Tobias Routs the Demon

¹When they had finished eating and drinking, they wanted to go to sleep, so they escorted the youth and led him to the other room.

² Tobias remembered Raphael’s words, and he took the fish’s liver and the heart out of the sack where he had been keeping them and put them upon the live ashes in the incense burner.

³And the odour of the fish exercised a restraining force and the demon fled upwards to the districts of Egypt, and Raphael went and ensnared him there and bound him at once.

⁴And they came and shut the door of the private room. Tobias arose from the bed and said to Sarah, “Sister, get up. Let us pray and plead with our Lord that he might bring us mercy and deliverance.”

⁵So she arose and they began to pray and plead that deliverance might come to them, and he began to say: “Blessed are you, O God of our fathers, and blessed is your name through all the ages and generations. Let the heavens and every creature bless you through the ages.

⁶ You made Adam, and you made his wife Eve for him as a helper and support. From them both the offspring of mankind came into being. You said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone; let us make a helper for him like himself.’ ⁷And now, it is not because of lust that I am taking this sister of mine, but with sincerity. Grant that she and I may find mercy and that we may grow old together.”

⁸And they said together, “Amen, Amen.”

⁹Then they both went to sleep for the night. But Raguel arose, called his household servants to him, and went off and dug a grave,

¹⁰ for he said, “Perhaps he will die and we will become a laughing-stock and reproach.”

¹¹ When he had finished digging the grave, Raguel went into the house and called his wife

¹²and said, “Send one of the maidservants to go and see whether he is alive or if he has died, that we might bury him so that no one might know.”

¹³ So they sent the maid. They lit a lamp and opened the door, and she went in and found them lying down and sleeping together.

¹⁴And the maidservant came out and told them that he was alive and that there was no harm.

¹⁵ Then they blessed the God of heaven and said: “Blessed are you, O God, with every pure blessing. Let them bless you throughout the ages.

¹⁶ Blessed are you, because you have made me glad, And because it has not turned out as I was expecting; but you have treated us according to your great mercy.

¹⁷ Blessed are you, because you have had mercy on two only children. Bring them mercy and deliverance, Master; and bring their lives to fulfilment with gladness and mercy.”

¹⁸Then he ordered his servants to fill in the grave before morning came.

Wedding Feast

¹⁹He told his wife to bake many loaves of bread and he went out to the herd and selected two cows and four rams and gave orders to make them ready, and they began to make preparations.

²⁰ And he called Tobias and said to him, “For fourteen days you shall surely not depart hence, but you will stay here eating and drinking with me, and you will bring gladness to my daughter’s afflicted soul.

²¹And of all that belongs to me, take half and depart hence to your father safe and sound. As for the other half, when my wife and I die, it is yours. Take heart, child: I am your father and Edna your mother, and we will be by your side and that of your sister from now on and for ever. Take heart, child!”