Raph′ael’s Wages

12 Tobit then called his son Tobi′as and said to him, “My son, see to the wages of the man who went with you; and he must also be given more.” ² He replied, “Father, it would do me no harm to give him half of what I have brought back. ³ For he has led me back to you safely, he cured my wife, he obtained the money for me, and he also healed you.” ⁴ The old man said, “He deserves it.” ⁵ So he called the angel and said to him, “Take half of all that you two have brought back.”

Raph′ael’s Exhortation

⁶ Then the angel^[a] called the two of them privately and said to them: “Praise God and give thanks to him; exalt him and give thanks to him in the presence of all the living for what he has done for you. It is good to praise God and to exalt his name, worthily declaring the works of God. Do not be slow to give him thanks. ⁷ It is good to guard the secret of a king, but gloriously to reveal the works of God. Do good, and evil will not overtake you. ⁸ Prayer is good when accompanied by fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than much with wrongdoing. It is better to give alms than to treasure up gold. ⁹ For almsgiving delivers from death, and it will purge away every sin. Those who perform deeds of charity^[b] and of righteousness will have fulness of life; ¹⁰ but those who commit sin are the enemies of their own lives.

Raph′ael Discloses His Identity

¹¹ “I will not conceal anything from you. I have said, ‘It is good to guard the secret of a king, but gloriously to reveal the works of God.’ ¹² And so, when you and your daughter-in-law Sarah prayed, I brought a reminder of your prayer before the Holy One; and when you buried the dead, I was likewise present with you. ¹³ When you did not hesitate to rise and leave your dinner in order to go and lay out the dead, your good deed was not hidden from me, but I was with you. ¹⁴ So now God sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah. ¹⁵ I am Raph′ael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One.”

¹⁶ They were both alarmed; and they fell upon their faces, for they were afraid. ¹⁷ But he said to them, “Do not be afraid; you will be safe. But praise God for ever. ¹⁸ For I did not come as a favor on my part, but by the will of our God. Therefore praise him for ever. ¹⁹ All these days I merely appeared to you and did not eat or drink, but you were seeing a vision. ²⁰ And now give thanks to God, for I am ascending to him who sent me. Write in a book everything that has happened.” ²¹ Then they stood up; but they saw him no more. ²² So they confessed the great and wonderful works of God, and acknowledged that the angel of the Lord had appeared to them.

Tobit’s Thanksgiving to God

13 Then Tobit wrote a prayer of rejoicing, and said:

Tobit’s Final Counsel

14 Here Tobit ended his words of praise. ² He was fifty-eight years old when he lost his sight, and after eight years he regained it. He gave alms, and he continued to fear the Lord God and to praise him. ³ When he had grown very old he called his son and grandsons, and said to him, “My son, take your sons; behold, I have grown old and am about to depart this life. ⁴ Go to Media, my son, for I fully believe what Jonah the prophet said about Nin′eveh, that it will be overthrown. But in Media there will be peace for a time. Our brethren will be scattered over the earth from the good land, and Jerusalem will be desolate. The house of God in it will be burned down and will be in ruins for a time. ⁵ But God will again have mercy on them, and bring them back into their land; and they will rebuild the house of God,^[f] though it will not be like the former one until the times of the age are completed. After this they will return from the places of their captivity, and will rebuild Jerusalem in splendor. And the house of God will be rebuilt there with a glorious building for all generations for ever, just as the prophets said of it. ⁶ Then all the Gentiles will turn to fear the Lord God in truth, and will bury their idols. ⁷ All the Gentiles will praise the Lord, and his people will give thanks to God, and the Lord will exalt his people. And all who love the Lord God in truth and righteousness will rejoice, showing mercy to our brethren.

⁸ “So now, my son, leave Nin′eveh, because what the prophet Jonah said will surely happen. ⁹ But keep the law and the commandments, and be merciful and just, so that it may be well with you. ¹⁰ Bury me properly, and your mother with me. And do not live in Nin′eveh any longer. See, my son, what Nadab^[g] did to Ahi′kar who had reared him, how he brought him from light into darkness, and with what he repaid him. But Ahi′kar was saved, and the other received repayment as he himself went down into the darkness. Ahi′kar^[h] gave alms and escaped the deathtrap which Nadab^[i] had set for him; but Nadab^[j] fell into the trap and perished. ¹¹ So now, my children, consider what almsgiving accomplishes and how righteousness delivers.” As he said this he died in his bed. He was a hundred and fifty-eight years old; and Tobi′as^[k] gave him a magnificent funeral. ¹² And when Anna died he buried her with his father.

Death of Tobit and Anna

Then Tobi′as returned with his wife and his sons to Ecbat′ana, to Rag′uel his father-in-law. ¹³ He grew old with honor, and he gave his father-in-law and mother-in-law magnificent funerals. He inherited their property and that of his father Tobit. ¹⁴ He died in Ecbat′ana of Media at the age of a hundred and twenty-seven years. ¹⁵ But before he died he heard of the destruction of Nin′eveh, which Nebuchadnez′zar and Ahasu-e′rus had captured. Before his death he rejoiced over Nin′eveh.

Sayings of Agur

30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh of Massa.^[a]

Salutation

¹ Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

To Phile′mon our beloved fellow worker ² and Apph′ia our sister and Archip′pus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house:

³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philemon’s Love and Faith

⁴ I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, ⁵ because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and all the saints, ⁶ and I pray that the sharing of your faith may promote the knowledge of all the good that is ours in Christ. ⁷ For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

Paul’s Plea for Onesimus

⁸ Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, ⁹ yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an ambassador^[a] and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— ¹⁰ I appeal to you for my child, One′simus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment. ¹¹ (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful^[b] to you and to me.) ¹² I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. ¹³ I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel; ¹⁴ but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own free will.

¹⁵ Perhaps this is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back for ever, ¹⁶ no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. ¹⁷ So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. ¹⁸ If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. ¹⁹ I, Paul, write this with my own hand, I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. ²⁰ Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

²¹ Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. ²² At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping through your prayers to be granted to you.

Final Greetings and Benediction

²³ Ep′aphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, ²⁴ and so do Mark, Aristar′chus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

²⁵ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.