The Bible, Douay-Rheims Part 291

12:17. And the angel said to them: Peace be to you, fear not.

12:18. For when I was with you, I was there by the will of G.o.d: bless ye him, and sing praises to him.

12:19. I seemed indeed to eat and to drink with you but I use an invisible meat and drink, which cannot be seen by men.

12:20. It is time therefore that I return to him that sent me: but bless ye G.o.d, and publish all his wonderful works.

12:21. And when he had said these things, he was taken from their sight, and they could see him no more.

12:22. Then they lying prostrate for three hours upon their face, blessed G.o.d, and rising up, they told all his wonderful works.

Tobias Chapter 13

Tobias the father praiseth G.o.d, exhorting all Israel to do the same.

Prophesieth the restoration and better state of Jerusalem.

13:1. 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.

13:2. For thou scourgest, and thou savest: thou leadest down to h.e.l.l, and bringest up again: and there is none that can escape thy hand.

13:3. Give glory to the Lord, ye children of Israel, and praise him in the sight of the Gentiles:

13:4. 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 G.o.d besides him.

13:5. He hath chastised us for our iniquities: and he will save us for his own mercy.

13:6. 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.

13:7. As for me, I will praise him in the land of my captivity: because he hath shewn his majesty toward a sinful nation,

13:8. Be converted therefore, ye sinners, and do justice before G.o.d, believing that he will shew his mercy to you.

13:9. And I and my soul will rejoice in him.

13:10. Bless ye the Lord, all his elect, keep days of joy, and give glory to him.

13:11. Jerusalem, city of G.o.d, the Lord hath chastised thee for the works of thy hands.

Jerusalem... What is prophetically delivered here, and in the following chapter, with relation to Jerusalem, is partly to be understood of the rebuilding of the city after the captivity: and partly of the spiritual Jerusalem, which is the church of Christ, and the eternal Jerusalem in heaven.

13:12. Give glory to the Lord for thy good things, and bless the G.o.d 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.

13:13. Thou shalt s.h.i.+ne with a glorious light: and all the ends of the earth shall wors.h.i.+p thee,

13:14. 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.

13:15. For they shall call upon the great name in thee,

13:16. They shall be cursed that shall despise thee: and they shall be condemned that shall blaspheme thee: and blessed shall they be that shall build thee up,

13:17. But thou shalt rejoice in thy children, because they shall all be blessed, and shall be gathered together to the Lord.

13:18. Blessed are all they that love thee, and that rejoice in thy peace,

13:19. My soul, bless thou the Lord, because the Lord our G.o.d hath delivered Jerusalem his city from all her troubles.

13:20. Happy shall I be if there shall remain of my seed, to see the glory of Jerusalem.

13:21. The gates of Jerusalem shall be built of sapphire, and of emerald, and all the walls thereof round about of precious stones.

13:22. All its streets shall be paved with white and clean stones: and Alleluia shall be sung in its streets,

13:23. Blessed be the Lord, who hath exalted it, and may he reign over it for ever and ever, Amen.

Tobias Chapter 14

Old Tobias dieth at the age of a hundred and two years, after exhorting his son and grandsons 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.

14:1. And the words of Tobias were ended. And after Tobias was restored to his sight, he lived two and forty years, and saw the children of his grandchildren.

14:2. And after he had lived a hundred and two years, he was buried honorably in Ninive.

14:3. For he was six and fifty years old when he lost the sight of his eyes, and sixty when he recovered it again.

14:4. And the rest of his life was in joy, and with great increase of the fear of G.o.d he departed in peace.

14:5. And at the hour of his death he called unto him his son Tobias and his children, seven young men, his grandsons, and said to them:

14:6. 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.

14:7. And all the land thereof that is desert shall be filled with people, and the house of G.o.d which is burnt in it, shall again be rebuilt: and all that fear G.o.d shall return thither.

14:8. And the Gentiles shall leave their idols, and shall come into Jerusalem, and shall dwell in it.

14:9. And all the kings of the earth shall rejoice in it, adoring the King of Israel.

14:10. Hearken therefore, my children, to your father: serve the Lord in truth, and seek to do the things that please him:

14:11. And command your children that they do justice and almsdeeds, and that they be mindful of G.o.d, and bless him at all times in truth, and with all their power.

14:12. 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:

14:13. For I see that its iniquity will bring it to destruction.

14:14. And it came to pa.s.s that after the death of his mother, Tobias departed out of Ninive with his wife, and children, and children's children, and returned to his father and mother in law.

14:15. 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.