38:24 The wisdom of the scribe depends on the opportunity of
leisure; and he who has little business may become wise.
38:25 How can he become wise who handles the plow, and who
glories in the shaft of a goad, who drives oxen and is occupied
with their work, and whose talk is about bulls?
38:26 He sets his heart on plowing furrows, and he is careful
about fodder for the heifers.
38:27 So too is every craftsman and master workman who labors by
night as well as by day; those who cut the signets of seals, each
is diligent in making a great variety; he sets his heart on
painting a lifelike image, and he is careful to finish his work.
38:28 So too is the smith sitting by the anvil, intent upon his
handiwork in iron; the breath of the fire melts his flesh, and he
wastes away in the heat of the furnace; he inclines his ear to
the sound of the hammer, and his eyes are on the pattern of the
object. He sets his heart on finishing his handiwork, and he is
careful to complete its decoration.
38:29 So too is the potter sitting at his work and turning the
wheel with his feet; he is always deeply concerned over his work,
and all his output is by number.
38:30 He moulds the clay with his arm and makes it pliable with
his feet; he sets his heart to finish the glazing, and he is
careful to clean the furnace.
38:31 All these rely upon their hands, and each is skilful in his
own work.
38:32 Without them a city cannot be established, and men can
neither sojourn nor live there.
38:33 Yet they are not sought out for the council of the people,
nor do they attain eminence in the public assembly. They do not
sit in the judge's seat, nor do they understand the sentence of judgment;
they cannot expound discipline or judgment, and they are not
found using proverbs.
38:34 But they keep stable the fabric of the world, and their
prayer is in the practice of their trade.