Sirach 38-39
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
Concerning Physicians and Health
38 Honour physicians for their services,
for the Lord created them;
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.
5 Was not water made sweet with a tree
in order that its[a] power might be known?
6 And he gave skill to human beings
that he[b] might be glorified in his marvellous works.
7 By them the physician[c] heals and takes away pain;
8 the pharmacist makes a mixture from them.
God’s[d] works will never be finished;
and from him health[e] 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.
10 Give up your faults and direct your hands rightly,
and cleanse your heart from all sin.
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.[f]
12 Then give the physician his place, for the Lord created him;
do not let him leave you, for you need him.
13 There may come a time when recovery lies in the hands of physicians,[g]
14 for they too pray to the Lord
that he will grant them success in diagnosis[h]
and in healing, for the sake of preserving life.
15 He who sins against his Maker
will be defiant towards the physician.[i]
On Mourning for the Dead
16 My child, let your tears fall for the dead,
and as one in great pain begin the lament.
Lay out the body with due ceremony,
and do not neglect the burial.
17 Let your weeping be bitter and your wailing fervent;
make your mourning worthy of the departed,
for one day, or two, to avoid criticism;
then be comforted for your grief.
18 For grief may result in death,
and a sorrowful heart saps one’s strength.
19 When a person is taken away, sorrow is over;
but the life of the poor weighs down the heart.
20 Do not give your heart to grief;
drive it away, and remember your own end.
21 Do not forget, there is no coming back;
you do the dead[j] no good, and you injure yourself.
22 Remember his[k] fate, for yours is like it;
yesterday it was his,[l] and today it is yours.
23 When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest too,
and be comforted for him when his spirit has departed.
Trades and Crafts
24 The wisdom of the scribe depends on the opportunity of leisure;
only the one who has little business can become wise.
25 How can one become wise who handles the plough,
and who glories in the shaft of a goad,
who drives oxen and is occupied with their work,
and whose talk is about bulls?
26 He sets his heart on ploughing furrows,
and he is careful about fodder for the heifers.
27 So it is with every artisan and master artisan
who labours by night as well as by day;
those who cut the signets of seals,
each is diligent in making a great variety;
they set their heart on painting a lifelike image,
and they are careful to finish their work.
28 So it is with the smith, sitting by the anvil,
intent on his ironwork;
the breath of the fire melts his flesh,
and he struggles with the heat of the furnace;
the sound of the hammer deafens his ears,[m]
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.
29 So it is with is the potter sitting at his work
and turning the wheel with his feet;
he is always deeply concerned over his products,
and he produces them in quantity.
30 He moulds the clay with his arm
and makes it pliable with his feet;
he sets his heart on finishing the glazing,
and he takes care in firing[n] the kiln.
31 All these rely on their hands,
and all are skilful in their own work.
32 Without them no city can be inhabited,
and wherever they live, they will not go hungry.[o]
Yet they are not sought out for the council of the people,[p]
33 nor do they attain eminence in the public assembly.
They do not sit in the judge’s seat,
nor do they understand the decisions of the courts;
they cannot expound discipline or judgement,
and they are not found among the rulers.[q]
34 But they maintain the fabric of the world,
and their concern is for[r] the exercise of their trade.
The Activity of the Scribe
How different the one who devotes himself
to the study of the law of the Most High!
39 He seeks out the wisdom of all the ancients,
and is concerned with prophecies;
2 he preserves the sayings of the famous
and penetrates the subtleties of parables;
3 he seeks out the hidden meanings of proverbs
and is at home with the obscurities of parables.
4 He serves among the great
and appears before rulers;
he travels in foreign lands
and learns what is good and evil in the human lot.
5 He sets his heart on rising early
to seek the Lord who made him,
and to petition the Most High;
he opens his mouth in prayer
and asks pardon for his sins.
6 If the great Lord is willing,
he will be filled with the spirit of understanding;
he will pour forth words of wisdom of his own
and give thanks to the Lord in prayer.
