Tobit

Tobit 13

Tobit’s Song of Rejoicing

1 Then Tobit wrote a prayer of rejoicing, and said:

2 “Blessed be God who lives for ever, and his kingdom;

for he scourges, and he shows mercy;

he brings down to Hades, and he brings up again,

and there is no one who can escape his hand.

3 Give thanks to him, you children of Israel, before the nations,

because he has scattered us among them.

4 There show his greatness;

exalt him before all the living,

because he is our Lord and God, and he is our Father for all the ages.

5 And he will scourge us for our wrongdoings,

and again he will show mercy,

and he will gather us out of all the nations, wherever you have been scattered among them.

Turn Back to Him, and He Will Turn to You

6 “If you turn back to him with your whole heart and with your whole soul, to do what is true before him,

then he will turn back to you, and he will not hide his face from you.

7 And see what he will do with you;

give thanks to him with your whole mouth;

bless the Lord of righteousness, and exalt the King of the ages.

8 I, in the land of my captivity, give thanks to him,

and I show his strength and his greatness to a nation of sinners.

Turn back, sinners, and practice righteousness before him:

who knows whether he will accept you and show you mercy?

9 I exalt my God,

and my soul exalts the King of heaven,

and my soul will rejoice in his greatness.

Jerusalem, Holy City

10 “Let them all speak, and give thanks to him in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem, holy city, he will scourge you for the works of your children,

and again he will show mercy to the children of the righteous.

11 Give thanks to the Lord rightly, and bless the King of the ages,

so that his tent may be built in you again with joy.

12 And may he make the captives glad in you,

and love the afflicted in you, through all the generations of the age.

13 “Many nations will come from far away to the name of the Lord God,

with gifts in their hands, gifts for the King of heaven;

generation after generation will give you rejoicing.

14 Cursed are all who hate you;

blessed will be all who love you for ever.

15 Rejoice and be glad for the children of the righteous,

because they will be gathered together and will bless the Lord of the righteous.

How blessed are those who love you! They will rejoice in your peace.

16 Blessed are all who grieved over all your scourgings,

because they will rejoice over you when they have seen all your glory,

and they will be glad for ever.

Let my soul bless God, the great King.

The City Rebuilt of Precious Stone

17 “For Jerusalem will be built with sapphire and emerald and precious stone;

your walls and towers and battlements with pure gold;

and the streets of Jerusalem will be paved with beryl and carbuncle and stone from Ophir.

18 And all her lanes will say, ‘Hallelujah,’

and they will praise him, saying, ‘Blessed be God, who has exalted her for all the ages.’”