SESSION NINETEEN: Raphael Revealed, God is praised, and everyone dies 12:1 – 14:15

^12:1 When the wedding celebration came to an end, Tobit called his son Tobiah and said to him, “Son, see to it that you give what is due to the man who made the journey with you; give him a bonus too.”

            ² Tobiah said: “Father, how much shall I pay him? It would not hurt me at all to give him half of all the wealth he brought back to me. ³ He led me back safe and sound; he cured my wife; he brought the money back with me; and he cured you. How much of a bonus should I give him?”

            ⁴ Tobit answered, “It is only fair, son, that he should receive half of all that he brought back.”

            ⁵ So Tobiah called Raphael and said, “Take as your wages half of all that you have brought back, and go in peace.”

            ⁶ Raphael called the two men aside privately and said to them: “Thank God! Give him the praise and the glory. Before all the living, acknowledge the many good things he has done for you, by blessing and extolling his name in song. Before all men, honor and proclaim God’s deeds, and do not be slack in praising him. ⁷ A king’s secret it is prudent to keep, but the works of God are to be declared and made known. Praise them with due honor. Do good, and evil will not find its way to you. ⁸ Prayer and fasting are good, but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than abundance with wickedness. It is better to give alms than to store up gold: ⁹ for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin. Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life; ¹⁰ but those habitually guilty of sin are their own worst enemies. ¹¹ I will now tell you the whole truth; I will conceal nothing at all from you. I have already said to you, ‘A king’s secret it is prudent to keep, but the works of God are to be made known with due honor.’ ¹² I can now tell you that when you, Tobit, and Sarah prayed, it was I who presented and read the record of your prayer before the Glory of the Lord; and I did the same thing when you used to bury the dead. ¹³ When you did not hesitate to get up and leave your dinner in order to go and bury the dead, ¹⁴ I was sent to put you to the test. At the same time, however, God commissioned me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah. ¹⁵ I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who enter and serve before the Glory of the Lord.”

            ¹⁶ Stricken with fear, the two men fell to the ground. ¹⁷ But Raphael said to them: “No need to fear; you are safe. Thank God now and forever. ¹⁸ As for me, when I came to you it was not out of any favor on my part, but because it was God’s will. So continue to thank him every day; praise him with song. ¹⁹ Even though you watched me eat and drink, I did not really do so; what you were seeing was a vision. ²⁰ So now get up from the ground and praise God. Behold, I am about to ascend to him who sent me; write down all these things that have happened to you.”

            ²¹ When Raphael ascended they rose to their feet and could no longer see him. ²² They kept thanking God and singing his praises; and they continued to acknowledge these marvelous deeds which he had done when the angel of God appeared to them.

            ^13:1 Then Tobit composed this joyful prayer:

            Blessed be God who lives forever, because his kingdom lasts for all ages. ² For he scourges and then has mercy; he casts down to the depths of the nether world, and he brings up from the abyss. No one can escape his hand. ³ Praise him, you Israelites, before the Gentiles, for though he has scattered you among them, ⁴ he has shown you his greatness even there. Exalt him before every living being, because he is the Lord our God, our Father and God forever.

            ⁵ He scourged you for your iniquities, but will again have mercy on you all. He will gather you from all the Gentiles among whom you have been scattered. ⁶ When you turn back to him with all your heart, to do what is right before him, then he will turn back to you, and no longer hide his face from you. So now consider what he has done for you, and praise him with full voice. Bless the Lord of righteousness, and exalt the King of the ages. In the land of my exile I praise him, and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation. Turn back, you sinners! Do the right before him: perhaps he may look with favor upon you and show you mercy.

            ⁷ As for me, I exalt my God, and my spirit rejoices in the King of heaven. ⁸ Let all men speak of his majesty, and sing his praises in Jerusalem. ⁹ O Jerusalem, holy city, he scourged you for the works of your hands, but will again pity the children of the righteous. ¹⁰ Praise the Lord for his goodness, and bless the King of the ages, so that his tent may be rebuilt in you with joy. May he gladden within you all who were captives; all who were ravaged may he cherish within you for all generations to come. ¹¹ A bright light will shine to all parts of the earth; many nations shall come to you from afar, and the inhabitants of all the limits of the earth, drawn to you by the name of the Lord God, bearing in their hands their gifts for the King of heaven. Every generation shall give joyful praise in you, and shall call you the chosen one, through all ages forever. ¹² Accursed are all who speak a harsh word against you; accursed are all who destroy you and pull down your walls, And all who overthrow your towers and set fire to your homes; but forever blessed are all those who build you up. ¹³ Go, then, rejoice over the children of the righteous, who shall all be gathered and shall bless the Lord of the ages.

