Happy: Here for the first time in the book, the Greek word “blessed” (makarios) is used, which is usually used of people. Compare “blessed” (eulogētos) in 3.11. In many languages it is possible to translate this first line as follows: “God will bless [or, be kind to] those who love you [or, Jerusalem].”

Happy are those who rejoice in your prosperity: Your prosperity is literally “your peace/well-being” (Hebrew “your shalom,” compare Psa 122.6-7). Contemporary English Version has “those who are happy when you have peace.”

Happy also are all people who grieve with you because of your afflictions: The verb translated who grieve is in fact future tense. Like Jesus’ beatitudes, it speaks a blessing on those who sorrow because of events yet to come: “Those who will be in mourning over your sufferings will one day be happy….” With this rendering the connector for can be deleted from the next line.

Your glory: We may suspect that this phrase in New Revised Standard Version is an inadvertent error for “your joy,” the literal meaning of the Greek text. The Greek text used by Revised Standard Version does actually have “glory.” Good News Translation easily combines the last two lines of the verse: “your happiness will bring them joy forever.”

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.