“All these workers rely
On their hands.
All are skilful
In their own work.
Without them,
No city can be inhabited.
Wherever they live,
They will not go hungry.
Yet they are not sought out
For the council of the people.
They do not attain eminence
In the public assembly.
They do not sit
In the judge’s seat.
They do understand
The decisions of the courts.
They cannot expound discipline.
They cannot expound judgment.
They are not found using proverbs.
They are not found among the rulers.
But they maintain
The fabric of the world.
Their concern is
For the exercise of their trade.
Their prayer is
In the practice of their trade.”
Sirach emphasizes the importance of skilled manual workers. No inhabitable city can exist without them, so that they will never go hungry. However, they do not serve in the city council or in public assemblies. They are not judges, since they do not understand the decisions of the courts, their discipline, or their judgments. They are never found among the rulers or using proverbs. Yet they maintain the fabric of society. Their concern and prayer is found in the exercise of their skilled manual trades.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 