4 For thou knowest that my father numbereth many words, and he by no means would hearken the days: and if I stay one day more, his soul to him, he delivered Sara unto him, and half will be afflicted. of all his substance in men-servants, and women-servants, in cattle, in camels, and in kine, and in much money, and sent him away safe and joyful from him, 5 And indeed thou seest how Raguel hath adjured me, whose adjuring I cannot despise. 6 Then Raphael took four of Raguel's servants, and two camels, and went to Rages the city of the Medes: and finding Gabelus, gave him his note of hand, and received of him all the money. 7 And he told him concerning Tobias the son of Tobias, all that had been done: and made him come with him to the wedding. 8 And when he was come into Raguel's house, he found Tobias sitting at the table: and he leaped up, and they kissed each other: and Gabelus wept, and blessed God, 9 And said: the God of Israel bless thee, because thou art the son of a very good and just man: and that feareth God, and doth alms-deeds: 10 And may a blessing come upon thy wife, and upon your parents. 11 And may you see your children, and your children's children, unto the third and fourth generation and may your seed be blessed by the God of Israel, who reigneth for ever and ever. 12 And when all had said, Amen ; they went to the feast: but the marriage feast they celebrated also with the fear of the Lord. CHAP. X. 11 Saying: The holy Angel of the Lord be with you in your journey, and bring you through safe, and that you may find all things well about your parents, and my eyes may see your children before I die. 12 And the parents taking their daughter, kissed her, and let her go: 13 Admonishing her to honour her father and mother-in-law, to love her husband, to take care of the family, to govern the house, and to behave herself irreprehensibly. CHAP. XI. Tobias anointeth his father's eyes with the fish's gall, and he recorereth his sight. A ND as they were returning they came to Charan, which is in the midway to Ninive, the eleventh day. 2 And the Angel said: Brother Tobias, thou knowest how thou didst leave thy father. 3 If it please thee therefore, let us go before, and let the family follow softly after us, together with thy wife, and with the beasts. 4 And as this their going pleased him, Raphael The parents lament the long absence of their son Tobias. said to Tobias: Take with thee of the gall of He sets out to return. BUT as Tobias made longer stay upon occasion of the marriage, Tobias his father was solicitous, saying: Why thinkest thou doth my son tarry, or why is he detained there? 2 Is Gabelus dead thinkest thou, and no man will pay him the money ? 3 And he began to be exceeding sad, both he and Anna his wife with him: and they began both to weep together: because their son did not return to them on the day appointed. 4 But his mother wept and was quite disconBolate, and said: Wo, wo is me, my son, why did we send thee to go to a strange country, the light of our eyes, the staff of our old age, the comfort of our life, the hope of our posterity. 5 We having all things together in thee alone, ought not to have let thee go from us. 6 And Tobias said to her: Hold thy peace, and be not troubled, our son is safe: that man with whom we sent him is very trusty. 7 But she could by no means be comforted, but daily running out looked round about, and went into all the ways by which there seemed any hope he might return, that she might if possible see him coming afar off. 8 But Raguel said to his son-in-law: Stay here, and I will send a messenger to Tobias thy father, that thou art in health. 9 And Tobias said to him: I know that my father and mother now count the days, and their spirit is grievously afflicted within them. 10 And when Raguel had pressed Tobias with A. M. 3299.b Supra, 5. 23.—o A. M. 3299. Ch. 11. v. 9. The dog, &c. This may seem a very minute circumstance to be recorded in sacred history: but as we learn from our Saviour, St. Matt. 5. 18., there are iotas and tittles in the word of God; that is to say, things that appear minute, but which have indeed a deep and mysterious meaning in them. the fish, for it will be necessary. So Tobias took some of that gall and departed. 5 But Anna sat beside the way daily, on the top of a hill, from whence she might see afar off. 6 And while she watched his coming from that place, she saw him afar off, and presently ing she told her husband, saying: Behold thy perceived it was her son coming: and returnson cometh. 