Apocrypha.

CHAP. XVI.

Apocrypha. compass her womb, which pains, when the child cometh forth, they slack not a moment:

39 Even so shall not the plagues be slack to come upon the earth, and the world shall mourn, and sorrows shall come upon it on every side.

40 O my people, hear my word: make you ready to the battle, and in those evils be even as pilgrims upon the earth.

41 He that selleth, let him be as he that fleeth away: and he that buyeth, as one that will lose:

42 He that occupieth merchandise, as he that hath no profit by it: and he that buildeth, as he that shall not dwell therein:

43 He that soweth, as if he should not reap: so also he that planteth the vineyard, as he that shall not gather the grapes:

44 They that marry, as they that shall get no children and they that marry not, as the widowers.

:

45 And therefore they that labour, labour

24 There shall be no man left to till the in vain: earth, and to sow it.

25 The trees shall give fruit, and who shall gather them?

26 The grapes shall ripen, and who shall tread them? for all places shall be desolate of men :

27 So that one man shall desire to see another, and to hear his voice.

28 For of a city there shall be ten left, and two of the field, which shall hide themselves in the thick groves, and in the clefts of the rocks.

29 As in an orchard of olives upon every tree there are left three or four olives;

30 Or as when a vineyard is gathered, there are left some clusters of them that diligently seek through the vineyard:

31 Even so in those days there shall be three or four left by them that search their houses with the sword.

32 And the earth shall be laid waste, and the fields thereof shall wax old, and her ways and all her paths shall grow full of thorns, because no man shall travel therethrough.

33 The virgins shall mourn, having no bridegrooms; the women shall mourn, having no husbands; their daughters shall mourn, having no helpers.

34 In the wars shall their bridegrooms be destroyed, and their husbands shall perish of famine.

35 Hear now these things, and understand them, ye servants of the Lord.

36 Behold the word of the Lord, receive it believe not the gods of whom the Lord spake.

37 Behold, the plagues draw nigh, and are not slack.

38 As when a woman with child in the ninth month bringeth forth her son, within ¿wo or three hours of her birth great pains

46 For strangers shall reap their fruits, and spoil their goods, overthrow their houses, and take their children captives, for in captivity and famine shall they get children.

47 And they that occupy their merchandise with robbery, the more they deck their cities, their houses, their possessions, and their own persons :

48 The more will I be angry with them for their sin, saith the Lord.

49 Like as a whore envieth a right honest and virtuous woman:

50 So shall righteousness hate iniquity, when she decketh herself, and shall accuse her to her face, when he cometh that shall defend him that diligently searcheth out every sin upon earth.

51 And therefore be ye not like thereunto, nor to the works thereof.

52 For yet a little, and iniquity shall be taken away out of the earth, and righteousness shall reign among you.

53 Let not the sinner say that he hath not sinned for God shall burn coals of fire upon his head, which saith before the Lord God and his glory, I have not sinned.

54 Behold, the Lord knoweth all the works of men, their imaginations, their thoughts, and their hearts:

55 Which spake but the word, Let the earth be made; and it was made: Let the heaven be made; and it was created.

⚫ 56 In his word were the stars made, and he knoweth the number of them.

57 He searcheth the deep, and the treasures thereof; he hath measured the sea, and what it containeth.

58 He hath shut the sea in the midst of the waters, and with his word hath he hanged the earth upon the waters.

59 He spreadeth out the heavens like a

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67 Behold, God himself is the judge, fear him: leave off from your sins, and forget your iniquities, to meddle no more with them for ever: so shall God lead you forth, and de-quities, like as a field is covered over with liver you from all trouble.

TOBIT.

1 Tobit's descent and devotion in bis youth, 9 bis marriage, 10 and captivity: 13 bis preferment,||ple of Israel by an everlasting decree, having 16 bis alms and charity in burying the dead.

trust with Gabael, the brother of Gabrias, at Rages a city of Media ten talents of silver.

15 Now when Enemessar was dead, Sennacherib his son reigned in his stead; whose estate was troubled, that I could not go into Media.

