Tobit 7

How to read these pages: the text itself comes first, verse by verse, in the volume's own translation. Beneath each verse stands its Meaning — a rendering of what the passage's terms name in the inner life, drawn from the correspondences the text itself uses. The text is never altered; the meaning is offered, not imposed.

King James Version

1And when they were come to Ecbatane, they came to the house of Raguel, and Sara met them: and after they had saluted one another, she brought them into the house.

And when they were come to Ecbatane, they came to the house of Raguel, and Sara met them; and after they had saluted one another, she brought them into the house — the daughter herself at the door of the sorrowful house, receiving the answer unknowingly.

2Then said Raguel to Edna his wife, How like is this young man to Tobit my cousin!

Then said Raguel to Edna his wife: How like is this young man to Tobit my cousin! — likeness recognised before identity is spoken: the father's face seen in the son.

3And Raguel asked them, From whence are ye, brethren? To whom they said, We are of the sons of Nephthalim, which are captives in Nineve.

And Raguel asked them: From whence are you, brethren? To whom they said: We are of the sons of Nephthalim, who are captives in Nineve — Nephthalim, of Naphtali, the faculty freed by struggle; captives confessed plainly, without shame.

4Then he said to them, Do ye know Tobit our kinsman? And they said, We know him. Then said he, Is he in good health?

Then he said to them: Do you know Tobit our kinsman? And they said: We know him. Then said he: Is he in good health? — kinship and welfare asked in one breath.

5And they said, He is both alive, and in good health: and Tobias said, He is my father.

And they said: He is both alive, and in good health; and Tobias said: He is my father — the son naming himself by his father, and the house opening.

6Then Raguel leaped up, and kissed him, and wept,

Then Raguel leaped up, and kissed him, and wept — joy moving faster than words.

7And blessed him, and said unto him, Thou art the son of an honest and good man. But when he had heard that Tobit was blind, he was sorrowful, and wept.

And blessed him — increased him by divine favour — and said to him: You are the son of an honest and good man. But when he had heard that Tobit was blind, he was sorrowful, and wept — blessing and grief in the same embrace: the father's honour and the father's darkness held together.

8And likewise Edna his wife and Sara his daughter wept. Moreover they entertained them cheerfully; and after that they had killed a ram of the flock, they set store of meat on the table. Then said Tobias to Raphael, Brother Azarias, speak of those things of which thou didst talk in the way, and let this business be dispatched.

And likewise Edna his wife and Sara his daughter wept. Moreover they entertained them cheerfully; and after they had killed a ram of the flock, they set store of meat on the table. Then said Tobias to Raphael: Brother Azarias, speak of those things of which you talked in the way, and let this business be dispatched — tears and table together; and the son pressing, even at the feast, for the business of the marriage.

9So he communicated the matter with Raguel: and Raguel said to Tobias, Eat and drink, and make merry:

So he communicated the matter with Raguel; and Raguel said to Tobias: Eat and drink, and make merry — the father of the house answering urgency with hospitality.

10For it is meet that thou shouldest marry my daughter: nevertheless I will declare unto thee the truth.

For it is meet that you should marry my daughter; nevertheless I will declare unto you the truth — consent given, and the whole sorrow promised in plain speech.

11I have given my daughter in marriage to seven men, who died that night they came in unto her: nevertheless for the present be merry. But Tobias said, I will eat nothing here, till we agree and swear one to another.

I have given my daughter in marriage to seven men, who died that night they came in unto her; nevertheless for the present be merry. But Tobias said: I will eat nothing here, till we agree and swear one to another — the truth declared without flinching, and the son refusing the feast until the covenant is made.

12Raguel said, Then take her from henceforth according to the manner, for thou art her cousin, and she is thine, and the merciful God give you good success in all things.

Raguel said: Then take her from henceforth according to the manner, for you are her cousin, and she is yours, and the merciful God give you good success in all things — the giving spoken simply, under the mercy of the Source.

13Then he called his daughter Sara, and she came to her father, and he took her by the hand, and gave her to be wife to Tobias, saying, Behold, take her after the law of Moses, and lead her away to thy father. And he blessed them;

Then he called his daughter Sara, and she came to her father, and he took her by the hand, and gave her to be wife to Tobias, saying: Behold, take her after the law of Moses — the deliverer-lawgiver's written order — and lead her away to your father. And he blessed them — the hand given, the law honoured, the blessing spoken over both sorrows at once.

14And called Edna his wife, and took paper, and did write an instrument of covenants, and sealed it.

And called Edna his wife, and took paper, and did write an instrument of covenants, and sealed it — the covenant, a law of relationship written into a state of consciousness, here written also on paper and sealed.

15Then they began to eat.

Then they began to eat — the feast lawful at last, because the covenant came first.

16After Raguel called his wife Edna, and said unto her, Sister, prepare another chamber, and bring her in thither.

After Raguel called his wife Edna, and said to her: Sister, prepare another chamber, and bring her in there — the chamber prepared as seven chambers before it, yet under a new word.

17Which when she had done as he had bidden her, she brought her thither: and she wept, and she received the tears of her daughter, and said unto her,

Which when she had done as he had bidden her, she brought her there; and she wept, and she received the tears of her daughter, and said to her — mother and daughter weeping together at the threshold.

18Be of good comfort, my daughter; the Lord of heaven and earth give thee joy for this thy sorrow: be of good comfort, my daughter.

Be of good comfort, my daughter; the Lord of heaven and earth — the indwelling LORD of the inner realm and the outer world — give you joy for this your sorrow: be of good comfort, my daughter — comfort spoken twice, as if once were not enough to carry her through the door.

Companion volume to The Why Bible — the King James Apocrypha, rendered in its spiritual meanings. First final edition, October 2026.