ChaplainHealing care

Sirach — Chapter 38 — Hebrew–Greek comparison

Physicians, Mourning, and Skilled Work

Saints Translation · V2 · Hebrew–Greek working comparison

Sirach 38 · 34 source units
Hebrew–English · Literal-Smooth	Greek–English · Literal-Smooth	Classification & Notes
Hebrew 38:1 · translated Befriend the physician before there is need of him; God has allotted him too. Hebrew witness B · VIII recto, lines 1–18 רעי רופא לפני צרכו גם אתו חלק אל Manuscript transcription	38:1 Honor a physician with his due honors according to the need for him, for the Lord created him too.	Different · Hebrew 38:1 — Greek “honor” and “created” differ from Hebrew’s friendship/allotment; marginal wording has “according to your need.”
Hebrew 38:2 · translated From God a physician becomes wise, and from a king he receives gifts. Hebrew witness B · VIII recto, lines 1–18 מאת אל יחכם רופא ומאת מלך ישא משאות Manuscript transcription	38:2 For healing is from the Most High, and the physician will receive a gift from a king.	Similar · Hebrew 38:2 — Hebrew physician’s wisdom versus Greek healing from the Most High. Inherited Greek note 38:2 The physician supplies the subject of will receive; healing and royal recognition are distinct clauses.
Hebrew 38:3 · translated A physician’s knowledge raises his head, and he stands before nobles. Hebrew witness B · VIII recto, lines 1–18 דעת רופא תרים ראשו ולפני נדיבים יתיצב Manuscript transcription	38:3 A physician’s knowledge will raise his head, and he will be admired before dignitaries.	Similar · Hebrew 38:3 — Greek says he will be admired before dignitaries.
Hebrew 38:4 · translated God brings remedies out of the earth, and an understanding man should not despise them. Hebrew witness B · VIII recto, lines 1–18 אל מארץ מוציא תרופות וגבר מבין אל ימאס בם Manuscript transcription	38:4 The Lord created medicines from the earth, and a prudent man will not reject them.	Similar · Hebrew 38:4 — Same medicinal-earth image.
Hebrew 38:5 · translated Was not water made sweet through wood, to make its power known to every human being? Hebrew witness B · VIII recto, lines 1–18 הלא בעץ המתיקו מים בעבור להודיע כל אנוש כחו Manuscript transcription	38:5 Was not water sweetened by wood, so that its strength might be known?	Similar · Hebrew 38:5 — The possessive may point to the wood or to God; Hebrew expressly adds every human being. Inherited Greek note 38:5 Its strength can refer to the wood’s effective power; a divine referent is also possible. The source pronoun does not expressly name either.
Hebrew 38:6 · translated He gave humanity understanding, that He might be glorified through His might. Hebrew witness B · VIII recto, lines 1–18 ויתן לאנוש בינה להתפאר בגבורתו Manuscript transcription	38:6 He Himself gave human beings knowledge, to be glorified in His wonderful works.	Similar · Hebrew 38:6 — Greek specifies wonderful works.
Hebrew 38:7 · translated Through them a physician relieves pain. Hebrew witness B · VIII recto, lines 1–18 בהם רופא יניח מכאוב Manuscript transcription This Hebrew unit spans Greek 38:7, 38:8; repeated here for alignment. Its classification applies to the combined passage. Hebrew 38:8 · fragmentary And so the compounder makes a compound, so that his work does not cease, and effective help [does not cease] from humankind. Hebrew witness B · VIII recto, lines 1–18 וכן רוקח עושה מרקחת למען לא ישבות מעשהו ותושיה מבני אדם Manuscript transcription	38:7 By these He healed and removed the sufferer’s pain; with these a perfumer will make a mixture,	Different · Hebrew 38:7 — Hebrew expressly makes the physician the subject; the inherited Greek rendering provisionally takes God as subject. Different · Hebrew 38:8 — The compounder clause corresponds to Greek 38:7; the closing Hebrew differs from Greek peace from Him upon the earth. The comparison applies to the combined Greek units 38:7–8, whose boundaries differ from this Hebrew unit. Classification assesses only the surviving/readable wording, not lost portions. Inherited Greek note 38:7 The sufferer supplies the referent of his pain; He is provisionally the Lord acting through medicines. Perfumer renders μυρεψός, the maker of compound preparations.
This Hebrew unit spans Greek 38:7, 38:8; repeated here for alignment. Its classification applies to the combined passage. Hebrew 38:8 · fragmentary And so the compounder makes a compound, so that his work does not cease, and effective help [does not cease] from humankind. Hebrew witness B · VIII recto, lines 1–18 וכן רוקח עושה מרקחת למען לא ישבות מעשהו ותושיה מבני אדם Manuscript transcription	38:8 and His works will certainly not come to an end; from Him there is peace upon the face of the earth.	Different · Hebrew 38:8 — The compounder clause corresponds to Greek 38:7; the closing Hebrew differs from Greek peace from Him upon the earth. The comparison applies to the combined Greek units 38:7–8, whose boundaries differ from this Hebrew unit. Classification assesses only the surviving/readable wording, not lost portions. Inherited Greek note 38:8 The source’s divine and human agency is compressed; capitalization follows the provisional divine subject in 38:6–7.
