The demon will smell it and flee, and will never be seen near her any more: Translators need to connect these clauses with the final clause of the previous verse; we may say, for example, “ … It will give off such a bad odor in the room that the demon will run away and never come near Sarah again.” “Come near” (Good News Translation) is better than the literal be seen. We are never actually told, unless it is here, that the demon is visible. Whether it can be seen or not is irrelevant to the story, and “come near” avoids raising the question.
Now when you are about to go to bed with her, both of you must first stand up and pray: A peculiar picture is presented here in which Tobias and Sarah are lying down or sitting, but before they have intercourse, they both must stand up again to pray. This raises the question of why they would lie down or sit in the first place. Raphael’s instructions are acted out in 7.16-8.4, but the sequence of events is not entirely clear there. We may gather this much from that passage:
(1) Sarah’s mother takes her into the room and leaves her there (7.16).
(2) Sarah’s parents escort Tobias into the room (8.1).
(3) The young couple lie down or sit on the bed together.
(4) The parents leave the room (8.4).
(5) The couple rise to pray (8.4).
This may be helpful in understanding the picture here at 6.18, but there are problems with how the events of 8.2-3 fit in.
The Lord of heaven means “the Master of heaven” or “the one who rules in heaven” (see “king of heaven” in 1.18).
Mercy and safety may be granted to you: God is the one who will grant the mercy and safety. This is clearly expressed in Good News Translation: “pray for the Lord in heaven to be merciful to you and to protect you.”
Do not be afraid, for she was set apart for you before the world was made: Tobias has nothing to worry about; since Sarah was chosen to be his wife before the world was made, no demon can stand in the way or frustrate God’s plan. In languages that do not have a passive voice, it will be necessary to show that God is the agent in both choosing Sarah and creating the world; for example, “Do not be afraid, for God chose her to be your wife before he made the world.”
You will save her and she will go with you: Tobias’s appearance on the scene and his actions will save her, that is, “rescue her from the demon” (Good News Translation). Then she will go with Tobias. Good News Translation is helpful in filling in the picture of both verbs: save “from the demon” and go “to your home.”
I presume that you will have children by her: The promise of children is plain and unqualified in Good News Translation, but the Greek does have Raphael introduce the promise with I presume, which New American Bible expresses as “I suppose.” He probably means “I take it for granted that you will have children,” and perhaps he says this with a wink and a smile.
They will be as brothers to you: This is difficult to understand. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version take it to mean that he will love these children very much; but it seems to carry the sense that brothers are more dearly loved than children. New American Bible “[they] will take the place of brothers for you” seems to say “since you never had any brothers, at least you will have children”; but again this seems to assume that love for brothers is deeper than love for a person’s children. We suggest something like “you will love them like the brothers and sisters you never had.”
Say no more repeats the clause found in verse 16.
When Tobias heard the words of Raphael: “Very carefully” (Good News Translation) is not in the Greek text.
And learned that she was his kinswoman: “He knew” (Good News Translation) can be misleading. Tobias did not know this until Raphael told him. He learned from Raphael that Sarah was related in such a way as to make a proper marriage. Contemporary English Version has a good model for translators: “As soon as Tobias learned that Sarah was related to him on his father’s side of the family….” Kinswoman is literally “sister” in Greek, as the New Revised Standard Version footnote indicates. However, in this context it more broadly means “relative” (Good News Translation).
He loved her very much, and his heart was drawn to her: His heart was drawn to her is literally “his heart was united/joined with her.” The Greek could be saying the same thing in two different ways here, but probably Good News Translation is correct in seeing two stages: first he falls in love, and then he wants to marry her. In English “began to fall in love with her” sounds less abrupt, since Tobias has not even met Sarah yet.
Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Tobit. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.