Arrival at Home of Raguel

7 When they reached Ecbat′ana and arrived at the house of Rag′uel, Sarah met them and greeted them. They returned her greeting, and she brought them into the house. ² Then Rag′uel said to his wife Edna, “How much the young man resembles my cousin Tobit!” ³ And Rag′uel asked them, “Where are you from, brethren?” They answered him, “We belong to the sons of Naph′tali, who are captives in Nin′eveh.” ⁴ So he said to them, “Do you know our brother Tobit?” And they said, “Yes, we do.” And he asked them, “Is he in good health?” ⁵ They replied, “He is alive and in good health.” And Tobi′as said, “He is my father.” ⁶ Then Rag′uel sprang up and kissed him and wept. ⁷ And he blessed him and exclaimed, “Son of that good and noble man!” When he heard that Tobit had lost his sight, he was stricken with grief and wept. ⁸ And his wife Edna and his daughter Sarah wept. They received them very warmly; and they killed a ram from the flock and set large servings of food before them.

Marriage of Tobias and Sarah

Then Tobi′as said to Raph′ael, “Brother Azari′as, speak of those things which you talked about on the journey, and let the matter be settled.” ⁹ So he communicated the proposal to Rag′uel. And Rag′uel said to Tobi′as, “Eat, drink, and be merry; ¹⁰ for it is your right to take my child. But let me explain the true situation to you. ¹¹ I have given my daughter to seven husbands, and when each came to her he died in the night. But for the present be merry.” And Tobi′as said, “I will eat nothing here until you make a binding agreement with me.” ¹² So Rag′uel said, “Take her right now, in accordance with the law. You are her relative, and she is yours. The merciful God will guide you both for the best.” ¹³ Then he called his daughter Sarah, and taking her by the hand he gave her to Tobi′as to be his wife, saying, “Here she is; take her according to the law of Moses, and take her with you to your father.” And he blessed them.^{[a] 14} Next he called his wife Edna, and took a scroll and wrote out the contract; and they set their seals to it. ¹⁵ Then they began to eat.

¹⁶ And Rag′uel called his wife Edna and said to her, “Sister, make up the other room, and take her into it.” ¹⁷ So she did as he said, and took her there; and the girl^[b] began to weep. But the mother^[c] comforted her daughter in her tears, and said to her, ¹⁸ “Be brave, my child; the Lord of heaven and earth grant you joy^[d] in place of this sorrow of yours. Be brave, my daughter.”

Tobias Routs the Demon

8 When they had finished eating, they escorted Tobi′as in to her. ² As he went he remembered the words of Raph′ael, and he took the live ashes of incense and put the heart and liver of the fish upon them and made a smoke. ³ And when the demon smelled the odor he fled to the remotest parts of Egypt, and the angel bound him. ⁴ When the door was shut and the two were alone, Tobi′as got up from the bed and said, “Sister, get up, and let us pray that the Lord may have mercy upon us.”^{[e] 5} And Tobi′as began to pray,

⁷ And now, O Lord, I am not taking this sister of mine because of lust, but with sincerity. Grant that I may find mercy and may grow old together with her.” ⁸ And she said with him, “Amen.” ⁹ Then they both went to sleep for the night.

But Rag′uel arose and went and dug a grave, ¹⁰ with the thought, “Perhaps he too will die.” ¹¹ Then Rag′uel went into his house ¹² and said to his wife Edna, “Send one of the maids to see whether he is alive; and if he is not, let us bury him without any one knowing about it.” ¹³ So the maid opened the door and went in, and found them both asleep. ¹⁴ And she came out and told them that he was alive. ¹⁵ Then Rag′uel blessed God and said,

¹⁸ Then he ordered his servants to fill in the grave.

Wedding Feast

¹⁹ After this he gave a wedding feast for them which lasted fourteen days. ²⁰ And before the days of the feast were over, Rag′uel declared by oath to Tobi′as^[f] that he should not leave until the fourteen days of the wedding feast were ended, ²¹ that then he should take half of Rag′uel’s^[g] property and return in safety to his father, and that the rest would be his “when my wife and I die.”

The Money Recovered

9 Then Tobi′as called Raph′ael and said to him, ² “Brother Azari′as, take a servant and two camels with you and go to Gab′ael at Rages in Media and get the money for me; and bring him to the wedding feast. ³ For Rag′uel has sworn that I should not leave; ⁴ but my father is counting the days, and if I delay long he will be greatly distressed.” ⁵ So Raph′ael made the journey and stayed over night with Gab′ael. He gave him the receipt, and Gab′ael^[h] brought out the money bags with their seals intact and gave them to him. ⁶ In the morning they both got up early and came to the wedding feast. And Gab′ael blessed Tobi′as and his wife.^[i][j]

