The Waiting in Nineveh
1Tobit his father was reckoning up the days one by one, and when the days the journey needed were used up and still they had not come, 2he said: “Could he have been put to shame? Or has Gabael died, and there is no one to hand him the silver?” 3And he was deeply grieved. 4His wife said to him: “The boy is lost, or he would not be this long.” And she began to keen for him, and she said: 5“Nothing matters to me now, my child, since I let you go — you, the light of my eyes.” 6And Tobit said to her: “Be quiet. Do not fret. He is in good health.” 7And she said to him: “Be quiet yourself, and do not put me off. My boy is lost.” And she would go out every day to the road he had left by; she ate no bread by day, and the nights through she never stopped keening for Tobias her son, until the wedding’s fourteen days were over, which Raguel had sworn he should spend there. 8Then Tobias said to Raguel: “Send me off. My father and my mother have given up hope of seeing me.” 9His father-in-law said to him: “Stay here with me. I will send word to your father, and they will let him know how things stand with you.” And Tobias said: “No. Send me off to my father.” 10So Raguel got up and gave Tobias his wife Sarah and half of what he owned: slaves, livestock and silver. 11And he blessed them as he sent them off, saying: “May the God of heaven prosper your road, children, before I die.” 12And he said to his daughter: “Honor your husband’s father and mother. They are your parents now. Let me hear a good report of you.” And he kissed her. 13And Edna said to Tobias: “Beloved brother, may the Lord of heaven bring you safely home, and may he let me see children of yours by Sarah my daughter, so that I may be glad before the Lord. See, I place my daughter in your hands in trust: do not give her grief.” 14After this Tobias went on his way, blessing God because he had prospered his road, and he called down blessings on Raguel and on Edna his wife.
