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Tobias Routs the Demon

When they had finished eating, they escorted Tobi′as in to her. As he went he remembered the words of Raphael, and he took the live ashes of incense and put the heart and liver of the fish upon them and made a smoke. And when the demon smelled the odor he fled to the remotest parts of Egypt, and the angel bound him. 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.” And Tobi′as began to pray,

“Blessed art thou, O God of our fathers,
    and blessed be thy holy and glorious name for ever.
    Let the heavens and all thy creatures bless thee.
Thou madest Adam and gavest him Eve his wife
    as a helper and support.
    From them the race of mankind has sprung.
Thou didst say, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone;
    let us make a helper for him like himself.’

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.” And she said with him, “Amen.” 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,

“Blessed art thou, O God, with every pure and holy blessing.
    Let thy saints and all thy creatures bless thee;
    let all thy angels and thy chosen people bless thee for ever.
16 Blessed art thou, because thou hast made me glad.
    It has not happened to me as I expected;
    but thou hast treated us according to thy great mercy.
17 Blessed art thou, because thou hast had compassion on two only children.
    Show them mercy, O Lord;
    and bring their lives to fulfilment in health and happiness and mercy.”

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[a] 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[b] property and return in safety to his father, and that the rest would be his “when my wife and I die.”

Footnotes

  1. Tobit 8:20 Gk him
  2. Tobit 8:21 Gk his
'Tobi 8 ' not found for the version: La Nuova Diodati.
'Tobit 8 ' not found for the version: New King James Version.

Deliverance from the demon

When they had all finished eating and drinking, they wanted to go to bed. So the bride’s parents led the young man away and brought him into the bride’s bedroom. Tobias remembered Raphael’s words. He took the fish’s liver and heart out of his bag and laid them upon the warm incense coals. The odor from the fish drove off the demon, and he sped off to the region of Egypt. Raphael went after the demon, bound him there hand and foot, and immediately put him in chains.

Then the parents left and shut the door of the bedroom. Tobias got up from the bed and said to Sarah, “Get up, my sister! Let’s pray and beg our Lord to show us mercy and give us deliverance.”

She got up, and they began to pray and to ask that they might be delivered. Tobias then began to speak:

“Blessed are you, God of our ancestors, and blessed is your name for all generations. May the heavens and all your creation bless you forever! You created Adam and you created Eve his wife to help and support him, and from the two of them has come the human race. You said, ‘It isn’t good for the man to be alone; let’s make for him a helper like himself.’ I’m not taking this sister of mine now out of lust but with honest integrity.[a] Grant that she and I will be shown mercy and grow old together.”

Together they said, “Amen, amen.” Then they fell asleep for the night.

Upon getting up during the night,[b] Raguel summoned his servants, and they went with him and dug a grave. 10 He said, “Tobias might die as well, and people will laugh and jeer at us.”

11 When they had finished digging the grave, Raguel returned to his house, called his wife, 12 and said, “Send one of the female servants in to see if he’s alive. If he’s dead, let’s bury him so that no one knows what has happened.”

13 So they sent for the female servant, lit a lamp, and opened the door. The female servant entered and found them fast asleep together. 14 Then she came out and told them, “He’s alive, and there’s nothing wrong.”

15 They praised the God of heaven, saying, “Blessed are you, God, with every pure blessing; may people bless you forever! 16 Blessed are you, because you have brought me joy. It didn’t happen as I had expected. Instead, you have dealt with us according to your great mercy. 17 Blessed are you, because you have shown mercy to our only two children. Master, provide them with mercy and well-being,[c] and bring both their lives to fulfillment with joy and mercy.”

18 Then Raguel told his servants to fill up the grave with dirt before dawn, 19 and he told his wife to bake a lot of bread. From his herd he brought back two oxen and four rams. He gave instructions to have them slaughtered, and they began to make preparations.

20 Raguel then called Tobias and said, “You will certainly not leave here for the next fourteen days. Instead, you will remain here to eat and drink with me, and you will bring joy to my daughter’s troubled soul. 21 Take now half of whatever I own and go in health to your father. When my wife and I die, the other half will be yours. Take courage, my son! I’m your father and Edna is your mother. From now on and forever we will stand beside both you and your sister. Take courage, my son!”

Footnotes

  1. Tobit 8:7 Or with truth
  2. Tobit 8:9 OL; LXX2 omits during the night.
  3. Tobit 8:17 Or and salvation
'Tobit 8 ' not found for the version: New International Version.