Anxiety of the Parents

10 Now his father Tobit was counting each day, and when the days for the journey had expired and they did not arrive, ² he said, “Is it possible that he has been detained?^[k] Or is it possible that Gab′ael has died and there is no one to give him the money?” ³ And he was greatly distressed. ⁴ And his wife said to him, “The lad has perished; his long delay proves it.” Then she began to mourn for him, and said, ⁵ “Am I not distressed, my child, that I let you go, you who are the light of my eyes?” ⁶ But Tobit said to her, “Be still and stop worrying; he is well.” ⁷ And she answered him, “Be still and stop deceiving me; my child has perished.” And she went out every day to the road by which they had left; she ate nothing in the daytime, and throughout the nights she never stopped mourning for her son Tobi′as, until the fourteen days of the wedding feast had expired which Rag′uel had sworn that he should spend there.

Tobias and Sarah Start for Home

At that time Tobi′as said to Rag′uel, “Send me back, for my father and mother have given up hope of ever seeing me again.” ⁸ But his father-in-law said to him, “Stay with me, and I will send messengers to your father, and they will inform him how things are with you.” ⁹ Tobi′as replied, “No, send me back to my father.” ¹⁰ So Rag′uel arose and gave him his wife Sarah and half of his property in slaves, cattle, and money. ¹¹ And when he had blessed them he sent them away, saying, “The God of heaven will prosper you, my children, before I die.” ¹² He said also to his daughter, “Honor your father-in-law and your mother-in-law; they are now your parents. Let me hear a good report of you.” And he kissed her. And Edna said to Tobi′as, “The Lord of heaven bring you back safely, dear brother, and grant me to see your children by my daughter Sarah, that I may rejoice before the Lord. See, I am entrusting my daughter to you; do nothing to grieve her.”

Homeward Journey

11 After this Tobi′as went on his way, praising God because he had made his journey a success. And he blessed Rag′uel and his wife Edna.

So he continued on his way until they came near to Nin′eveh. ² Then Raph′ael said to Tobi′as, “Are you not aware, brother, of how you left your father? ³ Let us run ahead of your wife and prepare the house. ⁴ And take the gall of the fish with you.” So they went their way, and the dog went along behind them.

⁵ Now Anna sat looking intently down the road for her son. ⁶ And she caught sight of him coming, and said to his father, “Behold, your son is coming, and so is the man who went with him!”

Tobit’s Sight Restored

⁷ Raph′ael said, “I know, Tobi′as, that your father will open his eyes. ⁸ You therefore must anoint his eyes with the gall; and when they smart he will rub them, and will cause the white films to fall away, and he will see you.”

⁹ Then Anna ran to meet them, and embraced her son, and said to him, “I have seen you, my child; now I am ready to die.” And they both wept. ¹⁰ Tobit started toward the door, and stumbled. But his son ran to him ¹¹ and took hold of his father, and he sprinkled the gall upon his father’s eyes, saying, “Be of good cheer, father.” ¹² And when his eyes began to smart he rubbed them, ¹³ and the white films scaled off from the corners of his eyes. ¹⁴ Then he saw his son and embraced him, and he wept and said, “Blessed art thou, O God, and blessed is thy name for ever, and blessed are all thy holy angels. ¹⁵ For thou hast afflicted me, but thou hast had mercy upon me; here I see my son Tobi′as!” And his son went in rejoicing, and he reported to his father the great things that had happened to him in Media.

¹⁶ Then Tobit went out to meet his daughter-in-law at the gate of Nin′eveh, rejoicing and praising God. Those who saw him as he went were amazed because he could see. ¹⁷ And Tobit gave thanks before them that God had been merciful to him. When Tobit came near to Sarah his daughter-in-law, he blessed her, saying, “Welcome, daughter! Blessed is God who has brought you to us, and blessed are your father and your mother.” So there was rejoicing among all his brethren in Nin′eveh. ¹⁸ Ahi′kar and his nephew Nadab^[l] came, ¹⁹ and Tobi′as’ marriage was celebrated for seven days with great festivity.

4 Therefore, my brethren, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

Exhortations

² I entreat Eu-o′dia and I entreat Syn′tyche to agree in the Lord. ³ And I ask you also, true yokefellow, help these women, for they have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ⁵ Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. ⁶ Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹ What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.

Acknowledgment of the Philippians’ Gift

¹⁰ I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me; you were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. ¹¹ Not that I complain of want; for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. ¹² I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. ¹³ I can do all things in him who strengthens me.

¹⁴ Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. ¹⁵ And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedo′nia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only; ¹⁶ for even in Thessaloni′ca you sent me help^[a] once and again. ¹⁷ Not that I seek the gift; but I seek the fruit which increases to your credit. ¹⁸ I have received full payment, and more; I am filled, having received from Epaphrodi′tus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. ¹⁹ And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. ²⁰ To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings and Benediction

²¹ Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you. ²² All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.

²³ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.