Tobit 14

So Tobit finished praising God.

1So Tobit made an end of praising God.

NoteThe praising referred to is the long hymn Tobit sings in chapter 13; this sentence closes it and turns the book to his last words and death.

2He was fifty-eight years old when he lost his sight, and after eight years his sight was given back to him. He gave gifts to the poor, he grew in the fear of the Lord God, and he praised him.

2And he was eight and fifty years old when he lost his sight, which was restored to him after eight years: and he gave alms, and he increased in the fear of the Lord God, and praised him.

Note"Alms" in the King James means money, food, or other practical help given to the poor, which Jewish teaching of this period treated as a central religious duty, not optional charity. "The fear of the Lord" means reverent awe and obedience toward God, not fright.

3When he was very old, he called his son and his son's sons, and said to him, "My son, take your children with you. Look, I am old, and I am ready to leave this life.

3And when he was very aged he called his son, and the sons of his son, and said to him, My son, take thy children; for, behold, I am aged, and am ready to depart out of this life.

Note"The sons of his son" are Tobit's grandsons, the children of Tobias; some Greek copies specify six of them. Tobit speaks to the whole group but addresses Tobias directly, which is why the verse shifts from plural to "said to him."

4Go into Media, my son. I firmly believe the things that Jonas the prophet said about Nineve, that it will be overthrown. I believe that for a time there will instead be peace in Media, and that our people will lie scattered over the earth, far from that good land. Jerusalem will be left empty, and the house of God in it will be burned, and it will be empty for a time.

4Go into Media my son, for I surely believe those things which Jonas the prophet spake of Nineve, that it shall be overthrown; and that for a time peace shall rather be in Media; and that our brethren shall lie scattered in the earth from that good land: and Jerusalem shall be desolate, and the house of God in it shall be burned, and shall be desolate for a time;

NoteMedia was the region east of Assyria in what is now northwestern Iran. "Jonas" is the Greek form of Jonah, the prophet sent to warn Nineveh; "Nineve" is Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, on the Tigris near modern Mosul. The book is set among Israelites deported to Assyria, so "that good land" means the homeland of Israel they were taken from. "The house of God" is the temple in Jerusalem.

5Then God will show mercy to them again and bring them back into the land. There they will build a temple, but not like the first one, until the time of that age is complete. After that they will return from every place where they were held captive, and they will rebuild Jerusalem in splendor. The house of God will be built in it forever, a glorious building, just as the prophets have said about it.

5And that again God will have mercy on them, and bring them again into the land, where they shall build a temple, but not like to the first, until the time of that age be fulfilled; and afterward they shall return from all places of their captivity, and build up Jerusalem gloriously, and the house of God shall be built in it for ever with a glorious building, as the prophets have spoken thereof.

NoteThe first temple was Solomon's, destroyed when Babylon took Jerusalem in 587 BC. The rebuilt temple of the returned exiles was famously less impressive than the original, which is the point of "not like to the first." "Until the time of that age be fulfilled" marks a set period whose end is God's to fix; the passage does not say how long it is.

6And all nations will turn and truly fear the Lord God, and they will bury their idols.

6And all nations shall turn, and fear the Lord God truly, and shall bury their idols.

NoteBurying an idol was a way of disposing of a god image permanently: it was buried rather than smashed or sold, so it could not be recovered or reused. The gesture means abandoning the god, not merely storing it away.

7So all nations will praise the Lord, and his people will give thanks to God, and the Lord will lift his people high. All those who love the Lord God in truth and justice will be glad, showing mercy to our people.

7So shall all nations praise the Lord, and his people shall confess God, and the Lord shall exalt his people; and all those which love the Lord God in truth and justice shall rejoice, shewing mercy to our brethren.

NoteIn the King James, "confess" often means to acknowledge openly or to give thanks and praise, as it does here. It does not mean confessing sins.

8And now, my son, leave Nineve, because the things the prophet Jonas said will surely happen.

8And now, my son, depart out of Nineve, because that those things which the prophet Jonas spake shall surely come to pass.

