Ecclesiasticus, 34

1. Vain and deceptive hopes are for the foolish, and dreams lend wings to fools.

1. No evil will befall the man who fears the Lord, but in trial he will deliver him again and again.

2. As well clutch at shadows and chase the wind as put any faith in dreams.

2. A wise man will not hate the law, but he who is hypocritical about it is like a boat in a storm.

3. Dreams are no different from mirrors; confronting a face, the reflection of that face.

3. A man of understanding will trust in the law; for him the law is as dependable as an inquiry by means of Urim.

4. What can be cleansed by uncleanness, what can be verified by falsehood?

4. Prepare what to say, and thus you will be heard; bind together your instruction, and make your answer.

5. Divinations, auguries and dreams are nonsense, like the fantasies of a pregnant woman.

5. The heart of a fool is like a cart wheel, and his thoughts like a turning axle.

6. Unless sent as emissaries from the Most High, do not give them a thought;

6. A stallion is like a mocking friend; he neighs under every one who sits on him.

7. for dreams have led many astray, and those who relied on them have come to grief.

7. Why is any day better than another, when all the daylight in the year is from the sun?

8. Fulfilling the Law requires no such falsehood, and wisdom is perfected in veracity.

8. By the Lord's decision they were distinguished, and he appointed the different seasons and feasts;

9. A much travelled man knows many things, and a man of great experience will talk sound sense.

9. some of them he exalted and hallowed, and some of them he made ordinary days.

10. Someone who has never had his trials knows little; but the travelled man is master of every situation.

10. All men are from the ground, and Adam was created of the dust.

11. I have seen many things on my travels, I have understood more than I can put into words.

11. In the fulness of his knowledge the Lord distinguished them and appointed their different ways;

12. I have often been in danger of death, but I have been spared, and this is why:

12. some of them he blessed and exalted, and some of them he made holy and brought near to himself; but some of them he cursed and brought low, and he turned them out of their place.

13. the spirit of those who fear the Lord can survive, for their hope is in someone with power to save them.

13. As clay in the hand of the potter -- for all his ways are as he pleases -- so men are in the hand of him who made them, to give them as he decides.

14. No one who fears the Lord need ever hesitate, or ever be daunted, since the Lord is his hope.

14. Good is the opposite of evil, and life the opposite of death; so the sinner is the opposite of the godly.

15. Happy the soul of one who fears the Lord. On whom does he rely? Who supports him?

15. Look upon all the works of the Most High; they likewise are in pairs, one the opposite of the other.

16. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who love him, he is their powerful protection and their strong support, their screen from the desert wind, their shelter from the midday sun, a guard against stumbling, an assurance against a fall.

16. I was the last on watch; I was like one who gleans after the grape-gatherers; by the blessing of the Lord I excelled, and like a grape-gatherer I filled my wine press.

17. He revives the spirit and brightens the eyes, he gives health, life and blessing.

17. Consider that I have not labored for myself alone, but for all who seek instruction.

18. The sacrifice of an offering unjustly acquired is a mockery; the gifts of the impious are unacceptable.

18. Hear me, you who are great among the people, and you leaders of the congregation, hearken.

19. The Most High takes no pleasure in offerings from the godless, multiplying sacrifices will not gain pardon for sin.

19. To son or wife, to brother or friend, do not give power over yourself, as long as you live; and do not give your property to another, lest you change your mind and must ask for it.

20. Offering sacrifice from the property of the poor is as bad as slaughtering a son before his father's eyes.

20. While you are still alive and have breath in you, do not let any one take your place.

21. A meagre diet is the very life of the poor, to deprive them of it is to commit murder.

21. For it is better that your children should ask from you than that you should look to the hand of you sons.

22. To take away a fellow-man's livelihood is to kill him, to deprive an employee of his wages is to shed blood.

22. Excel in all that you do; bring no stain upon your honor.

23. If one person builds while another pulls down, what will they get out of it but trouble?

23. At the time when you end the days of your life, in the hour of death, distribute your inheritance.

24. If one person prays and another calls down a curse, to which one's voice is the Master going to listen?

24. Fodder and a stick and burdens for an ass; bread and discipline and work for a servant.

25. If someone washes after touching a corpse, and then touches it again, what is the good of his washing?

25. Set your slave to work, and you will find rest; leave his hands idle, and he will seek liberty.

26. Just so with someone who fasts for sin, and then goes and commits it again. Who is going to hear that person's prayer? What is the good of the self-abasement?

26. Yoke and thong will bow the neck, and for a wicked servant there are racks and tortures.

27.

27. Put him to work, that he may not be idle, for idleness teaches much evil.

28.

28. Set him to work, as is fitting for him, and if he does not obey, make his fetters heavy.

29.

29. Do not act immoderately toward anybody, and do nothing without discretion.

30.

30. If you have a servant, let him be as yourself, because you have bought him with blood.

31.

31. If you have a servant, treat him as a brother, for as your own soul you will need him. If you ill-treat him, and he leaves and runs away, which way will you go to seek him?