translated by D. C. Simpson, in R. H. Charles's Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament (1913)
Tobit is a pious exile of the tribe of Naphtali, carried captive to Nineveh, who goes blind after being fouled by sparrow-droppings while doing a kindness for the dead, and in his despair prays for death. Far off in Ecbatana, his kinswoman Sarah prays for the same release, tormented by the demon Asmodeus, who has killed each of her seven bridegrooms on their wedding night before the marriage could be consummated. God sends the angel Raphael, disguised as a travelling kinsman named Azarias, to guide Tobit's son Tobias on a journey to recover a family debt — a journey that becomes a rescue of Sarah, a wedding, and the healing of Tobit's eyes with a fish's gall. It is a Diaspora tale of piety, almsgiving, and providence working through very ordinary trouble, closer to folktale and wisdom literature than to prophecy. Independent Aramaic and Hebrew fragments of Tobit later turned up among the Dead Sea Scrolls, but this 1913 English translation is drawn entirely from the Greek and stands as a complete literary edition in its own right.
Introductory Note (1913, D. C. Simpson)
Short Account of the Book
This book, composed possibly in Aramaic in the last quarter of the third century B.C., probably emanated from orthodox circles in Egypt. It therefore throws considerable light upon the religious and ethical conditions of the Diaspora in that country some hundred and fifty years after the date of the recently discovered Aramaic papyri.
The evidences of its popularity, almost from the moment of its composition until the eighteenth or nineteenth century of our era, in themselves constitute a long and interesting history. Its influence is apparent alike in Jewish writings, in the New Testament, in the early Church, and in mediaeval art. Carefully revised by A.D. 150 in Jewish circles into the form most common today, but almost immediately translated into Aramaic from the first Greek version and later, more than once, into Hebrew, and yet again revised in Greek in Christian circles, it remained on the one hand a favourite Jewish work, and on the other, translated into various languages, followed the spread of the Christian religion to Edessa in the East, to Rome and Africa in the West, and to Ethiopia in the South.
Its religious and moral outlook, with a delightful mixture of real piety and Oriental superstition, is still refreshing to the modern reader. The author's chief merit lies not so much in the originality of his conceptions as in his artistic genius and inimitable art in combining and working up strong priestly and prophetic tendencies, distinct pagan and Jewish sources, various written and oral information, and definite religious and moral precepts, into a work of singular aesthetic beauty and remarkably liberal sympathies. "Is it history?" wrote Luther. "Then is it a holy history. Is it fiction? Then is it a truly beautiful, wholesome, and profitable fiction, the performance of a gifted poet."
Title
The original Greek title was Biblos logōn Tōbeith, which was only modified in the Vatican recension in the spelling of the last word. The title is not extant in the third, mediating recension.
Greek Manuscripts and Papyrus
The Greek witnesses fall into three groups, representing three distinct recensions, whose interrelation constitutes a problem of such extreme intricacy that only a bare statement of the present writer's main conclusions is possible here.
Codex Sinaiticus presents the longest and clearest text, with only two lacunae of real importance and a handful of slight and unimportant ones, a comparatively trustworthy orthography of proper names, only one or two additions to the original text, and only a few, mostly natural, cases of internal corruption. All the evidence points to the comparative originality of the recension of Tobit contained in Sinaiticus, which stands in a few cases alone but is supported especially by the Old Latin, very frequently by the Aramaic, often by the Münster Hebrew, and not rarely by the third recension. In the following pages this text is referred to not as "the B text" — a confusing nomenclature, since B is the universal symbol for Codex Vaticanus — but as R^S, the Sinaitic recension, the nearest approach that can be made to the original text, whether that original first appeared in Greek or in a Semitic language. It is this text which has been translated and commented upon in the following pages, using Swete's verse-numbering, with that of the Revised English Version noted in brackets wherever it differs.
Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus give the second type of text, here called R^V, the recension best preserved in Vaticanus. A number of minuscules belong to this class, but their practical importance is slight. When R^S faithfully records an incident in detail, R^V summarizes; when R^S retains the poetic and aesthetic beauty of the original, R^V ruthlessly substitutes a brief prosaic narrative. The text of R^V was finally settled in the reign of Antoninus Pius, in Jewish rather than Christian circles of the Diaspora, as its presuppositions, historical background, and theological development show; and in spite of its own internal solidity it presents a much corrupted text, with proper names badly written and a style and grammar closer to the vernacular.
Between vi. 7(8) and xiii. 8, the minuscules 44, 106, and 107 furnish a fragment of a third type of text, R^C. Before vi. 7(8) and after xiii. 8 these cursives follow R^V, but the discovery of Oxyrhynchus Papyrus No. 1076 (assigned on palaeographic grounds to the sixth century) has demonstrated that R^C commenced at least as early as chapter ii. R^C presents a few late characteristics, and the earliest certain trace of its use is in 2 Clement xvi. 16, which presupposes the R^C form of Tobit xii. 8 — evidence not for R^C's priority but for its existence later than R^S, and roughly contemporary with R^V. R^C is, in fact, a mediating redaction, a compromise between R^S and R^V, preserving part of a sentence as it appears in the one and recasting part in the mould of the other.
Non-Greek Versions
These versions are indispensable for a critical investigation of the text: as showing the form in which the book was read in various quarters of the world; as aids to the recovery of the true text of the various recensions; and, conceivably, as preserving among their unique readings a few potentially original ones.
A. Aramaic. The Aramaic version demands careful attention, both because it has been popularly regarded — following Neubauer and Bickell — as one of the most genuine representatives of the original form of the book, and because of the problem of its dialect and its bearing on the antiquity of R^S. It was first published by Neubauer in 1875 from a manuscript in the Bodleian Library. Nöldeke's scientific study of its language showed that its dialect is Palestinian, intermediate between the Babylonian Targums and the later Palestinian dialect of the Talmud and Midrashim, so that this extant form of the Aramaic goes back only to about A.D. 300 — though the present writer, with Dalman, suspects the linguistic peculiarities may not appear before the seventh century. The extant Aramaic text goes back to an earlier Aramaic version which was, on the evidence of transliterated Greek proper names that only make sense as renderings of Greek forms (not of the presumed Hebrew originals), a translation from Greek — specifically, a fairly literal rendering of R^S. The Aramaic is therefore an important secondary witness to R^S as the most original extant text, while illustrating a modest further evolution of the tradition among Aramaic-speaking Jews, parallel to, but independent of, the line that produced R^V.
B. Latin Versions. The Old Latin manuscripts chiefly used are Codex Regius (a), a manuscript at St. Germain (β), Codex Sangermanensis (γ), and Codex Vaticanus 7 (δ), once the property of Christina of Sweden. αβ go back to a common ancestor; γ represents a slight later redaction; δ, transcribed about the tenth century, contains up to vi. 12(11) either an independent translation of R^S or — given its close approximation to R^C in vi. 7(6)–11(10) — evidence for the currency of R^C in the Western Church. Most Latin patristic quotations agree closely with αβγ, while Augustine's Speculum presupposes a third, independent Latin text. The Old Latin, with its three types of text, is one of the most important versions for reconstructing R^S, and in a few places allows the recovery of an original reading otherwise lost. The Vulgate is Jerome's own translation; his account of its origin is given in his preface to the book. Neubauer's claim that the Aramaic in a fuller form lay behind the Vulgate is not supported by comparison of the two texts; more plausibly, Jerome used "a Chaldee" text related to the ancestor of the extant Aramaic, checked constantly against the Old Latin, with considerable freedom in inserting his own sentiments.
C. Hebrew Versions. The Münster Hebrew was published from a manuscript first printed at Constantinople in 1516. It emanates from an orthodox Jewish circle devoted to the Torah; its reverence for the Deity appears in periphrases such as "the Holy One, blessed be He," and its angelology in an exalted title applied to Raphael. Aramaic and Münster Hebrew are closely and essentially connected in phraseology, sequence, contents, and point of view, forming a distinct, deliberate redaction of R^S, though the Münster Hebrew, subjected to its own circle's concerns, is a less perfect representative of that redaction than the Aramaic; the two must go back to a common Aramaic ancestor translated from R^S. Fagius' Hebrew, based chiefly on R^V and usually dated to the twelfth century, is of limited critical value but is an excellent illustration of the text current among Western European Jews of that period, showing a strict legal circle's concern for precision in cultic and commercial detail, an interest in the rebuilding of the Temple, and — unlike the original author — a belief in judgment beyond the grave. The London Hebrew, found by Gaster in the British Museum, and the Gaster Hebrew, drawn from a Midrash on the Pentateuch, are both late and of limited critical value, the latter abbreviating the story to its furthest extreme and standing closest to the Aramaic.
