1 I am Tobit and this is the story of my life. My father was Tobiel, my grandfather was Ananiel, and my great-grandfather was Aduel. Aduel's father was Gabael; his grandfather was Raphael; and his great-grandfather was Raguel, who belonged to the clan of Asiel, a part of the tribe of Naphtali. 2 During the time that Shalmaneser was emperor of Assyria, I was taken captive in my hometown of Thisbe, located in northern Galilee, south of Kadesh in Naphtali, northwest of Hazor, and north of Phogor.
Tobit's Early Life
3 All my life I have been honest and have tried to do what was right. I often gave money to help needy relatives and other Jews who had been deported with me to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.
4 When I was young, I lived in northern Israel. All the tribes in Israel were supposed to offer sacrifices in Jerusalem. It was the one city that God had chosen from among all the Israelite cities as the place where his Temple was to be built for his holy and eternal home. But my entire tribe of Naphtali rejected the city of Jerusalem and the kings descended from David. 5 Like everyone else in this tribe, my own family used to go to the city of Dan in the mountains of northern Galilee to offer sacrifices to the gold bull-calf which King Jeroboam of Israel had set up there.
Tobit's Faithfulness to His Religion
6 I was the only one in my family who regularly went to Jerusalem to celebrate the religious festivals, as the Law of Moses commands everyone to do. I would hurry off to Jerusalem with the first part of my harvest, the first-born of my animals, a tenth of my cattle, and the freshly clipped wool from my sheep. Then I would stand before the altar in the Temple, and give these offerings to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. 7 I would give a tenth of my grain, wine, olive oil, pomegranates, figs, and other fruits to the Levites who served God in Jerusalem. Every year, except the seventh year when the land was at rest, I would sell a second tenth of my possessions and spend the money in Jerusalem on the festival meal.
8 But every third year, I would give a third tithe to widows and orphans and to foreigners living among my people, and we would eat the festival meal together. I did this in keeping with the Law of Moses, which Deborah, the mother of my grandfather Ananiel, had taught me to obey. (I had been left an orphan when my father died.)
Tobit's Faithfulness in Exile
9 When I grew up, I married Anna, a member of my own tribe. We had a son and named him Tobias. 10 Later, I was taken captive and deported to Assyria, and that is how I came to live in Nineveh.
While we lived in Nineveh, all my relatives and the other Jews used to eat the same kind of food as the other people who lived there, 11 but I refused to do so. 12 Since I took seriously the commands of the Most High God, 13 he made Emperor Shalmaneser respect me, and I was placed in charge of purchasing all the emperor's supplies.
14 Before the emperor died, I made regular trips to the land of Media to buy things for him there. Once, when I was in the city of Rages in Media, I left some bags of money there with Gabael, Gabrias' brother, and asked him to keep them for me. There were more than 600 pounds of silver coins in those bags. 15 When Shalmaneser died, his son Sennacherib succeeded him as emperor. It soon became so dangerous to travel on the roads in Media that I could no longer go there.
Tobit Buries the Dead
16 While Shalmaneser was still emperor, I took good care of my own people whenever they were in need. 17 If they were hungry, I shared my food with them; if they needed clothes, I gave them some of my own. Whenever I saw that the dead body of one of my people had been thrown outside the city wall, I gave it a decent burial.
18 One day Sennacherib cursed God, the King of Heaven; God punished him, and Sennacherib had to retreat from Judah. On his way back to Media he was so furious that he killed many Israelites. But I secretly removed the bodies and buried them; and when Sennacherib later searched for the bodies, he could not find them.
19 Then someone from Nineveh told the emperor that I was the one who had been burying his victims. As soon as I realized that the emperor knew all about me and that my life was in danger, I became frightened. So I ran away and hid. 20 Everything I owned was seized and put in the royal treasury. My wife Anna and my son Tobias were all I had left.
Tobit's Nephew Rescues Him
21 About six weeks later, two of Sennacherib's sons assassinated him and then escaped to the mountains of Ararat. Another son, Esarhaddon, became emperor and put Ahikar, my brother Anael's son, in charge of all the financial affairs of the empire. 22 This was actually the second time Ahikar was appointed to this position, for when Sennacherib was emperor of Assyria, Ahikar had been wine steward, treasurer, and accountant, and had been in charge of the official seal. Since Ahikar was my nephew, he put in a good word for me with the emperor, and I was allowed to return to Nineveh.
