Wisdom of Ben Sira 34:29-31

New Catholic Bible

²⁹ When one prays and another curses,
    to whose voice will the Lord listen?
³⁰ If someone bathes after touching a corpse and then touches it again,
    what has been gained by washing?
³¹ So it is with the one who fasts for his sins
    and then goes out and commits them again.
Who will listen to his prayer?
    And what has he gained by his penance?