D. Two Syriac Versions. The first, running from i. 1 to vii. 11, is a close translation of R^V, probably the work of Paul of Tella in the early seventh century; Nestle supposes it was once complete and that all extant manuscripts descend from an accidentally mutilated exemplar. The second has taken its place from vii. 11 onward and belongs almost entirely to R^C, though at times showing even greater fidelity to R^S than is usual for that recension.
E. Ethiopic Version. Based on R^V, with numerous abbreviations and errors of translation.
Original Language
The external evidence, supplied by Origen and Jerome, leaves the question of the book's original language quite open. On grounds of probability, a popular work such as Tobit, composed around 200 B.C., is more likely to have been written in Aramaic than in Hebrew — especially if written in Egypt, where Hebrew was not the sacred and official language it remained in Palestine, and where Greek was making headway.
The internal evidence is more complex. Some Greek idioms could not result from literal translation and may point to conscious literary composition in Greek, though they could equally be the work of a translator rendering into good Greek, or of later correction; the forms of proper names in i. 1f. are the ordinary Greek equivalents of Hebrew names, not misreadings of a Semitic script; and Nöldeke's observation of a stylistic difference from the Greek of Judith and 1 Maccabees applies with less force to R^S than to R^V, on which he chiefly relied. On the other side, the etymological transparency of names such as Raphael ("God heals"), Azariah ("Jahveh helps"), and Ananiah ("Jahveh has compassion") would carry more point in a Semitic-language work; and a small residue of constructions seem to demand an author who thought in Hebrew or Aramaic even while writing Greek. The hypothesis, associated especially with Dr. J. T. Marshall, that the divergences between R^S and R^V are best explained by independent translations from a lost Semitic original, is rejected here at length: such a hypothesis would require every secondary redactor to have had independent access to a hypothetical original preserved for that purpose alone, fails to explain the far more numerous and unobtrusive agreements between the recensions, and in any case the internal evidence for a Semitic original is not strong enough to put the matter beyond dispute. On balance, if there is a Semitic original at all, an Aramaic rather than a Hebrew one is somewhat better supported by two Aramaic-looking forms in xiv. 4, 15 — though even these admit of other explanations.
Date of Composition
Tobit is plainly not the autobiography of a seventh-century B.C. figure: its historical inaccuracies, chronological difficulties, and knowledge of events long after 722 B.C. rule that out. A date not much before the establishment of Judaism under Ezra is required by the book's religious and moral teaching, its developed literary style, and its assumption of settled financial and commercial life under foreign domination.
The upper limit is more debatable, but the book is certainly pre-Maccabean: the author shows no knowledge of the crises of the later Greek domination or the Hasmonean struggle, no trace of the intense anti-Gentile feeling those crises produced, and none of the developed apocalyptic, resurrection doctrine, or personified Wisdom that mark post-Antiochan Judaism. A number of subsidiary indications — the use of the Greek drachma and the Greek name of a month, the wide extent of the Diaspora presupposed, the resettlement of Rages under Seleucus Nicator (321–281 B.C.), the second tithe of i. 7 (unknown to the Chronicler but known to Jubilees), and the probability that the author's flattering picture of Tobit's marriage to his kinswoman Sarah is a deliberate answer to the scandal of Joseph the tax-collector's apostate marriage (not before 230 B.C.) — point to a date well after Alexander. To sum up, Tobit was written at the very earliest about 350 B.C., at the latest about 170 B.C., and probably much nearer the latter than the former.
Place of Composition and Purpose
The nameless author of Tobit was not a Palestinian Jew. His characters and geographical setting belong to the Diaspora; his readers are themselves in exile, and distance lends enchantment to a Jerusalem he idealizes from afar. His adhesion to Judaism, though staunch, is accompanied by a belief in demons and magic and by a breadth of culture unmatched by any surviving Palestinian writer. Theories locating him in Media, Persia, or Babylonia founder on his ignorance of real Eastern geography — he shares the ordinary Greek and Roman misconceptions about the Tigris and about Ecbatana's supposed plain.
Egypt alone explains all the evidence and raises no fresh difficulties. Only Egyptian Jews needed an antidote to the tractate of the god Khons; nowhere but Egypt, so far as we know, did Jews or pagans read the story of Ahikar's Assyrian-court career in exactly the order Tobit presupposes; the binding of the demon Asmodeus specifically in Upper Egypt reflects the author's conviction that Egypt, his own place of exile, was the dumping-ground of wickedness, much as Zechariah regarded Babylon; and the fish of vi. 2ff., primarily mythological, is very plausibly coloured by the author's memory of the Nile crocodile, whose organs were credited by Arab and classical writers alike with curing the very ailments — leucoma of the eye among them — that afflict Tobit. Recently published papyri from the Jewish military colony at Yeb (Elephantine) show a community whose religious development lagged behind Ezra's Jerusalem reforms but which was already, before its own temple's destruction late in the fifth century, being drawn toward the fuller Judaism of the homeland — exactly the milieu in which an author teaching Egyptian Jews their duty to Law and Temple might arise. Because his struggle for a progressive, expansive Judaism was less embittered than the roughly contemporary fight in Palestine, he was spared the narrow bitterness the Hasidim's plight produced there, though he was correspondingly less rich in developed theology.
Sources
Popular religious speculation, current mythology and demonology, traditional folklore, and the moral maxims of his day all contributed to the author's education without vitiating the spirituality of his religion. Four sources, partly literary and partly oral, especially shaped the present work.
i. The Tractate of Khons. A copy of this Egyptian propaganda tractate, preserved on the Bentresh Stele (c. 500 B.C.), tells how the god Khons of Thebes despatched an emissary to cure a demon-possessed princess in a distant land. The author appears to be conscious of, and answering, this and similar pieces of pagan propaganda, borrowing the motif of demon-possession and supernatural rescue from afar in order to illustrate Jahveh's sole sovereignty — much as the Priestly writer reworked the Babylonian creation myths in Genesis 1 to the same monotheistic end. Tobit's plot and characterization, however, are far richer and more complex than the bare tractate.
ii. The Fable of the Grateful Dead. This widespread folk-cycle — a traveller rescues and buries an unpaid corpse at personal cost, and the dead man's spirit, unrecognized, later rescues the traveller in turn and secures him a bride — most probably supplied the general outline, romantic interest, and several of the most exciting turns of Tobit's plot. Cicero already knew the kernel of the story in his own day, and later variants survive across Germany, Holland, France, Italy, Denmark, Armenia, and Russia. The differences between these variants and Tobit are readily explained as the author's own deliberate modifications in the interests of his aesthetic and specifically Jewish purposes.
iii. The Story and Wisdom of Ahikar. The resemblances between Tobit and the widely diffused Ahikar legend — still read in the Arabian Nights and echoed in Aesop, the Qoran, and even the Talmud — were first noticed by G. Hoffmann, and their importance as a primary source is now generally recognized. Aramaic Ahikar fragments from Elephantine, earlier than 400 B.C., prove decisively that Ahikar's popularity among Jews long predates Tobit, and Sirach's undisputed dependence on Ahikar shows it was revered, even quasi-canonically, in Palestine well before 200 B.C. Tobit borrows directly from the Ahikar legend for its account of the sage's fall and restoration (i. 21f.; ii. 10; xi. 18; xiv. 10, 15); follows Ahikar's literary model of an autobiographical opening, a summary of past fortunes, and paired exhortations and prayers; and assimilates a considerable body of Ahikar's proverbial "teaching," most visibly in the prologue and epilogue framing Tobit's own instruction to his son in chapter iv. The presentation of Ahikar as Tobit's Jewish nephew, rather than the shrewd courtier of his own legend, is best explained as the author's device for enhancing Tobit's own fame by kinship with so celebrated a figure.
iv. The Old Testament and Apocrypha. As a devout Jew the author was thoroughly versed in Scripture, which served him as both inspiration and a standard of orthodoxy against the pagan and semi-pagan materials he was adapting. His style and moral teaching are pervasively shaped by the Pentateuch in all its strata, and above all by Genesis, from which he drew not only the idea of writing a new patriarchal history but his governing conviction — rooted in the Rabbinic reading of Genesis xlvii. 29 — that burial of the dead is a kindness for which no repayment can be expected, and therefore the purest possible illustration of disinterested charity. Whether he also depended directly on Sirach, as Israël Lévi has argued from two passages of supposed textual dependence, remains unproven; the parallels are better explained by both authors' independent nearness to a common older stock of maxims.
v. Magian Influences. It can no longer be maintained, with W. R. Smith and the earlier Moulton, that the author drew on Zoroastrian doctrine proper or lived in Media to do so. As Professor J. H. Moulton has shown, it was non-Zoroastrian, popular Magianism that influenced him — parallels appear in the use of the fish's heart, the stress on burial, consanguineous marriage, the unexplained presence of the dog, and the demon Asmodeus, whose name corresponds to the later Avestan Aeshma daeva — while the complete absence from Tobit of any developed eschatology tells strongly against acquaintance with Zoroaster's own system, in which eschatology was central. Egypt again supplies the natural channel: Persian soldiers, officers, and administrators were a familiar presence there from the Cambyses period onward, and it is in some such milieu, absorbing popular Persian story rather than formal doctrine, that the author is best placed.
Integrity
The unity of the book has not gone unchallenged. Ilgen (1800) attempted to distinguish an original seventh-century core from later Palestinian and even Roman-period additions; Erbt, more radically, treated the Ahikar allusions, the didactic sections (especially iv and xii), and the change from first- to third-person narration as evidence of a lengthy process of accretion requiring extensive critical surgery before the "original" story can be recovered. Against this, Plath's demonstration of the book's essential integrity is accepted here as, with one possible exception, unanswerable, and each of Erbt's difficulties is met individually: the Ahikar allusions are pre-Christian and integral, attested across every recension in slightly varying but recognizably related forms, and xiv. 10 in particular is essential to the climax of the book's argument about the triumph of divine justice; the didactic material in chapters iv and xii fits its dramatic occasion — a father believing himself near death, an angel about to reveal himself — and is marked off by its own freer rhythm; the dog's presence, however unexplained, is attested with only minor fluctuation across every recension and version and cannot be a late interpolation; and the shift from first to third person, far from betraying multiple authorship, is a deliberate device allowing the author to contrast the reader's privileged knowledge of Providence's plan (granted in iii. 16f.) with the ignorance in which the human characters must still "walk by faith." A genuine crux remains in the relation between iii. 17, where Sarah is said to have no near kinsman, and vi. 10ff., where Raphael and, apparently, Tobias already know of the kinship and its obligations; Müller's proposed solution — that the underlying concern is Jewish as against Jewish-pagan marriage rather than strict tribal endogamy — is attractive and resolves much, but cannot be sustained as the original text of any single recension without an eclectic, reconstructed text, and the true position is probably that agnatic marriage retained some, if diminishing, force for the author within a primary concern for marriage inside the Jewish people as a whole.
Religious and Moral Teaching
The author's own religious presuppositions — as distinct from those of later redactors — belong to the popular mind as shaped by the newer developments of the post-exilic religious leadership, in its earlier rather than later phases.
Doctrine of God. Full post-exilic monotheism is presupposed; God is transcendent and hears prayer through angelic mediation; the tendency to distinguish God from His own self-manifestation appears only faintly, in the expressions "the Glory" and "the Name."
Angelology. Chapter xii, without real parallel elsewhere in surviving Jewish literature, shows an angelology at a stage between the sparseness of the Old Testament proper and the fuller development of Jubilees and 1 Enoch; Raphael here represents, in germ, ideas that later crystallized around the figure of Michael.
Eschatology. The author shows no advance on pre-exilic conceptions of death as final and the grave as extinguishing; but with regard to the nation's future he stands close to the threshold of the apocalyptic tendency, envisaging Jerusalem rebuilt, the Temple restored, the tribes reunited, and — to his particular credit — the Gentiles themselves turning to worship the God of Israel.
In the practical sphere the author's outlook finds its fullest expression, in a hero who realizes an almost perfect combination of priestly and prophetic ideals: devotion to the Jerusalem cultus and its precepts of tithe, marriage, and purity; the "three pillars" of prayer, almsgiving, and fasting, with almsgiving in particular already tending to become the practical content of "righteousness"; heartfelt prayer, structurally and thematically central to the whole book, most visibly in the paired, carefully matched prayers of Tobit and Sarah that climax the introduction; sound morality in every department of everyday life; and — most distinctively — a concern for proper treatment of the dead that reflects a live contemporary dispute within Judaism as to whether such offerings for the dead were dutiful or to be excluded altogether.
Influence of the Book on Later Literature
Among Jews, Tobit was held in high repute from early times: there are possible traces of its use in Daniel and the later Psalms, in Jubilees, and in the Testament of Job; the Vatican recension's own wide diffusion between roughly 200 B.C. and A.D. 150 attests its extraordinary early popularity; and its afterlife in the Münster Hebrew, the addition to Midrash Tanchuma, Fagius' Hebrew, and Gaster's Hebrew shows it permeating later Jewish thought and popular piety well into the Middle Ages.
Among Christians, though never in the Jewish canon, Tobit found an even more honoured place in the Bible of the new community — itself telling evidence of its intrinsic charm and adaptability. A number of New Testament parallels, some probably accidental, others suggestive of real dependence, are noted: with the parable of the Wicked Servant and, perhaps, the Barren Fig-tree (mediated, it is argued here, through Tobit's own use of Ahikar rather than direct use of Ahikar itself); with sayings in Matthew and Luke on almsgiving, judgement, and reciprocity; and, most strikingly, between the account of Raphael's self-revelation and ascension in xii. 16–22 and the Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration, Resurrection appearances, and Ascension, a correspondence of religious presupposition, literary expression, and dramatic climax closer than any other comparable Jewish or apocryphal model. Paul, too, seems conscious of a debt to the book, particularly in passages on almsgiving and reciprocal giving, and the Pastoral Epistles' language of an ascription "to the King of the ages" and its recurring form of address to "my child" both recall Tobit's phrasing closely enough to raise the question, left open here, of whether the errors combated in the Pastorals owed something to devotion of a Tobit-like, non-canonical kind. Among post-apostolic Christian writers the book was placed on as high a pedestal as any other work of the Apocrypha not then known to have been composed in Hebrew, and was, on occasion, even cited as Scripture outright.
[The present edition's bibliography of ancient-version editions, critical studies, and printed editions of the book, together with its key to the manuscript sigla used in the textual apparatus, is omitted here as apparatus rather than discursive argument; both survive complete in the 1913 printed edition.]
Chapter 1
1 The book of the words of Tobit, the son of Tobiel, the son of Hananiel, the son of Aduel, the son of Gabael, the son of Raphael, the son of Raguel, of the seed of Asiel, of the tribe of Naphtali; 2 who in the days of Shalmaneser king of the Assyrians was carried away captive out of Thisbe, which is on the right hand of Kedesh Naphtali in upper Galilee above Asser, behind the road leading west, on the left of Phogor.
3 I Tobit walked in the ways of truth and in acts of righteousness all the days of my life, and I did many almsdeeds to my brethren and my nation, who went with me in the captive band into the land of the Assyrians, to Nineveh. 4 And when I was in mine own country, in the land of Israel, and when I was young, all the tribe of Naphtali my father fell away from the house of David my father and from Jerusalem, the city which was chosen out of all the tribes of Israel for all the tribes of Israel to sacrifice there, and wherein the temple of the habitation of God was hallowed and built for all ages. 5 All my brethren and the house of Nephtalim my father, they sacrificed to the calf which Jeroboam the king of Israel made, in Dan and on all the mountains of Galilee. 6 And I alone used often to journey to Jerusalem at the feasts, as it hath been ordained in all Israel by an everlasting decree. I used to go to Jerusalem with the firstfruits and the firstlings and the tenths of the cattle and the first shearings of the sheep, and give them to the priests, the sons of Aaron, for the altar, 7 and the tenth of the corn and the wine and oil and pomegranates and the rest of the fruits to the sons of Levi, who ministered at Jerusalem. And the second tenth I tithed in money for the six years, and went and spent it each year at Jerusalem; 8 and gave it unto the orphans and the widows and the proselytes who attached themselves to the children of Israel; I brought it and gave it unto them in the third year, and we did eat it according to the decree which was decreed concerning it in the book of Moses and according to the commands which Deborah, the mother of Hananiel our father, commanded, because my father left me an orphan when he died. 9 And when I became a man, I took a wife of the seed of our own family, and of her I begat a son and called his name Tobias. 10 After the carrying away captive to Assyria, when I was carried away captive, I came to Nineveh, and all my brethren and those that were of my kindred did eat of the bread of the Gentiles. 11, 12 But I kept myself from eating of the bread of the Gentiles; and, when I remembered my God with all my soul, 13 the Most High gave me grace and favour in the sight of Shalmaneser, and I used to buy for him all things for his use, and go into Media and buy for him thence, until he died. 14 And I left purses in trust with Gabael the brother of Gabri in the land of Media, ten talents of silver.
15 And when Shalmaneser was dead and Sennacherib his son reigned in his stead, the roads of Media were unsafe, and I could no more go into Media. 16 In the days of Shalmaneser I did many almsdeeds to my brethren who were of my kindred: 17 I used to give my bread to the hungry, and garments to the naked; and if I saw any of my nation dead, and cast forth behind the wall of Nineveh, I buried him. 18 And whomsoever Sennacherib slew, when he had come fleeing from Judaea in the days of the judgement which the King of heaven wrought upon him for the blasphemies wherewith he had blasphemed, I buried. For in his wrath he slew many of the children of Israel, and I stole away their bodies and buried them. And Sennacherib sought them and found them not. 19 And a certain one of those of Nineveh went and informed the king concerning me, that it was I who buried them, and that I was hid. And when I perceived that the king knew concerning me and that I was sought for to be put to death, I was afraid and ran away. 20 And all that I possessed was seized, and there was nothing left unto me which was not taken to the royal treasury save my wife Anna and my son Tobias. 21 And there passed not forty days before two of his sons slew him. And they fled into the mountains of Ararat, and Esarhaddon his son reigned after him. And he appointed over all the accounts of his kingdom Ahikar, my brother Anael's son, and he had authority over all his affairs. 22 Then Ahikar made request for me, and I came down to Nineveh. For Ahikar was chief cupbearer, and keeper of the signet, and steward, and overseer of the accounts in the days of Sennacherib king of Assyria, and Esarhaddon appointed him a second time. And he was my brother's son and of my kindred.
Chapter 2
1 And when Esarhaddon was king I came home again, and my wife Anna was restored unto me, and my son Tobias. And at our feast of the Pentecost, which is the holy Feast of the Weeks, there was a good dinner prepared me; and I laid me down to dine. 2 And the table was set for me, and abundant victuals were set for me, and I said unto Tobias my son, Go, my boy, and what poor man soever thou shalt find of our brethren of the Ninevite captives, who is mindful of God with his whole heart, bring him and he shall eat together with me; and lo, I tarry for thee, my boy, until thou come. 3 And Tobias went to seek some poor man of our brethren and returned and said, Father. And I said to him, Here am I, my child. And he answered and said, Father, behold, one of our nation hath been murdered and cast out in the marketplace, and he hath but now been strangled. 4 And I sprang up and left my dinner before I had tasted it, and took him up from the street and put him in one of the chambers until the sun was set, to bury him. 5 Therefore I returned and washed myself, and ate food with mourning, 6 and remembered the word of the prophet which Amos spake against Bethel, saying,
Your feasts shall be turned into mourning,
And all your ways into lamentation.
And I wept. 7, 8 And when the sun was set, I went and digged a grave and buried him. And my neighbours mocked, saying, Is he no longer afraid? — for already I had been sought after to be put to death for this matter — And yet he fled away and lost all his possessions, and lo, again, he burieth the dead! 9 And the same night I washed myself and came into my courtyard and lay down to sleep by the wall of the courtyard, and my face was uncovered because of the heat. 10 And I knew not that there were sparrows in the wall above me; and their dung settled warm into mine eyes and brought up white films; and I used to go to the physicians to be healed; and the more they anointed me with their medicaments, the more mine eyes were blinded by the films, until they were totally blinded. And I was impotent in mine eyes four years. And all my brethren did grieve for me, and Ahikar nourished me two years until he went to Elymais.
11 And at that time my wife Anna used to work for hire in the tasks of women, and would send the tasks back to their owners; and they would pay her the wages. 12 And on the seventh of Dystrus, she cut off the web, and sent it home to the owners and they gave her all her wages, and gave her in addition to the wages a kid of the goats. 13 And when she came into my house, the kid began to cry, and I called her and said, Whence is this kid? is it stolen? Render it to its owners; for we have no right to eat anything that is stolen. 14 And she said unto me, It hath indeed been given me over and above the wages. And I did not believe her, and I bade her render it to the owners; and I was abashed at her because of this. Then she answered and said unto me, And where are thine alms-deeds? Where is thy righteous course of life? Behold, this thy case is known.
Chapter 3
1 And I was much grieved in my soul and groaned and wept. And I began to pray with groanings: O Lord, thou art righteous, and all thy works are righteous, and all thy ways are mercy and truth: thou judgest the world. 2 And now, O Lord, remember thou me, and look upon me; and take not vengeance on me for my sins, both for mine ignorances and my fathers'. 3, 4 They sinned against thee and disobeyed thy commandments, and thou gavest us for spoil and captivity, and death, and for a proverb and a by-word and a reproach among all the nations among whom thou didst disperse us. 5 And now thy many judgments are true in exacting from me the penalty of my sins, because we did not keep thy commandments and walked not truly before thee. 6 And now deal with me according to thy pleasure, and command my spirit to be taken from me, that I may be released from off the earth and become earth: for it is more profitable for me to die than to live, because I have heard false reproaches, and there is much sorrow in me. Lord, command that I be released from this distress, let me go to the everlasting place, and turn not thy face, O Lord, away from me. For it is more profitable for me to die, than to see much distress in my life, and not to hear reproaches.
7 On this day it happened unto Sarah the daughter of Raguel, who was in Ecbatana of Media, that she also heard reproaches by one of her father's maidservants; 8 because that she had been given to seven husbands, and Asmodaeus the evil demon had slain them, before they had been with her as it is appointed for women. And the maidservant said unto her, It is thou that slayest thy husbands; behold thou hast already been given to seven husbands, and thou hast not been named of one of them. 9 Wherefore dost thou scourge us on account of thy husbands because they have died? Go thy ways with them and let us see neither son nor daughter of thine for ever. 10 In that day she was grieved in her soul and wept; and she went up into her father's upper room, and desired to hang herself; and again she considered and said, Nay, lest they reproach my father; and shall say unto him, Thou hadst one beloved daughter, and she hath hanged herself because of her calamities! and I shall bring down my father's old age with sorrow to Hades. It is fitter for me not to hang myself, but to supplicate the Lord that I may die and no longer hear reproaches during my life. 11 At the self-same time she stretched forth her hands towards the window and prayed, and said, Blessed art thou, merciful God, and blessed is thy name for ever: and let all thy works bless thee for ever. 12 And now unto thee my face and mine eyes I lift up: 13 command that I be released from the earth, and that I no more hear reproaches. 14 Thou knowest, Master, that I am pure from all uncleanness with man, and that I never polluted my name, nor the name of my father either, in the land of my captivity. 15 I am the only daughter of my father, and he hath no other child to be his heir, nor has he kinsman near him, nor has he relation, that I should keep myself for a wife unto him. Seven husbands of mine are dead already; and why should it be mine to live on? And if it pleaseth thee not to slay me — O Lord, now hear my reproach.
16, 17 At the self-same time the prayer of both was heard before the glory of God. And Raphael was sent to heal them both: in the case of Tobit to remove the white films from his eyes, that he might see the light of God with his eyes; and in the case of Sarah the daughter of Raguel, to give her for a wife to Tobias the son of Tobit, and to unbind Asmodaeus the evil demon from her; because it belonged to Tobias that he should inherit her rather than all those which wished to take her. At that time did Tobit return from the courtyard into his house, and Sarah the daughter of Raguel herself also came down from the upper chamber.
Chapter 4
1, 2 In that day Tobit remembered the money which he had left in trust with Gabael in Rages of Media, and he said in his heart, Behold, I have asked for death. Why do I not call my son Tobias and shew unto him concerning this money before I die?
3 And he called Tobias his son and he came unto him and he said unto him, Bury me well, and honour thy mother; and forsake her not all the days of her life, and do that which is pleasing before her, and grieve not her spirit in any matter. 4 Remember her, child, that she hath experienced many dangers for thee in her womb; and when she is dead, bury her by me in one grave. 5 My child, be mindful of the Lord all thy days, and let not thy will be set to sin and to transgress his commandments: do acts of righteousness all the days of thy life, and walk not in the ways of unrighteousness. 6 For if thou doest the truth, success shall be in thy works, and so it shall be unto all that do righteousness. 7 Give alms of thy substance: turn not away thy face from any poor man, and the face of God shall not be turned away from thee. 8 As thy substance is, give alms of it according to thine abundance: if thou have much, according to the abundance thereof, give alms; if thou have little, bestow it, and be not afraid to give alms according to that little: 9 for thou layest up a good treasure for thyself against the day of necessity: 10 because alms delivereth from death, and suffereth not to come into darkness. Alms is a good offering in the sight of the Most High for all that give it. 11 Beware, my child, of all whoredom, and take first a wife of the seed of thy fathers, take not a strange wife, which is not of thy father's tribe; for we are the sons of the prophets. 12 Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, our fathers of old time, remember, my child, that they all took wives of their kinsmen, and were blessed in their children, and their seed shall inherit the land. 13 And now, my child, love thy brethren, and scorn not in thy heart thy brethren and the sons and the daughters of thy people so as not to take one of them; for in scornfulness is destruction and much trouble, and in idleness is decay and great want, for idleness is the mother of famine. 14 Let not the wages of any man, which shall work for thee, tarry with thee, but render it unto him out of hand: and if thou serve God, recompense shall be made unto thee. Take heed to thyself, my child, in all thy works, and be discreet in all thy behaviour. 15 And what thou thyself hatest, do to no man. Drink not wine unto drunkenness, and let not drunkenness go with thee on thy way. 16 Give of thy bread to the hungry, and of thy garments to them that are naked: of all thine abundance give alms; and let not thine eye be grudging when thou givest alms. 17 Pour out thy bread and thy wine on the tomb of the just, and give not to sinners. 18 Ask counsel of every man that is wise, and despise not any counsel that is profitable. 19 And bless the Lord thy God at all times, and ask of him that thy ways may be made straight, and that all thy paths and counsels may prosper: for every nation hath not good counsel; but the Lord will give to them all good things; and whom he will the Lord humbleth unto the nethermost Hades. And now, child, remember these commandments, and let them not be blotted out of thy heart. 20 And now, child, I shew thee that I left ten talents of silver in trust with Gabael the brother of Gabri at Rages of Media. 21 And fear not, my child, because we have become poor: thou hast much wealth, if thou fear God and avoid every kind of sin and do the things which are good in the sight of the Lord thy God.
Chapter 5
1 Then answered Tobias and said unto Tobit his father, All things, whatsoever thou hast commanded me, I will do, father. 2 But how shall I be able to fetch it from him, seeing he knoweth me not nor do I know him? What token shall I give him that he may recognize me and trust me and give me the money? And the roads to Media I know not to journey there. 3 Then answered Tobit and said unto Tobias his son, His note of hand he gave me and a note of hand I gave him and I parted it in two and we took each of us a part, and I put it with the money, and now lo, it is twenty years since I left this money in trust. And now, child, seek thee a trusty man which shall go with thee, and we will give him wages, until thou return: and fetch thou this money from him.
4 And Tobias went out to seek a man who would go with him into Media and knew the way well; and he went out and found Raphael, the angel, standing before him. And he knew not that he was an angel of God, 5 and said unto him, Whence art thou, young man? And he said unto him, Of the children of Israel thy brethren; and I am come hither to work. And he said unto him, Knowest thou the way to go to Media? 6 And he said unto him, Yea, I have often been there, and I know it well and I know all the ways; many times did I go unto Media and lodged with Gabael our kinsman, who dwelleth in Rages of Media; and it is two regular days' journey from Ecbatana to Rages; for it lieth in the hill country, but Ecbatana in the middle of the plain. 7 And he said unto him, Wait for me, young man, until I go in and shew my father; for I need that thou go with me and I will give thee thy hire. 8 And he said unto him, Behold, I will wait, only tarry not. 9 And Tobias went in and shewed Tobit his father and said unto him, Behold, I have found a man of our brethren the children of Israel. And he said unto him, Call me the man, that I may know what is his family and of what tribe he is, and whether he be a trusty man to go with thee, child.
10 And Tobias went forth, and called him and said unto him, Young man, my father calleth thee. And he came in to him, and Tobit saluted him first. And he said unto him, Much cheer to thee! And Tobit answered and said unto him, What cheer have I any more, who am a man impotent in the eyes, and I behold not the light of heaven, but lie in darkness like the dead which no more see the light; while I live I am among the dead; the voice of men I hear, and themselves I behold not. 11 And he said unto him, Be of good cheer! it is nigh with God to heal thee; be of good cheer! And Tobit said unto him, My son Tobias wisheth to go unto Media; canst thou go with him and direct him? And I will give thee thy hire, brother. 12 And he said unto him, I shall be able to go with him, and I know all the ways, and often have I gone to Media and passed through all its plains and mountains, and all its ways I know. 13 And he said unto him, Brother, of what family art thou, and out of what tribe? Shew me, brother. And he said, What need hast thou of a tribe? And he said unto him, I would know truly of what family thou art, brother, and what thy name. 14 And he said unto him, I am Azarias, the son of Ananias the great, of thy kinsmen. And he said unto him, Welcome and safety, brother; and be not bitter towards me, brother, because I wished to know the truth and thy family. And thou chancest to be a kinsman, and thou art of a noble and good lineage: I knew Ananias and Nathan, the two sons of Semelias the great, and they used to go with me to Jerusalem and worship with me there and they went not astray. Thy brethren are good men; thou art of a good stock, and I bid thee welcome. 15 And he said unto him, I give thee a drachma a day as wages, and those things that be necessary for thee, as unto my son; and go thou with my son, and I will add something to thy wages. 16 And he said unto him, I will go with him, and fear thou not; we shall go safe and return safe unto thee, because the way is secure. 17 And he said unto him, Blessing befall thee, brother! And he called his son, and said unto him, Child, prepare what is needful for the journey and go forth with thy kinsman. And God which is in heaven preserve you there and restore you to me in safety and his angel accompany you with deliverance, child.
And he went forth to go upon his journey; and he kissed his father and mother, and Tobit said unto him, Farewell. And his mother wept, and said unto Tobit, Why is it that thou hast sent away my child? Is he not the staff of our hand, and doth he not go in and out before us? Let not money be added to money: but let it be a ransom for our child. As the Lord hath given us to live, so doth it suffice us. And he said unto her, Trouble not; our child shall go in peace, and in peace come unto us and thine eyes shall see him in the day when he shall come unto thee in peace. Trouble not: fear not for them, sister; for a good angel shall go with him, and his journey shall be prospered, and he shall return in peace. And she was silent from her weeping.
Chapter 6
1 And the young man went forth, and the angel with him, and the dog went forth with him and journeyed with them; and they journeyed both of them together. And once night came upon them, and they lodged by the river Tigris, 2 and the young man went down to wash his feet in the river Tigris. And a great fish leaped up out of the water, and would have swallowed the foot of the young man. And he cried out. 3 And the angel said unto the young man, Grasp and take hold of the fish. And the young man caught hold of the fish, and hauled it up on to the land. 4 And the angel said unto him, Open the fish, and take out its gall and the heart and liver and put them by thee, and cast away the inwards; for its gall and heart and liver are for an useful medicament. 5 And the young man opened the fish and collected the gall and the heart and the liver, and he roasted part of the fish and did eat, and left part thereof salted. And they journeyed both of them together until they drew nigh to Media. 6 And then the young man asked the angel and said unto him, Brother Azarias, what is the medicament in the heart and the liver of the fish and in the gall? 7 And he said unto him, As regards the heart and the liver of the fish, make thou a smoke before a man or a woman who hath an attack of a demon or an evil spirit; and every attack will flee from him, and they shall nevermore find an abode with him. 8 And as for the gall — anoint a man's eyes, upon which white films have come up, or blow into them on the white films, and they become well.
9(10), 10(11) And when he had entered into Media and was already drawing nigh to Ecbatana, Raphael saith unto the young man, Brother Tobias. And he said unto him, Here am I. And he said unto him, In the house of Raguel we must lodge this night, the man being thy kinsman; and he hath a daughter whose name is Sarah. 11(12) And he hath no son nor daughter but Sarah alone, and thou art nearer kin to her than any man to inherit her, and what things are her father's it is right for thee to inherit; and the maid is wise and steadfast and exceeding honourable, and her father is an honourable man. 12(13) And he said, It is right for thee to take her; and hear me, brother, and I will speak this night unto her father concerning the maid, that we may take her to be thy bride. And when we return from Rages we will celebrate her marriage. And I know that Raguel can in no wise keep her back from thee or marry her to another — to incur liability to death according to the decree of the book of Moses — and because he knoweth that the inheritance appertaineth to thee to take his daughter before any man. And now, hear me, brother, and let us speak concerning the maid this night and we will betroth her to thee; and, when we return from Rages, we will take her and let us lead her back with us to thy home.
13(14) Then Tobias answered and said unto Raphael, Brother Azarias, I have heard that already the maid hath been given to seven men, and they have died in their bridal-chambers; even in the night when they went in unto her they died. And I have heard them say that a demon slayeth them. 14(15) And now for my part I fear — for her he harmeth not, but the man who would come in unto her, him he slayeth, and I am my father's only child — lest I should die and bring my father's and my mother's life to the grave with sorrow because of me: and they have no other son to bury them. 15(16) And he saith unto him, Dost thou not remember the commands of thy father, that he commanded thee to take a wife of thy father's house? And now hear me, brother; and make thou no reckoning of this demon, but take her. For I know that this night she shall be given to thee to wife. 16(17) And when thou comest into the bride-chamber, take of the liver of the fish with the heart and place them upon the ashes of the incense and the smell shall go forth, 17(18) and the devil shall smell it, and flee away, and never appear any more to her. And when thou art about to be with her, rise up both of you first and pray and supplicate the Lord of heaven that mercy and deliverance may be extended to you. And fear not, for she was set apart for thee before the world was; and thou shalt save her, and she shall go with thee. And I suppose that thou shalt have children of her and they shall be as brothers unto thee. Take no reckoning. And when Tobias heard the words of Raphael, and that she was his sister of the seed of his father's house, he loved her exceedingly, and his heart clave unto her.
Chapter 7
1 And when he came into Ecbatana, he saith unto him, Brother Azarias, lead me straight to the house of Raguel our brother. And he led him to the house of Raguel, and they found him sitting by the door of the court; and they saluted him first, and he said unto them, Much cheer to you, brethren, and ye are well come in safety. And he brought them into his house. 2, 3 And he said unto Edna his wife, How like is this young man to Tobias my kinsman! And Edna asked them and said unto them, Whence are ye, brethren? And they said unto her, We are of the sons of Naphtali, which are captives in Nineveh. 4 And she said unto them, Know ye Tobit our kinsman? And they said unto her, We know him. And she said unto them, Is he in good health? 6 And they said unto her, He is in good health and alive. And Tobias said, He is my father. 7 And Raguel sprang up, and kissed him, and wept; and he spake and said unto him, Blessing be unto thee, lad, who art the son of a noble and good father. Oh, dire calamity, that a man, righteous and almsdoing, should have become blind! And he fell on the neck of Tobias his kinsman and wept, 8 and Edna his wife bewept him, and Sarah their daughter also wept. And he killed a ram of the flock and received them gladly.
9 And when they had bathed, and washed their hands and laid them down to dine, Tobias said unto Raphael, Brother Azarias, speak unto Raguel that he give me Sarah my sister. 10 And Raguel heard the word and said unto the young man, Eat and drink, and make merry this night: for there is no man unto whom it appertaineth to take Sarah my daughter except thee, brother; and likewise, further, I have not power to give her to another man than thee, because thou art my nearest kin. Yea, verily, I will shew thee the truth, lad. 11 I have given her to seven men of our brethren and all died in the night when they came in unto her. And now, child, eat and drink, and the Lord will deal mercifully with you. And Tobias said, I will taste nothing here nor will I drink until thou settle mine affairs. 12(13) And Raguel said to him, I do so; she is given to thee according to the decree of the book of Moses, and from heaven it hath been decreed that she is given to thee; take thy sister. From henceforth thou art her brother, and she is thy sister; she hath been given to thee, from today even for ever. And the Lord of heaven give success to you, child, this night, even to do mercy and peace towards you.
12(13) And Raguel called his daughter Sarah, and she came to him and he took her by the hand, and gave her to him, and said, Take her according to the law and according to the decree which is written in the book of Moses to give her unto thee to wife. Have her and lead her away to thy father in peace; and the God of heaven prosper you with peace. 13(14) And he called her mother, and told her to bring a book, and he wrote an instrument of co-habitation, even that he gave her to him to wife according to the decree of the law of Moses. 14(15) Then they began to eat and to drink.
15(16) And Raguel called Edna, his wife, and said unto her, Sister, prepare the other chamber, and bring her in thither. 16(17) And she went and spread the bed in the chamber as he bade her and brought her thither; 17(18) and she wept for her and wiped away her tears, and said unto her, Be of good comfort, daughter: the Lord of heaven give thee joy for thy sorrow: be of good comfort, daughter. And she went forth.
Chapter 8
1 And when they had finished eating and drinking, they desired to sleep, and they led the young man away and brought him into the chamber. 2 And Tobias remembered the words of Raphael, and took the liver of the fish and the heart out of the bag which he had, and put them on the ashes of the incense. 3 And the smell of the fish baffled the demon, and he ran away into the upper parts of Egypt; and Raphael went and fettered him there and bound him straightway. 4 And they went forth and shut the door of the chamber. And Tobias rose up from the bed, and said unto her, Sister, arise; let us pray and make supplication to our Lord that he may work mercy and deliverance for us. 5 And she arose, and they began to pray and make supplication that deliverance might be wrought for them, and he began to say, Blessed art thou, God of our fathers, and blessed is thy name for ever and ever; let the heavens bless thee, and all thy creation to all the ages. 6 Thou madest Adam, and madest Eve his wife for a helper and a stay for him: of them both came the seed of men: and thou didst say, It is not good that the man should be alone; let us make him a helper like unto him. And now I take not this my sister for lust, but in truth: command that I and she may find mercy and grow old together. And they said together, Amen. And they slept the night.
9(10) And Raguel arose and called his servants with him and they went and digged a grave, for he said, Lest he perish, and we become a derision and a reproach. 10(11) And when they had finished digging the grave Raguel came into the house, and called his wife, 11(12) and said, Send one of the maidservants and let her go in and see if he be alive: and if he is dead that we may bury him, that no man know it. 12(13) And they sent the maidservant and lighted the lamp and opened the door, and she went in and found them sleeping and slumbering together. 13(14) And the maidservant came forth, and told them that he was alive and that there was naught amiss. 14(15) And he blessed the God of heaven and said, Blessed art thou, O God, with all pure blessing; let them bless thee for ever. 15(16) And blessed art thou, because thou hast made me glad: and it hath not befallen as I supposed, but thou hast dealt with us according to thy great mercy. 16(17) And blessed art thou, because thou hast had mercy on two that are the only begotten children of their parents: shew them mercy and deliverance, O Lord; and fulfil thou their life with gladness and mercy.
17(19) Then he bade his servants fill the grave before the morning came. And he bade his wife make many loaves. 18(19) And he went to the herd, and fetched two oxen and four rams, and bade prepare them; and they began to make ready. 19(20) And he called Tobias and said unto him, For fourteen days thou shalt not stir hence, but shalt stay here eating and drinking at my house, and shalt gladden my daughter's sore afflicted soul. 20(21) And all that is mine take thereof the half, and go in safety to thy father; and the other half, when I and my wife die, is yours. Be of good cheer, child! I am thy father, and Edna is thy mother; and thine now are we and thy sister's; from henceforth we are for ever. Be of good cheer, child!
Chapter 9
1, 2 Then Tobias called Raphael, and said unto him, Brother Azarias, take along with thee four servants, and two camels, and go to Rages and get thee to Gabael, and give him the bond; receive the money and bring him with thee to the wedding feast. 3 For thou knowest that my father will count the days, and if I tarry one day, I shall sorely grieve him; and thou seest what Raguel hath sworn, and I cannot break his oath. 4 And Raphael went on his way with the four servants and the two camels to Rages of Media and they lodged with Gabael, 5 and Raphael gave him his bond; and made known to him concerning Tobias, Tobit's son, that he had taken a wife and that he invited him to the wedding-feast. And he arose and counted out to him the bags with their seals and placed them together on the camels. 6 And they rose up early in the morning together and came to the wedding-feast. And they came into the house of Raguel, and found Tobias lying at meat. And he sprang up and greeted him. And he wept and blessed him and said unto him, Honest and good lad, son of a man honest and good, just and merciful! The Lord give thee the blessing of heaven, and unto thy wife and thy father and thy wife's mother! Blessed be God that I have seen Tobias my cousin like him.
Chapter 10
1 Now day by day Tobit kept counting how many days he would spend in going and how many return in. 2 And when the days were expired, and his son was not come, he said, Is he perchance detained there? or is Gabael perchance dead, and there is no man to give him the money? 3 And he began to grieve. 4 And Anna his wife saith, My child hath perished, and is no longer among the living; and she began to weep and bewail her son, and said, 5 Woe is me, my child, that I let thee go, the light of mine eyes. 6 And Tobit kept saying unto her, Hold thy peace, trouble not, sister, he is in good health; doubtless some distracting business hath befallen them there; and the man who went with him is trusty and one of our brethren; grieve not for him, sister, soon he will be here. 7 And she said unto him, Hold thy peace at me and deceive me not; my child hath perished. And hastening forth early she spent every day watching the road, by which her son had gone, and would hearken to no one; and when the sun went down she would enter in, and mourn and weep the whole night, and have no sleep.
7(8) And when the fourteen days of the wedding feast were expired which Raguel had sworn to celebrate for his daughter, Tobias entered in to him and said, Send me away, for I know that my father and my mother believe not that they will see me again; and now I pray thee, father, that thou send me away that I may go to my father; already I have told thee how I left him. 8(9) And Raguel said unto Tobias, Abide, lad, abide with me, while I send messengers to Tobit thy father, and they shall tell him concerning thee. 9(10) And he said unto him, Nay, I pray thee that thou send me away to my father. 10(11) And Raguel arose, and handed over to Tobias Sarah his wife, and half of all his goods, men-servants and maid-servants, oxen and sheep, asses and camels, clothing and money and chattels; 11(12) and he sent them away in peace, and he embraced him and said to him, Farewell, child, depart in peace; may the Lord of heaven prosper you, and Sarah thy wife, and may I see children of you before I die. And he said unto Sarah his daughter, Go unto thy father-in-law, because henceforth they are thy parents as they who begat thee; farewell, daughter. May I hear a good report of thee so long as I live. And he embraced them and let them go. 12(13) And Edna saith unto Tobias, Child and brother beloved, may the Lord restore thee, and may I see children of thee while I live and of Sarah my daughter before I die. Before the Lord I commit my daughter unto thee in trust; vex her not all the days of thy life. Child, farewell; henceforth I am thy mother and Sarah thy sister. May we all be prospered in the same all the days of our life. And she kissed them both and sent them away in peace.
13 And Tobias departed from Raguel in peace and rejoicing and blessing the Lord of heaven and earth, the King of all, because he had prospered his journey. And Raguel said unto him, Mayst thou be prospered to honour them all the days of their life.
Chapter 11
1 And when they drew nigh to Caeserin, which is over against Nineveh, Raphael said, 2 Thou knowest how we did leave thy father: let us run forward before thy wife, and prepare the house 3 while they are coming. And they went both together; and he said unto him, Take in thy hands the gall. And the dog went with them, behind him and her son. 4 And Anna sat watching the road by which her son would come. 5 And she espied him coming, and said unto his father, Behold, thy son cometh, and the man that went with him. 6 And Raphael said unto Tobias before he drew nigh to his father, I know that his eyes will be opened; stuff the gall of the fish into his eyes and the medicament will draw up and scale off the white films from his eyes, and thy father will see again and behold the light. 7 And she ran, and fell upon the neck of her son, and said unto him, I have seen thee, my child; hereafter I can die. And she wept. 8 And Tobit rose and stumbled with his feet and went forth toward the door of the porch. 9 And Tobias went towards him with the gall of the fish in his hand; 10(11) and he blew into his eyes, and took hold of him and said, Courage, father! 11(12) And Tobias threw the medicament upon him, and gave it him; and he peeled off the white films with both his hands from the corners of his eyes. 12(13) And he fell upon his neck, and wept, and said unto him, I see thee, child, the light of mine eyes. 13(14) And he said, Blessed is God, and blessed is his great name, and blessed are all his holy angels. May his great name be blessed to all ages; for he did chastise me, and behold, I see my son Tobias. 14(15) And Tobias went in rejoicing and blessing God in his whole body, and Tobias shewed his father that his journey had prospered and that he had brought the money, and how he had taken Sarah the daughter of Raguel to wife; and, Behold, she is at hand and is nigh the gate of Nineveh. 15(16) And Tobit went out to the gate of Nineveh to meet his daughter-in-law, rejoicing and blessing God. And when the men of Nineveh saw him go and pass on with all his strength and not led by the hand by anyone, they marvelled. 16(17) And Tobit gave thanks before them, because God had shewed mercy on him, and because he had opened his eyes.
And Tobit came near to Sarah the wife of Tobias his son, and he blessed her, and said unto her, Welcome, daughter; and blessed is thy God which hath brought thee unto us, daughter, and blessed is thy father and blessed is Tobias my son and blessed art thou, daughter; welcome, daughter, to thy home, with blessing and joy, welcome, daughter. 17 On this day there was joy to all the Jews which were at Nineveh. And Ahikar and Nadab his cousin came rejoicing unto Tobit.
Chapter 12
1 And when the wedding feast was ended Tobit called his son Tobias, and said unto him, Child, see that thou give the wages to the man which went with thee, so that thou give him more for his wages. 2 And he said unto him, Father, How much shall I give him as his wages? It is no harm to me to give him the half of the possessions which he has brought with me. He hath led me in safety, and he cured my wife, and brought the money with me, and cured thee; how much shall I give him further as wages? 3 And Tobit said unto him, It is due unto him, child, to take the half of all which thou hadst when thou camest. 4 And he called him and said, Take the half of all that thou hadst when thou camest for thy wages, and go in peace.
6 Then he called them both privily, and said unto them, Bless God, and give him thanks in the sight of all that live, for the good things which he hath done unto you, to bless and praise his name. The words of God show forth to all men with honour and be not slack to give him thanks. 7 It is good to keep close the secret of a king, but to confess and reveal the works of God. And confess ye them with honour. 8 Do the good, and evil shall not find you. Better is prayer with truth, and alms with righteousness than riches with unrighteousness; it is better to give alms than to lay up gold: 9 almsgiving doth deliver from death, and it purges away all sin. They that do alms shall be fed with life; 10 they that commit sin and unrighteousness are enemies to their own life.
11 I will show you all the truth and will keep close nothing from you. Already I have shown you and have said, It is good to keep close the secret of a king, but the works of God to reveal gloriously. 12 And now, when thou didst pray and Sarah, I did bring the memorial of your prayer before the glory of the Lord: and when thou didst bury the dead, likewise. 13 And when thou didst not delay to rise up, and leave thy dinner, but didst go and cover the dead, then I was sent unto thee to try thee; 14 and at the same time God did send me also to heal Sarah thy daughter-in-law. 15 I am Raphael, one of the seven angels, which stand and enter before the glory of the Lord.
16, 17 And they were both troubled, and fell upon their faces; and they were afraid. And he said unto them, Be not afraid, peace be unto you; bless God to all eternity. 18 I, when I was with you, was not with you of any favour of mine, but by the will of God; him bless ye day by day, him praise. 19 And ye behold me that I have eaten nothing, but a vision hath appeared to you. 20 And now bless the Lord on the earth and give God thanks: behold I ascend to him that sent me: write down all these things which have happened to you. 21, 22 And he ascended. And they rose up and could no longer see him. And they blessed and praised God and they gave him thanks for these his great works, how the angel of God had appeared unto them.
Chapter 13
And he said:
1 Blessed is God that liveth for ever, and his kingdom,
2 For he chastiseth, and showeth mercy.
He leadeth down to Hades below the earth,
And he bringeth up from the great destruction;
And there is nothing that shall escape his hand.
3 Give thanks unto him before the Gentiles, ye children of Israel,
For he hath scattered you among them,
And there he hath shown you his greatness;
And extol ye him before all the living.
4 Because he is our Lord, and he our God, and he our Father,
Yea, he is God to all the ages:
He will chastise you for your iniquities,
And will show mercy unto you all.
5 When ye turn unto him out of all the nations
Whithersoever ye shall be scattered,
With your whole heart and with your whole soul, to do truth before him,
Then he will turn unto you, and will no longer hide his face from you.
6 And now see what he hath wrought with you,
And give him thanks with your whole mouth,
And bless the Lord of righteousness,
And exalt the everlasting King.
I, in the land of my captivity, give him thanks,
And show his strength and majesty unto nations of sinners.
Turn, ye sinners, and do righteousness before him.
Who can tell if he will accept you and have mercy on you?
7 I exalt my God, and my soul shall rejoice in the King of heaven;
Of his greatness let all men tell,
And let them give him thanks in Jerusalem.
8 O Jerusalem, thou holy city! he will chastise thee for the works of thy hands,
And will again have mercy on the sons of the righteous.
9 Give thanks to the Lord with goodness, and bless the everlasting King,
That thy tabernacle may be builded in thee again with joy,
And that he may make glad in thee all that are captives,
And love in thee all that are miserable, and all the generations of eternity.
11 A bright light shall shine unto all the ends of the earth;
Many nations shall come from afar,
And the inhabitants of the utmost ends of the earth unto thy holy name;
With their gifts also in their hands unto the King of heaven,
Generations of generations shall utter rejoicing in thee,
And thy name that is elect unto the generations of eternity.
12 Cursed shall be all they that shall speak a hard word;
Cursed shall be all they that demolish thee,
And throw down thy walls;
And all they that overthrow thy towers,
And set on fire thy habitations;
But blessed shall be all they that fear thee for ever.
13 Then go and be exceeding glad for the sons of the righteous:
For they all shall be gathered together,
And bless the everlasting Lord.
14 Blessed shall they be that love thee;
And blessed shall they be
That shall rejoice for thy peace:
And blessed shall be all the men
That shall sorrow for thee
For all thy chastisements:
Because they shall rejoice in thee
And shall see all thy joy for ever.
15 My soul doth bless the Lord the great King;
For Jerusalem shall be builded again as his house unto all the ages.
16 Happy shall I be if the remnant of my seed come to see thy glory
And give thanks unto the King of heaven.
And the gates of Jerusalem shall be builded with sapphire and emerald,
And all thy walls with precious stone.
The towers of Jerusalem shall be builded with gold,
And their battlements with pure gold.
17 The streets of Jerusalem shall be paved
With carbuncle and stones of Ophir.
And the gates of Jerusalem shall utter hymns of gladness
And all her houses shall say, Halleluiah.
18 Blessed is the God of Israel.
And the blessed shall bless the name
That is holy for ever and ever.
Chapter 14
1, 2 And the words of Tobit's thanksgiving were ended, and he died in peace being an hundred and twelve years old, and was buried magnificently in Nineveh. And he was threescore and two years old when he became maimed in his eyes; and after he recovered his sight he lived in prosperity and gave alms, and he still continued to bless God, and to give thanks for the greatness of God.
3 And when he was dying he called Tobias his son, and charged him, saying, Child, take thy children; 4 and go into Media, for I believe the word of God upon Nineveh, which Nahum spake, that all those things will be, and will befall Assyria and Nineveh. And all the things which the prophets of Israel spake, whom God sent, shall befall; and nothing shall be minished of all the words; and all things shall come to pass in their seasons. And in Media shall be deliverance more than among the Assyrians and in Babylon; wherefore I know and believe that all the things which God hath spoken will be accomplished and will be, and there will not fall to the ground a word of the prophecies. And as for our brethren which dwell in the land of Israel, against all of them will God devise evils, and they will be carried captive from the goodly land, and all the land of Israel will be desolate, and Samaria and Jerusalem will be desolate, 5 and the house of God will be in grief and be burned up for a time; and God will again have mercy on them, and God will bring them back into the land of Israel, and they will again build the house, but not like the first, until the time when the time of the seasons be fulfilled; and afterward they will return, all of them, from their captivity, and build up Jerusalem with honour, and the house of God shall be builded in her, even as the prophets of Israel spake concerning her. 6 And all the nations which are in the whole earth, all shall turn and fear God truly, and all shall leave their idols, who err after their false error. 7 And they shall bless the everlasting God in righteousness. All the children of Israel that are delivered in those days, remembering God in truth, shall be gathered together and come to Jerusalem and shall dwell for ever in the land of Abraham with security, and it shall be given over to them; and they that love God in truth shall rejoice, and they that do sin and unrighteousness shall cease from all the earth.
9 And now, children, I charge you, serve God in truth and do what is pleasing in his sight; and upon your children it shall be enjoined to do alms, and that they be mindful of God and bless his name at every season in truth and with all their strength. 8 And now, child, depart thou from Nineveh, and abide not here. 10 In what day soever thou buriest thy mother with me, in the self-same day abide not in the borders thereof; for I see that there is much unrighteousness therein, and much guile is wrought therein, and they are not ashamed. See, child, what things Nadab did unto Ahikar that brought him up! Was he not brought down alive into the earth? and God recompensed the shame upon his face, and Ahikar came forth into the light, and Nadab went into the eternal darkness, because he had sought to slay Ahikar. Because I did alms, he came forth from the snare of death which Nadab had set for him, and Nadab fell into the snare of death, and it destroyed him. 11 And now, children, consider what alms-giving doeth, and what unrighteousness doeth, that it slayeth. And behold my soul fainteth.
11(12) And they laid him upon his bed and he died; and he was buried magnificently. And when his mother died, Tobias buried her with his father, and he and his wife departed to Media and dwelt in Ecbatana with Raguel his father-in-law. 12(13) And he sustained their old age in honour and buried them in Ecbatana of Media, and he inherited the house of Raguel and of Tobit his father. 14 And he died, being an hundred and seventeen years old, full of renown.
15 And before he died he saw and heard of the destruction of Nineveh, and saw her captivity led into Media which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Media took captive. And he blessed God for all he did unto the children of Nineveh and Assyria; and before his death he rejoiced over Nineveh, and blessed the Lord God for ever and ever. Amen.
Colophon
Prepared from R. H. Charles (ed.), The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English, Vol. 1: Apocrypha (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913), translation and introduction by D. C. Simpson. Source: archive.org item apocryphapseudep01charuoft (University of Toronto copy). Source lines 18287–24031 of the OCR text (pages 173–241 of the printed edition).
This edition's per-verse textual-critical apparatus — comparing the Sinaitic, Vatican, and mediating Greek recensions against the Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, Latin, and Ethiopic witnesses — is omitted from this transcription; it survives complete in the 1913 printed edition and in the cited scan.
The translation transcribed here is R^S, the Sinaitic recension (the longer text of Codex Sinaiticus), which Simpson identifies explicitly as his primary translated and annotated text — "It is this text which has been translated and commented upon in the following pages" — on the grounds of its comparative originality relative to the shorter Vatican recension (R^V) and the third, mediating recension (R^C). Verse numbers follow Swete's numbering of Codex Sinaiticus, with the Revised English Version's numbering given by Simpson in brackets where it differs; both are preserved here. A short passage of running narrative in chapter 7 (verses 1–9a) that the 1913 edition prints in two parallel columns, one from R^S and one from R^V, because the two recensions diverge sharply there, is given here in its R^S form only, per the edition's own primary text.
Simpson's introduction is reproduced in full discursive prose, cleaned of OCR scannos and with hyphenation and spacing normalized; a purely mechanical closing subsection listing bibliography (chief editions of the ancient versions, chief critical inquiries, chief editions of the book) and a key to manuscript sigla have been omitted, as noted in the introduction's closing paragraph, since both are apparatus rather than argument. No genuine passage of the translated verse text was found illegible in the scan.
Prepared for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted transcription and editorial work.
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