Left the dinner before even tasting it may be rendered “left the table without even touching the food.” It is also possible to put this sentence at the beginning of the verse as follows: “I hadn’t even begun eating my food. So I jumped up from the table and went….”

The body: In many languages a word must be used that indicates a “dead body” or “corpse.”

The square or “street” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) is the open portion of the market—the public plaza. The phrase from the square does not appear in the other Greek text, and New Revised Standard Version has a footnote about it. However, the phrase does appear in the text we are following, and a note is unnecessary.

One of the rooms: It is not clear where Tobit brings the body; this expression apparently refers to Tobit’s house. The Greek suggests a separate but smaller structure, perhaps an outbuilding of some kind (Good News Translation “little shed”), but also that there were more than one. Perhaps we may translate “left it in one of the small sheds near the house.”

Tobit waits until sunset to bury the body, perhaps so as not to defile the holiday. This idea may be made clear; for example, “because it was unlawful [or, taboo] to bury it until dark.” On the other hand, Tobit may be waiting for darkness, so that he can bury the body without being seen by the authorities. This too may be built into the translation: “where I left it until sunset, when I could bury it safely.” Translators may choose between these two options.

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.