Tobit 8

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 When they had finished eating and drinking and it seemed time to go to bed, the young man was takenfrom the dining room to the bedroom.	1 In truth, after they had dined, they introduced the young man to her.
2 Tobias remembered Raphael's advice; he went to his bag, took the fish's heart and liver out of it and putsome on the burning incense.	2 And so, Tobias, remembering the word of the Angel, took part of the liver from his bag, and he placed it over the live coals.
3 The reek of the fish distressed the demon, who fled through the air to Egypt. Raphael pursued himthere, shackled him and strangled him forthwith.	3 Then the Angel Raphael caught the demon, and bound him in the desert of upper Egypt.
4 The parents meanwhile had gone out and shut the door behind them. Tobias rose from the bed, andsaid to Sarah, 'Get up, my sister! You and I must pray and petition our Lord to win his grace and his protection.'	4 Then Tobias exhorted the virgin, and he said to her: “Sarah, get up and let us pray to God this day, and tomorrow, and the following day. For, during these three nights, we are being joined to God. And then, when the third night has passed, we ourselves will be joined together.
5 She stood up, and they began praying for protection, and this was how he began: You are blessed, OGod of our fathers; blessed too is your name for ever and ever. Let the heavens bless you and al things youhave made for evermore.	5 For certainly, we are the children of the saints, and we must not be joined together in such a manner as the heathens, who are ignorant of God.”
6 You it was who created Adam, you who created Eve his wife to be his help and support; and from thesetwo the human race was born. You it was who said, 'It is not right that the man should be alone; let us make hima helper like him.'	6 And so, rising up together, they both prayed earnestly, at the same time, that health might be given to them.
7 And so I take my sister not for any lustful motive, but I do it in singleness of heart. Be kind enough tohave pity on her and on me and bring us to old age together.	7 And Tobias said: “Lord, the God of our fathers, may the heavens and the earth bless you, and the sea, and the fountains, and the rivers, and all your creatures that are in them.
8 And together they said, 'Amen, Amen,'	8 You formed Adam from the mud of the earth, and you gave Eve to him as a helper.
9 and lay down for the night. But Raguel rose and cal ed his servants, who came and helped him dig agrave.	9 And now, O Lord, you know that I take my sister in conjugal union, not by reason of worldly pleasure, but solely for the love of posterity, in which your name may be blessed forever and ever.”
10 He had thought, 'Heaven grant he does not die! We should be overwhelmed with ridicule and shame.'	10 Sarah likewise said, “Be merciful to us, O Lord, be merciful to us. And let us both grow old together in health.”
11 When the grave was ready, Raguel went back to the house, called his wife	11 And it happened, about the time of the rooster’s crowing, that Raguel ordered his servants to be summoned, and they went out with him together to dig a grave.
12 and said, 'Will you send a maid to the room to see if Tobias is stil alive? For if he is dead, we may beable to bury him without anyone else knowing.'	12 For he said, “Lest perhaps, in the same way, it may have happened to him, as it did also to the other seven men who approached her.”
13 They sent the maid, lit the lamp, opened the door and the maid went in. She found the two fast asleeptogether;	13 And when they had prepared the pit, Raguel returned to his wife, and he said to her,
14 she came out again and whispered, 'He is not dead; al is wel .'	14 “Send one of your maids, and let her see if he is dead, so that I may bury him before the dawn of day.”
15 Then Raguel blessed the God of heaven with these words: You are blessed, my God, with everyblessing that is pure; may you be blessed for evermore!	15 And so, she sent one of her maidservants, who entered the bedroom and discovered them safe and unharmed, sleeping both together.
16 You are blessed for having made me glad. What I feared has not happened, instead you have shownus your boundless mercy.	16 And returning, she reported the good news. And they blessed the Lord: Raguel, especially, and his wife Anna.
17 You are blessed for taking pity on this only son, this only daughter. Grant them, Master, your mercyand your protection; let them live out their lives in happiness and in mercy.	17 And they said: “We bless you, Lord God of Israel, because it has not happened in the way that we thought it might.
18 And he made his servants fil the grave in before dawn broke.	18 For you have acted in your mercy toward us, and you have excluded from us the enemy who pursued us.
19 He told his wife to make an ovenful of bread; he went to his flock, brought back two oxen and foursheep and gave orders for them to be cooked; and preparations began.	19 Moreover, you have had compassion on two only children. Make them, O Lord, able to bless you more fully and to offer you a sacrifice of your praise and of their health, so that all peoples everywhere may know that you alone are God in all the earth.”
20 He called Tobias and said, 'I wil not hear of your leaving here for a fortnight. You are to stay whereyou are, eating and drinking, with me. You wil make my daughter happy again after al her troubles.	20 And immediately Raguel instructed his servants to refill the pit, which they had made, before daylight.
21 After that, take away a half of al I have, and take her safe and sound back to your father. When mywife and I are dead you shall have the other half. Courage, my boy! I am your father, and Edna is your mother.We are your parents in future, as we are your sister's. Courage, my son!'	21 And then he told his wife to make ready a feast, and to prepare all the provisions that are necessary for those who undertake a journey.
	22 Likewise, he caused two fat cows and four rams to be killed, and a banquet to be prepared for all his neighbors and every one of his friends.
	23 And Raguel pleaded with Tobias to delay with him for two weeks.
	24 Moreover, of all the things that Raguel possessed, he gave one half part to Tobias, and he made a writing, so that the half that remained should also pass into the ownership of Tobias, after their deaths.