16 ¶ And in the time of Enemessar I gave many alms to my brethren, and gave my bread to the hungry,

17 And my clothes to the naked; and if I saw any of my nation dead, or cast about the walls of Nineve, I buried him.

18 And if the king Sennacherib had slain any, when he was come, and fled from Judea, I buried them privily; for in his wrath he killed many; but the bodies were not found, when they were sought for of the king.

Apocrypha.

down of the sun I went and made a grave, and buried him.

8 But my neighbours mocked me, and said, This man is not yet afraid to be put to death for this matter: who fled away; and yet lo, he burieth the dead again.

9 The same night also I returned from the burial, and slept by the wall of my courtyard, being polluted, and my face was uncovered:

10 ¶ And I knew not that there were sparrows in the wall, and mine eyes being open, the sparrows muted warm dung into mine eyes, and a whiteness came in mine eyes; and I went to the physicians, but they helped me not: moreover, Achiacharus did nourish me, until I went into Elymais.

11 And my wife Anna did take women's

19 And when one of the Ninevites went and complained of me to the king, that I bu-work to do. ried them, and hid myself; understanding that I was sought for to be put to death, I withdrew myself for fear.

20 Then all my goods were forcibly taken away, neither was there any thing left me, besides my wife Anna and my son Tobias.

21 And there passed not five and fifty days before two of his sons killed him, and they fled into the mountains of Ararath; and Sarchedonus his son reigned in his stead; who appointed over his father's accounts, and over all his affairs, Achiacharus my brother Ana

el's son.

22 And Achiacharus entreating for me, I returned to Nineve: now Achiacharus was cupbearer, and keeper of the signet, and steward, and overseer of the accounts and Sarchedonus appointed him next unto him: and he was my brother's son.

CHAP. II.

1 Tobit leaveth his meat to bury the dead, 10 and becometh blind.

NOW

[OW when I was come home again, and my wife Anna was restored unto me, with my son Tobias, in the feast of Pentecost, which is the holy feast of the seven weeks, there was a good dinner prepared me, in the which I sat down to eat.

2 And when I saw abundance of meat, I said to my son, Go and bring what poor man soever thou shalt find out of our brethren, who is mindful of the Lord; and lo, I tarry for thee.

3 But he came again, and said, Father, one of our nation is strangled, and is cast out in the market place.

4 Then before I had tasted of any meat, I started up, and took him up into a room until the going down of the sun.

5 Then I returned, and washed myself, and ate my meat in heaviness,

6 Remembering that prophecy of Amos, as he said, Your feasts shall be turned into mourning, and all your mirth into lamentation.

7 Therefore I wept: and after the going

12 And when she had sent them home to the owners, they paid her wages, and gave her also besides a kid.

13 And when it was in my house, and began to cry, I said unto her, From whence is this kid? is it not stolen? render it to the owners; for it is not lawful to eat any thing that is stolen.

14 But she replied upon me, It was given for a gift more than the wages. Howbeit I did not believe her, but bade her render it to the owners: and I was abashed at her. But she replied upon me, Where are thine almas and thy righteous deeds? behold, thou and all thy works are known.

4 For they obeyed not thy commandments wherefore thou hast delivered us for a spoil, and unto captivity, and unto death, and for a proverb of reproach to all the nations among whom we are dispersed.

5 And now thy judgments are many and true: deal with me according to my sins and my fathers: because we have not kept thy commandments, neither have walked in truth before thee.

6 Now therefore deal with me as seemeth best unto thee, and command my spirit to be taken from me, that I may be dissolved, and become earth: for it is profitable for me to die rather than to live, because I have heard false reproaches, and have much sorrow : command therefore that I may now be deliv

Apocrypha.

TOBIT.

ered out of this distress, and go into the everlasting place: turn not thy face away from me. 7 It came to pass the same day, that in Ecbatane a city of Media, Sara the daughter of Raguel was also reproached by her father's maids;

8 Because that she had been married to seven husbands, whom Asmodeus the evil spirit had killed, before they had lien with her. Dost thou not know, said they, that thou hast strangled thine husbands? thou hast had already seven husbands, neither wast thou named after any of them.