Hebrew 38:9 · translated My son, in illness do not grow angry; pray to God, for He will heal. Hebrew witness B · VIII recto, lines 1–18 בני בחולי אל תתעבר התפלל אל אל כי הוא ירפא Manuscript transcription	38:9 Child, do not be negligent in your illness, but pray to the Lord, and He Himself will heal you.	Different · Hebrew 38:9 — Hebrew warns against anger; Greek against negligence.
Hebrew 38:10 · fragmentary [Tur]n away from injustice and partiality, and cleanse your heart from all transgressions. Hebrew witness B · VIII recto, lines 1–18 [סו]ר מעול ומהכר פנים ומכל פשעים טהר לב Manuscript transcription	38:10 Put wrongdoing away, straighten your hands, and cleanse your heart from every sin.	Different · Hebrew 38:10 — Hebrew partiality versus Greek straighten your hands. Classification assesses only the surviving/readable wording, not lost portions.
Hebrew 38:11 · fragmentary […] a memorial offering, and arrange rich fat offerings within the extent of your wealth. Hebrew witness B · VIII recto, lines 1–18 [–] אזכרה ודשן ערוך בכנפי הוניך Manuscript transcription	38:11 Give a fragrant offering and a memorial of fine flour, and make your offering rich, as one who is no more.	Different · Hebrew 38:11 — The opening is lost. Hebrew wealth differs from the difficult Greek “as one who is no more.” Classification assesses only the surviving/readable wording, not lost portions. Inherited Greek note 38:11 The phrase ὡς μὴ ὑπάρχων, “as one who is no more,” is visually confirmed in Swete, p. 721. Whether it implies one facing death or an unstated lack remains open. The surrounding paragraph commends both prayer and a physician; no practical medical regimen is added. [SWETE-SIR]
Hebrew 38:12 · fragmentary And [give the physician] a place; let him not depart, for there is need of him too. Hebrew witness B · VIII recto, lines 1–18 וגם ל[רופא תן] מקום ולא ימוש כי גם בו צורך Manuscript transcription	38:12 Give the physician a place too, for the Lord created him; do not let him leave you, for you need him.	Similar · Hebrew 38:12 — The bracketed words follow the transcription’s restoration; Greek additionally repeats divine creation. Classification assesses only the surviving/readable wording, not lost portions.
Hebrew 38:13 · translated For there is a time when success is in his hand. Hebrew witness B · VIII verso, lines 1–18 כי יש עת אשר בידו מצלחת Manuscript transcription	38:13 There is a time when success is also in their hands,	Similar · Hebrew 38:13 — Hebrew singular versus Greek plural hands.
Hebrew 38:14 · translated For he too entreats God to grant him success in relief and healing for the preservation of life. Hebrew witness B · VIII verso, lines 1–18 כי גם הוא אל אל יעתיר אשר יצלח לו פשרה ורפאות למען מחיה Manuscript transcription	38:14 for they themselves will petition the Lord to grant them success in relief and healing for the sake of preserving life.	Similar · Hebrew 38:14 — Hebrew singular physician; Greek plural. Inherited Greek note 38:14 Their refers to physicians, whose prayer accompanies their work.
Hebrew 38:15 · translated The one who sins before his Maker will assert himself before a physician. Hebrew witness B · VIII verso, lines 1–18 אשר חוטא לפני עושהו יתגבר לפני רופא Manuscript transcription	38:15 May the one who sins before his Maker fall into a physician’s hands.	Different · Hebrew 38:15 — Main יתגבר is difficult in context; marginal יסתוגר על ידי means “be shut up in the hands of,” closer to Greek’s punitive wish. Inherited Greek note 38:15 The optative wish is retained, including its tension with the preceding praise of physicians.
Hebrew 38:16 · translated My son, shed a tear over the dead; grieve bitterly and intone a lament. Gather his body as is fitting, and do not disregard their dying. Hebrew witness B · VIII verso, lines 1–18 בני על המת הזיב דמעה התמרר ונהה קינה כמשפטו אסוף שארו ואל תתעלם בגויעתם Manuscript transcription	38:16 Child, shed tears over the dead and begin a lament as one suffering terribly. Lay out his body according to his due, and do not neglect his burial.	Similar · Hebrew 38:16 — Hebrew shifts number in the closing clause; Greek speaks expressly of burial.
