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Ben Sira 34
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Ben Sira 34
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 34
Trust in the Lord and Not in Dreams[a]
1 Empty and false are the hopes of the senseless,
and dreams give wings to fools.
2 Like one grasping at shadows or chasing the wind,
so anyone who believes in dreams.
3 What is seen in dreams is a reflection,
the likeness of a face looking at itself.
4 How can the unclean produce what is clean?
How can the false produce what is true?(A)
5 Divination, omens, and dreams are unreal;
what you already expect, the mind fantasizes.
6 Unless they are specially sent by the Most High,
do not fix your heart on them.
7 For dreams have led many astray,
and those who put their hope in them have perished.
8 Without such deceptions the Law will be fulfilled,
and in the mouth of the faithful is complete wisdom.
9 A much-traveled person knows many things;
and one with much experience speaks sense.
10 An inexperienced person knows little,
11 whereas with travel one adds to resourcefulness.
12 I have seen much in my travels,
and learned more than I could ever say.
13 Often I was in danger of death,
but by these experiences I was saved.
14 Living is the spirit of those who fear the Lord,
15 for their hope is in their savior.
16 Whoever fear the Lord are afraid of nothing
and are never discouraged, for he is their hope.(B)
17 Happy the soul that fears the Lord!
18 In whom does he trust, and who is his support?
19 The eyes of the Lord are upon those who love him;
he is their mighty shield and strong support,
A shelter from the heat, a shade from the noonday sun,
a guard against stumbling, a help against falling.(C)
20 He lifts up spirits, brings a sparkle to the eyes,
gives health and life and blessing.
True Worship of God[b]
21 Ill-gotten goods offered in sacrifice are tainted.
22 Presents from the lawless do not win God’s favor.(D)
23 The Most High is not pleased with the gifts of the godless,
nor for their many sacrifices does he forgive their sins.
24 One who slays a son in his father’s presence—
whoever offers sacrifice from the holdings of the poor.
25 The bread of charity is life itself for the needy;(E)
whoever withholds it is a murderer.
26 To take away a neighbor’s living is to commit murder;
27 to deny a laborer wages is to shed blood.
28 If one builds up and another tears down,
what do they gain but trouble?
29 If one prays and another curses,
whose voice will God hear?
30 If one again touches a corpse after bathing,
what does he gain by the purification?(F)
31 So one who fasts for sins,
but goes and commits them again:
Who will hear his prayer,
what is gained by mortification?
Footnotes
- 34:1–20 Confidence placed in dreams, divinations, and omens is false because these are devoid of reality (vv. 1–8). True confidence is founded on knowledge and experience (vv. 9–13), and above all on the fear of the Lord, with its accompanying blessings of divine assistance and protection (vv. 14–20).
- 34:21–31 To be acts of true religion, sacrifice and penance must be accompanied by the proper moral dispositions. To offer to God goods taken from the poor (vv. 21–27), or to practice penance without interior reform, is a mockery, worthless in the sight of God (vv. 28–31). Cf. Mt 15:4–7; Mk 7:9–13.
Sirach 34
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Sirach 34
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Dreams Mean Nothing
34 The senseless have vain and false hopes,
and dreams give wings to fools.
2 As one who catches at a shadow and pursues the wind,
so is anyone who believes in[a] dreams.
3 What is seen in dreams is but a reflection,
the likeness of a face looking at itself.
4 From an unclean thing what can be clean?
And from something false what can be true?
5 Divinations and omens and dreams are unreal,
and like a woman in labor, the mind has fantasies.
6 Unless they are sent by intervention from the Most High,
pay no attention to them.
7 For dreams have deceived many,
and those who put their hope in them have perished.
8 Without such deceptions the law will be fulfilled,
and wisdom is complete in the mouth of the faithful.
Experience as a Teacher
9 An educated[b] person knows many things,
and one with much experience knows what he is talking about.
10 An inexperienced person knows few things,
11 but he that has traveled acquires much cleverness.
12 I have seen many things in my travels,
and I understand more than I can express.
13 I have often been in danger of death,
but have escaped because of these experiences.
Fear the Lord
14 The spirit of those who fear the Lord will live,
15 for their hope is in him who saves them.
16 Those who fear the Lord will not be timid,
or play the coward, for he is their hope.
17 Happy is the soul that fears the Lord!
18 To whom does he look? And who is his support?
19 The eyes of the Lord are on those who love him,
a mighty shield and strong support,
a shelter from scorching wind and a shade from noonday sun,
a guard against stumbling and a help against falling.
20 He lifts up the soul and makes the eyes sparkle;
he gives health and life and blessing.
Offering Sacrifices
21 If one sacrifices ill-gotten goods, the offering is blemished;[c]
22 the gifts[d] of the lawless are not acceptable.
23 The Most High is not pleased with the offerings of the ungodly,
nor for a multitude of sacrifices does he forgive sins.
24 Like one who kills a son before his father’s eyes
is the person who offers a sacrifice from the property of the poor.
25 The bread of the needy is the life of the poor;
whoever deprives them of it is a murderer.
26 To take away a neighbor’s living is to commit murder;
27 to deprive an employee of wages is to shed blood.
28 When one builds and another tears down,
what do they gain but hard work?
29 When one prays and another curses,
to whose voice will the Lord listen?
30 If one washes after touching a corpse, and touches it again,
what has been gained by washing?
31 So if one fasts for his sins,
and goes again and does the same things,
who will listen to his prayer?
And what has he gained by humbling himself?
Footnotes
- Sirach 34:2 Syr: Gk pays heed to
- Sirach 34:9 Other ancient authorities read A traveled
- Sirach 34:21 Other ancient authorities read is made in mockery
- Sirach 34:22 Other ancient authorities read mockeries
Sirach 34
Common English Bible
Sirach 34
Common English Bible
On dreams
34 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.
28 One person builds,
and another tears down;
what have they gained
other than hard work?
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?
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
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Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
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