable the fabric of the world, and their prayer is in the practice of their trade.	34 He will give his heart over to the completion of the glazing, and his vigilance to the cleansing of the furnace.
	35 All these persons trust in their own hands, and each one is wise in his own art.
	36 Without these persons, a city is not built.
	37 But they will neither inhabit nor walk around in the city. And they will not go across to the church.
	38 They will not sit upon the seats of judges, and they will not understand a decree of judgment. And they will not make clear discipline and judgment, and they will not be found to understand parables.
	39 But they will strengthen the state of the world, and their prayer will be in their artistic works, applying their soul, and searching the law of the Most High.