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Tobit 3

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1 καὶ λυπηθεὶς ἔκλαυσα καὶ προσευξάμην με{T'} ὀδύνης λέγων 2 δίκαιος εἶ κύριε καὶ πάντα τὰ ἔργα σου καὶ πᾶσαι αἱ ὁδοί σου ἐλεημοσύναι καὶ ἀλήθεια καὶ κρίσιν ἀληθινὴν καὶ δικαίαν σὺ κρίνεις εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα 3 μνήσθητί μου καὶ ἐπίβλεψον ἐ{P'} ἐμέ μή με ἐκδικήσῃς ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις μου καὶ τοῖς ἀγνοήμασίν μου καὶ τῶν πατέρων μου ἃ ἥμαρτον ἐνώπιόν σου 4 παρήκουσαν γὰρ τῶν ἐντολῶν σου ἔδωκας ἡμᾶς εἰς διαρπαγὴν καὶ αἰχμαλωσίαν καὶ θάνατον καὶ παραβολὴν ὀνειδισμοῦ πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐν οἷς ἐσκορπίσμεθα 5 καὶ νῦν πολλαὶ αἱ κρίσεις σού εἰσιν ἀληθιναὶ ἐξ ἐμοῦ ποιῆσαι περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν μου καὶ τῶν πατέρων μου ὅτι οὐκ ἐποιήσαμεν τὰς ἐντολάς σου οὐ γὰρ ἐπορεύθημεν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ ἐνώπιόν σου 6 καὶ νῦν κατὰ τὸ ἀρεστὸν ἐνώπιόν σου ποίησον με{T'} ἐμοῦ ἐπίταξον ἀναλαβεῖν τὸ πνεῦμά μου ὅπως ἀπολυθῶ καὶ γένωμαι γῆ διότι λυσιτελεῖ μοι ἀποθανεῖν ἢ ζῆν ὅτι ὀνειδισμοὺς ψευδεῖς ἤκουσα καὶ λύπη ἐστὶν πολλὴ ἐν ἐμοί ἐπίταξον ἀπολυθῆναί με τῆς ἀνάγκης ἤδη εἰς τὸν αἰώνιον τόπον μὴ ἀποστρέψῃς τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἀ{P'} ἐμοῦ

1 So at last Tobias fell a-sighing, and he prayed still, but wept as he prayed. 2 Lord, he said, thou hast right on thy side; no award of thine but is deserved, no act of thine but tells of mercy, of faithfulness, and of justice. 3 Yet bethink thee, Lord, of my case; leave my sins unpunished, my guilt, and the guilt of my parents, forgotten. 4 If we are doomed to loss, to banishment and to death, if thou hast made us a by-word and a laughing-stock in all the countries to which thou hast banished us, it is because we have defied thy commandments; 5 it was fitting punishment, Lord, for the men who neglected thy bidding, and were half-hearted followers of thine. 6 And now, Lord, do with me as thy will is, give the word, and take my spirit to thyself in peace; for me, death is more welcome than life.[1]

1 Tunc Tobias ingemuit, et cœpit orare cum lacrimis, 2 dicens:

Justus es, Domine, et omnia judicia tua justa sunt,
et omnes viæ tuæ, misericordia, et veritas, et judicium. 3
Et nunc Domine, memor esto mei,
et ne vindictam sumas de peccatis meis,
neque reminiscaris delicta mea, vel parentum meorum. 4
Quoniam non obedivimus præceptis tuis,
ideo traditi sumus in direptionem,
et captivitatem, et mortem,
et in fabulam, et in improperium omnibus nationibus
in quibus dispersisti nos. 5
Et nunc Domine, magna judicia tua,
quia non egimus secundum præcepta tua,
et non ambulavimus sinceriter coram te. 6
Et nunc Domine, secundum voluntatem tuam fac mecum,
et præcipe in pace recipi spiritum meum:
expedit enim mihi mori magis quam vivere.