9But you must keep the law and the commands, and show yourself merciful and fair, so that things may go well with you.

9But keep thou the law and the commandments, and shew thyself merciful and just, that it may go well with thee.

Note"The law and the commandments" means the Law of Moses, the body of instruction in the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures, which governed worship, food, purity, and dealings with other people.

10Bury me properly, and bury your mother with me. But do not stay any longer at Nineve. Remember, my son, how Aman treated Achiacharus, who had raised him, how he brought him out of light into darkness, and how he paid him back. Yet Achiacharus was saved, while the other man got what he had earned, for he went down into darkness. Manasses gave gifts to the poor and escaped the traps of death that they had set for him, but Aman fell into the trap and died.

10And bury me decently, and thy mother with me; but tarry no longer at Nineve. Remember, my son, how Aman handled Achiacharus that brought him up, how out of light he brought him into darkness, and how he rewarded him again: yet Achiacharus was saved, but the other had his reward: for he went down into darkness. Manasses gave alms, and escaped the snares of death which they had set for him: but Aman fell into the snare, and perished.

NoteThis refers to a story well known in the ancient Near East, the tale of Ahikar, a wise official at the Assyrian court. Ahikar (here "Achiacharus") raised his nephew as his own son, and the nephew repaid him by framing him on a false charge so that he was condemned to death. Ahikar was hidden alive in an underground chamber, which is what "out of light he brought him into darkness" describes, and was later cleared and restored, while the nephew died. In Greek copies of Tobit the nephew's name appears variously, and the King James gives it as "Aman," the same spelling it uses for Haman in Esther. "Manasses" in the second half of the verse is a name no other version of the Ahikar story carries, and the Greek copies differ here; it appears to be a scribe's substitution. "He went down into darkness" means he died.

11So now, my son, think about what giving to the poor does, and how doing what is right rescues a person." When he had said these things, he died in his bed, at the age of a hundred and fifty-eight, and he buried him with honor.

11Wherefore now, my son, consider what alms doeth, and how righteousness doth deliver. When he had said these things, he gave up the ghost in the bed, being an hundred and eight and fifty years old; and he buried him honourably.

Note"Gave up the ghost" is older English for died; "ghost" here means breath or spirit, with no suggestion of a haunting. The one who does the burying is Tobias, though the King James does not name him. Ancient copies of Tobit disagree about Tobit's age at death, some giving one hundred and twelve rather than a hundred and fifty-eight.

12And when Anna his mother had died, he buried her with his father. Then Tobias left with his wife and children for Ecbatane, to Raguel his father-in-law,

12And when Anna his mother was dead, he buried her with his father. But Tobias departed with his wife and children to Ecbatane to Raguel his father in law,

NoteAnna is Tobit's wife and Tobias's mother. Ecbatane is Ecbatana, the chief city of Media, on the site of modern Hamadan in Iran. Raguel is the father of Sarah, Tobias's wife.

13where he grew old with honor. He buried his father-in-law and mother-in-law with honor, and he inherited their property, and his father Tobit's as well.

13Where he became old with honour, and he buried his father and mother in law honourably, and he inherited their substance, and his father Tobit’s.

14And he died at Ecbatane in Media, at the age of a hundred and twenty-seven.

14And he died at Ecbatane in Media, being an hundred and seven and twenty years old.

NoteCopies of the book differ on this number as well, some giving one hundred and seventeen years.

15But before he died he heard about the destruction of Nineve, which was captured by Nabuchodonosor and Assuerus. Before his death he rejoiced over Nineve.

15But before he died he heard of the destruction of Nineve, which was taken by Nabuchodonosor and Assuerus: and before his death he rejoiced over Nineve.

Note"Nabuchodonosor" is the Greek form of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and "Assuerus" is Ahasuerus, the name the Greek Bible uses for the Persian king called Xerxes. Nineveh actually fell in 612 BC to a combined force of Babylonians and Medes, under Nabopolassar of Babylon, who was Nebuchadnezzar's father, and Cyaxares of Media. Greek copies of Tobit name the conquerors differently from one another, and the King James follows one of those traditions.