1 Tita ge a Tobit tsî nēb ge ti ûiǂgaroba. Ti îb ge ge Tobiel i, ti ǁnaosaba Ananiel tsî ti kai ǁnaosab ge ge Aduel i. Adueli îb ge ge Gabael i, ǁîb ǁnaosaba Rafael tsî ǁîb kai ǁnaosab ge ge Raguel i, Asieli ôananôagub tsî Naftalib ǃhaos di ge iba. 2 ǁNā ǁaeb ǃnâb ge Salmanesera ge Asiriaǁîn di gao-ao i. Tsî tita ge ti ǁanǃās, Tisbes hîa Galileab di ǀapasǀkhāb, Kades ǃkhawagas Naftalib dis ǃnâ, ǀapas huriǂoas Hasori dis tsî ǀapas Fogori dis ǃnâ ǂnôas ǃnâ ǃkhōsis ǃnâ ge ūhe hâ i.
Tobiti ge Eloba ǂgomǂgomsase ra ǃoaba
3 Ti hoaraga ûib ǃnâ ta ge amab tsî ǂhanu-aisib tsîkha ǀguikha ta nî dī ǃkhaisa gere dītsâ. Tita ge ǂhâb ǃnâ hâ ǀaokhoen tsî horesa Jodeǁîn tita ǀkha ge Asiriab danaǃās, Nineves ǁga ǃkhōsis ǃnâ ǁgariǃgû-ūhe hâ ina ta nî huise mari-e ge mā.
4 ǂKham ta ge i tsî Israeli ǀapasǀkhāb ai ǁan hâ i, o di ge hoaraga ǃhaodi Israeli ǃnâ ge hâ ide, ǁguibade Eloba Jerusalems ǃnâ nî ǁguibase ge ī i. Nē ǃās ge hoaraga ǃādi Israelǁaes didi ǁaegu, ǁnāpab nî Tempela ǂnubihe tsîb Eloba ǁnāpa ǀamose nî ǁanse ge ǁhûiǂuihe. Xawen ge ti hoaraga khoen, Naftalib ǃhaos dina Jerusalems tsî gao-aogu Davidi di ôananôaguba xu ge hâ iga ǂgao tama ge i. 5 Ti ǂhunuma ǀaokhoen tsî hoaraga khoen nē ǃhaos din ge Dans, Galileab ǃhomgu ǀapasǀkhāb ǃnâ ǂnôas ǃoa gere ǃgû, ǁnāpan ǁguibade Jerobeammi ge mâi ǃhuniǀuri ǁgōb di ība nî ǁguibase.
6 Tita ge ti ǀaokhoen ǃnâ hūs di ǀguita, Jerusalems ǃoa gagasi ǁâudīgu ǁga Moseb ǂhanub ra khoe-i hoa-e ǁgui-ai khami gere ǃgû ta. Tita ge ǁnaetisase Jerusalems ǃoa ǂguro ǃâs ti ǃgaos dis, ǂguroǃnaesan ǀgoan din, disiǁîǃâs ti goman dis tsî ǂguro ǀûn, ti gūna xu ǂkhomhe hân din ǀkha gere īǁkhā i as kōse ǃnoe ta. Tsî ta ge Tempeli ǃnâ altars aiǃâ mâ tsî ǁîna Aronni ôananôaguba xu hâ pristerga gere mā. 7 Tita ge disiǁîǃâs ti ǃhoro-i, ǂauxûi-i, ǀkhera-oli-i, xranatn, ǀnoman tsî ǀnî haiǂûn tsîn disa Levib ôagu, Jerusalems ǃnâ gere Eloba ǃoabaga gere mā. Hûǁî kurib, ǃhanab ra sâb ǀguib ose ta ge mâ kurib hoaba ǀgamǁî, disiǁîǃâs ti ūhâxūn disa ǁamaxū tsî ǁnā mari-e Jerusalems ǁâudīb tawa gere sîsenū.
8 ǂKham ta a hîab ge ti îba ge ǁō tsî ta ge ge ǃguniǀgôa kai. Ti ǁnaosas Deboras ge mîmādi, Moseb ǂhanub dide ta nî ǁnâuǀnam ǃkhais tsî ǃguniǀgôan, ǃoataradi tsî ǃhaokhoen sida ǂgoms ǃnâ ge ǃhobasenna ǃkhōǂhomi ti ra mîde ge ǁkhāǁkhā te. ǁNā-amaga ta ge mâ ǃnonaǁî kurib hoab ǃnâ, ǃnonaǁî disiǁîǃâs ǃgaos disa nē khoena mā tsî ǁâudīb ǂûsa ǁîn ǀkha gere ǂûǁare. 9 Kaikhâi ta ge, o ta ge ti ǂhunuma ǃhaos di ǁanis, Annasa ge ǃgame. Tsî axarobam ge hō, om ge ǁîba Tobias ti ge ǀonǂgai. 10 Ega ta ge ǃkhōhe tsî Asiriab ǁga sîbēhe tsî ǁnā ǀgaub ai Nineves ǃnâ sī ge ǁan.
