Sirach

Chapter-34

Sirach 34:1 The hopes of a senseless man are empty and false; and dreams extol the imprudent.

 

Sirach 34:2 Like one who chases a shadow and pursues the wind, so also is one who pays attention to lying visions.

 

Sirach 34:3 In the vision of dreams, one thing represents another, as when a mask is before the face of a man.

 

Sirach 34:4 What can be cleansed by the unclean? And what truth can be spoken from a lie?

 

Sirach 34:5 Erroneous divinations and false signs and the dreams of evildoers are emptiness.

 

Sirach 34:6 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.

 

Sirach 34:7 For dreams have caused many to go astray, and those who have hoped in them have fallen away.

 

Sirach 34:8 The word of the law will be fulfilled without a lie, and wisdom will be made plain in the mouths of the faithful.

 

Sirach 34:9 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.

 

Sirach 34:10 He who has no experience knows little. And he who has done many things has made many mistakes.

 

Sirach 34:11 He who has not been tested, what kind of things can he know? He who has been deceived will be more cunning.

 

Sirach 34:12 I have seen much by wandering, and the customs of many things.

 

Sirach 34:13 At times, I have even been in danger of death because of these things, but I was freed by the grace of God.

 

Sirach 34:14 The spirit of those who fear God is sought, and they will be blessed by his providence.

 

Sirach 34:15 For their hope is in him who saves them, and the eyes of God are on those who love him.

 

Sirach 34:16 Those who fear the Lord will tremble at nothing, and they will not be terrified. For he is their hope.

 

Sirach 34:17 The soul of him who fears the Lord is blessed.

 

Sirach 34:18 To whom should he look, and who is his strength?

 

Sirach 34:19 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,

 

Sirach 34:20 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.

 

Sirach 34:21 An immolation from iniquity is a stained oblation, and the derisions of the unjust are not well pleasing.

 

Sirach 34:22 The Lord is only for those who persevere for him in the way of truth and justice.

 

Sirach 34:23 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.

 

Sirach 34:24 Whoever offers a sacrifice from the substance of the poor is like one who sacrifices the son in the sight of his father.

 

Sirach 34:25 The bread of the indigent is the life of the poor. Whoever cheats them out of it is a man of blood.

 

Sirach 34:26 Whoever takes away the bread of sweat is like one who kills his neighbor.

 

Sirach 34:27 He who sheds blood, and he who cheats the hired hand out of his wages, are brothers.

 

Sirach 34:28 When one builds and another destroys, what benefit do they have from their labor?

 

Sirach 34:29 When one prays and another curses, whose voice will God heed?

 

Sirach 34:30 He who washes himself after touching the dead, and then touches him again, what was the benefit of his washing?

 

Sirach 34:31 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?