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18 Gourmet foods set before one who cannot eat
    are like delicacies placed on a grave.
19 Of what use is a sacrifice to an idol
    that can neither taste nor smell?
So it is with the man afflicted by the Lord;
20     he gazes and groans,
    as a eunuch groans when embracing a maiden.
[So it is with the one who does right under obligation.][a]

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Footnotes

  1. Wisdom of Ben Sira 30:20 Added by some early MSS.