Tobit 1

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¹Tobit was of the lineage and of the city of Naphtali, which is in the higher parts of Galilee, above Hazor, behind or after the way that leadeth to the west, and it hath in the left side the city of Thisbe,

²when he was taken or he was caught in the days of Shalmaneser, king of Assyrians or of Assyria, never-theless he set in captivity, either taken prisoner, forsook not the way of truth,

³so that he parted each day all things which he might have, with his captive brethren that were of his kin.

⁴And when he was younger than all others in the lineage of Naphtali, nevertheless he did no childish thing in work or in deed.

⁵Forsooth when all the Jews went to worship the golden calves, which Jeroboam, the king of Israel, had made, this Tobit alone fled the companies of all those Jews;

⁶and he went to Jerusalem, to the temple of the Lord, and there he worshipped the Lord God of Israel; and he offered faithfully all his first fruits, and his tithes;

⁷so that in the third year he gave all his tithe to converts, that is, men that were turned to the belief or the converted from Gentiles, and to comelings.

⁸The young man kept these things, and things like these, by or after he law of God of heaven.

⁹And when he was made a man, he took a wife, Anna, of his lineage; and he engendered or he begat of her a son, and he put his own name to him;

¹⁰whom he taught from young childhood to dread God, and for to abstain from all sin. whom from the time that he began to speak, he taught to dread God, and to abstain from all sin.

¹¹Therefore when by captivity Tobit was come, with his wife and son, into the city of Nineveh, with all his lineage,

¹²and all ate there of the meats of heathen men or all ate of the meats of Gentiles, this Tobit kept his soul, clean, and he was never defouled in the meats of them, that were forbidden to Jews by Moses’ law.

¹³And for he was mindful of the Lord in all his heart, God gave grace to him in the sight of Shalmaneser, the king;

¹⁴and he gave to Tobit power to go wither ever he would, and he had freedom to do whatever things he would.

¹⁵Therefore he went by all men that were in the captivity, and gave to them the behests or admonishings of health.

¹⁶And when he was come into Rages, a city of Media, and had ten talents of silver, of these things by or with which he was honoured of the king;

¹⁷and he saw Gabael needy, that was of his lineage, with much company of his kin, Tobit gave to him, under an obligation or under writing, the foresaid weight of silver.

¹⁸And after much time, after that Shalmaneser, the king, was dead, when Sennacherib, his son, reigned for him or when his son Sennacherib reigned for him, and had the sons of Israel hateful in his sight,

¹⁹Tobit went each day by all his kindred, and comforted them, and he parted or divided of his chattel to each man, as he might;

²⁰he fed hungry men, and gave clothes to naked men, and he busily ordained sepulchres to dead men and slain.

²¹And when king Sennacherib turned again, fleeing from Judea for the vengeance that God did there to him for his blasphemy, and was wroth, and killed many of the sons of Israel, Tobit buried their bodies.

²²And after that this was told to the king, he commanded Tobit to be slain, and he took from him all his chattel or all his substance.

²³And Tobit fled with his son and with his wife, and he was hid naked, that is, spoiled of all his chattel, for many men loved him.

²⁴Forsooth after five and forty days, the sons of the king killed the king;

²⁵and then Tobit turned again to his house, and all his chattel was restored to him.