Tobit 14

CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 And the sermon of Tobit was completed. And after Tobit received his sight, he lived forty-two years, and he saw the sons of his grandchildren.	1 Tobit died peacefully at the age of a hundred and twelve, and received an honorable burial in Nineveh.
2 And so, having completed one hundred and two years, he was buried honorably at Nineveh.	2 He was sixty-two years old when he lost his eyesight, and after he recovered it he lived in prosperity, giving alms and continually blessing God and praising the divine Majesty.
3 For he was fifty-six years old, when he lost the light of his eyes, and he was sixty years old, when he truly received it again.	3 Just before he died, he called his son Tobiah and Tobiah's seven sons, and gave him this command: "Son, take your children
4 And, in truth, the remainder of his life was in gladness. And so, with the good accomplishment of the fear of God, he departed in peace.	4 and flee into Media, for I believe God's word which was spoken by Nahum against Nineveh. It shall all happen, and shall overtake Assyria and Nineveh; indeed, whatever was said by Israel's prophets, whom God commissioned, shall occur. Not one of all the oracles shall remain unfulfilled, but everything shall take place in the time appointed for it. So it will be safer in Media than in Assyria or Babylon. For I know and believe that whatever God has spoken will be accomplished. It shall happen, and not a single word of the prophecies shall prove false. "As for our kinsmen who dwell in Israel, they shall all be scattered and led away into exile from the Good Land. The entire country of Israel shall become desolate; even Samaria and Jerusalem shall become desolate! God's temple there shall be burnt to the ground and shall be desolate for a while.
5 But, in the hour of his death, he called to himself his son Tobias, along with his sons, the seven youths who were his grandsons, and he said to them:	5 But God will again have mercy on them and bring them back to the land of Israel. They shall rebuild the temple, but it will not be like the first one, until the era when the appointed times shall be completed. Afterward all of them shall return from their exile, and they shall rebuild Jerusalem with splendor. In her the temple of God shall also be rebuilt; yes, it will be rebuilt for all generations to come, just as the prophets of Israel said of her.
6 “Nineveh will pass away soon. For the word of the Lord goes forward, and our brothers, who have been dispersed away from the land of Israel, shall return to it.	6 All the nations of the world shall be converted and shall offer God true worship; all shall abandon their idols which have deceitfully led them into error,
7 Thus its deserted land will be entirely filled again. And the house of God, which was burned like incense within it, will be rebuilt again. And all those who fear God will return there.	7 and shall bless the God of the ages in righteousness. Because all the Israelites who are to be saved in those days will truly be mindful of God, they shall be gathered together and go to Jerusalem; in security shall they dwell forever in the land of Abraham, which will be given over to them. Those who sincerely love God shall rejoice, but those who become guilty of sin shall completely disappear from the land.
8 And the Gentiles will relinquish their idols, and they will enter into Jerusalem, and they will dwell in it.	8 "Now, as for you, my son, depart from Nineveh; do not remain here.
9 And all the kings of the earth will rejoice in it, adoring the King of Israel.	9 "Now, children, I give you this command: serve God faithfully and do what is right before him; you must tell your children to do what is upright and to give alms, to be mindful of God and at all times to bless his name sincerely and with all their strength.
10 Therefore, my sons, listen to your father. Serve the Lord in truth, and seek to do the things that please him.	10 The day you bury your mother next to me, do not even stay overnight within the confines of the city. For I see that people here shamelessly commit all sorts of wickedness and treachery. Think, my son, of all that Nadab did to Ahiqar, the very one who brought him up: Ahiqar went down alive into the earth! Yet God made Nadab's disgraceful crime rebound against him. Ahiqar came out again into the light, but Nadab went into the everlasting darkness, for he had tried to kill Ahiqar. Because Ahiqar had given alms to me, he escaped from the deadly trap Nadab had set for him. But Nadab himself fell into the deadly trap, and it destroyed him.
11 And command your sons, so that they may accomplish justice and almsgiving, and so that they may be mindful of God and may bless him at all times, in truth and with all their strength.	11 So, my children, note well what almsgiving does, and also what wickedness does--it kills! But now my spirit is about to leave me."
12 And now, sons, listen to me, and do not remain here. But, on whatever day you will bury your mother near me in one sepulcher, from that time, direct your steps to leave this place.	12 They placed him on his bed and he died; and he received an honorable burial. When Tobiah's mother died, he buried her next to his father. He then departed with his wife and children for Media, where he settled in Ecbatana with his father-in-law Raguel.
13 For I see that its iniquity will bring about its end.”	13 He took respectful care of his aging father-in-law and mother-in-law; and he buried them at Ecbatana in Media. Then he inherited Raguel's estate as well as that of his father Tobit.
14 And it happened that, after the death of his mother, Tobias withdrew from Nineveh, with his wife, and sons, and sons of sons, and he was returned to his father-in-law.	14 He died at the venerable age of a hundred and seventeen.
15 And he found them unharmed in a good old age. And he took care of them, and he closed their eyes. And all the inheritance of the house of Raguel passed to him. And he saw the sons of his sons to the fifth generation.	15 But before he died, he heard of the destruction of Nineveh and saw its effects. He witnessed the exile of the city's inhabitants when Cyaxares, king of Media, led them captive into Media. Tobiah praised God for all that he had done against the citizens of Nineveh and Assyria. Before dying he rejoiced over Nineveh's destruction, and he blessed the Lord God forever and ever. Amen.
16 And, having completed ninety-nine years in the fear of the Lord, with joy, they buried him.
17 But all his family and all his lineage continued with a good life and in holy conversation, so that they were acceptable both to God and to men, as well as to everyone who dwelt in the land.