7 ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ συνέβη τῇ θυγατρὶ Ραγουηλ Σαρρα ἐν Ἐκβατάνοις τῆς Μηδίας καὶ ταύτην ὀνειδισθῆναι ὑπὸ παιδισκῶν πατρὸς αὐτῆς 8 ὅτι ἦν δεδομένη ἀνδράσιν ἑπτά καὶ Ασμοδαυς τὸ πονηρὸν δαιμόνιον ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτοὺς πρὶν ἢ γενέσθαι αὐτοὺς με{T'} αὐτῆς ὡς ἐν γυναιξίν καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῇ οὐ συνίεις ἀποπνίγουσά σου τοὺς ἄνδρας ἤδη ἑπτὰ ἔσχες καὶ ἑνὸς αὐτῶν οὐκ ὠνάσθης 9 τί ἡμᾶς μαστιγοῖς εἰ ἀπέθαναν βάδιζε με{T'} αὐτῶν μὴ ἴδοιμέν σου υἱὸν ἢ θυγατέρα εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα 10 ταῦτα ἀκούσασα ἐλυπήθη σφόδρα ὥστε ἀπάγξασθαι καὶ εἶπεν μία μέν εἰμι τῷ πατρί μου ἐὰν ποιήσω τοῦτο ὄνειδος αὐτῷ ἐστιν καὶ τὸ γῆρας αὐτοῦ κατάξω με{T'} ὀδύνης εἰς ᾅδου 11 καὶ ἐδεήθη πρὸς τῇ θυρίδι καὶ εἶπεν εὐλογητὸς εἶ κύριε ὁ θεός μου καὶ εὐλογητὸν τὸ ὄνομά σου τὸ ἅγιον καὶ ἔντιμον εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας εὐλογήσαισάν σε πάντα τὰ ἔργα σου εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα

7 Now turn we to Rages,[2] a city in Media, and another soul that must undergo taunts on this same day, Sara, the daughter of Raguel. It was one of her father’s maid-servants that taunted her; 8 and the ground of it was that she had been married seven times, but each of her husbands in turn had been killed, at the time of his bedding with her, by an evil spirit that was named Asmodaeus. 9 This maid, then, upon being reproved for some fault, had answered, God send we never see son or daughter of thine brought to light! Murderess, where are those husbands of thine? 10 Wouldst thou make as short work with me as thou didst with those seven? At that, Sara withdrew to an upper room of the house, and for three days and nights would neither eat nor drink; 11 all this time she spent in prayer, begging with tears that God would free her of the suspicion.

7 Eadem itaque die, contigit ut Sara filia Raguelis in Rages civitate Medorum et ipsa audiret improperium ab una ex ancillis patris sui, 8 quoniam tradita fuerat septem viris, et dæmonium nomine Asmodæus occiderat eos, mox ut ingressi fuissent ad eam. 9 Ergo cum pro culpa sua increparet puellam, respondit ei, dicens: Amplius ex te non videamus filium aut filiam super terram, interfectrix virorum tuorum. 10 Numquid et occidere me vis, sicut jam occidisti septem viros? Ad hanc vocem perrexit in superius cubiculum domus suæ: et tribus diebus, et tribus noctibus non manducavit, neque bibit: 11 sed in oratione persistens cum lacrimis deprecabatur Deum, ut ab isto improperio liberaret eam.

12 καὶ νῦν κύριε τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν μου εἰς σὲ δέδωκα 13 εἰπὸν ἀπολῦσαί με ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ μὴ ἀκοῦσαί με μηκέτι ὀνειδισμόν 14 σὺ γινώσκεις κύριε ὅτι καθαρά εἰμι ἀπὸ πάσης ἁμαρτίας ἀνδρὸς 15 καὶ οὐκ ἐμόλυνα τὸ ὄνομά μου οὐδὲ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρός μου ἐν τῇ γῇ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας μου μονογενής εἰμι τῷ πατρί μου καὶ οὐχ ὑπάρχει αὐτῷ παιδίον ὃ κληρονομήσει αὐτόν οὐδὲ ἀδελφὸς ἐγγὺς οὐδὲ ὑπάρχων αὐτῷ υἱός ἵνα συντηρήσω ἐμαυτὴν αὐτῷ γυναῖκα ἤδη ἀπώλοντό μοι ἑπτά ἵνα τί μοι ζῆν καὶ εἰ μὴ δοκεῖ σοι ἀποκτεῖναί με ἐπίταξον ἐπιβλέψαι ἐ{P'} ἐμὲ καὶ ἐλεῆσαί με καὶ μηκέτι ἀκοῦσαί με ὀνειδισμόν 16 καὶ εἰσηκούσθη ἡ προσευχὴ ἀμφοτέρων ἐνώπιον τῆς δόξης τοῦ μεγάλου Ραφαηλ 17 καὶ ἀπεστάλη ἰάσασθαι τοὺς δύο τοῦ Τωβιτ λεπίσαι τὰ λευκώματα καὶ Σαρραν τὴν τοῦ Ραγουηλ δοῦναι Τωβια τῷ υἱῷ Τωβιτ γυναῖκα καὶ δῆσαι Ασμοδαυν τὸ πονηρὸν δαιμόνιον διότι Τωβια ἐπιβάλλει κληρονομῆσαι αὐτήν ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ καιρῷ ἐπιστρέψας Τωβιτ εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ καὶ Σαρρα ἡ τοῦ Ραγουηλ κατέβη ἐκ τοῦ ὑπερῴου αὐτῆς 18 19 20 21 22 23

