A Family Celebration
1 When I returned home I was reunited with my wife Anna and my son Tobias. At the Harvest Festival, which is also called the Festival of Weeks, I sat down to a delicious meal. 2 When I saw how much food there was on the table, I said to Tobias, “Son, go out and find one of our people who is living in poverty here in exile, someone who takes God's commands seriously. Bring him back with you, so that he can share this festival meal with us. I won't start eating until you come back.”
A Murder in Nineveh
3 So Tobias went out to look for such a person. But he quickly returned, shouting, “Father! Father!”
“Yes, what is it?” I asked.
“One of our people has just been murdered! Someone strangled him and threw his body into the marketplace.”
4 I jumped up and left the table without even touching my food. I removed the body from the street and carried it to a little shed, where I left it until sunset, when I could bury it. 5 Then I returned home and washed, so as to purify myself. In deep sorrow I ate my dinner. 6 I was reminded of what the prophet Amos had said to the people of Bethel,
“Your festivals will be turned into funerals,
and your glad songs will become cries of grief.”
I began to weep.
7 After sunset I went out, dug a grave, and buried the man. 8 My neighbors thought I was crazy. “Haven't you learned anything?” they asked. “You have already been hunted down once for burying the dead, and you would have been killed if you had not run away. But here you are doing the same thing all over again.”
Tobit Is Blinded
9 That night I washed, so as to purify myself, and went out into my courtyard to sleep by the wall. It was a hot night, and I did not pull the cover up over my head. 10 Sparrows were on the wall right above me, but I did not know it. Their warm droppings fell into my eyes, causing a white film to form on them. I went to one doctor after another, but the more they treated me with their medicines, the worse my eyes became, until finally I was completely blind.
For four years I could see nothing. My relatives were deeply concerned about my condition, and Ahikar supported me for two years before he went to the land of Elam.
A Family Quarrel
11 After Ahikar left, my wife Anna had to go to work, so she took up weaving, like many other women. 12 The people she worked for would pay her when she delivered the cloth. One spring day, she cut a finished piece of cloth from the loom and took it to the people who had ordered it. They paid her the full price and also gave her a goat.
13 When Anna came home with the goat, it began to bleat. I called out, “Where did that goat come from? You stole it, didn't you? Take it straight back to its owners. It's not right to eat stolen food!”
14 “No!” she replied. “It was given to me as a gift in addition to what I got for the cloth.” But I didn't believe her, and I blushed for shame for what she had done. I ordered her to return the goat to its owners, but she had the last word. “Now I see what you are really like!” she shouted. “Where is all that concern of yours for others? What about all those good deeds you used to do?”
Tobiti ǃgomsigu
1 Oms tawa ta ge oasī, o ta ge ǁkhawa ti taras, Annas tsî ti ôab Tobiab tsîra ǀkha ge ǀhao. ǃGaos di ǁÂudīb, Wekhegu di ǁÂudīb tis tsîna ra ǂgaiheb tawa ta ge ǁkhoaxa ǂûǀhaos tawa ǂû ta nîse ge ǂnû. 2 Mâtikō ǂgui ǂûn tāb ai mâ ǃkhaisa ta ge mû, o ta ge Tobiab ǃoa ge mî: “Ti ôatse, ǂoa î sada ǀaokhoen di ǀgui-i hîa Nineves di ǃhūsaben ǁaegu ǀgâsib ǃnâ ûi hâ, xawe Elob di mîmāde ra ǃkhōǀgaipe-e sī ôa. ǁNā-e sa ǀkha hā-ū, î-i nē ǁâudīb di ǂû-e sada ǀkha amǃnâxa. Tita ge sats oahā tamas kōse ǂûtsoatsoa tide.”
ǃGams Nineves ǃnâ
3 Tobiab ge ǃgûǂoa tsî ǁnāti ī khoe-e ge ôa. Xaweb ge ǃhaese oahā tsî “Ti îtse! Ti îtse!” ti ge ǂgaiǂui.
“Ā, tare-e?” ti ta ge ge dî.
“Sada khoen di ǀgui-i ge ǃgamhe hâ! Khoe-i ge ǁî-e ǃkhōdom tsî ǁî-i sorosa ǁamaguǃkhaib ǃnâ aoǁgui hâ.”
4 Tita ge urikhâi tsî ǂû-i tsîna tsâǀkhā tamase ǂoa tsî sorosa ǃganna xu ūǂui tsî ǂkhari sâuǃnâ-oms ǁga ge tani. ǁNāpa ta ge sores nî ǂgâs kōse, ega ta nî ǁkhōga sorosa ge sâu. 5 Oms tawa ta ge oahā, o ta ge ǁāsen tsî kai ǃoab ǀkha ti ǂû-e ge ǂû. 6 Kēbo-aob Amob ge Betels khoen ǃoa mî hâ i mîsa ta ge ge ǂâihō.
“Sadu ǁâudīgu ge ǃoab ǃnâ nî dabaǃkhunihe
tsî sadu dâxa ǁnaeba ǃgaetsanadi ǃnâ.”
Tsî ta ge ge ātsoatsoa.
7 Ega, sores ge ǂgâs khaoǃgâ ta ge ǂoa, ǀhoba-āsa sī khao tsî sorosa ge ǁkhō. 8 Ti ǁanǁare-aon ge ǃkhau ta hâ ti ge ǂâi. “Xū-i xare-ets ǁkhāǁkhāsen tama hâ?” tin ge ge dî. “Khoena ǁkhōs ǃaromats ge ǀnai ǃgomsib ǃnâ ge hâ i tsîts ge ǃkhoeni tamats ga hâ, o ga ǃgamhe hâ. Xawets ge ǁkhawa ǁkhā xū-i ǁkhā-e ra dī.”
Tobiti ge ge ǂgī
9 ǁNā tsuxuba ta ge ǁāsen tsî ǂoa tsî ti omǂnamib di ǂnubiǂgoab tawa ge ǁom. Tsuxub ge ge ǀgamsa i tsî ta ge danasa ge anaǂgan tama hâ i. 10 ǀHomaniron ge ǀgapika, ǂnubiǂgoab ai ǂnôa i ǃkhaisa ta ge ge ǀū i. ǃGūnai tama ta ge hâ i xui-aob ge ǁîn di ǀgamsa anixauba ǂgâmû te tsî ǃuri ǃurukha mûra âtara ai ge ǃaroma. Nē ǀaedī-aoba xu ta ge naub ǁga gere ǃgû, xawe ra ge ti mûra ǁîgu ra ǁîgu di sōǀôan ǀkha sōǀôadī tes kōse ǃaruǀîǀgui gere ǂkhabu, ǀunis ai ta ge hoaragase sī a ǂgīs kōse.
Haka kurigu ǀgaiba ta ge xū-i xare-e ge mû ǁoa i. Ti ǀaokhoen ge nē mâsib xa kaise gere ǂâiǂhansen tsîb ge Ahikara Elammi ǁgab nî ǃgûs aiǃâ ǀgam kurikha ge mâxōǀkhā te.
ǀAokhoen ǁaegu hâ ǂkhabab
11 Ahikari ge ǃgûs khaoǃgâs ge ti taras Annasa ge sîsenǃgû. Nau khoedi gere dī khamis ge mari-es nî hōǂgāse, ǁîs tsîna ǂgapusîsenni ǀkha ge tsoatsoa. 12 ǁÎs gere sîsenba khoen ge saranas ga dītoa tsî māǁnâ, o ǀgui gere matare si. ǀGuitsē, ǁhaoǁaeb ǃnâs ge dītoahe hâ saraba, rams hîa ra ǂgapu-aihesa xu ǃgaoǁnâ tsî ǂgan ge hâ i khoen ǁga ge ǃgû-ū. ǁÎn ge ǀoasa matares tsî ǁkhāti ǂkham piri-i tsîna ge mā si.
13 Annas ge piri-i ǀkha oms tawa oahā, o-i ge ge ātsoatsoa. O ta ge ǂan ǂgao tsî ge mî: “ǁNā piri-e mâpa xu i ra hā? ǀNîsis ǁî-e ǃnari tama? ǁÎ-e ǀhonkhoen â-i ǁga ǁaru-ū. ǃNarihe hâ ǂû-e ǂûs ge ǃgâi tama hâ!”
14 “Hî-î!” tis ge ge ǃeream. “ǀKhaexū-i ase ta ge ǁî-e ti matares tawa go ǀarobahe.” Xawe ta ge ǁîsa ǂgom tama ge i tsî ǁîs go ǃnari ti ta gere ǂâi ǃkhais xa ge tao. Tita ge ǁîsa ge mîmā, îs piri-e ǀhonkhoena sī mā-oa, xawes ge ǁîsa ǀuni mîsa ge ūhâ. “Nēsi ǀgui ta ge tarebe khoeǃnôats a ǃkhaisa amase ra mû!” tis ge ge ǂgaiǂui. “Sa māǂgaoxasib tsî ǂhauǃnâsiga mâpa hâ? Sats kom hoana a ǂano!”
