Ecclesiasticus, 38

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. Give due honor to the doctor, for you need him and God himself established him.

2. For of the most High cometh healing, and he shall receive honour of the king.

2. Healing, in fact, comes from the Most High; the gift of healing comes from the Sovereign.

3. The skill of the physician shall lift up his head: and in the sight of great men he shall be in admiration.

3. The doctor's expertise gives him prestige and wins for him the admiration of the powerful.

4. The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth; and he that is wise will not abhor them.

4. The Lord created the medicinal herbs which grow on the earth, and these a sensible person will not despise.

5. Was not the water made sweet with wood, that the virtue thereof might be known?

5. Remember that he used a simple wooden rod to purify water and so make known his power to everyone.

6. And he hath given men skill, that he might be honoured in his marvellous works.

6. It is he who gives knowledge to men so that his power be glorified;

7. With such doth he heal [men,] and taketh away their pains.

7. the doctor uses it to heal and comfort, the chemist to make his mixtures.

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. In that way the Lord's work never ceases and well-being prevails on 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 sick do not be anxious; pray to the Lord to heal you.

10. Leave off from sin, and order thine hands aright, and cleanse thy heart from all wickedness.

10. Give up bad habits, keep your hands unsoiled, and purify your heart from all sin.

11. Give a sweet savour, and a memorial of fine flour; and make a fat offering, as not being.

11. Offer incense and a memorial gift of fine flour and rich offerings 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 consult the doctor; remember that he was established by the Lord, so do not disregard him - you need him.

13. There is a time when in their hands there is good success.

13. There are cases when good health depends on doctors.

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. They, too, will pray to the Most High to grant them success in healing in order to save life.

15. He that sinneth before his Maker, let him fall into the hand of the physician.

15. May he who sins before his Maker, fall into the hands of 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, weep for the dead, lament to express your sorrow and bury the dead with fitting ceremony, and do not fail to honor his tomb.

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. Weep bitterly, cry out with full voice, and observe the period of mourning in accordance with the merits of the deceased. Let it be for one or two days, and so avoid criticism, and then be consoled in your grief.

18. For of heaviness cometh death, and the heaviness of the heart breaketh strength.

18. For sorrow may lead to death and a dejected heart loses its vitality.

19. In affliction also sorrow remaineth: and the life of the poor is the curse of the heart.

19. Let your affliction cease with the funeral; a life of sorrow is intolerable.

20. Take no heaviness to heart: drive it away, and member the last end.

20. Do not let your heart give way to grief; bear up and think of your own end.

21. Forget it not, for there is no turning again: thou shalt not do him good, but hurt thyself.

21. Remember! There is no coming back, you do the dead no good, but rather harm yourself.

22. Remember my judgment: for thine also shall be so; yesterday for me, and to day for thee.

22. Keep in mind my sentence which will be yours as well: mine yesterday, yours 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. When the dead person is at rest, let his memory be one of peace; be comforted on his account once his spirit has departed.

24. The wisdom of a learned man cometh by opportunity of leisure: and he that hath little business shall become wise.

24. A law student acquires wisdom during his leisure hours; free from business he is capable of becoming wise.

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 the man who guides a plow become wise, he whose pride lies in snapping a whip and driving a bullock, who works continually and talks of nothing but cattle?

26. He giveth his mind to make furrows; and is diligent to give the kine fodder.

26. His heart is set on plowing furrows and all his attention is given to fattening heifers.

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. It is the same for all craftsmen and skilled workers who toil day and night, professional engravers and designers of seals. All are intent on creating different designs and reproducing the model, and they work even at night in order to succeed.

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, too, is the smith standing beside the anvil intent on forging iron; his face is scorched by flames from the fire and he struggles in the heat of the furnace; the clang of the hammer is deafening; his eyes are fixed on the model to be copied, he makes every effort to work well and spends time at night in bringing his task to perfection.

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. It is the same for the potter seated at his work, his foot turning the wheel, always concentrating on what he is molding, every movement purposefully controlled.

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. His arm kneads the clay, his feet make it pliable. All his attention is needed in applying the glaze and at night he sees to the cleaning of the furnace.

31. All these trust to their hands: and every one is wise in his work.

31. All these craftsmen depend on their hands for gaining skill in their different crafts.

32. Without these cannot a city be inhabited: and they shall not dwell where they will, nor go up and down:

32. Without them a city could not be built; no settlers or travelers would come to it.

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. But they are not to be found in the councils of people, nor do their words carry weight in an assembly. They do not occupy the judge's seat and they are not familiar with the Law.

34. But they will maintain the state of the world, and [all] their desire is in the work of their craft.

34. They are not cultured people or skilled in judgment and they are not found among authors of proverbs. They uphold creation and civilization, and their prayer is in their life's work.