Hebrew 38:17 · translated My son, make lament bitter and complete; set mourning fitting for him, a day or two for tears, and be comforted because of guilt. Hebrew witness B · VIII verso, lines 1–18 המר בני והתם מספד ושית אבלו כיוצא בו יום ושנים בעבור דמעה והנחם בעבור עון Manuscript transcription	38:17 Make your weeping bitter and your lament fervent; mourn according to his worth for one day or two because of slander, and be comforted because of grief.	Different · Hebrew 38:17 — Main Hebrew tears/guilt differs from Greek slander/grief; do not harmonize the difficult reading. Inherited Greek note 38:17 One day or two and the motive concerning slander are explicit; this is not harmonized with the seven days in 22:12.
Hebrew 38:18 · translated From sorrow comes disaster; so an afflicted heart builds up grief. Hebrew witness B · VIII verso, lines 1–18 מדין יוצא אסון כן רע לבב יבנה עצבה Manuscript transcription	38:18 For death comes from grief, and grief of heart will bend strength.	Different · Hebrew 38:18 — Greek explicitly has death and weakened strength.
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	38:19 In calamity grief also remains, and the poor person’s life weighs upon the heart.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied. Inherited Greek note 38:19 Weighs supplies the force of the final against-the-heart phrase.
Hebrew 38:20 · translated Do not turn your heart toward him again; let go of his memory and remember the end. Hebrew witness B · VIII verso, lines 1–18 אל תשיב אליו לב עוד פרע זכרו וזכור אחרית Manuscript transcription	38:20 Do not give your heart over to grief; put it away, remembering the last things.	Similar · Hebrew 38:20 — Hebrew addresses remembrance of the dead; Greek grief itself.
Hebrew 38:21 · translated Do not keep remembering him, for he has no hope; what benefit will you bring, while you harm yourself? Hebrew witness B · VIII verso, lines 1–18 אל תזכרהו כי אין לו תקוה מה תועיל ולך תריע Manuscript transcription	38:21 Do not forget: there is no return. You will not benefit this person, and you will harm yourself.	Different · Hebrew 38:21 — Hebrew has no hope; Greek no return, and a prohibition on forgetting.
Hebrew 38:22 · translated Remember his decree, for it is your decree: yesterday for him, today for you. Hebrew witness B · VIII verso, lines 1–18 זכור חקו כי הוא חקך לו אתמול ולך היום Manuscript transcription	38:22 “Remember my judgment, for yours is likewise: yesterday for me, today for you.”	Similar · Hebrew 38:22 — Greek gives the dead person a first-person voice. Inherited Greek note 38:22 The first-person voice is read as the dead person’s reminder; quotation punctuation is editorial.
Hebrew 38:23 · translated When the dead rests, let his memory rest; be comforted when his life departs. Hebrew witness B · VIII verso, lines 1–18 מושבת מת ושבת זכרו והנחם עם צאת נפשו Manuscript transcription	38:23 When the dead rests, bring his remembrance to rest, and be comforted concerning him when his spirit departs.	Similar · Hebrew 38:23 — Both connect rest and consolation.
Hebrew 38:24 · translated A scribe’s wisdom increases wisdom; the one with little business becomes wise. Hebrew witness B · VIII verso, lines 1–18 חכמת סופר תרבה חכמה וחסר עסק הוא יתחכם Manuscript transcription	38:24 A scribe’s wisdom comes through the opportunity of leisure; the one whose activity is reduced will become wise.	Different · Hebrew 38:24 — Greek’s first clause expressly names leisure, which is not in the Hebrew main clause.
Hebrew 38:25 · fragmentary How can he become wise who holds a goad and boasts in a quivering spear, who drives cattle and turns the ox [to harrow], and whose talk is about the young of […]? Hebrew witness B · VIII verso, lines 1–18 מה יתחכם תומך מלמד ומתפאר בחנית מרעיד באלוף ינהג ישובב ^לשדד^ בשור ושעיותיו עד בנ[י–] Manuscript transcription	38:25 How will someone become wise who holds a plow, boasts in a goad’s shaft, drives oxen, is occupied with their work, and whose talk is about the offspring of bulls?	Similar · Hebrew 38:25 — B is damaged at the end; the inserted לשדד is translated in brackets. Classification assesses only the surviving/readable wording, not lost portions. Inherited Greek note 38:25 The author’s contrast concerns leisure for learned study; each agricultural activity is retained.
Hebrew 38:26 · fragmentary His diligence is to finish the stall; he sets his heart on harrow[ing …]. Hebrew witness B · VIII verso, lines 1–18 ושקידתו לכלות מרבק לב ישית לשד[ד–] Manuscript transcription	38:26 He will give his heart to making furrows, and his wakefulness to fodder for heifers.	Similar · Hebrew 38:26 — Hebrew order is reversed from Greek; the end is damaged. Classification assesses only the surviving/readable wording, not lost portions.