12 And at last on the third day, her time of prayer ended, she blessed the name of the Lord after this fashion: 13 Blessed is thy name, O God of our fathers, who, though thy anger be roused, shewest mercy still, who dost pardon the sinner that cries out to thee in time of need! 14 To thee, Lord, I turn; on thee my eyes are fixed; 15 and, Lord, my prayer is that thou wouldst either rid me of this clogging suspicion, or else take me away from earth. 16 Thou, Lord, canst bear me witness that I lusted never after man; still have I guarded my soul from shameful desire, 17 nor kept company with the wanton, nor cast in my lot with the lovers of dalliance. 18 If I consented to take a husband, law of thine was my rule, not lust of mine. 19 It seems I was unworthy of these men’s love, or perhaps they of mine; it may be thou wast reserving me for another husband; 20 thy designs are beyond our human reach. 21 But this at least all thy true worshippers know; never was a life of trials but had its crown; never distress from which thou couldst not save; never punishment but left a gateway to thy mercy. 22 Not thine to plot eagerly for our undoing; the storm passes, and thou grantest clear weather again; tears and sighs are over, and thou fillest the cup with rejoicing; 23 blessed be thy name, God of Israel, for ever![3]

12 Factum est autem die tertia, dum compleret orationem, benedicens Dominum 13 dixit: Benedictum est nomen tuum, Deus patrum nostrorum: qui cum iratus fueris, misericordiam facies, et in tempore tribulationis peccata dimittis his qui invocant te. 14 Ad te, Domine, faciem meam converto; ad te oculos meos dirigo. 15 Peto, Domine, ut de vinculo improperii hujus absolvas me, aut certe desuper terram eripias me. 16 Tu scis, Domine, quia numquam concupivi virum, et mundam servavi animam meam ab omni concupiscentia. 17 Numquam cum ludentibus miscui me, neque cum his qui in levitate ambulant, participem me præbui. 18 Virum autem cum timore tuo, non cum libidine mea, consensi suscipere. 19 Et, aut ego indigna fui illis, aut illi forsitan me non fuerunt digni, quia forsitan viro alii conservasti me. 20 Non est enim in hominis potestate consilium tuum. 21 Hoc autem pro certo habet omnis qui te colit: quod vita ejus, si in probatione fuerit, coronabitur; si autem in tribulatione fuerit, liberabitur; et si in correptione fuerit, ad misericordiam tuam venire licebit. 22 Non enim delectaris in perditionibus nostris: quia post tempestatem tranquillum facis, et post lacrimationem et fletum, exultationem infundis. 23 Sit nomen tuum, Deus Israël, benedictum in sæcula.

24 25

24 Two prayers that day reached the bright presence of the most high God; 25 and Raphael, one of the Lord’s holy angels, was sent out, bearing common deliverance to the suppliants of a single hour.

24 In illo tempore exauditæ sunt preces amborum in conspectu gloriæ summi Dei: 25 et missus est angelus Domini sanctus Raphaël ut curaret eos ambos, quorum uno tempore sunt orationes in conspectu Domini recitatæ.

[1] The Hebrew and the Greek versions are still in the first person, but the substance of Tobias’ prayer is the same.

[2] All the other versions here have Ecbatana as the name of the Median city, ‘Rages’ is probably a copyist’s error, cf. 1.16 and 9.3.

[3] The prayer of Sara is given in a quite different form by the other versions, including our present Aramaic text. From this point onwards, all the versions tell the story in the third person.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd