Tobit 13

¹ And he said: Blessed be God who lives for ever, for his reign endures throughout all ages!

² For he both punishes and pardons; he sends people down to the depths of the underworld and drawsthem up from utter Destruction; no one can escape his hand.

³ Declare his praise before the nations, you who are the children of Israel! For if he has scattered youamong them,

⁴ there too he has shown you his greatness. Extol him before al the living; he is our Lord and he is ourGod; he is our Father, and he is God for ever and ever.

⁵ Though he punishes you for your iniquities, he will take pity on you al ; he wil gather you from everynation wherever you have been scattered.

⁶ If you return to him with al your heart and al your soul, behaving honestly towards him, then he wilreturn to you and hide his face from you no longer. Consider how wel he has treated you; loudly give himthanks. Bless the Lord of justice and extol the King of the ages. I for my part sing his praise in the country of myexile; I make his power and greatness known to a nation that has sinned. Sinners, return to him; let your conductbe upright before him; perhaps he wil be gracious to you and take pity on you.

⁷ I for my part extol God and my soul rejoices in the King of heaven. Let his greatness

⁸ be on every tongue, his praises be sung in Jerusalem.

⁹ Jerusalem, Holy City, God has scourged you for what you have done but wil still take pity on thechildren of the upright.

¹⁰ Thank the Lord as he deserves and bless the King of the ages, that your Temple may be rebuilt withjoy within you; within you he may comfort every exile, and within you he may love al those who are distressed,for all generations to come.

¹¹ A bright light wil shine over al the regions of the earth; many nations wil come from far away, fromal the ends of the earth, to dwel close to the holy name of the Lord God, with gifts in their hands for the King ofheaven. Within you, generation after generation wil proclaim their joy, and the name of her who is Elect wilendure through the generations to come.

¹² Cursed be any who affront you, cursed be any who destroy you, who throw down your wal s, whorase your towers, who burn your houses! Eternally blessed be he who rebuilds you!

¹³ Then you wil exult, and rejoice over the children of the upright, for they wil al have been gathered inand will bless the Lord of the ages.

¹⁴ Blessed are those who love you, blessed those who rejoice over your peace, blessed those whohave mourned over al your punishment! For they wil soon rejoice within you, witness al your blessedness indays to come.

¹⁵ My soul blesses the Lord, the great King

¹⁶ because Jerusalem wil be built anew and his house for ever and ever. What bliss, if one of my familybe left to see your glory and praise the King of heaven! The gates of Jerusalem will be built of sapphire and ofemerald, and al your walls of precious stone, the towers of Jerusalem wil be built of gold and their battlementsof pure gold.

¹⁷ The streets of Jerusalem wil be paved with ruby and with stones from Ophir; the gates of Jerusalemwil resound with songs of exultation; and al her houses wil say, 'Al eluia! Blessed be the God of Israel.' Withinyou they will bless the holy name for ever and ever.