Sirach 34 - Contemporary English Version Interconfessional Edition

Dreams

¹ Empty hopes deceive ignorant people, and dreams lead fools to be even more foolish.

² Believing in dreams is like holding on to shadows or chasing the wind.

³ Just as a mirror reflects your face, your dreams reflect your concerns.

⁴ Something clean cannot come from something dirty, and truth cannot come from a lie.

⁵ Dreams are meaningless, like something said by a fortuneteller, because they can mean anything you want them to.

⁶ So unless a dream has been sent by God Most High, ignore it.

⁷ Dreams have fooled many— first giving them hope, then disappointing them.

⁸ You can obey God's Law and learn from wise people, without paying attention to deceitful dreams.

Learning by Traveling

⁹ A person who has traveled has learned many things, and knows about them from experience.

¹⁰ If you have few experiences, you won't learn much,

¹¹ but the more you travel, the smarter you will become.

¹² I saw many things when I traveled, and I learned more than I can tell you.

¹³ My life was often in danger, but what I had learned always helped me escape. *

Fear the Lord

¹⁴ If you fear the Lord and put your trust in him,

¹⁵ he will keep you safe,

¹⁶ and so you can be brave and face any danger.

¹⁷ The Lord will bless you if you fear him

¹⁸ and ask for his help.

¹⁹ And if you love the Lord, he will give you strength and keep you from falling. He will be your shield, protecting you and giving shade from the burning heat of the summer sun at noon.

²⁰ Your eyes will sparkle with the happiness he gives, and he will bless you with health and a long life.

Sacrifices

²¹ A stolen animal isn't fit as a sacrifice for the Lord,

²² and he won't accept gifts from those who reject his Law.

²³ Sinners cannot please God Most High, and he will not forgive them, even if they offer sacrifice after sacrifice.

²⁴ Stealing food from the poor to offer as a sacrifice is like murdering children while their parents watch.

²⁵ The poor have so little food, that taking it is the same as committing murder.

²⁶ Stealing what someone needs to earn a living is the same as murder,

²⁷ and refusing to pay the wages of someone who works for you is just as evil.

²⁸ So, if you steal possessions that others worked for, you will cause trouble for yourself and for them.

²⁹ When they are asking God to put a curse on you, will he listen to your prayer?

³⁰ If you are unclean from touching a dead body, what's the point of washing if you touch the body again?

³¹ Suppose you go without eating to show sorrow for your sins and then commit the same sins again. Will God forgive you? No, it was all for nothing.