7 And Raphael said to Tobias: As soon as thou shalt come into thy house, forthwith adore the Lord thy God: and giving thanks to him, go to thy father, and kiss him. 8 And immediately anoint his eyes with this gall of the fish, which thou carriest with thee. For be assured that his eyes shall be presently opened, and thy father shall see the light of heaven, and shall rejoice in the sight of thee. 9 Then the dog, which had been with them in the way, ran before, and coming as if he had brought the news, shewed his joy by his fawning and wagging his tail. 10 And his father that was blind rising up, began to run stumbling with his feet: and giving a servant his hand, went to meet his son. his wife, and they began to weep for joy. 11 And receiving him kissed him, as did also 12 And when they had adored God, and given him thanks, they sat down together. 13 Then Tobias taking of the gall of the fish, anointed his father's eyes. 14 And he stayed about half an hour: and a white skin began to come out of his eyes, like the skin of an egg. 15 And Tobias took hold of it, and drew it from his eyes, and immediately he recovered his sight. 16 And they glorified God, both he and his wife and all that knew him. 17 And Tobias said: I bless thee, O Lord God of Israel, because thou hast coastised me, and thou hast saved me and behold I see Tobias my son. 18 And after seven days Sara his son's wife, and all the family arrived safe, and the cattle, and the camels, and an abundance of money of his wife's: and that money also which he had received of Gabelus: 19 And he told his parents all the benefits of God, which he had done to him by the man that conducted him. 20 And Achior and Nabath the kinsmen of Tobias came, rejoicing for Tobias, and congratulating with him for all the good things that God had done for him. 21 And for seven days they feasted and rejoiced all with great joy. CHAP. XII. Raphael maketh himself known. THE HEN Tobias called to him his son, and said to him: What can we give to this holy man, that is come with thee? 2 Tobias answering, said to his father: Father, what wages shall we give him? or what can be worthy of his benefits? 3 He conducted me and brought me safe again, he received the money of Gabelus, he caused me to have my wife, and he chased from her the evil spirit, he gave joy to her parents, myself he delivered from being devoured by the fish, thee also he hath made to see the light of heaven, and we are filled with all good things through him. What can we give him sufficient for these things? 4 But I beseech thee, my father, to desire him, that he would vouchsafe to accept of one half of all things that have been brought. 5 So the father and the son calling him, took him aside and began to desire him that he would vouchsafe to accept of half of all things that they had brought. 6 Then he said to them secretly: Bless ye the God of heaven, give glory to him in the sight of all that live, because he hath shewn his mercy to you. 7 For it is good to hide the secret of a king: but honourable to reveal and confess the works of God. 8 Prayer is good with fasting and alms, more than to lay up treasures of gold: 9 For alms delivereth from death, and the same is that which purgeth away sins, and maketh to find mercy and life everlasting. 10 But they that commit sin and iniquity, are enemies to their own soul. 11 I discover then the truth unto you, and will not hide the secret from you. I 12 When thou didst pray with tears, and didst bury the dead, and didst leave thy dinner, and hide the dead by day in thy house, and bury them by night, I offered thy prayer to the Lord. 13 And because thou wast acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove thee. a A. M. 3299.-b A. M. 3299.- Deut. 32. 39. 1 Kin. 2. 6. Wis. 16. 13.- Isa. 60, 5. Ch. 13. v. 11. Jerusalem. What is prophetically delivered here, and in the following chapter, with relation to Jerusalem, is partly to be understood of the rebuilding the city after the captivity: and partly of the spiritual Jerusalem, which is the church of Christ, and the eternal Jerusalem in heaven. 14 And now the Lord hath sent me to heal thee, and to deliver Sara thy son's wife from the devil. 15 For I am the Angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord. 16 And when they had heard these things, they were troubled, and being seized with fear they fell upon the ground on their face. 17 And the Angel said to them: Peace be to you, fear not. 18 For when I was with you, I was there by the will of God: bless ye him, and sing praises to him. 15 I seemed indeed to eat, and to drink with you: but I use an invisible meat and drink, which cannot be seen by men. 20 It is time therefore that I return to him, that sent me: but bless ye God, and publish all his wonderful works. 