Tobit 3
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Tobit’s Prayer
3 Then with much grief and anguish of heart I wept, and with groaning I began to pray:
2 “You are righteous, O Lord,
and all your deeds are just;
all your ways are mercy and truth;
you judge the world.[a](A)
3 And now, O Lord, may you be mindful of me
and look favorably upon me.
Do not punish me for my sins
or for my unwitting offenses
or for those of my ancestors.
They sinned against you(B)
4 and disobeyed your commandments.
So you gave us over to plunder, exile, and death,
to become the talk, the byword, and an object of reproach
among all the nations among whom you have dispersed us.(C)
5 And now your many judgments are true
in dealing with me according to my sins.
For we have not kept your commandments
and have not walked in accordance with truth before you.
6 So now deal with me as you will;
command my spirit to be taken from me,
so that I may be released from the face of the earth and become dust.
For it is better for me to die than to live,
because I have had to listen to undeserved insults,
and great is the sorrow that attends me.
Command, O Lord, that I be released from this distress;
release me to go to the place of eternity,
and do not, O Lord, turn your face away from me.
For it is better for me to die
than to see so much distress in my life
and better not to listen to insults.”(D)
Sarah Falsely Accused
7 On the same day, at Ecbatana in Media, it also happened that Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, was reproached by one of her father’s female slaves.(E) 8 For she had been married to seven husbands, and the wicked demon Asmodeus had killed each of them before they had been with her as is customary for wives. So the female slave said to her, “You are the one who kills[b] your husbands! See, you have already been married to seven husbands and have not borne the name of[c] a single one of them.(F) 9 Why do you beat us? Because your husbands are dead? Go with them! May we never see a son or daughter of yours!”
Sarah’s Prayer for Death
10 Overcome with emotion at that time, she wept and went up to her father’s upper room, intending to hang herself. But she thought it over and said, “Let no one ever reproach my father, saying to him, ‘You had only one beloved daughter, and she hanged herself out of distress!’[d] I would bring my father in his old age down in sorrow to Hades. It is better for me not to hang myself but to beg the Lord that I may die, so that I will not have to listen to these reproaches for the rest of my life.”(G) 11 At that same time, with hands outstretched toward the window, she prayed and said,
“Blessed are you, merciful God!
Blessed is your name[e] forever;
let all your works bless you forever.(H)
12 And now,[f] my face is toward you,
and I have raised my eyes.(I)
13 Command that I be released from the earth
and not listen to such reproaches any more.
14 You know, O Master, that I am innocent[g]
of any defilement with a man
15 and that I have not disgraced my name
or the name of my father in the land of my exile.
I am my father’s only child;
he has no other child to be his heir,
and he has no close relative or other kindred
for whom I should keep myself as wife.
Already seven husbands of mine have died.
Why should I still live?
But if it is not pleasing to you, O Lord, to take my life,
hear me in my disgrace.”
An Answer to Prayer
16 At that very moment, the prayers of both of them were heard in the glorious presence of God. 17 So Raphael was sent to heal both of them: Tobit by removing the white films from his eyes, so that he might see God’s light with his eyes,[h] and Sarah, daughter of Raguel, by giving her in marriage to Tobias son of Tobit, and by setting her free from the wicked demon Asmodeus. For Tobias was entitled to have her before all others who had desired to marry her. At the same time that Tobit returned from the courtyard into his house, Sarah daughter of Raguel came down from her upper room.(J)
Footnotes
- 3.2 Other ancient authorities read you render true and righteous judgment forever
- 3.8 Other ancient authorities read strangles
- 3.8 Other ancient authorities read have had no benefit from
- 3.10 Other ancient authorities lack out of distress
- 3.11 Other ancient authorities add holy and honorable
- 3.12 Other ancient authorities add Lord
- 3.14 Q ms adds in my bones
- 3.17 Other ancient authorities lack with his eyes
Tobit 3
Common English Bible
Tobit’s prayer to die
3 Deeply upset in my heart, I sighed and wept and began to pray with sighs:
2 “You are just, Lord, and all your deeds are just; mercy and truth mark all your ways. You judge the world.
3 “Now, Lord, remember me and look upon me. Don’t punish me for my sins and the mistakes I made in ignorance, nor for those of my ancestors. They sinned against you, 4 and I disregarded your commandments. So you have handed us over to plunder, captivity, and death. We have become a parable and the object of chatter and scorn among all the nations to which you have scattered us. 5 You are right in your many judgments, holding me responsible for my sins; for we didn’t observe your commandments, and we haven’t behaved faithfully toward you.