Hebrew 38:27 · fragmentary So also the working craftsman and designer, who at night […]. Hebrew witness B · VIII verso, lines 1–18 אף עשה חרש וחושב אשר לילה[–] Manuscript transcription	38:27 So also every craftsman and master-builder who spends the night like the day, those who engrave signet engravings: his persistence is in varying the design. He will give his heart to making the depiction lifelike, and his wakefulness to finishing the work.	Similar · Hebrew 38:27 — Only the opening survives on this B leaf. Classification assesses only the surviving/readable wording, not lost portions. Inherited Greek note 38:27 The shifts between plural engravers and singular his follow the source’s collective description.
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	38:28 So also a smith sitting near an anvil and studying works of iron: the fire’s vapor will melt his flesh, and he will struggle in the furnace’s heat. He will incline his ear to the hammer’s sound, and his eyes are upon the pattern of the vessel. He will give his heart to completing works, and his wakefulness to finishing their adornment.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied. Inherited Greek note 38:28 All sensory and labor details are retained; melt his flesh preserves the heat image.
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	38:29 So also a potter sitting at his work and turning a wheel with his feet, who is continually anxious over his work, and whose whole labor is measured by number.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied.
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	38:30 With his arm he will shape clay, and before his feet he will bend his strength. He will give his heart to completing the coating, and his wakefulness to cleaning the kiln.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied. Inherited Greek note 38:30 Coating renders χρῖσμα in pottery context; no particular glaze chemistry is asserted.
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	38:31 All these trusted in their hands, and each shows skill in his own work.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied.
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	38:32 Without them a city will not be settled, and people will neither sojourn nor walk about.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied.
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	38:33 Yet they will not be sought for the people’s council or rise high in the assembly; they will not sit on a judge’s chair or consider a covenant of judgment.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied. Inherited Greek note 38:33 The limiting social judgment of the ancient author is retained alongside his praise of their indispensable work.
No Hebrew text is available in the selected manuscript coverage for this unit. This is a source gap, not a classified omission.	38:34 They will certainly not make instruction and judgment known or be found among proverbs, but they will sustain the fabric of the world, and their petition is in the work of their craft.	Not classified. No paired Hebrew reading is supplied. Inherited Greek note 38:34 Fabric of the world represents κτίσμα αἰῶνος; petition retains δέησις rather than silently changing prayer into mere intention.

Source and numbering

Hebrew English is newly translated from the manuscript-specific transcriptions in The Book of Ben Sira portal. Each translated unit identifies its selected witness and folio. This is a selected-witness working edition, not an exhaustive collation of every manuscript or a reconstruction of lost Hebrew. Brackets and fragmentary status identify uncertainty; no Greek text has been back-translated to fill Hebrew gaps.

The Greek-source English and its notes are inherited from the existing Sirach edition. The comparison categories are provisional editorial assessments against that English; this update is not a fresh verification of every Greek reading or its apparatus.

Working translation preserved from the recovered manuscript of 8 September 2026. Declared source: Septuaginta, Rahlfs–Hanhart, 2006, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, publisher’s Greek main text. Independent linguistic and critical-apparatus review remains outstanding. Source-access and reception claims in the inherited notes have not been freshly revalidated. Chapter and section headings are editorial.

The translator’s prologue is separate from the 51 chapters. Its eight source units map to publisher labels 1, 1a–1g; main-text 1:1 maps to 1h. Source 5:15 includes material often numbered 6:1, so chapter 6 begins at 6:2. Source label gaps are preserved; no text is invented.