Tobit's Song of Praise

Chapter 13

1 And he said Blessed is God that lives for ever, and his kingdom,⁠ For he chastises, and shows mercy.⁠ 2 He leads down to Hades below the earth,⁠ And he brings up from the great destruction; And there is nothing that shall escape his hand.⁠ 3 Give thanks to him before the Gentiles, you children of Israel, For he has scattered you among them, 4 And there he has shown you his greatness; And extol him before all the living. Because he is our Lord, and he our God, and he our Father, Yes, he is God to all the ages:⁠ 5 He will chastise you for your iniquities,⁠ And will show mercy to you all.⁠ 6 When you turn to him out of all the nations Wherever you shall be scattered, With your whole heart and with your whole soul, to do truth before him, Then he will turn to you, and will no longer hide his face from you.⁠ And now see what he has done with you, And give him thanks with your whole mouth,⁠ And bless the Lord of righteousness, And exalt the everlasting King. I, in the land of my captivity, give him thanks, And show his strength and majesty to nations of sinners.)⁠ Turn, you sinners, and do righteousness before him.⁠ Who can tell if he will accept you and have mercy on you? 7 I exalt my God, and my soul shall rejoice in the King of heaven; 8 Of his greatness let all men tell, And let them give him thanks in Jerusalem. 9 O Jerusalem, you holy city! he will chastise you for the works of your hands, And will again have mercy on the sons of the righteous. 10 Give thanks to the Lord with goodness, and bless the everlasting King, That your tabernacle may be built in you again with joy, And that he may make glad in you all that are captives, And love in you all that are miserable and all the generations of eternity. 11 A bright light shall shine to all the ends of the earth; Many nations shall come from afar, And the inhabitants of the utmost ends of the earth to your holy name; With their gifts also in their hands to the King of heaven,⁠ Generations of generations shall utter rejoicing in you, And your name that is elect to the generations of eternity. 12 Cursed shall be all they that shall speak a hard word; Cursed shall be all they that demolish you, And throw down your walls; And all they that overthrow your towers, And set on fire your habitations; But blessed shall be all they that fear you for ever.⁠ 13 Then go and be exceeding glad for the sons of the righteous: For they all shall be gathered together,⁠ And bless the everlasting Lord. 14 Blessed shall they be that love you;⁠ And blessed shall they be That shall rejoice for your peace: And blessed shall be all the men That shall sorrow for you For all your chastisements: Because they shall rejoice in you And shall see all your joy for ever. 15 My soul does bless the Lord the great King; 16 For Jerusalem shall be built again as his house to all the ages. Happy shall I be if the remnant of my seed come to see your glory And give thanks to the King of heaven. And the gates of Jerusalem shall be built with sapphire and emerald, And all your walls with precious stone. The towers of Jerusalem shall be built with gold, And their battlements with pure gold. The streets of Jerusalem shall be paved With carbuncle and stones of Ophir.⁠ 17 And the gates of Jerusalem shall utter hymns of gladness And all her houses shall say, Halleluiah. Blessed is the God of Israel. And the blessed shall bless the name That is holy for ever and ever.

Texts in conversation

Compare Tobit 13:6 and Augustine, Confessions 2.3

Deuterocanon · Early Christian

Summary

Tobit praises God and urges sinners to return to God. In the Confessions, Augustine similarly addresses other people within his prayer, asking his readers to join him in repentance and crying out to God.

Passages

Tobit 13:6

Deuterocanon

3 Give thanks to him before the Gentiles, you children of Israel, For he has scattered you among them, 4 And there he has shown you his greatness; And extol him before all the living. Because he is our Lord, and he our God, and he our Father, Yes, he is God to all the ages: 5 He will chastise you for your iniquities, And will show mercy to you all. 6 When you turn to him out of all the nations Wherever you shall be scattered, With your whole heart and with your whole soul, to do truth before him, Then he will turn to you, and will no longer hide his face from you. And now see what he has done with you, And give him thanks with your whole mouth, And bless the Lord of righteousness, And exalt the everlasting King. I, in the land of my captivity, give him thanks, And show his strength and majesty to nations of sinners.) Turn, you sinners, and do righteousness before him. Who can tell if he will accept you and have mercy on you? 7 I exalt my God, and my soul shall rejoice in the King of heaven;

225–175 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Tobit

Augustine, Confessions 2.3

Early Christian

Now, in that year my studies were interrupted. I had come back from Madaura, a neighboring city where I had gone to study grammar and rhetoric; and the money for a further term at Carthage was being raised for me. This project was more a matter of my father's ambition than of his means, for he was only a poor citizen of Tagaste. To whom am I narrating all this? Not to you, my God, but to my own kind in your presence—to that small part of the human race who may chance to come upon these writings. And to what end? That I and all who read them may understand what depths there are from which we are to cry to you. For what is more surely heard in your ear than a confessing heart and a faithful life? Who did not extol and praise my father, because he went quite beyond his means to supply his son with the necessary expenses for a long journey in the interest of his education? For many far richer citizens did not do so much for their children. Still, this same father did not trouble himself at all about how I was progressing toward you nor how chaste I was, just so long as I was skillful in speaking—no matter how barren I was to your cultivation, God, you who are the one true and good Lord of my heart, which is your field.

397–400 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Augustine, Confessions 2

References

“... Conybeare (2016:59) notes: ‘The entire prayer of Tobit 13 is in fact of immense importance for the themes of the Confessions’. O’Donnell (1992b:6–7) demonstrates that Tobit 13 was important for the Confessiones not only because of allusions to its content, but even its structure, which O’Donnell clearly sets out. Tobit 12:7, after all, has Raphael say that it is important to reveal and confess the works of God, which is the major impetus of the Confessiones. O’Donnell (1992b:6–7) notes several allusions to Tobit 13 in Confessiones 1.1.1, 1.2.2, 1.16.26, 2.2.4, 2.3.6, 2.6.14, 2.9.18, 3.3.5, 4.15.24, 7.21.27, 8.5.12, 8.6.14, 10.2.2, 10.6.8, 12.16.23, 13.38.53 and so on. ...”

Chris L. de Wet, “The Book of Tobit in Early Christianity: Greek and Latin Interpretations from the 2nd to the 5th Century CE,” HvTSt 76.4 (2020): 9.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Tobit's Song of Praise

Tobit14 chapters

Compare Tobit 13:6 and Augustine, Confessions 2.3

Summary

Passages

Tobit 13:6

Augustine, Confessions 2.3

References

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