On physicians

¹Honor doctors for their services,[#38.1 Heb .]

since indeed the Lord created them.

²Healing comes from the Most High,

and the king will reward them.

³The skill of doctors will make

them eminent,

and they will be admired

in the presence of the great.

⁴The Lord created medicines

out of the earth,

and a sensible person

won’t ignore them.

⁵Wasn’t water made sweet

by means of wood

so that the Lord’s strength

might be known?

⁶And he endowed human beings

with skill

so that he would be glorified

through his marvelous deeds.

⁷With those medicines,

the doctor cures and takes away pain.

⁸Those who prepare ointments

will make a compound out of them,

and their work will never be finished,

and well-being spreads

over the whole world from them.

⁹My child, when you are sick,

don’t look around elsewhere,

but pray to the Lord,

and he will heal you.

¹⁰Stay far from error,

direct your hands rightly,

and cleanse your heart from all sin.

¹¹Offer a sweet-smelling sacrifice

and a memorial of fine flour,

and pour an offering of oil,

using what you can afford.

¹²And give doctors a place,

because the Lord created them also,

and don’t let them leave you,

because you indeed need them.

¹³There’s a time when success

is in their hands as well.

¹⁴They will also ask the Lord

so that he might grant them rest

and healing in order to preserve life.

¹⁵May those who sin against their creator

fall into the hands of a doctor.

On mourning

¹⁶My child, let your tears flow for the dead;

Lay out their bodies in accordance

with their wishes,

¹⁷Let your crying be bitter

and express your sorrow fervently,

and make your mourning

worthy of them.

Mourn for one day or two

so that there can be no criticism,

¹⁸Too much grief can lead to death,

and grief in one’s heart

will sap one’s strength.

¹⁹Grief also lingers in misery,

and the life of the poor

is a curse upon the heart.

²⁰Don’t give your heart over to grief;

stay away from it,

remembering your own end.

²¹Don’t forget that there’s no coming back;

you won’t do them any good,

and you will hurt yourself.

²²Remember their sentence,

because it’s yours also:

“Yesterday it was I, and today it’s you!”

²³When the dead are at rest,

put their memory to rest,

and be comforted for them

when their spirit has left.

The scribe’s superiority

²⁴The scribe’s wisdom depends

on the opportunity for leisure,

and whoever lacks busyness

will become wise.

²⁵How will people become wise

when they take hold of a plow

when they drive cattle

and are absorbed with their work,

²⁶Their hearts are given over

to plowing furrows,

and they lose sleep

because they’re concerned

about supplying heifers with food.

²⁷So it is also with every craftsperson

and master artisan

who carries over the day’s work

into the night,

and works diligently

to make diverse ornamentations.

They will devote themselves

to producing a lifelike painting,

and they lose sleep

in order to finish their work.

²⁸So it is with smiths who sit near an anvil

The blast of the fire

will melt their flesh,

The sound of the hammer

will strike their ears again and again,

²⁹So it is with potters sitting at their work,

They lie down always feeling anxiety

about their work,

³⁰They will mold the clay with their hands

They will devote themselves

to finishing the glazing,

and they lose sleep

in order to clean the kiln.

³¹All of these have relied on their hands,

and each one is skilled in their work.

³²Without them a city can’t be inhabited,

and they neither go abroad to live

as immigrants nor travel about.

However, they aren’t sought out

when the people hold a council,

³³and they won’t gain prominence

in the assembly.

They won’t sit in the judge’s seat,

They will never shed light

on instruction and judgment,

³⁴But they support the world

from its foundations,

and their prayer is concerned

with their craft.

But those who devote themselves

and think about the Law of the

Most High are the exception.