Tobit 14

¹And the wordis of Tobie weren endid; and aftir that he was liytned, he lyuede two and fourti yeer, and siy the sones of hise sones sones.

²For whanne an hundrid yeer and tweyn weren fillid, he was biried worschipfuli in Nynyue.

³`For he of sixe and fifti yeer loste the liyt of iyen; sotheli he sixti yeer eeld resseyuede `that liyt.

⁴Forsothe the residue of his lijf was in ioie, and he yede in pees with good encresyng of Goddis drede.

⁵Forsothe in the our of his deeth he clepide to hym Tobie, his sone, and seuene yonge sones of hym, hise sones sones,

⁶and seide to hem, The perischyng of Nynyue schal be niy, for the word of God schal not falle doun ; and youre britheren, that ben scaterid fro the lond of Israel, schulen turne ayen to it.

⁷Sotheli al deseert lond therof schal be fillid, and the hows of God, which is brent ther ynne, schal be bildid ayen, and alle that dreden God schulen turne ayen thidur.

⁸And hethene men schulen forsake her idols , and schulen come to Jerusalem, and schulen `enhabite it.

⁹And alle the kyngis of erthe schulen haue ioie ther ynne, and schulen worschipe the kyng of Israel.

¹⁰Therfor, my sones, here ye youre fadir; serue ye the Lord in drede and treuthe; and enquere ye to do tho thingis that ben plesaunt to hym.

¹¹And comaunde ye youre sones to do riytfulnessis and almesdedis; that thei be myndeful of God, and blesse God in al tyme, in treuthe and in al her vertu.

¹²Now therfor, my sones, here ye me, and nyle ye dwelle here, but in what euer dai ye han biried youre modir biside me in o sepulcre, fro that dai dresse ye youre steppis, that ye go out fro hennus;

¹³for Y se that the wickidnesse therof schal `yyue an ende therto.

¹⁴Forsothe it was doon aftir the deeth of his modir, Tobie yede awei fro Nynyue, with his wijf, and sones, and with the sones of sones, and turnede ayen to the fadir and modir of his wijf.

¹⁵And he foond hem sounde in good eelde. And he dide the cure of hem, and he closide her iyen; and he took al the erytage of the hows of Raguel, and he siy the fyuethe generacioun, the sones of hise sones.

¹⁶And whanne nynti yeer and nyne weren fillid in the drede of the Lord, thei birieden hym with ioie.

¹⁷Forsothe al his kynrede, and al his generacioun, dwellide perfitli in good lijf, and in hooli conuersacioun, so that thei weren acceptable bothe to God and to men, and to alle enhabitynge the erthe.

Tobit 14

¹So Tobit made an end of praising God.

²And he was eight and fifty years old when he lost his sight, which was restored to him after eight years: and he gave alms, and he increased in the fear of the Lord God, and praised him.

³And when he was very aged he called his son, and the sons of his son, and said to him, My son, take thy children; for, behold, I am aged, and am ready to depart out of this life.

⁴Go into Media my son, for I surely believe those things which Jonas the prophet spake of Nineve, that it shall be overthrown; and that for a time peace shall rather be in Media; and that our brethren shall lie scattered in the earth from that good land: and Jerusalem shall be desolate, and the house of God in it shall be burned, and shall be desolate for a time;

⁵And that again God will have mercy on them, and bring them again into the land, where they shall build a temple, but not like to the first, until the time of that age be fulfilled; and afterward they shall return from all places of their captivity, and build up Jerusalem gloriously, and the house of God shall be built in it for ever with a glorious building, as the prophets have spoken thereof.

⁶And all nations shall turn, and fear the Lord God truly, and shall bury their idols.

⁷So shall all nations praise the Lord, and his people shall confess God, and the Lord shall exalt his people; and all those which love the Lord God in truth and justice shall rejoice, shewing mercy to our brethren.

⁸And now, my son, depart out of Nineve, because that those things which the prophet Jonas spake shall surely come to pass.

⁹But keep thou the law and the commandments, and shew thyself merciful and just, that it may go well with thee.

¹⁰And bury me decently, and thy mother with me; but tarry no longer at Nineve. Remember, my son, how Aman handled Achiacharus that brought him up, how out of light he brought him into darkness, and how he rewarded him again: yet Achiacharus was saved, but the other had his reward: for he went down into darkness. Manasses gave alms, and escaped the snares of death which they had set for him: but Aman fell into the snare, and perished.

¹¹Wherefore now, my son, consider what alms doeth, and how righteousness doth deliver. When he had said these things, he gave up the ghost in the bed, being an hundred and eight and fifty years old; and he buried him honourably.

¹²And when Anna his mother was dead, he buried her with his father. But Tobias departed with his wife and children to Ecbatane to Raguel his father in law,

¹³Where he became old with honour, and he buried his father and mother in law honourably, and he inherited their substance, and his father Tobit’s.

¹⁴And he died at Ecbatane in Media, being an hundred and seven and twenty years old.

¹⁵But before he died he heard of the destruction of Nineve, which was taken by Nabuchodonosor and Assuerus: and before his death he rejoiced over Nineve.