21 And when he had said these things, he was taken from their sight, and they could see him no more. 22 Then they lying prostrate for three hours upon their face, blessed God: and rising up, they told all his wonderful works. CHAP. XIII. Tobias the father praiseth God, exhorting all Israel to do the same. Prophesieth the restoration and better state of Jerusalem. с AND Tobias the elder opening his mouth, blessed the Lord, and said: Thou art great, O Lord, for ever, and thy kingdom is unto all ages: 2 For thou scourgest, and thou savest: thou leadest down to hell, and bringest up again: and there is none that can escape thy hand. 3 Give glory to the Lord, ye children of Israel, and praise him in the sight of the Gentiles: 4 Because he hath therefore scattered you among the Gentiles, who know not him, that you may declare his wonderful works, and make them know that there is no other almighty God besides him. 5 He hath chastised us for our iniquities: and he will save us for his own mercy. 6 See then what he hath done with us, and with fear and trembling give ye glory to him: and extol the eternal King of worlds in your works. 7 As for me, I will praise him in the land of my captivity: because he hath shewn his majesty toward a sinful nation. 8 Be converted therefore, ye sinners, and do justice before God, believing that he will shew his mercy to you. 9 And I and my soul will rejoice in him. 10 Bless ye the Lord, all his elect, keep days of joy, and give glory to him. 11 Jerusalem, city of God, the Lord hath chastised thee for the works of thy hands. 12 Give glory to the Lord for thy good things, and bless the God eternal, that he may rebuild his tabernacle in thee, and may call back all the captives to thee, and thou mayst rejoice for ever and ever. 13 Thou shalt shine with a glorious light: and all the ends of the earth shall worship thee. 14 Nations from afar shall come to thee: and shall bring gifts, and shall adore the Lord in thee, and shall esteem thy land as holy. 15 For they shall call upon the great name in thee. 16 They shall be cursed that shall despise thee: him his son Tobias and his children, seven young and they shall be condemned that shall blas-men, his grand-sons, and said to them: pheme thee: and blessed shall they be that shall build thee up. 17 But thou shalt rejoice in thy children, because they shall all be blessed, and shall be gathered together to the Lord. 18 Blessed are all they that love thee, and that rejoice in thy peace. 19 My soul, bless thou the Lord, because the Lord our God hath delivered Jerusalem his city from all her troubles. 20 Happy shall I be if there shall remain of my seed, to see the glory of Jerusalem. 21 The gates of Jerusalem shall be built of Sapphire, and of Emerald, and all the walls thereof round about of precious stones. 22 All its streets shall be paved with white and clean stones and Alleluia shall be sung in its streets. 23 Blessed be the Lord, who hath exalted it, and may he reign over it for ever and ever, Amen. CHAP. XIV. Old Tobias dieth at the age of a hundred and two years, after exhorting his son and grand-sons to piety, foreshewing that Ninive shall be destroyed, and Jerusalem rebuilt. The younger Tobias returneth with his family to Raguel, and dieth happily as he had lived. 6 The destruction of Ninive is at hand: for the word of the Lord must be fulfilled: "and our brethren, that are scattered abroad from the land of Israel, shall return to it. 7 And all the land thereof that is desert shall be filled with people, and the house of God which is burnt in it, shall again be rebuilt: and all that fear God shall return thither. 8 And the Gentiles shall leave their idols, and shall come into Jerusalem, and shall dwell in it, 9 And all the kings of the earth shall rejoice in it, adoring the King of Israel. 10 Hearken therefore, my children, to your father: serve the Lord in truth, and seek to do the things that please him: 11 And command your children that they do justice and alms-deeds, and that they be mindful of God,and bless him at all times in truth, and with all their power. 12 And now, children, hear me, and do not stay here: but as soon as you shall bury your mother by me in one sepulchre, without delay direct your steps to depart hence: 13 For I see that its iniquity will bring it to destruction. AND the words of Tobias were ended. And his mother, Tobias departed out of Ninive with after Tobias was restored to his sight, he lived two and forty years, and saw the children of his grand-children. 2 And after he had lived a hundred and two years, he was buried honourably in Ninive. 