6 “And now, deal with me as you wish. Command that my spirit be taken from me so that I might be set free from the earth[a] and become dust. It is better for me to die than to live, for I have heard false insults, and I’m full of grief. Lord, command that I might be set free from this distress. Set me free to go to the eternal place. Don’t turn your face from me, Lord, for it is better for me to die than to experience this distress in my life and to endure insults.”
Sarah’s plight and her prayer to die
7 On the same day in Ecbatana of Media, Sarah, Raguel’s daughter, also heard insults from one of her father’s female servants.
8 Sarah had been given in marriage to seven husbands; and Asmodeus, an evil demon, killed them before they could lie with her as newlyweds do.[b] And so the female servant said to her, “You are the one who keeps killing your husbands! See, you have already been given to seven husbands, and you haven’t carried the name of any of them. 9 Are you beating us because they have all died? Go with them, and may we never see a son or daughter of yours!”
10 On that day Sarah was deeply upset in her heart and wept. She went upstairs to a room in her father’s house, and planned to hang herself. But she had second thoughts and said, “They will never insult my father by saying to him, ‘You had but one dearly loved daughter, and she hanged herself because of her troubles.’ If I did this, I would bring my old father down to the grave in sorrow. It is better for me not to hang myself, but to beg of the Lord to let me die so that I no longer hear insults during my lifetime.”
11 At that moment, she stretched her hands out toward the window and prayed:
“You are blessed, merciful God, and your name is blessed forever! May all your works forever praise you! 12 And now, Lord, I lift my face and my eyes toward you. 13 Speak the word, and set me free from the earth so that I don’t have to hear insults anymore. 14 You know, Master, that I’m pure from any uncleanness from relations with a man. 15 You know that I haven’t tarnished my name or my father’s name in this country where we are captives. I’m my father’s only child. He has no other child to be his heir, nor does he have a brother or near relative for whom I can keep myself as a wife. Seven have died on me already, so why should I go on living? And if you don’t like the idea of killing me, take notice, at least, of how they insult me.”
Raphael helps Tobit and Sarah
16 At that very moment, the prayers of both Sarah and Tobit were heard in God’s glorious presence. 17 Raphael was sent to heal the two of them: Tobit, by removing the white spots from his eyes to see God’s light with his eyes again, and Sarah, Raguel’s daughter, by giving her as a wife to Tobias, Tobit’s son, and by ridding her of the evil demon. It was Tobias’ right to inherit her before all the others who wished to take her. At that very moment Tobit returned from the courtyard back into his house, and Sarah, Raguel’s daughter, also came down from the upstairs room.
Tobit 3
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
3 Then Tobias sighed, and began to pray with tears,
2 Saying: Thou art just, O Lord, and all thy judgments are just, and all thy ways mercy, and truth, and judgment:
3 And now, O Lord, think of me, and take not revenge of my sins, neither remember my offenses, nor those of my parents.
4 For we have not obeyed thy commandments, therefore are we delivered to spoil and to captivity, and death, and are made a fable, and a reproach to all nations, amongst which thou hast scattered us.
5 And now, O Lord, great are thy judgments, because we have not done according to thy precepts, and have not walked sincerely before thee:
6 And now, O Lord, do with me according to thy will, and command my spirit to be received in peace: for it is better for me to die, than to live.
7 Now it happened on the same day, that Sara daughter of Raguel, in Rages a city of the Medes, received a reproach from one of her father's servant maids,
8 Because she had been given to seven husbands, and a devil named Asmodeus had killed them, at their first going in unto her.
9 So when she reproved the maid for her fault, she answered her, saying: May we never see son, or daughter of thee upon the earth, thou murderer of thy husbands.
10 Wilt thou kill me also, as thou hast already killed seven husbands? At these words she went into an upper chamber of her house: and for three days and three nights did neither eat nor drink:
11 But continuing in prayer with tears besought God, that he would deliver her from this reproach.
12 And it came to pass on the third day, when she was making an end of her prayer, blessing the Lord,
13 She said: Blessed is thy name, O God of our fathers: who when thou hast been angry, wilt shew mercy, and in the time of tribulation forgivest the sins of them that call upon thee.
