Dreams
1 ① The foolish are deceived by vain and false hopes; dreams give them wings.
2To rely on dreams is like grasping a shadow or chasing the wind. 3What you see in dreams are only reflections: a person sees his own image.
4What clean thing can come from what is unclean? What truth comes from what is false? 5Divinations, omens and dreams are empty like the fantasies of a woman in labor.
6Unless they come as messengers of the Most High, do not pay at tention to them. 7For dreams have led many people astray. Those who hoped in them have fallen.
8Not so the Law, which never fails but comes true. Wisdom from the truthful lips of God is the highest truth.
9One who has traveled knows a great deal, and a man of wide experience will talk soundly. 10A person who has not had trials knows very little. But the traveled man is competent in many ways. 11I have made many discoveries on my travels and understood more than I can express. 12I have often been in danger of death but have been saved thanks to my experience.
13The spirit of those who fear the Lord will live, for their hope is placed in the One who saves.
14He who fears the Lord is in dread of nothing. He will not be cowardly for he is his hope. 15He who fears the Lord is a happy person. To whom does he turn? Who is his support?
16The eyes of the Lord are on those who love him. For them he is powerful protection, strong support, shelter against scorching wind and the midday sun. He is a safeguard against stumbling and assurance against a fall. 17He lifts up the soul and gives a sparkle to the eyes; he gives healing, life and blessing.
Offerings pleasing to God
18 ② An offering to God from stolen goods is a stained offering, the sacrifices of the wicked do not please God.
19The Most High takes no pleasure in the offering of the godless. It is not the number of victims that obtains pardon for sin.
20Offering to God from what belongs to the poor is like slaughtering a son in the presence of his father.
21Bread is life to the poor; he who takes it from them is a murderer. 22He who deprives others of a livelihood kills them, and who ever withdraws the salary of a worker is guilty of blood.
23If one builds and the other destroys, what do they gain besides trouble? 24If one prays and the other curses, whose voice will the Master listen to?
25If a man is cleansed after touching a corpse and then touches it again, what good was there in his cleansing?
26If anyone fasts for his sins and then commits the same sins, who will hear his prayer? What value is there in his fasting?
- Sir 34,1 Previously in Israel, dreams were very important. Here we have a reaction against dreams. Without denying that, in some cases, God can guide or warn the believer through a dream, the author teaches that we must not be guided by dreams: the sure way is to fulfill God's Law (see commentary on Gen 37). Sir 34,18 What infuriates the sacred author is that after they have stripped the humble, the rich come to the Temple to offer their magnificent presents.
- Sir 34,1 Previously in Israel, dreams were very important. Here we have a reaction against dreams. Without denying that, in some cases, God can guide or warn the believer through a dream, the author teaches that we must not be guided by dreams: the sure way is to fulfill God's Law (see commentary on Gen 37). Sir 34,18 What infuriates the sacred author is that after they have stripped the humble, the rich come to the Temple to offer their magnificent presents.