9 Wherefore dost thou beat us for them? if they be dead, go thy ways after them, let us never see of thee either son or daughter.

10 When she heard these things, she was very sorrowful, so that she thought to have strangled herself; and she said, I am the only daughter of my father, and if I do this, it shall be a reproach unto him, and I shall bring his old age with sorrow unto the grave.

11 Then she prayed toward the window, and said, Blessed art thou, O Lord my God, and thine holy and glorious name is blessed and honourable for ever: let all thy works praise thee for ever.

12 And now, O Lord, I set mine eyes and my face toward thee,

13 And say, Take me out of the earth, that I may hear no more the reproach.

14 Thou knowest, Lord, that I am pure from all sin with man,

15 And that I never polluted my name, nor the name of my father, in the land of my captivity: I am the only daughter of my father, neither hath he any child to be his heir, neither any near kinsman, nor any son of his alive, to whom I may keep myself for a wife : my seven husbands are already dead; and why should I live? But if it please not thee that I should die, command some regard to be had of me, and pity taken of me, that I hear no more reproach.

16 So the prayers of them both were heard before the majesty of the great God.

17 And Raphael was sent to heal them both, that is, to scale away the whiteness of Tobit's eyes, and to give Sara the daughter of Raguel for a wife to Tobias the son of Tobit; and to bind Asmodeus the evil spirit; because she belonged to Tobias by right of inheritance. The selfsame time came Tobit home, and entered into his house, and Sara the daughter of Raguel came down from her upper chamber.

CHAP. IV.

3 Tobit giveth instructions to bis son Tobias, 20 and telleth him of money left with Gabael in Media.

N that day Tobit remembered the money

ges of Media,

Apocrypha.

death; wherefore do I not call for my son Tobias, that I may signify to him of the money before I die?

3And when he had called him, he said, My son, when I am dead, bury me; and despise not thy mother, but honour her all the days of thy life, and do that which shall please her, and grieve her not.

4 Remember, my son, that she saw many dangers for thee, when thou wast in her womb; and when she is dead, bury her by me in one grave.

5 My son, be mindful of the Lord our God all thy days, and let not thy will be set to sin, or to transgress his commandments: do uprightly all thy life long, and follow not the ways of unrighteousness.

6 For if thou deal truly, thy doings shall prosperously succeed to thee, and to all them that live justly.

7 Give alms of thy substance; and when thou givest alms, let not thine eye be envious, neither turn thy face from any poor, and the face of God shall not be turned away from thee.

8 If thou hast abundance, give alms accordingly if thou have but a little, be not afraid to give according to that little :

9 For thou layest up a good treasure for thyself against the day of necessity.

10 Because that alms do deliver from death, and suffereth not to come into darkness.

11 For alms is a good gift unto all that give it in the sight of the Most High.

12 Beware of all whoredom, my son, and chiefly take a wife of the seed of thy fathers, and take not a strange woman to wife, which is not of thy father's tribe: for we are the children of the prophets, Noe, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: remember, my son, that our fathers from the beginning, even that they all married wives of their own kindred, and were blessed in their children, and their seed shall inherit the land.

13 Now therefore, my son, love thy brethren, and despise not in thy heart thy brethren, the sons and daughters of thy people, in nat taking a wife of them; for in pride is destruction and much trouble, and in lewdness is decay and great want: for lewdness is the mother of famine.

14 Let not the wages of any man, which hath wrought for thee, tarry with thee, but give him it out of hand: for if thou serve God, he will also repay thee: be circumspect, my son, in all things thou doest, and be wise in all thy conversation.

15 Do that to no man which thou hatest: drink not wine to make thee drunken: neither let drunkenness go with thee in thy journey.

16 Give of thy bread to the hungry, and of thy garments to them that are naked; and 2 And said with himself, I have wished for according to thine abundance give alms; and