Tobit 6

¹ And so Tobias continued on, and the dog was following him, and he stayed at the first stopping point, near the river Tigris.

² And he went out to wash his feet, and behold, an immense fish came out to devour him.

³ And Tobias, being frightened of it, cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Sir, it is attacking me!”

⁴ And the Angel said to him, “Catch it by the gills, and draw it to you.” And when he had done so, he pulled it onto dry land, and it began to thrash before his feet.

⁵ Then the Angel said to him: “Disembowel this fish, and put aside his heart, and his gall, and his liver for yourself. For these things are necessary as useful medicines.”

⁶ And when he had done so, he roasted its flesh, and they took it with them on the way. The rest they salted, so that it might be sufficient for them, until they would arrive at Rages, a city of the Medes.

⁷ Then Tobias questioned the Angel, and he said to him, “I implore you, brother Azariah, to tell me what remedies these things hold, which you have told me to retain from the fish?”

⁸ And the Angel, answering, said to him: “If you put a little piece of its heart on burning coals, its smoke will drive away all kind of demons, whether from a man or from a woman, so that they will no longer approach them.

⁹ And the gall is useful for anointing the eyes, in which there may be a white speck, and they will be cured.”

¹⁰ And Tobias said to him, “Where do you prefer that we stay?”

¹¹ And the Angel, responding, said: “Here is one named Raguel, a man closely related to you from your tribe, and he has a daughter named Sarah, but he has no other male or female, except her.

¹² All his livelihood is dependent upon you, and you ought to take her to yourself in marriage.

¹³ Therefore, ask for her from her father, and he will give her to you as wife.”

¹⁴ Then Tobias responded, and he said: “I hear that she has been given to seven husbands, and they passed away. But I have even heard this: that a demon killed them.

¹⁵ Therefore, I am afraid, lest this may happen to me also. And since I am the only child of my parents, I might send their old age with sorrow to the grave.”

¹⁶ Then the Angel Raphael said to him: “Listen to me, and I will reveal to you who they are, over whom the demon can prevail.

¹⁷ For example, those who receive marriage in such manner as to exclude God from themselves and from their mind, and in such a manner as to empty themselves to their lust, like the horse and mule, which have no understanding, over them the demon has power.

¹⁸ But you, when you will have accepted her, enter the bedroom and for three days keep yourself continent from her, and empty yourself to nothing other than prayers with her.

¹⁹ Moreover, on that night, burn the liver of the fish like incense, and the demon will be put to flight.

²⁰ In truth, on the second night, you will become ready to receive a physical union like that of the holy Patriarchs.

²¹ And then, on the third night, you will obtain a blessing, so that healthy children may be procreated from you both.

²² And so, the third night having been accomplished, you will receive the virgin with the fear of the Lord, led more by love of children than by physical desire, so that, as the offspring of Abraham, you will then obtain a blessing in children.