16 And they were both troubled, and fell upon their faces; for they were afraid. 17 And he said to them, “Don’t be afraid. You will all have peace; but bless God forever. 18 For I came not of any favour of my own, but by the will of your God. Therefore bless him forever. 19 All these days I appeared to you. I didn’t eat or drink, but you all saw a vision. 20 Now give God thanks, because I ascend to him who sent me. Write in a book all the things which have been done.” 21 Then they rose up, and saw him no more. 22 They confessed the great and wonderful works of God, and how the angel of the Lord had appeared to them.
13
1 And Tobit wrote a prayer for rejoicing, and said,
“Blessed is God who lives forever!
Blessed is his kingdom!
2 For he scourges, and shows mercy.
He leads down to the grave,† and brings up again.
There is no one who will escape his hand.
3 Give thanks to him before the Gentiles, all you children of Israel!
For he has scattered us amongst them.
4 Declare his greatness, there.
Extol him before all the living,
because he is our Lord,
and God is our Father forever.
5 He will scourge us for our iniquities, and will again show mercy,
and will gather us out of all the nations amongst whom you are all scattered.
6 If you turn to him with your whole heart and with your whole soul,
to do truth before him,
then he will turn to you,
and won’t hide his face from you.
See what he will do with you.
Give him thanks with your whole mouth.
Bless the Lord of righteousness.
Exalt the everlasting King.
I give him thanks in the land of my captivity,
and show his strength and majesty to a nation of sinners.
Turn, you sinners, and do righteousness before him.
Who can tell if he will accept you and have mercy on you?
7 I exalt my God.
My soul exalts the King of heaven,
and rejoices in his greatness.
8 Let all men speak,
and let them give him thanks in Jerusalem.
9 O Jerusalem, the holy city,
he will scourge you for the works of your sons,
and will again have mercy on the sons of the righteous.
10 Give thanks to the Lord with goodness,
and bless the everlasting King,
that his tabernacle may be built in you again with joy,
and that he may make glad in you those who are captives,
and love in you forever those who are miserable.
11 Many nations will come from afar to the name of the Lord God
with gifts in their hands, even gifts to the King of heaven.
Generations of generations will praise you,
and sing songs of rejoicing.
12 All those who hate you are cursed.
All those who love you forever will be blessed.
13 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for the sons of the righteous;
for they will be gathered together and will bless the Lord of the righteous.
14 Oh blessed are those who love you.
They will rejoice for your peace.
Blessed are all those who mourned for all your scourges;
because they will rejoice for you when they have seen all your glory.
They will be made glad forever.
15 Let my soul bless God the great King.
16 For Jerusalem will be built with sapphires, emeralds, and precious stones;
your walls and towers and battlements with pure gold.
17 The streets of Jerusalem will be paved with beryl, carbuncle, and stones of Ophir.
18 All her streets will say, “Hallelujah!”
and give praise, saying, “Blessed be God, who has exalted you forever!”
14
1 Then Tobit finished giving thanks. 2 He was fifty-eight years old when he lost his sight. After eight years, he received it again. He gave alms and he feared the Lord God more and more, and gave thanks to him.
3 Now he grew very old; and he called his son with the six sons of his son, and said to him, “My child, take your sons. Behold, I have grown old, and am ready to depart out of this life. 4 Go into Media, my child, for I surely believe all the things which Jonah the prophet spoke of Nineveh, that it will be overthrown, but in Media there will rather be peace for a season. Our kindred will be scattered in the earth from the good land. Jerusalem will be desolate, and the house of God in it will be burnt up, and will be desolate for a time. 5 God will again have mercy on them, and bring them back into the land, and they will build the house, but not like to the former house, until the times of that age are fulfilled. Afterward they will return from the places of their captivity, and build up Jerusalem with honour. The house of God will be built in it forever with a glorious building, even as the prophets spoke concerning it. 6 And all the nations will turn to fear the Lord God truly, and will bury their idols. 7 All the nations will bless the Lord, and his people will give thanks to God, and the Lord will exalt his people; and all those who love the Lord God in truth and righteousness will rejoice, showing mercy to our kindred. 8 And now, my child, depart from Nineveh, because those things which the prophet Jonah spoke will surely come to pass. 9 But you must keep the law and the ordinances, and show yourself merciful and righteous, that it may be well with you. 10 Bury me decently, and your mother with me. Don’t stay at Nineveh. See, my child, what Aman did to Achiacharus who nourished him, how out of light he brought him into darkness, and all the recompense that he made him. Achiacharus was saved, but the other had his recompense, and he went down into darkness. Manasses gave alms, and escaped the snare of death which he set for him; but Aman fell into the snare, and perished. 11 And now, my children, consider what alms does, and how righteousness delivers.”
