Caught sight of him coming: Caught sight of is an idiom meaning “saw” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). The translator should be aware of a variant in an important group of Greek manuscripts, although this variant is not translated by New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New American Bible, or New Jerusalem Bible. These few manuscripts have, with minor variations, “She caught sight of the dog running ahead; she ran and said, ‘Tobit, your son is coming….’ ” On textual grounds alone there is little reason to consider this variant, but on narrative grounds it deserves consideration for two reasons. First, it offers an explanation to the puzzle of why the dog is in the story at all (see the note on 6.2); with this inclusion, the dog becomes an important character. Second, it adds to the dramatic impact of the recognition scene. Zimmermann adopts this in his translation. A translator who adopts this form of the text will need to include a note explaining that other ancient authorities do not have it. This Handbook does not abandon its textually conservative stance by recommending this, but some translators may wish to consider it.

She said to his father: His father is represented in Good News Translation by the name “Tobit.” The Handbook recommends following Good News Translation here.

Your son (literally what the Greek says) is better in modern English and many other languages as “Our son” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). However, there may be languages where your son will be more natural style.

The man who went with him: This becomes “that man is with him” in Contemporary English Version, but Good News Translation has “his friend is with him.”

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.