14 To thee, O Lord, I turn my face, to thee I direct my eyes.
15 I beg, O Lord, that thou loose me from the bond of this reproach, or else take me away from the earth.
16 Thou knowest, O Lord, that I never coveted a husband, and have kept my soul clean from all lust.
17 Never have I joined myself with them that play: neither have I made myself partaker with them that walk in lightness.
18 But a husband I consented to take, with thy fear, not with my lust.
19 And either I was unworthy of them, or they perhaps were not worthy of me: because perhaps thou hast kept me for another man.
20 For thy counsel is not in man's power.
21 But this every one is sure of that worshippeth thee, that his life, if it be under trial, shall be crowned: and if it be under tribulation, it shall be delivered: and if it be under correction, it shall be allowed to come to thy mercy.
22 For thou art not delighted in our being lost: because after a storm thou makest a calm, and after tears and weeping thou pourest in joyfulness.
23 Be thy name, O God of Israel, blessed for ever.
24 At that time the prayers of them both were heard in the sight of the glory of the most high God:
25 And the holy angel of the Lord, Raphael was sent to heal them both, whose prayers at one time were rehearsed in the sight of the Lord.
Tobit 3
Good News Translation
Tobit's Prayer
3 I was so embarrassed and ashamed that I sighed and began to cry. Then, as I choked back my tears, I prayed:
2
You are righteous, O Lord!
You are merciful[a] in all you do,
faithful in all your ways.
You are the judge of this world.[b]
3-4 I beg you, treat me with kindness.
Do not punish me for my sins,
not even for sins of which I am unaware.
My ancestors rebelled and disobeyed[c] your commands,
but do not punish me for their sins.
You let our people be plundered,
taken captive and killed.
You made an example of our people,
an object of contempt and disgrace
in all the nations where you scattered us.
5 You have often judged my ancestors for their sins
and punished me for mine.
We were disloyal and rejected your commands,
so our punishment has always been just.
6 Now treat me as you please.
Take my life away and free me from this world;
let my body return to the earth.
I would be better off dead.
I am tormented by insults I don't deserve,
and weighed down with despair.
Lord, give the command—
bring all my troubles to an end,
take me to my eternal rest.
Don't reject my prayer.
I would rather die than live in misery
and face such cruel insults.
Sarah's Troubles
7 That same day in the city of Ecbatana in Media, it happened that Sarah, the daughter of a man named Raguel, was insulted by one of her father's servant women. 8 Sarah had been married seven times, but the evil demon, Asmodeus, killed each husband before the marriage could be consummated. The servant woman said to Sarah,
You husband killer! Look at you! You've already had seven husbands, but not one of them lived long enough to give you a son.[d] 9 Why should you take it out on us? Why don't you go and join your dead husbands? I hope we never see a child of yours!
10 Sarah was so depressed that she burst into tears and went upstairs determined to hang herself. But when she thought it over, she said to herself,
No, I won't do it! People would insult my father and say,
You had only one child, a daughter whom you loved dearly, but she hanged herself because she felt so miserable. Such grief would bring my gray-haired father to his grave, and I would be responsible. I won't kill myself; I'll just beg the Lord to let me die. Then I won't have to listen to those insults any longer!
Sarah's Prayer
11 Then Sarah stood by the window, raised her arms in prayer, and said,
God of mercy, worthy of our praise,
may your name always be honored,
may all your creation praise you forever.
12 Lord, I look to you for help.
13 Speak the word and set me free from this life;
then I will no longer have to hear these insults.
14 You know, O Lord, that I'm still a virgin;
I have never been defiled by a man.
15 Never have I disgraced myself or my father's name,
as long as we have lived in this land of exile.
My father has no other child to be his heir,
and there is no relative[e] whom I can marry.
I have already lost seven husbands,
so why should I live any longer?
But if it is not your will to take my life,
at least show mercy to me.
Don't let me hear those insults again!
[f]
God Hears the Prayers of Tobit and Sarah
16 As Tobit and Sarah were praying, God in heaven heard their prayers 17 (A)and sent his angel Raphael to help them. He was sent to remove the white film from Tobit's eyes, so that he could see again, and to arrange a marriage between Sarah and Tobit's son Tobias, who, as her cousin, had the right to marry her. Raphael was also ordered to expel the demon Asmodeus from Sarah. At the very moment that Tobit went back into his house from the courtyard, Sarah, in her house in Ecbatana, was coming downstairs.
Footnotes
- Tobit 3:2 merciful; some manuscripts add and just.
- Tobit 3:2 You are the judge of this world; some manuscripts have You are always fair and just when you judge.
- Tobit 3:3 My ancestors...disobeyed; some manuscripts have I disobeyed.
