Tobias (Tobit) 1
1
1Tobias of the tribe and city of Nephtali (which is in the upper parts of Galilee above Naasson, beyond the way that leadeth to the west, having on the right hand the city of Sephet),
2When he was made captive in the days of Salmanasar king of the Assyrians, even in his captivity, forsook not the way of truth:
3But every day gave all he could get to his brethren, his fellow captives, that were of his kindred.
4And when he was younger than any of the tribe of Nephtali yet did he no childish thing in his work.
5Moreover when all went to the golden calves which Jeroboam king of Israel had made, he alone fled the company of all:
6And went to Jerusalem to the temple of the Lord; and there adored the Lord God of Israel, offering faithfully all his firstfruits, and his tithes,
7So that in the third year he gave all his tithes to the proselytes and strangers.
8These and such like things did he observe when but a boy according to the law of God.
9But when he was a man, he took to wife Anna of his own tribe, and had a son by her, whom he called after his own name.
10And from his infancy he taught him to fear God, and to abstain from all sin.
11And when by the captivity he with his wife and his son and all his tribe was come to the city of Ninive,
12(When all ate of the meats of the Gentiles) he kept his soul and never was defiled with their meats.
13And because he was mindful of the Lord with all his heart, God gave him favour in the sight of Salmanasar the king.
14And he gave him leave to go whithersoever he would, with liberty to do whatever he had a mind.
15He therefore went to all that were in captivity, and gave them wholesome admonitions.
16And when he was come to Rages a city of the Medes, and had ten talents of silver of that with which he had been honoured by the king:
17And when amongst a great multitude of his kindred, he saw Gabelus in want, who was one of his tribe, taking a note of his hand he gave him the aforesaid sum of money.
18But after a long time, Salmanasar the king being dead, when Sennacherib his son, who reigned in his place, had a hatred for the children of Israel:
19Tobias daily went among all his kindred, and comforted them, and distributed to every one as he was able, out of his goods.
20He fed the hungry, and gave clothes to the naked, and was careful to bury the dead, and they that were slain.
21And when king Sennacherib was come back, fleeing from Judea by reason of the slaughter that God had made about him for his blasphemy, and being angry slew many of the children of Israel, Tobias buried their bodies.
22But when it was told the king, he commanded him to be slain, and took away all his substance.
23But Tobias fleeing naked away with his son and with his wife lay concealed: for many loved him.
24But after forty-five days, the king was killed by his own sons.
25And Tobias returned to his house: and all his substance was restored to him.
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Tobias (Tobit) 1: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Tobit 1
1
1I am Tobit and this is the story of my life. My father was Tobiel, my grandfather was Ananiel, and my great-grandfather was Aduel. Aduel's father was Gabael; his grandfather was Raphael; and his great-grandfather was Raguel, who belonged to the clan of Asiel, a part of the tribe of Naphtali. 2#2 Kgs 17.3; 18.9During the time that Shalmaneser was emperor of Assyria, I was taken captive in my home town of Thisbe, located in northern Galilee, south of Kadesh in Naphtali, north-west of Hazor, and north of Phogor.
Tobit's Early Life
3All my life I have been honest and have tried to do what was right. I have often given money to help needy relatives and fellow-Jews who were deported with me to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.
4When I was young, I lived in northern Israel. All the tribes in Israel were supposed to offer sacrifices in Jerusalem. It was the one city that God had chosen from among all the Israelite cities as the place where his Temple was to be built for his holy and eternal home. But my entire tribe of Naphtali rejected the city of Jerusalem and the kings descended from David. 5#1 Kgs 12.28–29Like everyone else in this tribe, my own family used to go to the city of Dan in the mountains of northern Galilee to offer sacrifices to the gold bull-calf which King Jeroboam of Israel had set up there.
Tobit's Faithfulness to His Religion
6 #
Deut 16.16
I was the only one in my family who regularly went to Jerusalem to celebrate the religious festivals, as the Law of Moses commands everyone to do. I would hurry off to Jerusalem with the first part of my harvest, the firstborn of my animals, a tenth of my cattle, and the freshly clipped wool from my sheep. Then I would stand before the altar in the Temple, and give these offerings to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. 7I would give a tenth of my grain, wine, olive-oil, pomegranates, figs and other fruits to the Levites who served God in Jerusalem. Every year, except the seventh year when the land was at rest,#1.7 the land was at rest: See Lev 25.1–7. I would sell a second tenth of my possessions and spend the money in Jerusalem on the festival meal.
8But every third year, I would give a third tithe#1.8 a third tithe; some manuscripts have the money. to widows and orphans and to foreigners living among my people, and we would eat the festival meal together. I did this in keeping with the Law of Moses, which Deborah, the mother of my grandfather Ananiel, had taught me to obey. (I had been left an orphan when my father died.)
Tobit's Faithfulness in Exile
9When I grew up, I married Anna, a member of my own tribe. We had a son and named him Tobias. 10Later, I was taken captive and deported to Assyria, and that is how I came to live in Nineveh.
While we lived in Nineveh, all my relatives and fellow-Jews used to eat the same kind of food as the other people who lived there, 11but I refused to do so. 12Since I took seriously the commands of the Most High God, 13he made Emperor Shalmaneser respect me, and I was placed in charge of purchasing all the emperor's supplies.
14Before the emperor died, I made regular visits to the land of Media to buy things for him there. Once, when I was in the city of Rages in Media, I left some bags of money there with Gabael, Gabrias' brother, and asked him to keep them for me. There were more than 300 kilogrammes of silver coins in those bags. 15When Shalmaneser died, his son Sennacherib succeeded him as emperor. It soon became so dangerous to travel on the roads in Media that I could no longer go there.
Tobit Buries the Dead
16While Shalmaneser was still emperor, I took good care of my fellow-Jews whenever they were in need. 17#Job 31.16–20If they were hungry, I shared my food with them; if they needed clothes, I gave them some of my own. Whenever I saw that the dead body of one of my people had been thrown outside the city wall, I gave it a decent burial.
18One day Sennacherib cursed God, the King of Heaven; God punished him, and Sennacherib had to retreat from Judah. On his way back to Media he was so furious that he killed many Israelites. But I secretly removed the bodies and buried them; and when Sennacherib later searched for the bodies, he could not find them.
19Then someone from Nineveh told the emperor that I was the one who had been burying his victims. As soon as I realized that the emperor knew all about me and that my life was in danger, I became frightened. So I ran away and hid. 20Everything I owned was seized and put in the royal treasury. My wife Anna and my son Tobias were all I had left.
Tobit's Nephew Rescues Him
21About six weeks later, two of Sennacherib's sons assassinated him and then escaped to the mountains of Ararat. Another son, Esarhaddon, became emperor and put Ahikar, my brother Anael's son, in charge of all the financial affairs of the empire. 22This was actually the second time Ahikar was appointed to this position, for when Sennacherib was emperor of Assyria, Ahikar had been wine steward, treasurer, and accountant, and had been in charge of the official seal. Since Ahikar was my nephew, he put in a good word for me with the emperor, and I was allowed to return to Nineveh.
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.