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, 7 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 But I kept myself from eating of the bread of the Gentiles; and, 12 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, 14 and go into Media and buy for him thence, until he died. 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: (17)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 Aḥiḳar, my brother Anael’s son, and he had authority over all his affairs. 22 Then Aḥiḳar 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.

2. THE STARTING-POINT OF THE PRESENT STORY, 2:1–14.

21 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, 6 and ate food with mourning, 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.

7 And I wept. 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 Aḥiḳar 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, 12 and would send the tasks back to their owners: and they would pay her the wages. 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.

3. TOBIT’S PREFATORY PRAYER, 3:1–6.

31 And I was much grieved in my soul and groaned and wept. 2 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. 3 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’. 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.

B. Sarah’s Previous History, vv. 7–15.

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, O merciful God, and blessed is thy name for ever: and let all thy works bless thee for…