While he was saying these things, he gave up the ghost in the bed; but he was one hundred and fifty eight years old. Tobias buried him magnificently. 12 When Anna died, he buried her with his father. But Tobias departed with his wife and his sons to Ecbatana to Raguel his father-in-law, 13 and he grew old in honour, and he buried his father-in-law and mother-in-law magnificently, and he inherited their possessions, and his father Tobit’s. 14 He died at Ecbatana of Media, being one hundred and twenty seven years old. 15 Before he died, he heard of the destruction of Nineveh, which Nebuchadnezzar and Ahasuerus took captive. Before his death, he rejoiced over Nineveh.
† 1:2: That is, Shalmaneser. Compare 2 Kings 17:3, 23.
‡ 1:13: Gr. beauty.
§ 1:15: Gr. his highways were troubled.
† 1:17: Some ancient authorities read behind.
‡ 1:21: That is, Esar-haddon, and so in verse 22.
- 2:6: Amos 8:10
† 2:10: Some authorities read until he went.
‡ 2:14: Gr. all things are known with you.
† 3:8: Gr. demon.
‡ 3:10: Gr. Hades.
§ 3:17: Gr. demon.
† 4:17: Or, tomb
† 6:16: Gr. if.
† 7:18: Many ancient authorities read joy.
† 10:2: Many ancient authorities read “Are they perchance put to shame?”
‡ 10:5: Some authorities read “Woe is me.”
† 13:2: Gr. Hades.
Judith
Judith is recognised as Deuterocanonical Scripture by the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Russian Orthodox Churches.
1
1 In the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who reigned over the Assyrians in Nineveh, the great city, in the days of Arphaxad, who reigned over the Medes in Ecbatana, 2 and built around Ecbatana walls of hewn stones three cubits broad and six cubits long, and made the height of the wall seventy cubits, and its breadth fifty cubits, 3 and set its towers at its gates one hundred cubits high, and its breadth in the foundation was sixty cubits, 4 and made its gates, even gates that were raised to the height of seventy cubits, and their breadth forty cubits, for his mighty army to go out of, and the setting in array of his footmen— 5 in those days King Nebuchadnezzar made war with King Arphaxad in the great plain. This plain is on the borders of Ragau. 6 There came to meet him all that lived in the hill country, and all that lived by Euphrates, Tigris, and Hydaspes, and in the plain of Arioch the king of the Elymaeans. Many nations of the sons of Chelod assembled themselves to the battle.
7 And Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians sent to all who lived in Persia, and to all who lived westward, to those who lived in Cilicia, Damascus, Libanus, Antilibanus, and to all who lived along the sea coast, 8 and to those amongst the nations that were of Carmel and Gilead, and to the higher Galilee and the great plain of Esdraelon, 9 and to all who were in Samaria and its cities, and beyond Jordan to Jerusalem, Betane, Chellus, Kadesh, the river of Egypt, Tahpanhes, Rameses, and all the land of Goshen, 10 until you come above Tanis and Memphis, and to all that lived in Egypt, until you come to the borders of Ethiopia. 11 All those who lived in all the land made light of the commandment of Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians, and didn’t go with him to the war; for they were not afraid of him,
