Single lesson
Sirach 38: Honor physicians and combine treatment with prayer
Sirach 38:1–15; Sirach 38:16–23
Sirach 38:1–15 teaches that care in sickness is not divided between God and medicine. This passage honours physicians, recognises medicines and skill as the Lord’s gifts, and calls a sick person to prayer, repentance, offering and practical treatment. This lesson also brings together Mourn and bury the dead, then accept consolation.
Before you teach
In this prayer-like instruction, Sirach speaks directly about illness, healing and right response. The passage moves from honouring physicians and medicines as created by the Lord to urging prayer, turning from sin, giving an offering according to one’s means, and making room for the physician’s work.
Explain the central teaching of Sirach 38: Honor physicians and combine treatment with prayer, using two details from the reading. This passage teaches that in sickness a person should seek the Lord and also receive medical help as gifts that come from him. This passage teaches that grieving the dead with honour is fitting, but ongoing sorrow should not be allowed to destroy the living.
Welcome: Sirach 38: Honor physicians and combine treatment with prayer
5 minIntroduce “Honor physicians and combine treatment with prayer”, “Mourn and bury the dead, then accept consolation” and locate Sirach 38:1–15; Sirach 38:16–23. This passage teaches that in sickness a person should seek the Lord and also receive medical help as gifts that come from him. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Sirach 38:1, Sirach 38:8, Sirach 38:15
Read and explain the passage
12 minHonor physicians and combine treatment with prayer (Sirach 38:1–15): The passage begins by saying a physician should be honoured according to need, because the Lord created him. Healing comes from the Most High, yet the physician is still valued and respected. His skill is described as real skill that brings honour before important people, not something to be despised or ignored.
Mourn and bury the dead, then accept consolation (Sirach 38:16–23): The passage begins with permission to weep. Tears, lamentation, and wailing are not rejected here. Burial is also treated as an act of honour, not something to neglect. The instruction joins emotion and duty together: sorrow may be shown openly, and the body should be treated with due respect.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “Honor physicians and combine treatment with prayer”, “Mourn and bury the dead, then accept consolation”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Sirach 38:1, Sirach 38:2, Sirach 38:3, Sirach 38:16, Sirach 38:17
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with “Why does Sirach say a physician should be honoured?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. This passage teaches that grieving the dead with honour is fitting, but ongoing sorrow should not be allowed to destroy the living. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Sirach 38:1, Sirach 38:2, Sirach 38:12, Sirach 38:4, Sirach 38:6, Sirach 38:7, Sirach 38:8, Sirach 38:22, Sirach 38:23
Make and respond: Words and images response sheet
12 minWork on “Sirach 38: Honor physicians and combine treatment with prayer: Words and images response sheet”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “Honor physicians and combine treatment with prayer”, “Mourn and bury the dead, then accept consolation” as reading headings. Each learner should include at least two accurate details and their verse references. Share one observation from the finished sheet and explain how it connects with the central teaching.
Sirach 38:1, Sirach 38:12, Sirach 38:23
Closing: return to Mourn and bury the dead, then accept consolation
3 minRevisit Sirach 38:16–23. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about Mourn and bury the dead, then accept consolation and another to support the summary with a verse. Give learners a moment to complete their response sheet. They can share a question or, if appropriate for the group, join the optional prayer.
Sirach 38:16, Sirach 38:20, Sirach 38:23
Questions to explore
Why does Sirach say a physician should be honoured?
Look for the repeated reason in the passage: the physician is to be honoured because the Lord created him, while healing comes from the Most High.
Sirach 38:1, Sirach 38:2, Sirach 38:12
What does this passage say about medicines and medical skill?
Notice that medicines are said to be created out of the earth by the Lord, and skill is given to people so that God may be glorified.
Sirach 38:4, Sirach 38:6, Sirach 38:7, Sirach 38:8
How does remembering “yesterday for him, and today for you” shape the teaching of the passage?
Use the verse about shared human mortality to connect honouring the dead with accepting comfort for the living.
Sirach 38:22, Sirach 38:23
Make, think or respond
Sirach 38: Honor physicians and combine treatment with prayer: Words and images response sheet
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or pens
- a Bible or the source reading on this page
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into three panels or draw three columns. Label them “A repeated word or image”, “Its verse reference”, “What it expresses”.
- Read Sirach 38:1–15; Sirach 38:16–23. Use “Honor physicians and combine treatment with prayer”, “Mourn and bury the dead, then accept consolation” as your reading headings and add a short quotation or detail with its verse reference to each panel.
- Compare your notes with a partner. Check that every quotation is accurate and every conclusion has support in the passage.
- Choose one image and add a short written response or a simple drawing. Explain how it connects with the passage.
The finished sheet keeps the details of Sirach 38: Honor physicians and combine treatment with prayer connected to their Bible references and gives the group a way to explain what they noticed.
Adapt for your group
- For learners who need more support, prepare the reading headings “Honor physicians and combine treatment with prayer”, “Mourn and bury the dead, then accept consolation” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Sirach 38:1–15; Sirach 38:16–23. Ask for a written explanation with two supporting references and one question that the text leaves open.
An optional closing prayer
“God, help us listen carefully as we read Sirach 38:1–15; Sirach 38:16–23. Help us understand what we have read, ask thoughtful questions and respond with care for others. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Sirach 38
1 Honor a physician according to your need with the honors due to him, for truly the Lord has created him.
2 For healing comes from the Most High, and he shall receive a gift from the king.
3 The skill of the physician will lift up his head. He will be admired in the sight of great men.
4 The Lord created medicines out of the earth. A prudent man will not despise them.
5 Wasn’t water made sweet with wood, that its power might be known?
6 He gave men skill that he might be glorified in his marvelous works.
7 With them he heals and takes away pain.
8 With these, the pharmacist makes a mixture. God’s works won’t be brought to an end. From him, peace is upon the face of the earth.
9 My son, in your sickness don’t be negligent, but pray to the Lord, and he will heal you.
10 Put away wrong doing, and direct your hands in righteousness. Cleanse your heart from all sin.
11 Give a sweet savor and a memorial of fine flour, and pour oil on your offering, according to your means.
12 Then give place to the physician, for truly the Lord has created him. Don’t let him leave you, for you need him.
13 There is a time when recovery is in their hands.
14 For they also shall ask the Lord to prosper them in diagnosis and in healing for the maintenance of life.
15 He who sins before his Maker, let him fall into the hands of the physician.
16 My son, let your tears fall over the dead, and as one who suffers grievously, begin lamentation. Wind up his body with due honor. Don’t neglect his burial.
17 Make bitter weeping and make passionate wailing. Let your mourning be according to his merit, for one day or two, lest you be spoken evil of; and so be comforted for your sorrow.
18 For from sorrow comes death. Sorrow of heart saps one’s strength.
19 In calamity, sorrow also remains. A poor man’s life is grievous to the heart.
20 Don’t give your heart to sorrow. Put it away, remembering the end.
21 Don’t forget it, for there is no returning again. You do him no good, and you would harm yourself.
22 Remember his end, for so also will yours be: yesterday for him, and today for you.
23 When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest. Be comforted for him when his spirit departs from him.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.