Ecclesiasticus 38

How to read these pages: the text itself comes first, verse by verse, in the volume's own translation. Beneath each verse stands its Meaning — a rendering of what the passage's terms name in the inner life, drawn from the correspondences the text itself uses. The text is never altered; the meaning is offered, not imposed.

King James Version

1Honour a physician with the honour due unto him for the uses which ye may have of him: for the Lord hath created him.

Honour a physician — the healing faculty — with the honour due unto him for the uses which ye may have of him: for the indwelling LORD has created him.

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

For of the most High comes healing, and he shall receive honour of the king — the ruling state.

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

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

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

The indwelling LORD has created medicines out of the earth — remedies formed within the outer realm itself; and he that is wise will not abhor them.

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

Was not the water — the unformed thought — made sweet with wood, that the virtue thereof might be known?

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

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

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

With such does he heal men, and takes away their pains.

8Of such doth the apothecary make a confection; and of his works there is no end; and from him is peace over all the earth,

Of such does the apothecary — the compounding faculty that blends the remedies — make a confection; and of his works there is no end; and from him is peace over all the earth, the outer life.

9My son, in thy sickness be not negligent: but pray unto the Lord, and he will make thee whole.

My son, in thy sickness be not negligent: but pray unto the indwelling LORD, and he will make thee whole.

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

Leave off from sin — error, the state acting apart from the order — and order thine hands aright, and cleanse thy heart from all wickedness, all twisting from the order.

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

Give a sweet savour, and a memorial of fine flour; and make a fat offering — a faculty yielded without stint — as not being, as one who counts his own life as nothing beside the order.

12Then give place to the physician, for the Lord hath created him: let him not go from thee, for thou hast need of him.

Then give place to the physician, for the indwelling LORD has created him: let him not go from thee, for thou hast need of him.

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

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

14For they shall also pray unto the Lord, that he would prosper that, which they give for ease and remedy to prolong life.

For they shall also pray unto the indwelling LORD, that he would prosper that, which they give for ease and remedy to prolong life.

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

He that sins before his Maker — acting in error before the Source that formed him — let him fall into the hand of the physician: the disordered state is handed to the healing faculty.

16My 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.

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.

17Weep 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.

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.

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

For of heaviness comes death, and the heaviness of the heart breaks strength.

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

In affliction also sorrow remains: and the life of the poor — the lacking state — is the curse of the heart, its own heaviness turned against it.

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

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

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

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

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

Remember my judgment: for thine also shall be so; yesterday for me, and to day for thee — the same settling comes to every state in its turn.

23When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest; and be comforted for him, when his Spirit is departed from him.

When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest; and be comforted for him, when his Spirit — his breath of life — is departed from him.

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

The wisdom of a learned man comes by opportunity of leisure: and he that has little business shall become wise.

25How 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?

How can he get wisdom that holds the plough, and that glories in the goad, that drives oxen, and is occupied in their labours, and whose talk is of bullocks — the strong, tamed working affections of the outer life?

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

He gives his mind to make furrows — the opened lines in the outer field where seed may fall; and is diligent to give the kine fodder.

27So 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:

So every carpenter and workmaster, that labours night and day — in the hidden state and the illuminated alike: and they that cut and grave seals, and are diligent to make great variety, and give themselves to counterfeit imagery — to forming outward patterns — and watch to finish a work:

28The 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:

The smith also sitting by the anvil, and considering the iron work, the vapour of the fire wastes his flesh, and he fights 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 makes; he sets his mind to finish his work, and watches to polish it perfectly:

29So 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;

So does the potter sitting at his work, and turning the wheel about with his feet, who is always carefully set at his work, and makes all his work by number;

30He 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:

He fashions the clay with his arm, and bows down his strength before his feet; he applies himself to lead it over; and he is diligent to make clean the furnace:

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

All these trust to their hands: and every one is wise in his work — each working faculty skilled in its own office.

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

Without these cannot a city — an ordered company of states — be inhabited: and they shall not dwell where they will, nor go up and down:

33They 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.

They shall not be sought for in public 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 — outer stories carrying inner truth — are spoken.

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

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

Companion volume to The Why Bible — the King James Apocrypha, rendered in its spiritual meanings. First final edition, October 2026.