Nineves ǃnâ da ǁan hâ hîan ge ti ǀaokhoen hoan tsî horesa Jodeǁîn tsîna, Jodeǁî taman ǁnāpa ge ǁan hâ in gere ǂû, ǂûǃnôan ǁkhāna gere ǂû, 11 xawe ta ge tita ǁnāsa dīsa ge ǂkhā. 12 Elob di mîmāde ǁnâuǀnams a ǂhâǂhâsaba te xui-aob 13 ge Hoan xa ǀGapi Eloba ǁnāti ge dī, îb gao-aob Salmanesera tita ǃgôasiba mā. Sao raseb ge tita gao-ommi xūna ta nî ǁamaba bise ge ǁgaumâi.
14 Gao-aob nî ǁōs aiǃâ ta ge ǁnaetisa ǃnaride Mediaǃhūb ǁga, ǁîba ta sī xūna nî ǁamabase gere ǃgû. ǀGui ǃnā-e ta Rages, Mediaǃhūb ǃnâ ǂnôas tawa hâ hîa ta ge ǀnîkhamakō ǁhōdi marina Gabaeli, Gabriab di ǃgâsab ǀkha ǁnāpa xu tsî ǁîba ge ǂgan, îb ūǀgaraba te. Nē ǁhōdi ǃnân ge ǁaubexa ǃnonakaidisi kiloxramgu ǃgomma ūhâ ǀhaiǀuri marina ge hâ i. 15 Tsî Salmaneseri ge ǁō, ob ge ǁîb ôab Sanheriba ǁîba gao-aose ge saoǃgon. ǁÎb di ǂgaeǂguis ǁaeb ǃnâs ge Mediab ǁga garu daob ai ǃnarisa ge ǃaorosa i tsî ta ge ǃaruǀî ǁnāǀî ge ǃgû ǁoa i.
Tobiti ge ǁō hâna ra ǁkhō
16 Salmaneseri ge ûi hâ i ǁaeb ǃnâ ta ge ti ǀaokhoena ǂhâsib ǃnân gere hâo ǃgâise gere ǃkhōǂhomi. 17 ǃÂsan ge i, o ta ge ti ǂû-e ǁîn ǀkha gere ǀgoragu; saranan gere ǂhâba, o ta ge ǁîna ti sarana xu gere mā. Tsî ti ǂhunuma khoen ǀgui-i di ǁō hâ soros, ǃās di ǂnubiǂgoab ǃauga aoǂuihe hâ ǃkhaisa ta ga mû, o ta ge ǁî-e ǂoaǂamsa ǁkhōsa gere dība.
18 Nē gao-aob Sanherib ge ǀû tamase Elob, Gao-aob ǀHommi diba gere ǀâxare; sao raseb ge Eloba ge ǁkhara bi tsîb ge Judaba xu ge ǁnā-oa. Mediab ǁgab oagaru hîab ge ǁnātikōse ǁaixa tsî ǂgui Israelǁîna ge ǃgam. Xawe ta ge ǁîn sorode ǂganǃgâsib ǃnâ ūbē tsî ge ǁkhō. Sanherib ge egab ge nē sorode ôa, xawe ǁîde hō tama ge i.
19 ǀGui khoe-i, Nineves di-i ge ǁîb ge ǃgam khoena ta ge tita ǁkhō ǃkhaisa gao-aoba ge mîba. Gao-aob hoa xūna tita xa a ǂan tsîb ti ûiba ǃaorosasib ǃnâ hâ ǃkhaisa ta ge ǂanǃnâ, o ta ge ǃaob xa ge ǃkhōhe. Tsî ta ge ǁnātimîsi ǃkhoeni tsî sī ge gau. 20 Ti ǂhunuma xūn hoan ge ge ǁkhâuhe tsî ta ge xūose ge ǁnāxūhe. Ti taras Annas tsî ti ôab Tobiab tsîra ǀkha ǀgui ta ge ge ǃgau.
Tobiti ge ǁnurisab xa ra huiǂuihe
21 ǁAubexa ǃnani wekhegu ǃkharu hâse kha ge Sanherib ôakha ǁîba ǃgam tsî ǁnās khaoǃgâ Araratǃhomgu ǁga ge ǃkhoeni. ǀNî ǀgôab, Esarhadonni ge ge gao-ao kai tsîb ge Ahikari, ti ǃgâsab Anaeli ôaba, mariǁhōgu gaosib diga ǃûiǃgâs ǃaroma ge ǁgaumâi. 22 Nēs ge ǀgamǁî ǃnās Ahikari nē soas ǃnâ ra ǁgaumâihesa. Sanherib ge Asiriab gao-ao i, ob ge Ahikara gao-aob ǂauxûiǂnâ-ao, marimûǂamao, mariǃgôa-ao tsî ǁkhāti gaosi ǁgauǁgaus di ǀkhunuǂnûidas mûǂamaose ge hâ i. Ti ǁnurisab Ahikari ge ǃgâi mî-e gao-aob tawa ge dība te tsî ta ge Nineves ǁga oasa ge mā-amhe.
