Tobit 2

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 In the reign of Esarhaddon, therefore, I returned home, and my wife Anna was restored to me with myson Tobias. At our feast of Pentecost (the feast of Weeks) there was a good dinner. I took my place for the meal;	1 In truth, after this, when there was a feast day of the Lord, and a good dinner had been prepared in the house of Tobit,
2 the table was brought to me and various dishes were brought. I then said to my son Tobias, 'Go, mychild, and seek out some poor, loyal-hearted man among our brothers exiled in Nineveh, and bring him to sharemy meal. I wil wait until you come back, my child.'	2 he said to his son: “Go, and bring some others who fear God from our tribe to feast with us.”
3 So Tobias went out to look for some poor man among our brothers, but he came back again and said,'Father!' I replied, 'What is it, my child?' He went on, 'Father, one of our nation has just been murdered; he hasbeen strangled and then thrown down in the market place; he is there still.'	3 And after he had gone, returning, he reported to him that one of the sons of Israel, with his throat cut, was lying in the street. And immediately, he leapt from his place reclining at table, left behind his dinner, and went forth with fasting to the body.
4 I sprang up at once, left my meal untouched, took the man from the market place and laid him in one ofmy rooms, waiting until sunset to bury him.	4 And taking it up, he carried it in secret to his house, so that, after the sun had set, he might bury him cautiously.
5 I came in again and washed myself and ate my bread in sorrow,	5 And after he had hidden the body, he chewed his bread with mourning and fear,
6 remembering the words of the prophet Amos concerning Bethel: I shal turn your festivals into mourningand all your singing into lamentation.	6 remembering the word that the Lord spoke through the prophet Amos: “Your feast days shall be turned into lamentation and mourning.”
7 And I wept. When the sun was down, I went and dug a grave and buried him.	7 Truly, when the sun had set, he went out, and he buried him.
8 My neighbours laughed and said, 'See! He is not afraid any more.' (You must remember that a pricehad been set on my head earlier for this very thing.) 'Once before he had to flee, yet here he is, beginning tobury the dead again.'	8 Yet all his neighbors argued with him, saying: “Now, an order was given to execute you because of this matter, and you barely escaped a death sentence, and again you are burying the dead?”
9 That night I took a bath; then I went into the courtyard and lay down by the courtyard wall. Since it washot I left my face uncovered.	9 But Tobit, fearing God more than the king, stole away the bodies of the slain and concealed them in his house, and in the middle of the night, he buried them.
10 I did not know that there were sparrows in the wal above my head; their hot droppings fel into myeyes. This caused white spots to form, which I went to have treated by the doctors. But the more ointments theytried me with, the more the spots blinded me, and in the end, I became completely blind. I remained without sightfour years; al my brothers were distressed on my behalf; and Ahikar provided for my upkeep for two years, untilhe left for Elymais.	10 But it happened one day, being tired from burying the dead, he came into his house, and he threw himself down next to the wall, and he slept.
11 My wife Anna then undertook woman's work; she would spin wool and take cloth to weave;	11 And, as he was sleeping, warm droppings from a swallow’s nest fell upon his eyes, and he was made blind.
12 she used to deliver whatever had been ordered from her and then receive payment. Now on theseventh day of the month of Dystros, she finished a piece of work and delivered it to her customers. They paidher al that was due, and into the bargain presented her with a kid for a meal.	12 And so the Lord permitted this trial to befall him, in order that an example might be given to posterity of his patience, which is even like that of holy Job.
13 When the kid came into my house, it began to bleat. I called to my wife and said, 'Where does thiscreature come from? Suppose it has been stolen! Let the owners have it back; we have no right to eat stolengoods'.	13 For, even from his infancy, he had always feared God and kept his commandments, so he was not discouraged before God because of the scourge of blindness that had befallen him.
14 She said, 'No, it was a present given me over and above my wages.' I did not believe her, and told herto give it back to the owners (I felt deeply ashamed of her). To which, she replied, 'What about your own alms?What about your own good works? Everyone knows what return you have had for them.'	14 But he remained immoveable in the fear of God, giving thanks to God all the days of his life.
	15 For just as kings have mocked blessed Job, so also his relatives and acquaintances ridiculed his life, saying:
	16 “Where is your hope, on behalf of which you gave alms and buried the dead?”
	17 In truth, Tobit corrected them, saying: “Do not speak in this way,
	18 for we are the sons of the holy ones, and we look forward to that life which God will give to those who never change in their faith before him.”
	19 In truth, his wife Anna went out to weaving work daily, and she brought back the provisions that she was able to obtain by the labor of her hands.
	20 Whereupon it happened that, having received a young goat, she brought it home.
	21 When her husband heard the sound of its bleating, he said, “Look, so that it might not be stolen, return it to its owners, for it is not lawful for us either to eat, or to touch, anything stolen.”
	22 At this, his wife, being angry, answered, “Clearly, your hope has become vanity, and the manner of your almsgiving has become apparent.”
	23 And with these and other similar such words, she reproached him.