3 For he was six and fifty years old when he lost the sight of his eyes, and sixty when he recovered it again. 4 And the rest of his life was in joy, and with great increase of the fear of God he departed in peace. 5 And at the hour of his death he called unto Apoc. 21. 16.-A. M. 3341. A. C. 663.- 1 Esd. 3. 8. 14 And it came to pass that after the death of his wife, and children, and children's children, and returned to his father and mother-in-law. 15 And he found them in health in a good old age: and he took care of them, and he closed their eyes: and all the inheritance of Raguel's house came to him: and he saw his children's children to the fifth generation. 16 And after he had lived ninety nine years in the fear of the Lord, with joy they buried him. 17 And all his kindred, and all his generation continued in good life, and in holy conversation, so that they were acceptable both to God, and to men, and to all that dwelt in the land. THE BOOK OF JUDITH. The sacred writer of this Book generally believed to be the high priest Eliachim, (called aiso Joachim.) The transactions herein related, most probably happened in his days, and in the reign of Manasses, after his repentance and return from captivity. It takes its name from that illustrious woman, by whose virtue and fortitude, and armed with prayer, the children of Israel were preserved from the destruction threatened them by Holofernes and his great army. It finishes with her canticle of thanksgiving to God. CHAP. I. dred cubits high. But on the square of them, each Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians overcometh side was extended the space of twenty feet. Arphaxad king of the Medes. 3 And he made the gates thereof according to NOW Arphaxad king of the Medes had brought the height of the towers: many nations under his dominions, and he 4 And he gloried as a mighty one in the force built a very strong city, which he called Ecbatana. of his army and in the glory of his chariots. 2 Of stones, squared and hewed: he made the 5 Now in the twelfth year of his reign Nabuwalls thereof seventy cubits broad, and thirty cu-chodonosor king of the Assyrians, who reigned bits high, and the towers thereof he made a hun in Ninive the great city, fought against Arphaxad and overcame him, a A. M. 3347. A. C. 657. Ch. 1. v. 1. Arphaxad. He was probably the same as is called Dejoces by Herodotus; to whom he attributes the building of Ecbatana, the capital city of Media. Ver. 5. Nabuchodonosor. Not the king of Babylon, who took and destroyed Jerusalem, but another of the same name, who reigned in Ninive; and is called by profane historians Saosduchin. He succeeded Asarhad don in the kingdom of the Assyrians, and was cotemporary with Manasses king of Juda. 6 In the great plain which is called Ragua, about the Euphrates, and the Tigris, and the Jadason in the plain of Erioch the king of the Elicians. 7 Then was the kingdom of Nabuchodonosor exalted, and his heart was elevated: and he sent to all that dwelt in Cilicia and Damascus, and Libanus, 8 And to the nations that are in Carmelus, Cedar, and to the inhabitants of Galilee in the great plain of Asdrelon, 9 And to all that were in Samaria, and beyond the river Jordan even to Jerusalem, and all the land of Jesse till you come to the borders of Ethiopia. 10 To all these Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians, sent messengers: 11 But they all with one mind refused, and sent them back empty, and rejected them without ho nour. 12 Then king Nabuchodonosor being angry against all that land, swore by his throne and kingdom that he would revenge himself of all those countries. CHAP. II. Nabuchodonosor sendeth Holofernes to waste the countries of the west. IN 2 And he called all the ancients, and all the governors, and his officers of war, and communicated to them the secret of his counsel: 15 And he took the borders thereof, from Cilicia to the coasts of Japheth, which are towards the south. 16 And he carried away all the children of Madian, and stripped them of all their riches, and all that resisted him he slew with the edge of the sword. 17 And after these things he went down into the plains of Damascus in the days of the harvest, and he set all the corn on fire, and he caused all the trees and vineyards to be cut down: 18 And the fear of them fell upon all the inhabitants of the land. CHAP. III. Many submit themselves to Holofernes. He destroyeth their cities, and their gods, that Nabuchodonosor only might be called god. "the thirteenth year of the reign of Nabu-THEN the kings and the princes of all the cities and provinces, of Syria, Mesopotamia, chodonosor, the two and twentieth day of the and Syria Sobal,and Libya,and Cilicia sent their first month, the word was given out in the house embassadors, who coming to Holofernes, said: of Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians, that 2 Let thy indignation towards us cease: for it is he would revenge himself. better for us to live and serve Nabuchodonosor the great king, and be subject to thee, than to die and to perish, or suffer the miseries of slavery. 