On whatever day you bury your mother: This does not mean that Anna is dead, or about to die soon, but that when she does die and Tobias no longer has to take care of her, then he is to leave Nineveh (compare Matt 8.21). Anna’s death is described in verse 12, where Good News Translation begins, “Later on, Tobit’s wife died….”

There is much wickedness within it, and … much deceit is practiced within it, while the people are without shame: The clause there is much wickedness within it of course means that “the people of Nineveh are evil.” This must be made clear in certain languages; for example, “The people of Nineveh are very wicked, and they are not ashamed that they are so deceitful [or, dishonest].” Or we may say, “The people of Nineveh are very wicked and deceitful. They have no sense of shame.”

What Nadab did to Ahikar who had reared him: Good News Translation inserts the phrase “his own uncle.” Refer back to the note on this matter at 11.18. Translators should not follow Good News Translation here.

Was he not, while still alive, brought down into the earth?: He refers to Ahikar, not Nadab. “Hiding in a tomb” (Good News Translation) and “hide in a tomb” (Contemporary English Version) are possible translations for brought down into the earth. This is probably what our author means, although our text does not use the word “tomb.” Some manuscripts of the k Book of Ahikark* indeed speak of Ahikar being hidden in a tomb to escape Nadab. Good News Translation does not say that Ahikar hid while still alive; in the context that is quite clear, although stating it does not hurt, and may help. The rhetorical question here is rendered as a statement in Good News Translation for easier understanding: “forced him to go into hiding in a tomb.”

For God repaid him to his face for this shameful treatment: The connector For is better understood as “but,” since Nadab is the one being repaid for treating Ahikar shamefully. It is rendered so in New American Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, and Zimmermann, as well as Good News Translation. Good News Translation has combined this clause with the clause Nadab went into the eternal darkness, and says “God sent Nadab down into everlasting darkness for what he had done.” This has the virtue of making it clear that God’s punishment was the cause of Nadab going into the darkness.

Ahikar came out into the light, but Nadab went into the eternal darkness: Came out into the light means “came back [from the tomb where he had been hiding] into the light of day” (see Good News Translation). Eternal darkness is a powerful metaphor for death.

He tried to kill Ahikar: Good News Translation moves this clause from further on in the narrative (see New Revised Standard Version) to clarify events in a story apparently well known to the original readers of this book. Contemporary English Version has this clause immediately following what Nadab did: “Just look at what Nadab did—he tried to kill Ahikar, who had raised him. Ahikar had to hide in a tomb to escape….” Either model is possible.

Because he gave alms, Ahikar escaped the fatal trap that Nadab had set for him: The footnotes in both Good News Translation (“or I”) and New Revised Standard Version (“Greek he”) may be confusing. They refer to two different parts of the sentence. The Good News Translation note refers to the question of whose almsgiving rescued Ahikar, Ahikar’s own or Tobit’s. (Ahikar has been mentioned in the story as giving alms to Tobit; see 2.10.) Surely Ahikar is meant. The New Revised Standard Version note refers to the subject of the verb escaped. The Greek does not name Ahikar here, but he is surely meant. The other option in the New Revised Standard Version note (“Manasses”) can be dismissed as a textual oddity. Because he gave alms is translated helpfully by Good News Translation: “because Ahikar had given generously to the poor” (similarly Contemporary English Version). The trap is a metaphor. What happens is that Nadab (in the Ahikar story the spelling is “Nadin” or other variants) schemes to have Ahikar accused of treachery. King Esarhaddon then sentences Ahikar to death. Word gets to the king that Ahikar is dead, but really he is in hiding (in one version he is hiding underground). When the king of Egypt hears that the great wise man Ahikar is dead, he challenges Esarhaddon to send him a wise man who can answer some riddles and do other things. Esarhaddon is distraught, and wishes he had Ahikar back. He is then told that Ahikar is in fact alive. Ahikar is returned to court, where he asks permission to punish Nadab. Nadab is put in chains, beaten, and eventually swells up and dies. In certain languages it will be necessary to avoid the metaphor of the trap and translate, for example, “Nadab had planned to kill Ahikar, but he was able to escape, because he had given generously to the poor.”

But Nadab fell into it himself: Good News Translation has “But Nadab fell into that fatal trap,” and Contemporary English Version has “Nadab was killed in his own trap”; or we may say “So instead of Ahikar dying, Nadab was killed.”

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.

So now, my children: See the notes at verses 8-9. The use of the connector So now sums up and stresses what he has been teaching his children.

See what almsgiving accomplishes: Contemporary English Version makes it clear that accomplishes means gaining God’s protection by saying, “you can see that God will protect you if you give to the poor.”

And what injustice does—it brings death may be rendered “But, when you treat others unjustly, you will be killed.”

But now my breath fails me: But now signals that he has to stop speaking. He would like to continue with his final words, but he knows he is about to die and does not have the strength to say anything more. My breath fails me is a literal rendering, which can be interpreted as in Good News Translation, “I am very weak,” or as “I am dying.” More effectively, it is “my life is ebbing away.” Zimmermann’s translation uses an interesting punctuation device, the ellipsis ( … ), to good effect here: “my spirit faints away….” If readers can understand this punctuation device, some translators may want to try it in their own languages.

