Tobit 14

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 The end of the hymns of Tobit. Tobit died when he was a hundred and twelve years old and receivedan honourable burial in Nineveh.	1 Tobit died peacefully at the age of a hundred and twelve, and received an honorable burial in Nineveh.
2 He had been sixty-two when he went blind; and after his cure, he lived in comfort, practisingalmsgiving and continual y praising God and extol ing his greatness.	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 When he was at the point of death he summoned his son Tobias and gave him these instructions,	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 'My son, take your children and hurry away to Media, since I believe the word of God pronounced overNineveh by Nahum. Everything wil come true, everything happen that the emissaries of God, the prophets ofIsrael, have predicted against Assyria and Nineveh; not one of their words wil prove empty. It will al take placein due time. You wil be safer in Media than in Assyria or in Babylonia. Since I for my part know and believe thateverything God has said wil come true; so it will be, and not a word of the prophecies will fail. 'A census will betaken of our brothers living in the land of Israel and they wil be exiled far from their own fair country. The entireterritory of Israel wil become a desert, and Samaria and Jerusalem wil become a desert, and the house of God,for a time, wil be laid waste and burnt.	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 Then once again God wil take pity on them and bring them back to the land of Israel. They wil rebuildhis house, although it wil be less beautiful than the first, until the time is fulfil ed. But after this, al will return fromcaptivity and rebuild Jerusalem in al her glory, and the house of God wil be rebuilt within her as the prophets of Israel have foretold.	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 And all the people of the whole earth wil be converted and wil reverence God with all sincerity. Al willrenounce their false gods who have led them astray into error,	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 and will bless the God of ages in uprightness. Al the Israelites spared in those days wil rememberGod in sincerity of heart. They wil come and gather in Jerusalem and thereafter dwel securely in the land ofAbraham, which will be theirs. And those who sincerely love God wil rejoice. And those who commit sin andwickedness will vanish from the earth.	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 now, my children, I lay this duty on you; serve God sincerely, and do what is pleasing to him. Andlay on your children the obligation to behave uprightly, to give alms, to keep God in mind and to bless his namealways, sincerely and with all their might.	8 "Now, as for you, my son, depart from Nineveh; do not remain here.
9 'So then, my son, leave Nineveh, do not stay here.	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 As soon as you have buried your mother next to me, go the same day, whenever it may be, and donot linger in this country where I see wickedness and perfidy unashamedly triumphant. Consider, my child, althe things done by Nadab to his foster-father Ahikar. Was not Ahikar forced to go underground, though still aliving man? But God made the criminal pay for his outrage before his victim's eyes, since Ahikar came back tothe light of day, while Nadab went down to everlasting darkness in punishment for plotting against Ahikar's life.Because of his good works Ahikar escaped the deadly snare Nadab had laid for him, and Nadab fel into it to hisown ruin.	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 So, my children, you see what comes of almsgiving, and what wickedness leads to, I mean to death.But now breath fails me.' They laid him back on his bed; he died and was buried with honour.	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 When his mother died, Tobias buried her beside his father. Then he left for Media with his wife andchildren. He lived in Ecbatana with Raguel, his father-in-law.	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 He treated the ageing parents of his wife with every care and respect, and later buried them inEcbatana in Media. Tobias inherited the patrimony of Raguel besides that of his father Tobit.	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 Much honoured, he lived to the age of a hundred and seventeen years.	14 He died at the venerable age of a hundred and seventeen.
15 Before he died he witnessed the ruin of Nineveh. He saw the Ninevites taken prisoner and deportedto Media by Cyaxares king of Media. He blessed God for everything he inflicted on the Ninevites and Assyrians.Before his death he had the opportunity of rejoicing over the fate of Nineveh, and he blessed the Lord God forever and ever. Amen.	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.