- Tobit 3:8 but...son; some manuscripts have but it hasn't done you a bit of good.
- Tobit 3:15 relative: In Israel it was customary to marry within one's own tribe.
- Tobit 3:15 at least...again; some manuscripts have at least listen to my complaint.
Tobit 3
Wycliffe Bible
3 Then Tobit inwardly sorrowed, and began to pray with tears, and said, [or saying],
2 Lord, thou art just, and all thy dooms be just, and all thy ways be mercy, and truth, and doom.
3 And now, Lord, have thou mind of (or on) me, and take thou not vengeance of (or for) my sins, neither have thou mind of (or on) my trespasses [or nor remember thou my guilts], neither of my fathers.
4 For we obeyed [or obeished] not to thy commandments, and therefore we be taken into rifling [or into wasting], and into captivity, and into death, and into a fable or jangling, and into shame [or into reproof] to all nations, among which thou hast scattered us.
5 And now, Lord, thy dooms be great and dreadful; for we have not done after thy commandments, and we have not gone cleanly [or clearly] before thee.
6 And now, Lord, by thy will do thou mercy with me, and command thou my spirit to be received in peace; for it speedeth more to me (or it is more expedient for me) to die than to live. [And now, Lord, after thy will do with me mercy, and command in peace my spirit to be received; it is speedful forsooth to me more to die than to live.]
7 And also it befelled in the same day, that Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, was in Rages (or in Ecbatana), a city of Media, and she heard shame [or the reproof] of (or from) one of the handmaids of her father;
8 for she was given to seven husbands, and a fiend [or a devil], Asmodeus by name, killed them, anon (or at once) as they had entered [in] to her.
9 And when Sarah blamed her maid for her guilt/Therefore when she blamed the damsel for her guilt, (or for her sin), the damsel answered to her, and said, Thou slayeress of thine husbands, see we never upon (the) earth son either [or] daughter of thee;
10 whether also thou wilt slay me, as also thou hast slain seven men? At this word Sarah went into the higher closet [or into the over bed-place] of her house, and three days and three nights she ate not, neither drank;
11 but she continued in prayer with tears, and besought God, that he should deliver her from this shame [or this reproof].
12 And it was done in (or on) the third day, while she had fulfilled her prayer, (or her praying),
13 she blessed the Lord, and said, God of our fathers, thy name is blessed [or Blessed is thy name, God of our fathers], which when thou hast been wroth, [thou] shalt do mercy, and in time of tribulation thou forgivest sins to them, that inwardly call thee.
14 Lord, to thee I turn altogether my face; and I lift up mine eyes to thee. [To thee, Lord, I turn my face, and to thee mine eyes I rear.]
15 Lord, I ask of thee, that thou loose me from the bond of this shame, either certainly that thou take me away from above the earth. [I ask, Lord, that from the bond of this reproof thou assoil me, or certainly from above the earth thou deliver me.]
16 Lord, thou knowest, that I never coveted (a) man for fleshly lust, and I have kept my soul clean from all covetousness [or from all lust].
17 I meddled (or I mingled) me never with players dissolutely and unhonestly [or Never with players I mingled me], neither I gave myself to be (a) partner with them that go in unstableness.
18 But, Lord, I consented to take an husband with thy dread, not with my lust.
19 And either I was unworthy to them, either they peradventure were not worthy to me; for in hap [or peradventure] thou hast kept me to (or for) another husband.
20 For thy counsel is not in the power of man to know it.
21 Forsooth each that worshippeth thee hath this for certain, that if his life is in proving, he shall be crowned, if he continue patiently; soothly if he is in tribulation, he shall be delivered; and if he is in chastising, it shall be leaveful (or lawful) to come to thy mercy.
22 For thou delightest not in our loses; for after tempest thou makest peaceable, and after mourning and weeping thou bringest in full out joying. [Forsooth thou hast not delight in our leasings; for after tempest thou makest rest, and after tears shedding and wailing, full out joying thou pourest in.]
23 God of Israel, thy name be blessed into worlds, that is, till into without end.
24 In that time the prayers of both Tobit and Sarah were heard in (the) sight of the glory of the highest God [or in the sight of the glory of the most good God];
25 and Raphael, the holy angel of the Lord, was sent to heal them both, whose prayers were rehearsed in one time (or were spoken at the same time) in the sight of the Lord. [and there is sent an angel of the Lord, the holy Raphael, that he should cure them both, whose orisons one time in the sight of the Lord be rehearsed.]
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
2001 by Terence P. Noble