            ¹⁴ Happy are those who love you, and happy those who rejoice in your prosperity. Happy are all the men who shall grieve over you, over all your chastisements, for they shall rejoice in you as they behold all your joy forever. ¹⁵ My spirit blesses the Lord, the great King; ¹⁶ Jerusalem shall be rebuilt as his home forever. Happy for me if a remnant of my offspring survive to see your glory and to praise the King of heaven! The gates of Jerusalem shall be built with sapphire and emerald, and all your walls with precious stones. The towers of Jerusalem shall be built with gold, and their battlements with pure gold. ¹⁷The streets of Jerusalem shall be paved with rubies and stones of Ophir; ¹⁸ The gates of Jerusalem shall sing hymns of gladness, and all her houses shall cry out, “Alleluia!” Blessed be God who has raised you up! may he be blessed for all ages!” For in you they shall praise his holy name forever.

            The end of Tobit’s hymn of praise.

^14:1 Tobit died peacefully at the age of a hundred and twelve, and received an honorable burial in Nineveh. ² He was sixty-two years old when he lost his eyesight, and after he recovered it he lived in prosperity, giving alms and continually blessing God and praising the divine Majesty.

³ Just before he died, he called his son Tobiah and Tobiah’s seven sons, and gave him this command: “Son, take your children ⁴ and flee into Media, for I believe God’s word which was spoken by Nahum against Nineveh. It shall all happen, and shall overtake Assyria and Nineveh; indeed, whatever was said by Israel’s prophets, whom God commissioned, shall occur. Not one of all the oracles shall remain unfulfilled, but everthing shall take place in the time appointed for it. So it will be safer in Media than in Assyria or Babylon. For I know and believe that whatever God has spoken will be accomplished. It shall happen, and not a single word of the prophecies shall prove false.

“As for our kinsmen who dwell in Israel, they shall all be scattered and led away into exile from the Good Land. The entire country of Israel shall become desolate; even Samaria and Jerusalem shall become desolate! God’s temple there shall be burnt to the ground and shall be desolate for a while. ⁵ But God will again have mercy on them and bring them back to the land of Israel. They shall rebuild the temple, but it will not be like the first one, until the era when the appointed times shall be completed. Afterward all of them shall return from their exile, and they shall rebuild Jerusalem with splendor. In her the temple of God shall also be rebuilt; yes, it will be rebuilt for all generations to come, just as the prophets of Israel said of her. ⁶ All the nations of the world shall be converted and shall offer God true worship; all shall abandon their idols which have deceitfully led them into error, ⁷ and shall bless the God of the ages in righteousness. Because all the Israelites who are to be saved in those days will truly be mindful of God, they shall be gathered together and go to Jerusalem; in security shall they dwell forever in the land of Abraham, which will be given over to them. Those who sincerely love God shall rejoice, but those who become guilty of sin shall completely disappear from the land. ⁸ Now, as for you, my son, depart from Nineveh; do not remain here.”

            ⁹ “Now, children, I give you this command: serve God faithfully and do what is right before him; you must tell your children to do what is upright and to give alms, to be mindful of God and at all times to bless his name sincerely and with all their strength. ¹⁰ The day you bury your mother next to me, do not even stay overnight within the confines of the city. For I see that people here shamelessly commit all sorts of wickedness and treachery. Think, my son, of all that Nadab did to Ahiqar, the very one who brought him up: Ahiqar went down alive into the earth! Yet God made Nadab’s disgraceful crime rebound against him. Ahiqar came out again into the light, but Nadab went into the everlasting darkness, for he had tried to kill Ahiqar. Because Ahiqar had given alms to me, he escaped from the deadly trap Nadab had set for him. But Nadab himself fell into the deadly trap, and it destroyed him. ¹¹ So, my children, note well what almsgiving does, and also what wickedness does–it kills! But now my spirit is about to leave me.”

            ¹² They placed him on his bed and he died; and he received an honorable burial. When Tobiah’s mother died, he buried her next to his father. He then departed with his wife and children for Media, where he settled in Ecbatana with his father-in-law Raguel. ¹³ He took respectful care of his aging father-in-law and mother-in-law; and he buried them at Ecbatana in Media. Then he inherited Raguel’s estate as well as that of his father Tobit. ¹⁴ He died at the venerable age of a hundred and seventeen.

            ¹⁵ But before he died, he heard of the destruction on Nineveh and saw its effects. He witnessed the exile of the city’s inhabitants when Cyaxares, king of Media, led them captive into Media. Tobiah praised God for all that he had done against the citizens of Nineveh and Assyria. Before dying he rejoiced over Nineveh’s destruction, and he blessed the Lord God forever and ever. Amen.