Ben Sira 34:1-10

1 Foolish people are deceived by vain hopes, and dreams get them all excited. 1
2 A person who pays any attention at all to dreams is like someone who tries to catch shadows or chase the wind.
3 What you see in a dream is no more real than the reflection of your face in a mirror.
4 What is unreal can no more produce something real than what is dirty can produce something clean.
5 Dreams, divination, and omens are all nonsense. You see in them only what you want to see.
6 Unless the Most High has sent you the dream, pay no attention to it.
7 Dreams have misled many people; they put their faith in them, only to be disappointed.
8 The Law is complete without such falsehood. Wisdom, as spoken by the righteous, is also complete without it.
9 A well-traveled person with wide experience knows many things and talks sense.
10 You can't know much if you haven't experienced much, but travel can make you more clever.

Cross References 1

  • 1. 34.1-8Deuteronomy 13.1-5; 18.9-14.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. [Probable text] You see . . . to see; [Greek] The mind has an imagination like a woman in labor.
  • [b]. A well-traveled; [some manuscripts have] An educated.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.