7 The Lord[s] will direct his counsel and knowledge,
as he meditates on his mysteries.
8 He will show the wisdom of what he has learned,
and will glory in the law of the Lord’s covenant.
9 Many will praise his understanding;
it will never be blotted out.
His memory will not disappear,
and his name will live through all generations.
10 Nations will speak of his wisdom,
and the congregation will proclaim his praise.
11 If he lives long, he will leave a name greater than a thousand,
and if he goes to rest, it is enough[t] for him.
A Hymn of Praise to God
12 I have more on my mind to express;
I am full like the full moon.
13 Listen to me, my faithful children, and blossom
like a rose growing by a stream of water.
14 Send out fragrance like incense,
and put forth blossoms like a lily.
Scatter the fragrance, and sing a hymn of praise;
bless the Lord for all his works.
15 Ascribe majesty to his name
and give thanks to him with praise,
with songs on your lips, and with harps;
this is what you shall say in thanksgiving:
16 ‘All the works of the Lord are very good,
and whatever he commands will be done at the appointed time.
17 No one can say, “What is this?” or “Why is that?”—
for at the appointed time all such questions will be answered.
At his word the waters stood in a heap,
and the reservoirs of water at the word of his mouth.
18 When he commands, his every purpose is fulfilled,
and none can limit his saving power.
19 The works of all are before him,
and nothing can be hidden from his eyes.
20 From the beginning to the end of time he can see everything,
and nothing is too marvellous for him.
21 No one can say, “What is this?” or “Why is that?”—
for everything has been created for its own purpose.
22 ‘His blessing covers the dry land like a river,
and drenches it like a flood.
23 But his wrath drives out the nations,
as when he turned a watered land into salt.
24 To the faithful his ways are straight,
but full of pitfalls for the wicked.
25 From the beginning good things were created for the good,
but for sinners good things and bad.[u]
26 The basic necessities of human 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.
27 All these are good for the godly,
but for sinners they turn into evils.
28 ‘There are winds created for vengeance,
and in their anger they can dislodge mountains;[v]
on the day of reckoning they will pour out their strength
and calm the anger of their Maker.
29 Fire and hail and famine and pestilence,
all these have been created for vengeance;
30 the fangs of wild animals and scorpions and vipers,
and the sword that punishes the ungodly with destruction.
31 They take delight in doing his bidding,
always ready for his service on earth;
and when their time comes they never disobey his command.’
32 So from the beginning I have been convinced of all this
and have thought it out and left it in writing:
33 All the works of the Lord are good,
and he will supply every need in its time.
34 No one can say, ‘This is not as good as that’,
for everything proves good in its appointed time.
35 So now sing praise with all your heart and voice,
and bless the name of the Lord.
Footnotes
- Sirach 38:5 Or his
- Sirach 38:6 Or they
- Sirach 38:7 Heb: Gk he
- Sirach 38:8 Gk His
- Sirach 38:8 Or peace
- Sirach 38:11 Heb: Lat lacks as much as you can afford; Meaning of Gk uncertain
- Sirach 38:13 Gk in their hands
- Sirach 38:14 Heb: Gk rest
- Sirach 38:15 Heb: Gk may he fall into the hands of the physician
- Sirach 38:21 Gk him
- Sirach 38:22 Heb: Gk my
- Sirach 38:22 Heb: Gk mine
- Sirach 38:28 Cn: Gk renews his ear
- Sirach 38:30 Cn: Gk cleaning
- Sirach 38:32 Syr: Gk and people can neither live nor walk there
- Sirach 38:32 Most ancient authorities lack this line
- Sirach 38:33 Cn: Gk among parables
- Sirach 38:34 Syr: Gk prayer is in
- Sirach 39:7 Gk He himself
- Sirach 39:11 Cn: Meaning of Gk uncertain
- Sirach 39:25 Heb Lat: Gk sinners bad things
- Sirach 39:28 Heb Syr: Gk can scourge mightily
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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