1 I am Tobit and this is the story of my life. My father was Tobiel, my grandfather was Ananiel, and my great-grandfather was Aduel. Aduel's father was Gabael; his grandfather was Raphael; and his great-grandfather was Raguel, who belonged to the clan of Asiel, a part of the tribe of Naphtali. 2 During the time that Shalmaneser was emperor of Assyria, I was taken captive in my hometown of Thisbe, located in northern Galilee, south of Kadesh in Naphtali, northwest of Hazor, and north of Phogor.
Tobit's Early Life
3 All my life I have been honest and have tried to do what was right. I often gave money to help needy relatives and other Jews who had been deported with me to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.
4 When I was young, I lived in northern Israel. All the tribes in Israel were supposed to offer sacrifices in Jerusalem. It was the one city that God had chosen from among all the Israelite cities as the place where his Temple was to be built for his holy and eternal home. But my entire tribe of Naphtali rejected the city of Jerusalem and the kings descended from David. 5 Like everyone else in this tribe, my own family used to go to the city of Dan in the mountains of northern Galilee to offer sacrifices to the gold bull-calf which King Jeroboam of Israel had set up there.
Tobit's Faithfulness to His Religion
6 I was the only one in my family who regularly went to Jerusalem to celebrate the religious festivals, as the Law of Moses commands everyone to do. I would hurry off to Jerusalem with the first part of my harvest, the first-born of my animals, a tenth of my cattle, and the freshly clipped wool from my sheep. Then I would stand before the altar in the Temple, and give these offerings to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. 7 I would give a tenth of my grain, wine, olive oil, pomegranates, figs, and other fruits to the Levites who served God in Jerusalem. Every year, except the seventh year when the land was at rest, I would sell a second tenth of my possessions and spend the money in Jerusalem on the festival meal.
8 But every third year, I would give a third tithe to widows and orphans and to foreigners living among my people, and we would eat the festival meal together. I did this in keeping with the Law of Moses, which Deborah, the mother of my grandfather Ananiel, had taught me to obey. (I had been left an orphan when my father died.)
Tobit's Faithfulness in Exile
9 When I grew up, I married Anna, a member of my own tribe. We had a son and named him Tobias. 10 Later, I was taken captive and deported to Assyria, and that is how I came to live in Nineveh.
While we lived in Nineveh, all my relatives and the other Jews used to eat the same kind of food as the other people who lived there, 11 but I refused to do so. 12 Since I took seriously the commands of the Most High God, 13 he made Emperor Shalmaneser respect me, and I was placed in charge of purchasing all the emperor's supplies.
14 Before the emperor died, I made regular trips to the land of Media to buy things for him there. Once, when I was in the city of Rages in Media, I left some bags of money there with Gabael, Gabrias' brother, and asked him to keep them for me. There were more than 600 pounds of silver coins in those bags. 15 When Shalmaneser died, his son Sennacherib succeeded him as emperor. It soon became so dangerous to travel on the roads in Media that I could no longer go there.
Tobit Buries the Dead
16 While Shalmaneser was still emperor, I took good care of my own people whenever they were in need. 17 If they were hungry, I shared my food with them; if they needed clothes, I gave them some of my own. Whenever I saw that the dead body of one of my people had been thrown outside the city wall, I gave it a decent burial.
18 One day Sennacherib cursed God, the King of Heaven; God punished him, and Sennacherib had to retreat from Judah. On his way back to Media he was so furious that he killed many Israelites. But I secretly removed the bodies and buried them; and when Sennacherib later searched for the bodies, he could not find them.
19 Then someone from Nineveh told the emperor that I was the one who had been burying his victims. As soon as I realized that the emperor knew all about me and that my life was in danger, I became frightened. So I ran away and hid. 20 Everything I owned was seized and put in the royal treasury. My wife Anna and my son Tobias were all I had left.
Tobit's Nephew Rescues Him
21 About six weeks later, two of Sennacherib's sons assassinated him and then escaped to the mountains of Ararat. Another son, Esarhaddon, became emperor and put Ahikar, my brother Anael's son, in charge of all the financial affairs of the empire. 22 This was actually the second time Ahikar was appointed to this position, for when Sennacherib was emperor of Assyria, Ahikar had been wine steward, treasurer, and accountant, and had been in charge of the official seal. Since Ahikar was my nephew, he put in a good word for me with the emperor, and I was allowed to return to Nineveh.
Ievads
1 Tobita, Tobiēla dēla, Ananiēla dēla, Gabaēla dēla, Rafaēla dēla, Raguēla dēla no Asiēla pēctečiem, no Neftalima cilts, vārdu grāmata, 2 viņš asīriešu ķēniņa Salmanasara valdīšanas laikā tika aizdzīts gūstā no Tisbas, kas ir pa labi no Kudijas Neftalima zemē, Galilejas augšpusē, rietumos viņpus Ašēras no kreisās puses Fogorai.
Tobita godbijība izraisa konfliktu ar ķēniņu
3 Visas manas dzīves dienas es, Tobits, staigāju tikai patiesības un taisnības ceļus, daudzus žēlsirdības darbus esmu darījis saviem brāļiem un savai tautai, kas līdz ar mani aizgāja gūstā uz asīriešu zemi Ninivē. 4 Kad vēl biju savā zemē Israēlā un biju jauns, visa mana tēva Neftalima dzimta atkāpās no mana tēva Dāvida nama un no Jeruzālemes, no tās pilsētas, ko bija izredzējušas visas Israēla ciltis upuru pienešanai un kur tās bija iesvētījušas Dieva apmešanās templi, kas uzcelts visām audžu audzēm. 5 Visi mani cilts brāļi un mana tēva Neftalima nams bija paraduši upurēt tam teļam, ko izgatavoja Jārobāms, Israēla ķēniņš Dannā, kā arī uz visiem Galilejas kalniem, 6 un svētku dienās es vienīgais devos ceļojumā uz Jeruzālemi un, kā ir rakstīts mūžīgajā pavēlē visam Israēlam, līdzi ņemot pirmaugļus un lopu pirmdzimtos, ienākumu desmito tiesu un avju pirmcirpumu, bieži aizskrēju uz Jeruzālemi un 7 nodevu tos Ārona dēliem, priesteriem, upurēšanai un graudu un vīna, un eļļas, un granātābolu, un vīģu, un citu augļu desmito tiesu nodevu Levī dēliem, kas kalpo Jeruzālemē. Un katru gadu, izņemot sabata gadu, nogājis uz Jeruzālemi, es iemaksāju otru desmito tiesu sudrabā. 8 Un trešo daļu es devu bāreņiem un atraitnēm un sveštautiešiem, kas dzīvoja pie israēliešiem; es to aiznesu un nodevu katrā trešajā gadā, un mēs kopā ēdām – pēc Mozus bauslības priekšraksta, kas par to noteikts un kā to pavēlēja Debora, mana tēva Ananiēla māte, jo, tēvam nomirstot, es biju palicis bārenis. 9 Kad tapu vīrs, es apņēmu sievu Annu no mūsu tēvu zemes un dzemdināju no viņas dēlu un liku viņam vārdu Tobijs. 10 Pēc tam, kad sākās gūstniecība un es tiku aizvests trimdā, nonācu Ninivē, un visi mani brāļi un pārējie no manas dzimtas ēda no pagānu maizes, 11 bet es saglabāju savu dvēseli, jo neēdu no pagānu maizes. 12 Kad nu es biju savu Dievu tā pieminējis no visas sirds, 13 Augstākais man piešķīra žēlastību un labvēlību Salmanasara priekšā, un es kļuvu par viņa tirgotāju. 14 Es aizceļoju uz mēdiešu zemi un tirgojos tur viņa labā, līdz viņš nomira. Es noglabāju naudas maisu pie sava radinieka Gabaēla, Gabri dēla, mēdiešu zemē Ragī pilsētā – desmit talantus sudrabā. 15 Kad pēc Salmanasara nāves viņa vietā par ķēniņu kļuva viņa dēls Sanherībs, mēdiešu ceļi kļuva necaurejami un es vairs nevarēju nokļūt mēdiešu zemē. 16 Salmanasara dienās es veicu daudz žēlsirdības darbu saviem dzimtas brāļiem, 17 devu maizi nabagiem un apģērbu kailajiem, un, ja es atradu kādu savu tautieti mirušu un nomestu ārpus Ninives mūriem, es to apglabāju. 18 Es apglabāju arī tos, kurus Sanherībs nogalināja, kad viņš bēgšus bija ieradies no Jūdejas tiesas dienās, kurām debesu Ķēniņš lika notikt par viņa izteiktajiem zaimiem, jo viņš savās dusmās nokāva daudzus Israēla dēlus, un es nozagu viņu miesas un apglabāju, un Sanherībs tās meklēja, bet nevarēja atrast. 19 Kāds no Ninives aizgāja un paziņoja ķēniņam, ka es tos apglabāju, un es paslēpos. Kad uzzināju, ka ķēniņš zina par mani un meklē mani nokaut, es nobijos un aizbēgu. 20 Un viņš sagrāba visu, kas man piederēja; man nepalika nekā, ko ķēniņš nebūtu aizvedis uz ķēniņa pili, izņemot Annu, manu sievu, un Tobiju, manu dēlu. 21 Un nepagāja ne četrdesmit dienu, līdz viņu nokāva divi viņa dēli, kuri tad aizbēga uz Arārata kalnu, un pēc viņa sāka valdīt viņa dēls Saherdons. Viņš iecēla Ahiharu, mana cilts brāļa Anaēla dēlu, par visas valsts rēķinvedi un pārvaldnieku. 22 Tad Ahihars iestājās par mani, un es varēju atgriezties Ninivē, jo Ahihars bija bijis pie asīriešu ķēniņa Sanherība galvenais dzērienu devējs un zīmoggredzena glabātājs, un pārvaldnieks, un rēķinvedis, un Saherdons viņu iecēla par savu vietvaldi; mans brālēns bija no maniem radiem.
