Sirach 34

On dreams

1 Senseless people have empty and false hopes, and dreams excite fools.
2 Those who pay attention to dreams are just like people who grasp at a shadow or pursue the wind.
3 What one sees in a dream is a reflection, a face looking at its own likeness.
4 What will be made clean from something unclean? And what will be true of something false?
5 Divinations, omens, and dreams are empty. The mind has fantasies, just like a woman in labor does.
6 Unless the Most High sends a dream by means of a visitation, don't pay any attention to it.
7 Dreams have misled many, and those who have placed hope in them have fallen.
8 The Law will be fulfilled without lies; wisdom in a faithful person's mouth is fulfillment.

Experience and fear of the Lord

9 People who have traveled know a lot, and those who are experienced will speak sense.
10 People with no experience know little,
11 but those who have traveled have become more clever.
12 I have seen a lot in my wandering, and I understand more than I can tell.
13 I've often been in danger, close to death, and I was saved because of these experiences.
14 The spirit of those who fear the Lord will live,
15 because their hope is in the one who saves them.
16 Those who fear the Lord won't be timid about anything; they will never turn coward, because the Lord is their hope.
17 The souls of those who fear the Lord are favored.
18 To whom do they look? And who is their support?
19 The Lord's eyes are upon those who love him. The Lord is a powerful shield, a strong support, a shelter from the heat, a shade from the midday sun, a guard against stumbling, and a help against falling;
20 one who lifts up the spirit, one who gives light to the eyes, and one who gives healing for life and blessing.

On sacrifice and worship

21 When someone sacrifices something unjustly gotten, the offering is flawed;
22 the gifts of those who don't follow the Law are not acceptable.
23 The Most High is not pleased with the offerings of the ungodly, nor will he forgive sins for a multitude of sacrifices.
24 Someone who brings a sacrifice that comes from the property of the needy is like someone who slaughters a son in the presence of his father.
25 The needy person's bread means life for that poor person; whoever withholds it is a murderer.
26 Whoever takes away a neighbor's living commits murder,
27 and whoever deprives a worker of wages sheds blood. and another tears down; what have they gained other than hard work?
28 One person builds,
29 One person prays, and another person curses; to whose voice will the master listen?
30 When people bathe after touching a corpse and touch it again, what have they gained by washing?
31 So when people fast because of their sins, and then go and do the same things again, who will listen to their prayer, and what did they gain by humbling themselves?
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible