tobit 13

1^* Then Tobit spoke and composed a song of joyful praise; he said:

Blessed be God who lives forever,

because his kingship lasts for all ages.^a

2For he afflicts and shows mercy,

casts down to the depths of Hades,

brings up from the great abyss.

What is there that can snatch from his hand?^b

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3Give thanks to him, you Israelites, in the presence of the nations,

for though he has scattered you among them,

4even there recount his greatness.

Exalt him before every living being,

because he is your Lord, and he is your God,

our Father and God forever and ever!

5He will afflict you for your iniquities,

but will have mercy on all of you.

He will gather you from all the nations

among whom you have been scattered.^c

6When you turn back to him with all your heart,

and with all your soul do what is right before him,

Then he will turn to you,

and will hide his face from you no longer.^d

Now consider what he has done for you,

and give thanks with full voice.

Bless the Lord of righteousness,

and exalt the King of the ages.

In the land of my captivity I give thanks,

and declare his power and majesty to a sinful nation.

According to your heart do what is right before him:

perhaps there will be pardon for you.

7As for me, I exalt my God,

my soul exalts the King of heaven,

and rejoices all the days of my life.

Let all sing praise to his greatness,

8let all speak and give thanks in Jerusalem.

9Jerusalem, holy city,

he will afflict you for the works of your hands,^*

but will again pity the children of the righteous.^e

10Give thanks to the Lord with righteousness,

and bless the King of the ages,

so that your tabernacle may be rebuilt in you with joy.

May he gladden within you all who are captives;

may he cherish within you all who are distressed

for all generations to come.^f

11A bright light will shine to the limits of the earth.

Many nations will come to you from afar,

And inhabitants of all the ends of the earth

to your holy name,

Bearing in their hands gifts for the King of heaven.

Generation after generation will offer joyful worship in you;

your name will be great forever and ever.^g

12Cursed be all who despise you and revile you;

cursed be all who hate you and speak a harsh word against you;

cursed be all who destroy you

and pull down your walls,

And all who overthrow your towers

and set fire to your homes.

But blessed forever be all those who respect you.^h

13Go, then, rejoice and exult over the children of the righteous,

for they will all be gathered together

and will bless the Lord of the ages.

14Happy are those who love you,

and happy are those who rejoice in your peace.

Happy too are all who grieve

over all your afflictions,

For they will rejoice over you

and behold all your joy forever.ⁱ

15My soul, bless the Lord, the great King;

16for Jerusalem will be rebuilt as his house forever.

Happy too will I be if a remnant of my offspring survives

to see your glory and to give thanks to the King of heaven!

The gates of Jerusalem will be built with sapphire and emerald,

and all your walls with precious stones.

The towers of Jerusalem will be built with gold,

and their battlements with purest gold.^j

17The streets of Jerusalem will be paved

with rubies and stones of Ophir;

18The gates of Jerusalem will sing hymns of gladness,

and all its houses will cry out, Hallelujah!

Blessed be the God of Israel for all ages!

For in you the blessed will bless the holy name forever and ever.

Tobit 12

Raphael’s Wages.^*1When the wedding celebration came to an end, Tobit called his son Tobiah and said to him, “Son, see to it that you pay his wages to the man who made the journey with you and give him a bonus too.”2Tobiah said: “Father, how much shall I pay him? It would not hurt to give him half the wealth he brought back with me.^a3He led me back safe and sound, healed my wife, brought the money back with me, and healed you. How much should I pay him?”4Tobit answered, “It is only fair, son, that he should receive half of all that he brought back.”5So Tobiah called Raphael and said, “Take as your wages half of all that you have brought back, and farewell!”

Exhortation.^*6Raphael called the two of them aside privately and said to them: “Bless God and give him thanks before all the living for the good things he has done for you, by blessing and extolling his name in song. Proclaim before all with due honor the deeds of God, and do not be slack in thanking him.^*7A king’s secret should be kept secret, but one must declare the works of God and give thanks with due honor. Do good, and evil will not overtake you.8Prayer with fasting is good. Almsgiving with righteousness is better than wealth with wickedness. It is better to give alms than to store up gold,^b9for almsgiving saves from death, and purges all sin. Those who give alms will enjoy a full life,^c10but those who commit sin and do evil are their own worst enemies.

Raphael’s Identity.11“I shall now tell you the whole truth and conceal nothing at all from you. I have already said to you, ‘A king’s secret should be kept secret, but one must declare the works of God with due honor.’12^d Now when you, Tobit, and Sarah prayed, it was I who presented the record of your prayer before the Glory of the Lord; and likewise whenever you used to bury the dead.^*13When you did not hesitate to get up and leave your dinner in order to go and bury that dead man,14I was sent to put you to the test. At the same time, however, God sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah.15I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand and serve before the Glory of the Lord.”^e

16Greatly shaken, the two of them fell prostrate in fear.17But Raphael said to them: “Do not fear; peace be with you! Bless God now and forever.18As for me, when I was with you, I was not acting out of any favor on my part, but by God’s will. So bless God every day; give praise with song.19Even though you saw me eat and drink, I did not eat or drink anything; what you were seeing was a vision.20So now bless the Lord on earth and give thanks to God. Look, I am ascending to the one who sent me. Write down all that has happened to you.”^f And he ascended.21They stood up but were no longer able to see him.22They kept blessing God and singing his praises, and they continued to give thanks for these marvelous works that God had done, because an angel of God appeared to them.

* [12:1–5] Tobit and his son generously agree to give Raphael far more than the wages agreed upon in 5:15–16.

* [12:6–10] In the fashion of a wisdom teacher, Raphael gives the two men a short exhortation similar to the one Tobit gave his son in 4:3–19.

* [12:6–7] The faithful considered the praise of God their most esteemed privilege. Without it, life was meaningless; cf. Is 38:16–20.

* [12:12] Raphael is one of the seven Angels of the Presence, specially designated intercessors who present prayers to God. Angelology was developing in this period. The names of two other of these seven angels are given in the Bible: Gabriel (Dn 8:16; 9:21; Lk 1:19, 26) and Michael (Dn 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9; Rev 12:7). See 1 Enoch for the names of the rest.

a. [12:2] Tb 5:3, 7, 15–16.

b. [12:8] Tb 4:7–11; Sir 29:8–13.

c. [12:9] Dn 4:24.

d. [12:12] Jb 33:23–24; Acts 10:4; Rev 8:3–4.

e. [12:15] Lk 1:19; Rev 8:2.

f. [12:20] Jgs 13:20.

Tobit 11

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Homeward Journey.1As they drew near to Kaserin, which is opposite Nineveh,2Raphael said: “You know how we left your father.3Let us hurry on ahead of your wife to prepare the house while they are still on the way.”4So both went on ahead together, and Raphael said to him, “Take the gall in your hand!” And the dog ran along behind them.

5Meanwhile, Anna sat watching the road by which her son was to come.6When she saw him coming, she called to his father, “Look, your son is coming, and the man who traveled with him!”

7Raphael said to Tobiah before he came near to his father: “I know that his eyes will be opened.8Apply the fish gall to his eyes, and the medicine will make the white scales shrink and peel off from his eyes; then your father will have sight again and will see the light of day.”

Sight Restored.9Then Anna ran up to her son, embraced him, and said to him, “Now that I have seen you again, son, I am ready to die!” And she sobbed aloud.^a10Tobit got up and stumbled out through the courtyard gate to meet his son. Tobiah went up to him11with the fish gall in his hand and blew into his eyes. Holding him firmly, he said, “Courage, father.” Then he applied the medicine to his eyes, and it made them sting.12^,13Tobiah used both hands to peel the white scales from the corners of his eyes. Tobit saw his son and threw his arms around him.14Weeping, he exclaimed, “I can see you, son, the light of my eyes!” Then he prayed,

“Blessed be God,

blessed be his great name,

and blessed be all his holy angels.

May his great name be with us,

and blessed be all the angels throughout all the ages.

15God it was who afflicted me,

and God who has had mercy on me.

Now I see my son Tobiah!”

Then Tobit went back in, rejoicing and praising God with full voice. Tobiah related to his father how his journey had been a success; that he had brought back the money; and that he had married Raguel’s daughter Sarah, who was about to arrive, for she was near the gate of Nineveh.^b

16Rejoicing and blessing God, Tobit went out to the gate of Nineveh to meet his daughter-in-law. When the people of Nineveh saw him coming, walking along briskly, with no one leading him by the hand, they were amazed.17Before them all Tobit proclaimed how God had shown mercy to him and opened his eyes. When Tobit came up to Sarah, the wife of his son Tobiah, he blessed her and said: “Welcome, my daughter! Blessed be your God for bringing you to us, daughter! Blessed are your father and your mother. Blessed be my son Tobiah, and blessed be you, daughter! Welcome to your home with blessing and joy. Come in, daughter!” That day there was joy for all the Jews who lived in Nineveh.18Ahiqar and his nephew Nadin^* were also on hand to rejoice with Tobit. Tobiah’s wedding feast was celebrated with joy for seven days, and many gifts were given to him.

* [11:18] Nadin: see note on 14:10.

a. [11:9] Gn 33:4; 45:14; 46:29–30; Lk 15:20.

b. [11:15] Tb 13:2; Dt 32:39; 1 Sm 2:6.