Tobit 1

Tobit Tells His Own Story

1The book of the sayings of Tobit son of Tobiel, son of Ananiel, son of Aduel, son of Gabael, of the offspring of Asiel, of the tribe of Naphtali. 2He was carried off captive in the days of Enemessar, king of the Assyrians, from Thisbe, which lies to the south of Kedesh of Naphtali, in Galilee above Asher. 3I, Tobit, walked the roads of truth and of righteousness all the days of my life, and I gave alms many times over to my kinsmen and to my people, who had come with me into the country of the Assyrians, to Nineveh. 4When I was still in my own country, in the land of Israel, and I was young, the whole tribe of my forefather Naphtali broke away from the house of Jerusalem — the city singled out from every tribe of Israel so that all the tribes might sacrifice there, where the temple, the dwelling place of the Most High, had been consecrated and built for all the generations of the age. 5All the tribes that broke away together sacrificed to Baal the heifer, and the house of my forefather Naphtali with them. 6I alone went up again and again to Jerusalem for the festivals, as is written for all Israel in a decree that never lapses, carrying the firstfruits, the tenths of the harvest and the first shearings. 7These I handed to the priests, the sons of Aaron, at the altar. The tenth of all the harvest I gave to the sons of Levi who served at Jerusalem; the second tenth I turned into money, and I would go and spend it in Jerusalem, one year after another. 8The third tenth I gave to those it was owed to, as Deborah, my father’s mother, had charged me — for my father died and left me an orphan. 9When I came to be a man I took Anna as my wife, from the line of our own family, and by her I had Tobias. 10When I was taken captive to Nineveh, all my kinsmen and the people of my family ate the food of the nations. 11I kept myself back from eating it, 12because I held God in mind with my whole soul. 13And the Most High granted me favor and standing before Enemessar, and I became his buyer of supplies. 14I used to travel to Media, and I left ten talents of silver on deposit with Gabael, the brother of Gabri, at Rages in Media. 15When Enemessar died, Sennacherib his son reigned in his place, and the roads of his kingdom fell into disorder, so I could travel to Media no longer.

Burying the Dead in Nineveh

16In the days of Enemessar I gave alms many times to my kinsmen: 17my loaves went to the hungry and my clothes to the naked, and whenever I saw one of my own people dead, flung down behind the wall of Nineveh, I buried him. 18And when King Sennacherib, come back in flight from Judea, put men to death, I buried them by stealth — for he killed many in his fury. The king had the bodies searched for, and they were not to be found. 19But one of the men of Nineveh went and informed on me to the king, that I was the one burying them, and I hid myself. When I realized that I was being hunted down to be killed, I took fright and got away. 20Everything I owned was plundered, and nothing was left to me but Anna my wife and Tobias my son. 21Fifty days had not gone by when Sennacherib’s two sons killed him; they fled into the mountains of Ararat, and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place. He appointed Ahikar, son of my brother Anael, over all the accounts of his kingdom and over the whole administration. 22Ahikar put in a plea for me, and I came back to Nineveh. Now Ahikar was cupbearer and keeper of the signet, administrator and accountant, and Esarhaddon set him second in the kingdom; he was my nephew.