Tobit 13

Then Tobit wrote a prayer of rejoicing. He said: Blessed be God, who lives forever, and blessed be his kingdom.

1Then Tobit wrote a prayer of rejoicing, and said, Blessed be God that liveth for ever, and blessed be his kingdom.

Note"Blessed be God" does not mean someone is granting God a blessing. In older English "bless" used of God simply means praise or speak well of, so the line means "May God be praised." The chapter that follows is a hymn or psalm rather than narrative: Tobit stops telling the story and sings.

2He punishes, and he shows mercy. He brings people down to the place of the dead, and he brings them up again. No one can escape his hand.

2For he doth scourge, and hath mercy: he leadeth down to hell, and bringeth up again: neither is there any that can avoid his hand.

Note"Scourge" meant to whip or flog, and by extension to punish severely; the rendering uses "punishes." Where the King James says "hell," the Greek word is Hades, the underworld where all the dead were thought to go, good and bad alike. It is a name for the state of death itself, not for a place of torment, which is why the rendering says "the place of the dead."

3Give thanks to him in front of the Gentiles, you children of Israel, because he has scattered us among them.

3Confess him before the Gentiles, ye children of Israel: for he hath scattered us among them.

Note"Confess him" in 1611 English meant to acknowledge him openly, and the Greek word behind it means to give thanks or publicly praise. It has nothing to do with confessing sins. "Gentiles" means the non-Jewish nations. Tobit speaks as a deportee: he and other Israelites from the northern kingdom had been carried off by the Assyrians and settled in their territory, so the audience for Israel's praise is now foreign.

4Tell how great he is there. Praise him in front of everyone alive, because he is our Lord, and he is God our Father forever.

4There declare his greatness, and extol him before all the living: for he is our Lord, and he is the God our Father for ever.

5He will punish us for the wrong things we have done, and he will show us mercy again. He will gather us out of all the nations where he has scattered us.

5And he will scourge us for our iniquities, and will have mercy again, and will gather us out of all nations, among whom he hath scattered us.

NoteThe scattering and the gathering are the two halves of a single hope running through this prayer: exile as punishment, and a future return of the dispersed people to their own land.

6If you turn to him with your whole heart and your whole mind, and act honestly in front of him, then he will turn to you, and he will not hide his face from you. So watch what he will do with you. Give him thanks with your whole mouth. Praise the Lord, who is mighty, and praise the everlasting King. Here in the land where I am held captive, I praise him. I tell a sinful nation how strong and how majestic he is. You sinners, turn back and do what is right in front of him. Who knows whether he will accept you and have mercy on you?

6If ye turn to him with your whole heart, and with your whole mind, and deal uprightly before him, then will he turn unto you, and will not hide his face from you. Therefore see what he will do with you, and confess him with your whole mouth, and praise the Lord of might, and extol the everlasting King. In the land of my captivity do I praise him, and declare his might and majesty to a sinful nation. O ye sinners, turn and do justice before him: who can tell if he will accept you, and have mercy on you?

Note"Hide his face" is a standard Hebrew idiom for withdrawing attention and favor, the way a person turns away from someone they will not deal with. Its opposite, turning toward you, means renewed favor. "The land of my captivity" is Assyria, where Tobit is living as a deportee.

7I will praise my God. My soul will praise the King of heaven, and will be glad because he is so great.

7I will extol my God, and my soul shall praise the King of heaven, and shall rejoice in his greatness.

8Let everyone speak, and let everyone praise him because he does what is right.

8Let all men speak, and let all praise him for his righteousness.

NoteThe Greek manuscripts differ here. The text the King James translators followed ends "praise him for his righteousness"; other manuscripts read "give him thanks in Jerusalem," which is why modern translations often look different at this verse.

9Jerusalem, holy city, he will punish you for what your children have done, and he will have mercy again on the children of those who do right.

9O Jerusalem, the holy city, he will scourge thee for thy children’s works, and will have mercy again on the sons of the righteous.

NoteThe city is addressed directly, as a person, and "thy children" means its inhabitants, present and past. The thought is that Jerusalem suffers for what the people living in it did.

10Praise the Lord, because he is good, and praise the everlasting King, so that his tent may be built in you again with joy. May he make the captives glad there in you, and love those who are miserable in you forever.

10Give praise to the Lord, for he is good: and praise the everlasting King, that his tabernacle may be builded in thee again with joy, and let him make joyful there in thee those that are captives, and love in thee for ever those that are miserable.

Note"Tabernacle" translates a word meaning tent or dwelling. It looks back to the portable tent shrine Israel carried in the wilderness, but here it means the temple in Jerusalem, destroyed by the Babylonians and hoped to be rebuilt. The speaker is picturing a restored temple standing in a restored city.

11Many nations will come from far away to the name of the Lord God, with gifts in their hands, gifts for the King of heaven. Every generation will praise you with great joy.

11Many nations shall come from far to the name of the Lord God with gifts in their hands, even gifts to the King of heaven; all generations shall praise thee with great joy.

NoteForeign nations arriving with gifts is a stock image in Israel's prophetic poetry for Jerusalem's future honor. "To the name of the Lord God" means to the place where his name was said to dwell, that is, the temple.

12Everyone who hates you is cursed, and everyone who loves you forever will be blessed.

12Cursed are all they which hate thee, and blessed shall all be which love thee for ever.

13Rejoice and be glad because of the children of those who do right, because they will be gathered together, and they will bless the Lord of those who do right.

13Rejoice and be glad for the children of the just: for they shall be gathered together, and shall bless the Lord of the just.

14How blessed are the people who love you, because they will be glad that you are at peace. Blessed are the people who have grieved over all the times you were punished, because they will rejoice over you when they have seen all your glory. They will be glad forever.

14O blessed are they which love thee, for they shall rejoice in thy peace: blessed are they which have been sorrowful for all thy scourges; for they shall rejoice for thee, when they have seen all thy glory, and shall be glad for ever.

Note"Thy scourges" means the punishments the city underwent. The blessing falls on those who mourned during the disaster, because they will still be there for the recovery.

15Let my soul bless God, the great King.

15Let my soul bless God the great King.

16Jerusalem will be built with sapphires and emeralds and precious stone. Your walls and towers and battlements will be built with pure gold.

16For Jerusalem shall be built up with sapphires and emeralds, and precious stone: thy walls and towers and battlements with pure gold.

NoteThe stone the King James calls "sapphire" was most likely lapis lazuli, a deep blue stone, rather than the gem we now call sapphire. "Battlements" are the notched parapets along the top of a defensive wall, the gaps that archers shot through. The picture is an ordinary fortified city rebuilt in gemstone and gold.

17The streets of Jerusalem will be paved with beryl and carbuncle and stones from Ophir.

17And the streets of Jerusalem shall be paved with beryl and carbuncle and stones of Ophir.

Note"Beryl" is a pale green or blue-green gem. A "carbuncle" in older English is any deep red stone, usually a garnet, named for its glowing coal color. Ophir was a distant land, its location now unknown, famous in Israelite tradition as the source of the finest gold and precious stones.

18And all her streets will say, Alleluia. They will praise him, saying, Blessed be God, who has lifted it high forever.

18And all her streets shall say, Alleluia; and they shall praise him, saying, Blessed be God, which hath extolled it for ever.

Note"Alleluia" is the Hebrew phrase hallelu-yah carried over untranslated: "praise Yah," a short form of the divine name. The King James "hath extolled it" refers to the city; other Greek manuscripts read "has exalted you," keeping the direct address to Jerusalem that runs through the rest of the hymn.