Sirach
As found in the Greek Septuagint
GNB
Chapter 35
Offering Sacrifices (Continued from chapter 34)
Sirach 35:1 Keeping the Law is worth many offerings; it is a fellowship offering in itself.
Sirach 35:2 Returning a kindness is like a grain offering; giving to the poor is like a thanksgiving offering.
Sirach 35:3 Keeping away from sin will please the Lord and make atonement for sin.
Sirach 35:4 But don't come to the Temple without an offering;
Sirach 35:5 the Law requires that you bring one.
Sirach 35:6 When someone righteous offers a sacrifice and the fat drips down on the alter, a pleasant smell rises to the Most High.
Sirach 35:7 The Lord will accept the offerings made by a righteous person and will not forget them.
Sirach 35:8 Praise the Lord by making generous offerings to him; don't be stingy with the first of your crops.
Sirach 35:9 Be cheerful with every gift you make, and when you pay your tithes, do it gladly.
Sirach 35:10 Give to the Most High as he has given to you, just as generously as you can.
Sirach 35:11 The Lord always repays and will do it many times over.
Sirach 35:12 But don't try to bribe him or rely on offerings that you have obtained dishonestly. He will not accept them.
Sirach 35:12 The Lord is fair and does not show partiality.
Sirach 35:13 He is not prejudiced against the poor; when someone prays who has been wronged, the Lord listens.
Sirach 35:14 When orphans and widows pour out their prayers, he does not ignore them.
Sirach 35:15 The tears running down a widow's cheek cry out in accusation against the one who has caused her distress.
Sirach 35:16 Serve the Lord willingly, and the Lord will accept you; your prayers will reach the skies.
Sirach 35:17 The prayer of a humble person goes past the clouds and keep on going until it reaches the Lord Most High, where it stays until he answers by seeing that justice is done and that the guilty are punished.
Sirach 35:18 And the Lord will act quickly. He will show no patience with wicked people. He will take vengeance by crushing the heathen. He will completely wipe out the merciless and the arrogant, and will destroy the authority of the wicked.
Sirach 35:19 He will give each of us what our thoughts and actions deserve. Because of the Lord's mercy, his people will be happy when he has judged their case.
Sirach 35:20 In times of trouble his mercy is as welcome as rain after a long drought.