Sirach 38:1-15
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Concerning Physicians and Health
38 Honor physicians for their services,
for the Lord created them,(A)
2 for their gift of healing comes from the Most High,
and they are rewarded by the king.
3 The skill of physicians makes them distinguished,
and in the presence of the great they are admired.
4 The Lord created medicines out of the earth,
and the sensible will not despise them.(B)
5 Was not water made sweet with a tree
in order that its[a] power might be known?(C)
6 And he gave skill to human beings
that he[b] might be glorified in his marvelous works.
7 By them the physician[c] heals and takes away pain;(D)
8 the pharmacist makes a mixture from them.
God’s[d] works will never be finished,
and from him health spreads over all the earth.
9 My child, when you are ill, do not delay,
but pray to the Lord, and he will heal you.(E)
10 Give up your faults and direct your hands rightly,
and cleanse your heart from all sin.(F)
11 Offer a sweet-smelling sacrifice and a memorial portion of choice flour,
and pour oil on your offering, as much as you can afford.[e](G)
12 Then give physicians their place, for the Lord created them;
do not let them leave you, for you need them.(H)
13 There may come a time when recovery lies in the hands of physicians,[f]
14 for they, too, pray to the Lord
that he grant them success in diagnosis[g]
and in healing, for the sake of preserving life.
15 Those who sin against their Maker
will be defiant toward the physician.[h](I)
Ben Sira 38:1-15
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 38
Sickness and Death
1 Make friends with the doctor, for he is essential to you;[a]
God has also established him in his profession.
2 From God the doctor has wisdom,
and from the king he receives sustenance.
3 Knowledge makes the doctor distinguished,
and gives access to those in authority.
4 God makes the earth yield healing herbs
which the prudent should not neglect;
5 Was not the water sweetened by a twig,
so that all might learn his power?(A)
6 He endows people with knowledge,
to glory in his mighty works,
7 Through which the doctor eases pain,
8 and the druggist prepares his medicines.
Thus God’s work continues without cease
in its efficacy on the surface of the earth.
9 My son, when you are ill, do not delay,
but pray to God, for it is he who heals.(B)
10 Flee wickedness and purify your hands;
cleanse your heart of every sin.
11 Offer your sweet-smelling oblation and memorial,
a generous offering according to your means.(C)
12 Then give the doctor his place
lest he leave; you need him too,
13 For there are times when recovery is in his hands.
14 He too prays to God
That his diagnosis may be correct
and his treatment bring about a cure.
15 Whoever is a sinner before his Maker
will be defiant toward the doctor.
Footnotes
- 38:1–15 The profession of medicine comes from God, who makes the earth yield healing herbs and gives the physician knowledge of their power (vv. 1–8). In illness the sick should cleanse their soul from sin and petition God for help through an offering of sacrifice; the physician, too, does well to invoke God that he may understand the illness and apply the proper remedy (vv. 9–14). The sinner, in contrast, defies both his Maker and the doctor (v. 15).
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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