Sirach 34
Good News Translation
Dreams Mean Nothing
34 (A)Foolish people are deceived by vain hopes, and dreams get them all excited. 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.[a] 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.
Travel
9 A well-traveled[b] 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. 11 In my own travels I have seen many things and learned more than I can put into words. 12 I have been in danger of death many times, but I have always been able to escape by relying on past experience.
Fear the Lord
13 Those who fear the Lord will live, because they have put their trust in the one who can save them. 14 Fear the Lord, and you will have nothing else to fear. If your trust is in him, you will never act like a coward. 15 People who fear the Lord are fortunate, because they know where they can look for help. 16 The Lord watches over those who love him; he is their strong protection and firm support. He shelters them from the heat, shades them from the noonday sun, and keeps them from stumbling and falling. 17 He makes them cheerful and puts a sparkle in their eyes. He blesses them with life and health.
Offering Sacrifices
18 If you offer as a sacrifice an animal that you have obtained dishonestly, it is defective and unacceptable. 19 The Most High gets no pleasure from sacrifices made by ungodly people; no amount of sacrifices can make up for their sins. 20 Anyone who steals an animal from the poor to offer as a sacrifice is like someone who kills a boy before his father's eyes. 21 Food means life itself to poor people, and taking it away from them is murder. 22 It is murder to deprive someone of his living or to cheat an employee of his wages.
23 When one person builds and somebody else tears down, has anything been accomplished but hard work? 24 When one person blesses and somebody else curses, which one is the Lord going to listen to? 25 If you touch a dead body and then purify yourself by washing, but then go and touch it again, what good did the washing do? 26 If you fast because of your sins, and then go out and commit the same sins over again, what have you gained by going without food? Who do you think is going to listen to your prayers?
Footnotes
- Sirach 34:5 Probable text You see...to see; Greek The mind has an imagination like a woman in labor.
- Sirach 34:9 A well-traveled; some manuscripts have An educated.
Sirach 34
New Revised Standard Version Updated 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 pays attention to dreams.(A)
3 What is seen in dreams is but a reflection,
the likeness of a face looking at itself.(B)
4 From an unclean thing, what can be clean?
And from something false, what can be true?(C)
5 Divinations and omens and dreams are unreal,
and like a woman in labor the mind has fantasies.(D)
6 Unless they are sent by intervention from the Most High,
pay no attention to them.(E)
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 a trustworthy mouth.
Experience as a Teacher
9 People who have traveled[a] know many things,
and those with much experience know what they are talking about.(F)
10 The inexperienced know few things,
11 but those who have traveled acquire much cleverness.(G)
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.(H)
Fear the Lord
14 The spirit of those who fear the Lord will live,(I)
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.(J)
17 Happy are souls that fear the Lord!
18 To whom do they look? And who is their support?
19 The eyes of the Lord are on those who love him,
a mighty shield and strong support,
a shelter from scorching heat and a shade from noonday sun,
a guard against stumbling and a help against falling.(K)
20 He lifts up the soul and makes the eyes sparkle;
he gives health and life and blessing.(L)
Offering Sacrifices
21 If one sacrifices ill-gotten goods, the offering is blemished;[b](M)
22 the gifts[c] 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.(N)
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.(O)
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;(P)
27 to deprive an employee of wages is to shed blood.(Q)
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?(R)
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?(S)
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.
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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