Then they laid him on his bed: We are not told in verse 3 whether Tobit was standing, sitting in a chair, sitting in bed, or what his position was when he gave his final words. Apparently he was not lying in bed. Those around him helped him into bed, where he died.

Both Good News Translation and New Revised Standard Version begin a new paragraph with the statement concerning Tobit being placed in bed and dying, but the Handbook urges translators to follow Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and Revised English Bible in using this sentence to end the previous paragraph.

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.

When Tobias’s mother died, he buried her beside his father: There is no indication of how long this was after the death of Tobit. Good News Translation allows for quite a long period by beginning with “Later on….” Good News Translation changes Tobias’s mother to “Tobit’s wife,” and his father to “her husband.” This is unnecessary since the father and mother had died and the focus is now on Tobias.

And children: This is not in Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version. It comes from the other Greek text and the Old Latin. There seems to be no compelling reason to add it.

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.

He treated his parents-in-law with great respect in their old age: “Edna and Raguel,” the parents-in-law, are named in Good News Translation. Both Good News Translation and New Revised Standard Version make things clearer for the reader; the Greek just says “them,” but even though Edna is not mentioned in this context, both parents-in-law are clearly meant. It is also possible to put this information at the end of verse 12, as Contemporary English Version does with “ … he lived with his father-in-law Raguel and his mother-in-law Edna. He treated them with….”

And buried them in Ecbatana of Media: “When at last they died” (Good News Translation) may leave the wrong impression, since the next sentence tells how Tobit inherited Raguel’s property. “At last” makes it sound as if he were impatiently waiting for Raguel to die so he could get his property. It corresponds to nothing in the Greek text. “When they died” or “until they died” (Contemporary English Version) reflects the meaning of the text more accurately.

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.

He died highly respected: Good News Translation omits the phrase highly respected, but it should be retained, as New Revised Standard Version and Contemporary English Version have done. In some languages highly respected must be translated in the active voice; for example, “Everyone respected Tobias greatly.” But translators must avoid giving the impression that he was respected because he died, as in a rendering such as “When Tobias died at the age of one hundred seventeen years, everyone respected him.” To avoid this problem, translators may say, for example, “By the time Tobias died at the age of one hundred and seventeen, everyone in Ecbatana respected him highly.”

The New Revised Standard Version footnote notifies us that different numbers are given for one hundred seventeen in some manuscripts, but we suggest translators use “117” with no note.

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.

Before he died he heard of the destruction of Nineveh may be rendered “but he lived long enough to hear that Nineveh had been destroyed.” In some languages translators must show who was the agent of the destruction—namely the army of King Cyaxares. So we may translate “But before he died he heard that the army of King Cyaxares had destroyed Nineveh.” Where New Revised Standard Version has he heard, our text actually says “he saw and heard,” which is a problem since there is no idea here that Tobias was ever again in Nineveh to “see” this. All the text needs to say is that he lived long enough to hear of it. Good News Translation could be altered to say “… lived long enough to learn about….”

He saw its prisoners being led into Media: Tobias could well have seen this. Prisoners from Nineveh being led captive into Media could have passed through Ecbatana, where Tobias was living. The text does not actually say that he saw Cyaxares himself, as Good News Translation could be understood to mean. Perhaps it is better to say something like “to see the captives King Cyaxares had taken from there being led off into Media.”

Cyaxares: This name is a guess, but it is found in all modern translations. Some Greek manuscripts have “Nebuchadnezzar,” some “Ahasuerus,” some “Ahikar.” All these are obviously and equally wrong. Nineveh was in fact taken by Cyaxares of Media and Nabopolassar of Babylon in 612 B.C. Our author may not have known this, but as long as a guess must be made, we might as well give credit where credit is due.

Before he died … before he died he rejoiced over Nineveh: The author’s purpose in this repetition is to emphasize that Tobias outlived the wicked city. Good News Translation omits the idea of Tobias rejoicing over the fall of Nineveh, but it should probably not be lost; it reflects the prophecy of Nahum which Tobit mentioned in verse 4. We may get the impression from Good News Translation that Tobias was happy over Nineveh’s fall, but the author thinks it important enough to include it. Part of the problem (in English) is that the word “rejoice” is somewhat awkward. Possible alternative translations are “He lived to celebrate the fall of Nineveh” and “Before he died he celebrated the destruction of Nineveh.”

He blessed the Lord God forever and ever: This only means that Tobias pronounced, in his praise and thanksgiving, eternal blessings on God; it does not mean that he has since spent all eternity doing so. “As long as he lived” in Good News Translation may be an attempt to render forever and ever. Contemporary English Version has “And from that time until the day Tobias died, he offered joyful praises….” New English Bible interprets the Greek a bit differently: “… praised the Lord God who lives forever and ever.”

Amen is not represented in Good News Translation. As the New Revised Standard Version footnote indicates, it is not found in all manuscripts. However, it is found in the manuscript we are following. Good News Translation may have omitted it as inappropriate for the context rather than for textual reasons. The word should be included unless it sounds impossibly strange in the translator’s language.

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.