Tobit’s Song of Praise
1And Tobit wrote a prayer of exultation, and he said: 2“Blessed be the living God through all the ages, and blessed be his kingdom. For he is the one who scourges and shows mercy; he brings down to Hades and he brings back up, and there is no one who can slip out of his hand. 3Give him thanks, sons of Israel, in front of the nations, for he is the one who scattered us among them. 4There make his greatness known; lift him high before everything that lives, for he is our Lord and God, he is our Father through all the ages. 5He will scourge us for our wrongdoing, and again he will have mercy, and he will gather us out of every nation you have been scattered among. 6If you turn back to him with your whole heart and your whole soul, to do the truth before him, then he will turn back to you, and he will not keep his face hidden from you. 7Now look at what he will do for you, and thank him with your whole mouth. Bless the Lord of righteousness, and lift the King of the ages high. 8I, in the land of my captivity, give him thanks, and I show his strength and his greatness to a nation of sinners. Turn back, sinners, and do what is right before him. Who knows whether he will take pleasure in you and show you mercy? 9My God I lift high, and my soul lifts high the King of heaven, and it will exult in his greatness. 10Let them all speak, and let them give him thanks in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, holy city: he will scourge you for the works of your sons, and again he will have mercy on the sons of the righteous. 11Thank the Lord as he deserves, and bless the King of the ages, so that his tent may be built in you again with joy, 12so that he may gladden the captives in you and love the wretched in you, through all the generations of the age. 13Many nations will come from far off to the name of the Lord God, gifts in their hands, gifts for the King of heaven. Generation upon generation will give you their exultation. 14Cursed be all who hate you; blessed forever be all who love you. 15Rejoice and exult over the sons of the righteous, for they will be gathered in, and they will bless the Lord of the righteous. How happy they are who love you: they will rejoice in your peace. 16Happy are all who grieved over every scourging of yours, for they will rejoice over you when they behold your glory in full, and they will be glad forever. Bless God, the great King, O my soul. 17For Jerusalem will be built with sapphire and emerald and precious stone; your walls, your towers, your battlements in pure gold; and the squares of Jerusalem laid out in beryl and carbuncle and stone from Ophir. 18And all her lanes will say: Hallelujah! And they will praise him, saying: Blessed be God, who has lifted her high for all the ages.”