3 All our cities and our possessions, all mountains and hills, and fields, and herds of oxen, and flocks of sheep, and goats, and horses, and camels, and all our goods, and families are in thy sight: 4 Let all we have be subject to thy law. 5 Both we and our children are thy servants. 6 Come to us a peaceable lord, and use our service as it shall please thee. 3 And he said that his thoughts were to bring all the earth under his empire. 4 And when this saying pleased them all, Nabuchodonosor, the king, called Holofernes the general of his armies, 5 And said to him: Go out against all the kingdoms of the west, and against them especially that despised my commandment. 6 Thy eye shall not spare any kingdom, and all the strong cities thou shalt bring under my yoke. 7 Then Holofernes called the captains, and officers of the power of the Assyrians: and he mustered men for the expedition, as the king com- | manded him, a hundred and twenty thousand fighting men on foot, and twelve thousand archers, horsemen. 8 And he made all his warlike preparations to go before with a multitude of innumerable camels, with all provisions sufficient for the armies in abundance, and herds of oxen, and flocks of sheep, without number. 9 He appointed corn to be prepared out of all Syria in his passage. 10 But gold and silver he took out of the king's house in great abundance. 7 Then he came down from the mountains with horsemen in great power and made himself master of every city, and all the inhabitants of the land. 8 And from all the cities he took auxiliaries valiant men, and chosen for war. 9 And so great a fear lay upon all those provinces, that the inhabitants of all the cities, both princes and nobles, as well as the people went out to meet him at his coming. 10 And received him with garlands, and lights, and dances, and timbrels, and flutes. 11 And though they did these things, they could not for all that mitigate the fierceness of his heart: 12 For he both destroyed their cities, and cut down their groves. 13 For Nabuchodonosor the king had commanded him to destroy all the gods of the earth, that he only might be called god by those nations which could be brought under him by the 11 And he went forth he and all the army, 13 And he took by assault the renowned city of Melothus, and pillaged all the children of Tharsis, and the children of Ismahel, who were over-against the face of the desert, and on the south of the land of Cellon. 14 And he passed over the Euphrates, and came into Mesopotamia: and he forced all the stately cities that were there, from the torrent of Mambre, till one comes to the sea: a A. M. 3348. 14 And when he had passed through all Syria Sobal, and all Apamea, and all Mesopotamia, he came to the Idumeans into the land of Gabaa, 15 And he took possession of their cities, and stayed there for thirty days, in which days he commanded all the troops of his army to be united. CHAP. IV. The children of Israel prepare themselves to resist Holofernes. They cry to the Lord for help. THEN the children of Israel, who dwelt in the land of Juda, hearing these things, were exceedingly afraid of him. 2 Dread and horror seized upon their minds, lest he should do the same to Jerusalem and to the temple of the Lord, that he had done to other cities, and their temples. 3 And they sent into all Samaría round about, as far as Jericho, and seized upon all the tops of the mountains: tude: or who is the king over their warfare: 4 And why they above all that dwell in the east, have despised us, and have not come out to meet us, that they might receive us with peace? 5 Then Achior captain of all the children of 4 And they compassed their towns with walls, Ammon answering, said: If thou vouchsafe, my and gathered together corn for provision for war. lord, to hear, I will tell the truth in thy sight 5 And Eliachim the priest wrote to all that concerning this people, that dwelleth in the were over-against Esdrelon, which faceth the mountains, and there shall not a false word great plain near Dothian, and to all by whom come out of my mouth. there might be a passage of way, that they should take possession of the ascents of the mountains, by which there might be any way to Jerusalem, and should keep watch where the way was narrow between the mountains. 