Tobit 08

KING JAMES BIBLE

Tobit known as one of the Apocrypha was published in the original 1611 King James Bible for 274 years until being removed in 1885 A.D.

KING JAMES 1611

1And when they had supped, they brought Tobias in vnto her.

2And as he went, he remembred the wordes of Raphael, and tooke the ashes of the perfumes, and put the heart, and the liuer of the fish thereupon, and made a smoke therewith.

3The which smell, when the euill spirit had smelled, hee fled into the outmost parts of Egypt, and the Angel bound him.

4And after that they were both shut in together, Tobias rose out of the bed and said, Sister, arise, and let vs pray, that God would haue pitie on vs.

5Then began Tobias to say, Blessed art thou, O God of our fathers, and blessed is thy holy and glorious Name for euer, let the heauens blesse thee, and all thy creatures.

6Thou madest Adam, and gauest him Eue his wife for an helper & stay: of them came mankind: thou hast said, It is not good that man should bee alone, let vs make vnto him an aide like to himselfe.

7And now, O Lord, I take not this my sister for lust, but vprightly: therefore mercifully ordeine, that wee may become aged together.

8And she said with him, Amen.

9So they slept both that night, and Raguel arose, and went & made a graue

10Saying, I feare lest he be dead.

11But when Raguel was come into his house,

12He said vnto his wife Edna, Send one of the maids, and let her see, whether he be aliue: if he be not, that we may bury him, and no man know it.

13So the maid opened the doore and went in, and found them both asleepe,

14And came forth, and told them, that he was aliue.

15Then Raguel praised God, and said, O God, thou art worthy to be praised with all pure and holy praise: therefore let thy Saints praise thee with all thy creatures, and let all thine Angels and thine elect praise thee for euer.

16Thou art to be praised, for thou hast made mee ioyfull, and that is not come to me, which I suspected: but thou hast dealt with vs according to thy great mercie.

17Thou art to be praised, because thou hast had mercie of two, that were the onely begotten children of their fathers, grant them mercy, O Lord, and finish their life in health, with ioy and mercie.

18Then Raguel bade his seruants to fill the graue.

19And hee kept the wedding feast fourteene dayes.

20For before the dayes of the mariage were finished, Raguel had said vnto him by an othe, that he should not depart, till the fourteene dayes of the mariage were expired,

21And then he should take the halfe of his goods, and goe in safetie to his father, and should haue the rest when I and my wife be dead.

THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE

1 When they had finished eating and drinking, the girl's parents wanted to retire. They brought the young man out of the dining room and led him into the bedroom.

2 At this point Tobiah, mindful of Raphael's instructions, took the fish's liver and heart from the bag which he had with him, and placed them on the embers for the incense.

3 The demon, repelled by the odor of the fish, fled into Upper Egypt; Raphael pursued him there and bound him hand and foot. Then Raphael returned immediately.

4 When the girl's parents left the bedroom and closed the door behind them, Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife, "My love, get up. Let us pray and beg our Lord to have mercy on us and to grant us deliverance."

5 She got up, and they started to pray and beg that deliverance might be theirs. He began with these words: "Blessed are you, O God of our fathers; praised be your name forever and ever. Let the heavens and all your creation praise you forever.

6 You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve to be his help and support; and from these two the human race descended. You said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; let us make him a partner like himself.'

7 Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine not because of lust, but for a noble purpose. Call down your mercy on me and on her, and allow us to live together to a happy old age."

8 They said together, "Amen, amen,"

9 and went to bed for the night. But Raguel got up and summoned his servants. With him they went out to dig a grave,

10 for he said, "I must do this, because if Tobiah should die, we would be subjected to ridicule and insult."

11 When they had finished digging the grave, Raguel went back into the house and called his wife,

12 saying, "Send one of the maids in to see whether Tobiah is alive or dead, so that if necessary we may bury him without anyone's knowing about it."

13 She sent the maid, who lit a lamp, opened the bedroom door, went in, and found them sound asleep together.

14 The maid went out and told the girl's parents that Tobiah was alive, and that there was nothing wrong.

15 Then Raguel praised the God of heaven in these words: "Blessed are you, O God, with every holy and pure blessing! Let all your chosen ones praise you; let them bless you forever!

16 Blessed are you, who have made me glad; what I feared did not happen. Rather you have dealt with us according to your great mercy.

17 Blessed are you, for you were merciful toward two only children. Grant them, Master, mercy and deliverance, and bring their lives to fulfillment with happiness and mercy."

18 Then he told his servants to fill in the grave before dawn.

19 He asked his wife to bake many loaves of bread; he himself went out to the herd and picked out two steers and four rams which he ordered to be slaughtered. So the servants began to prepare the feast.

20 He summoned Tobiah and made an oath in his presence, saying: "For fourteen days you shall not stir from here, but shall remain here eating and drinking with me; and you shall bring joy to my daughter's sorrowing spirit.

21 Take, to begin with, half of whatever I own when you go back in good health to your father; the other half will be yours when I and my wife die. Be of good cheer, my son! I am your father, and Edna is your mother; and we belong to you and to your beloved now and forever. So be happy, son!"

COMMENTARIE

The divisions of the Book of Tobit are:

1 Tobit's Ordeals (Tobit 1:3-3:6)

2 Sarah's Plight (Tobit 3:7-17)

3 Sarah's Plight (Tobit 3:7-17)

4 Tobiah's Journey and Marriage to Sarah (Tobit 4:1-9:6)

2 Ashes of incense: Not unusual to have incense burning to seveente the air in a room. This stench will prove intolerable to the demon.

3 Remotest parts: Fleeing to distant Egypt implies tatal defeat because Demons were belived to inhabit deserted and wild areas.

4 Let us pray: The demon represents pssion and lust.

V6 Eve his wife: As it was intended by God Tobit recalls the definition of marriages.

V 7 With Sencerity: Expression of sacrificing love rather than a means of self-gratification is what a sexual relations should be.

V 9 Dug a grave: From the other Raquel does not know how different this marriage is.

V 13 Opened the Door: This suspenseful situation is fully explotis by the author.

v 21 Your father: The need to extend the saving bonds if comminal life to other people.

IV. Tobiah's Return; Cure of Tobit's Blindness (Tobit 10:1==11:18)

V. Raphael Reveals His Identity (Tobit 12:1-22)

VI. Tobit's Song of Praise (Tobit 13:1-18)

VII. Epilogue (Tobit 14:1-15)