Tobit 7-9

New American Bible (Revised Edition)

V. Marriage and Healing of Sarah

Chapter 7

At the House of Raguel. ¹ When they entered Ecbatana, Tobiah said, “Brother Azariah, bring me straight to the house of our kinsman Raguel.” So he did, and they came to the house of Raguel, whom they found seated by his courtyard gate. They greeted him first, and he answered, “Many greetings to you, brothers! Welcome! You have come in peace! Now enter in peace!” And he brought them into his house. ² He said to his wife Edna, “How this young man resembles Tobit, the son of my uncle!” ³ So Edna asked them, saying, “Where are you from, brothers?” They answered, “We are descendants of Naphtali, now captives in Nineveh.” ⁴ She said to them, “Do you know our kinsman Tobit?” They answered her, “Indeed, we do know him!” She asked, “Is he well?” ⁵ They answered, “Yes, he is alive and well.” Then Tobiah said, “He is my father!” ⁶ Raguel jumped up, kissed him, and broke into tears. ⁷ Then, finding words, he said, “A blessing upon you, son! You are the son of a good and noble father. What a terrible misfortune that a man so righteous and charitable has been afflicted with blindness!” He embraced his kinsman Tobiah and continued to weep. ⁸ His wife Edna also wept for Tobit; and their daughter Sarah also began to weep.

Marriage of Tobiah and Sarah. ⁹ Afterward, Raguel slaughtered a ram from the flock and gave them a warm reception. When they had washed, bathed, and reclined to eat and drink, Tobiah said to Raphael, “Brother Azariah, ask Raguel to give me my kinswoman Sarah.” ¹⁰ Raguel overheard the words; so he said to the young man: “Eat and drink and be merry tonight, for no man has a greater right to marry my daughter Sarah than you, brother. Besides, not even I have the right to give her to anyone but you, because you are my closest relative. However, son, I must frankly tell you the truth. ¹¹ I have given her in marriage to seven husbands who were kinsmen of ours, and all died on the very night they approached her. But now, son, eat and drink. The Lord will look after you both.” Tobiah answered, “I will neither eat nor drink anything here until you settle what concerns me.”

Raguel said to him: “I will do it. She is yours as decreed by the Book of Moses. It has been decided in heaven that she be given to you! Take your kinswoman; from now on you are her brother, and she is your sister.^[a] She is given to you today and here ever after. May the Lord of heaven prosper you both tonight, son, and grant you mercy and peace.” ¹² Then Raguel called his daughter Sarah, and she came to him. He took her by the hand and gave her to Tobiah with these words: “Take her according to the law. According to the decree written in the Book of Moses I give her to be your wife. Take her and bring her safely to your father. And may the God of heaven grant both of you a safe journey in peace!”^{(A) 13} He then called her mother and told her to bring writing materials. He wrote out a copy of a marriage contract stating that he gave Sarah to Tobiah as his wife as decreed by the law of Moses. Her mother brought the material, and he drew up the contract, to which he affixed his seal.^(B)

¹⁴ Afterward they began to eat and drink. ¹⁵ Later Raguel called his wife Edna and said, “My sister, prepare the other bedroom and bring Sarah there.” ¹⁶ She went, made the bed in the room, as he had told her, and brought Sarah there. After she had cried over her, she wiped away her tears and said, ¹⁷ “Take courage, my daughter! May the Lord of heaven grant you joy in place of your grief! Courage, my daughter!” Then she left.

Chapter 8

Expulsion of the Demon. ¹ When they had finished eating and drinking, they wanted to retire. So they brought the young man out and led him to the bedroom. ² Tobiah, mindful of Raphael’s instructions, took the fish’s liver and heart from the bag where he had them, and put them on the embers intended for incense.^{[b] 3} The odor of the fish repulsed the demon, and it fled to the upper regions of Egypt;^[c] Raphael went in pursuit of it and there bound it hand and foot. Then Raphael returned immediately.

⁴ When Sarah’s parents left the bedroom and closed the door behind them, Tobiah rose from bed and said to his wife, “My sister, come, let us pray and beg our Lord to grant us mercy and protection.” ⁵ She got up, and they started to pray and beg that they might be protected. He began with these words:

⁸ They said together, “Amen, amen!” ⁹ Then they went to bed for the night.

But Raguel got up and summoned his servants. They went out with him and dug a grave, ¹⁰ for he said, “Perhaps Tobiah will die; then we would be a laughingstock and an object of mockery.” ¹¹ When they had finished digging the grave, Raguel went back into the house and called his wife, ¹² saying, “Send one of the maids in to see whether he is alive. If he has died, let us bury him without anyone knowing about it.” ¹³ They sent the maid, lit a lamp, and opened the bedroom door; she went in and found them sleeping together. ¹⁴ The maid came out and told them that Tobiah was alive, and that nothing was wrong. ¹⁵ Then they praised the God of heaven in these words:

¹⁸ Then Raguel told his servants to fill in the grave before dawn.

Wedding Feast. ¹⁹ He asked his wife to bake many loaves of bread; he himself went out to the herd and brought two steers and four rams, which he ordered to be slaughtered. So they began to prepare the feast. ²⁰ He summoned Tobiah and said to him, “For fourteen days^[d] you shall not stir from here, but shall remain here eating and drinking with me; you shall bring joy to my daughter’s afflicted spirit. ²¹ Now take half of what I own here; go back in good health to your father. The other half will be yours when I and my wife die. Take courage, son! I am your father, and Edna is your mother; we belong to you and to your sister both now and forever. So take courage, son!”

Chapter 9

The Money Recovered. ¹ Then Tobiah called Raphael and said to him: ² “Brother Azariah, take along with you from here four servants and two camels and travel to Rages.^[e] Go to Gabael’s house and give him this bond. Get the money and then bring him along with you to the wedding celebration. ³ For you know that my father will be counting the days. If I should delay even by a single day, I would cause him intense grief. ⁴ You have witnessed the oath that Raguel has sworn; I cannot violate his oath.” ⁵ So Raphael, together with the four servants and two camels, traveled to Rages in Media, where they stayed at Gabael’s house. Raphael gave Gabael his bond and told him about Tobit’s son Tobiah, that he had married and was inviting him to the wedding celebration. Gabael got up and counted out for him the moneybags with their seals, and they packed them on the camels.

⁶ The following morning they both got an early start and traveled to the wedding celebration. When they entered Raguel’s house, they found Tobiah reclining at table. He jumped up and greeted Gabael, who wept and blessed him, exclaiming: “Good and noble child, son of a good and noble, righteous and charitable man, may the Lord bestow a heavenly blessing on you and on your wife, and on your wife’s father and mother. Blessed be God, because I have seen the very image of my cousin Tobit!”