Sirach 34

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Vain and deceptive hopes are for the foolish, and dreams lend wings to fools.	1 The hopes of a senseless man are empty and false; and dreams extol the imprudent.
2 As wel clutch at shadows and chase the wind as put any faith in dreams.	2 Like one who chases a shadow and pursues the wind, so also is one who pays attention to lying visions.
3 Dreams are no different from mirrors; confronting a face, the reflection of that face.	3 In the vision of dreams, one thing represents another, as when a mask is before the face of a man.
4 What can be cleansed by uncleanness, what can be verified by falsehood?	4 What can be cleansed by the unclean? And what truth can be spoken from a lie?
5 Divinations, auguries and dreams are nonsense, like the fantasies of a pregnant woman.	5 Erroneous divinations and false signs and the dreams of evildoers are emptiness.
6 Unless sent as emissaries from the Most High, do not give them a thought;	6 For your heart suffers from imagination, like a woman suffering in childbirth. Unless it is a visitation sent from the Most High, you should not set your heart upon it.
7 for dreams have led many astray, and those who relied on them have come to grief.	7 For dreams have caused many to go astray, and those who have hoped in them have fallen away.
8 Fulfil ing the Law requires no such falsehood, and wisdom is perfected in veracity.	8 The word of the law will be fulfilled without a lie, and wisdom will be made plain in the mouths of the faithful.
9 A much travel ed man knows many things, and a man of great experience wil talk sound sense.	9 He who has not been tested, what does he know? A man with much experience will consider many things. And whoever has learned much will explain with understanding.
10 Someone who has never had his trials knows little; but the travel ed man is master of every situation.	10 He who has no experience knows little. And he who has done many things has made many mistakes.
11 I have seen many things on my travels, I have understood more than I can put into words.	11 He who has not been tested, what kind of things can he know? He who has been deceived will be more cunning.
12 I have often been in danger of death, but I have been spared, and this is why:	12 I have seen much by wandering, and the customs of many things.
13 the spirit of those who fear the Lord can survive, for their hope is in someone with power to save them.	13 At times, I have even been in danger of death because of these things, but I was freed by the grace of God.
14 No one who fears the Lord need ever hesitate, or ever be daunted, since the Lord is his hope.	14 The spirit of those who fear God is sought, and they will be blessed by his providence.
15 Happy the soul of one who fears the Lord. On whom does he rely? Who supports him?	15 For their hope is in him who saves them, and the eyes of God are on those who love him.
16 The eyes of the Lord watch over those who love him, he is their powerful protection and their strongsupport, their screen from the desert wind, their shelter from the midday sun, a guard against stumbling, anassurance against a fal .	16 Those who fear the Lord will tremble at nothing, and they will not be terrified. For he is their hope.
17 He revives the spirit and brightens the eyes, he gives health, life and blessing.	17 The soul of him who fears the Lord is blessed.
18 The sacrifice of an offering unjustly acquired is a mockery; the gifts of the impious are unacceptable.	18 To whom should he look, and who is his strength?
19 The Most High takes no pleasure in offerings from the godless, multiplying sacrifices wil not gainpardon for sin.	19 The eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him. He is a powerful Protector, a Firmament of virtue, a Shelter from the heat, and a Covering from the midday sun,
20 Offering sacrifice from the property of the poor is as bad as slaughtering a son before his father'seyes.	20 a Guardian from offenses, and a Helper from falling, who exalts the soul and illuminates the eyes, and who gives health and life and blessing.
21 A meagre diet is the very life of the poor, to deprive them of it is to commit murder.	21 An immolation from iniquity is a stained oblation, and the derisions of the unjust are not well pleasing.
22 To take away a fel ow-man's livelihood is to kil him, to deprive an employee of his wages is to shedblood.	22 The Lord is only for those who persevere for him in the way of truth and justice.
23 If one person builds while another pul s down, what wil they get out of it but trouble?	23 The Most High does not approve of the gifts of the iniquitous. Neither does he have respect for the oblations of the unjust; neither will he forgive their sins because of the multitude of their sacrifices.
24 If one person prays and another cal s down a curse, to which one's voice is the Master going to listen?	24 Whoever offers a sacrifice from the substance of the poor is like one who sacrifices the son in the sight of his father.
25 If someone washes after touching a corpse, and then touches it again, what is the good of hiswashing?	25 The bread of the indigent is the life of the poor. Whoever cheats them out of it is a man of blood.
26 Just so with someone who fasts for sin, and then goes and commits it again. Who is going to hear thatperson's prayer? What is the good of the self-abasement?	26 Whoever takes away the bread of sweat is like one who kills his neighbor.
	27 He who sheds blood, and he who cheats the hired hand out of his wages, are brothers.
	28 When one builds and another destroys, what benefit do they have from their labor?
	29 When one prays and another curses, whose voice will God heed?
	30 He who washes himself after touching the dead, and then touches him again, what was the benefit of his washing?
	31 Similarly, a man who fasts for his sins, and then does the same again, what was the benefit of his humbling himself? Who will heed his prayer?