6 And the children of Israel did as the priest of the Lord Eliachim had appointed them. 7 And all the people cried to the Lord with great earnestness, and they humbled their souls in fastings, and prayers, both they and their wives. 8 And the priests put on hair-cloths, and they caused the little children to lie prostrate before the temple of the Lord, and the altar of the Lord they covered with hair-cloth. 9 And they cried to the Lord the God of Israel with one accord, that their children might not be made a prey, and their wives carried off, and their cities destroyed, and their holy things profaned, and that they might not be made a reproach to the Gentiles. 10 Then Eliachim the high priest of the Lord went about all Israel and spoke to them, 6 This people is of the offspring of the Chaldeans. 7 They dwelt first in Mesopotamia, because they would not follow the gods of their fathers, who were in the land of the Chaldeans. 8 Wherefore forsaking the ceremonies of their fathers, which consisted in the worship of many gods, 9 They worshipped one God of heaven, who also commanded them to depart from thence, and d to dwell in Charan. And when there was a famine over all the land, they went down into Egypt, and there for four hundred years were so multiplied, that the army of them could not be numbered. 10 And when the king of Egypt oppressed them, and made slaves of them to labour in clay and brick, in the building of his cities, they cried to their Lord, and he struck the whole land of Egypt with divers plagues. 11 And when the Egyptians had cast them out from them, and the plague had ceased from them, and they had a mind to take them again, and bring them back to their service, 11 Saying: Know ye that the Lord will hear your prayers, if you continue with perseverance 12 The God of heaven opened the sea to them in fastings and prayers in the sight of the Lord. in their flight, so that the waters were made to 12 Remember Moses the servant of the Lord, stand firm as a wall on either side, and they who overcame Amelec that trusted in his own walked through the bottom of the sea and passstrength, and in his power, and in his army, and ed it dry foot. in his shields, and in his chariots, and in his horsemen, not by fighting with the sword, but by holy prayers: 13 So shall all the enemies of Israel be; if you persevere in this work which you have begun. 14 So they being moved by this exhortation of his, prayed to the Lord, and continued in the sight of the Lord. 15 So that even they who offered the holocausts to the Lord, offered the sacrifices to the Lord girded with hair-cloths, and with ashes upon their head. 16 And they all begged of God with all their heart, that he would visit his people Israel. CHAP. V. Achior gives Holofernes an account of the people of Israel. AND it was told Holofernes the general of the army of the Assyrians, that the children of Israel prepared themselves to resist, and had shut up the ways of the mountains. 2 And he was transported with exceeding great fury and indignation, and he called all the princes of Moab and the leaders of Ammon, 3 And he said to them: Tell me what is this people that besetteth the mountains: or what are their cities, and of what sort, and how great: also what is their power, or what is their multi Exo. 17. 12. Gen. 11. 13. Gen. 12. 1.—d Gen. 46. 6.Exo. 12. 33.- Exo. 14. 29. 13 And when an innumerable army of the Egyptians pursued after them in that place, they were so overwhelmed with the waters, that there was not one left to tell what had happened to posterity. 14 And after they came out of the Red sea, they abode in the deserts of mount Sina, in which never man could dwell, or son of man rested. 15 There bitter fountains were made sweet for them to drink, and for forty years they received food from heaven. 16 Wheresoever they went in without bow and arrow, and without shield and sword, their God fought for them and overcame. 17 And there was no one that triumphed over this people, but when they departed from the worship of the Lord their God. 18 But as often as beside their own God, they worshipped any other, they were given to spoil, and to the sword, and to reproach. 19 And as often as they were penitent for having revolted from the worship of their God, the God of heaven gave them power to resist. 20 So they overthrew the king of the Chanaanites, and of the Jebusites, and of the Pherezites, and of the Hethites, and of the Hevites, and of the Amorrhites, and all the mighty one in Hesebon, and they possessed their la and their cities: 21 And as long as they sinned not in the |