章节研读
Tobit 13 — Tobit's Song of Praise and Jerusalem's Glory
Tobit 13 contains Tobit's prayer of thanksgiving, confessing God's sovereign power over life and death, calling Israel to repentance, and prophesying the restoration of Jerusalem in glorious splendor.
经文
- 1.托比特感谢上帝 托比特写了一首喜乐的祷告，说：永生神是应当称颂的，他的国也永远存在。Tobit’s Thanksgiving to God Then Tobit wrote a prayer of rejoicing, and said: “Blessed is God who lives for ever, and blessed is his kingdom.
- 2.因为他使人受苦，也施予怜悯，他使人下到阴间，又使人复活，没有人能脱离他的手。For he afflicts, and he shows mercy; he leads down to Hades, and brings up again, and there is no one who can escape his hand.
- 3.在列国中认耶和华， 以色列的众子啊，因为他将我们散在列国中。Acknowledge him before the nations, O sons of Israel; for he has scattered us among them.
- 4.在那里宣扬他的伟大，在一切有生之人面前尊崇他，因为他是我们的主我们的神，他是我们的父，直到永远。Make his greatness known there, and exalt him in the presence of all the living; because he is our Lord and God, he is our Father for ever.
- 5.他必因我们的不法惩治我们，后必施怜悯，又聚集我们从分散我们到各国的人中。He will afflict us for our iniquities; and again he will show mercy, and will gather us from all the nations among whom you have been scattered.
- 6.如果你以全部的心和灵转向他，在他面前行事为真，他就会转向你，不会隐藏他的面容在你面前。但是看他要对你做什么，尽声向他感谢。赞美公义的主，尊高永在的王。我在被掳之地称谢他，并向罪恶之国显明他的能力和威严。你们这些罪人转回去，在他面前行事为善，谁知道他是否会悦纳你们并怜悯你们。If you turn to him with all your heart and with all your soul, to do what is true before him, then he will turn to you and will not hide his face from you. But see what he will do with you; give thanks to him with your full voice. Praise the Lord of righteousness, and exalt the King of the ages. I give him thanks in the land of my captivity, and I show his power and majesty to a nation of sinners. Turn back, you sinners, and do right before him; who knows if he will accept you and have mercy on you?
- 7.我尊崇我的神，我的灵魂尊崇天上的君王，并且会因他的威严而欢喜。I exalt my God; my soul exalts the King of heaven, and will rejoice in his majesty.
- 8.愿众人都说出来，并在耶路撒冷称谢他。Let all men speak, and give him thanks in Jerusalem.
- 9.耶路撒冷啊，圣城啊，他要因你儿女的行为而惩罚你，但他又要向义人的儿女施行怜悯。O Jerusalem, the holy city, he will afflict you for the deeds of your sons, but again he will show mercy to the sons of the righteous.
- 10.当以感恩之心向主献上感谢，并赞美永在的君王，好使他能再次为你们欢喜地搭设帐幕。愿他安慰你们内中的被掳之人，并爱你们内中的受困之人，直到万世之久。Give thanks worthily to the Lord, and praise the King of the ages, that his tent may be raised for you again with joy. May he cheer those within you who are captives, and love those within you who are distressed, to all generations for ever.
- 11.许多国家将从远方来到主上帝的名下，手中带着礼物，这些礼物是献给天上的君王的。世世代代将给你欢乐的赞美。Many nations will come from afar to the name of the Lord God, bearing gifts in their hands, gifts for the King of heaven. Generations of generations will give you joyful praise.
- 12.凡恨你的，必受咒诅；凡爱你的，必蒙永福。Cursed are all who hate you; blessed for ever will be all who love you.
- 13.义人之子要欢喜快乐，因为他们必聚集在一起，赞美义人的主。Rejoice and be glad for the sons of the righteous; for they will be gathered together, and will praise the Lord of the righteous.
- 14.爱你的人有多么的幸福啊，他们将因你的平安而欢喜。为你的一切患难而悲伤的人有福了，因为他们将在看见你一切的荣耀时为你欢喜，并且永远快乐。How blessed are those who love you! They will rejoice in your peace. Blessed are those who grieved over all your afflictions; for they will rejoice for you upon seeing all your glory, and they will be made glad for ever.
- 15.愿我的灵魂赞美伟大的神王。Let my soul praise God the great King.
- 16.因为耶路撒冷将要用蓝宝石和翡翠建造，她的城墙将要用宝石建造，她的楼塔和城垣将要用纯金建造。For Jerusalem will be built with sapphires and emeralds, her walls with precious stones, and her towers and battlements with pure gold.
- 17.耶路撒冷的街道将用碧玉、红宝石和俄斐石铺成；The streets of Jerusalem will be paved with beryl and ruby and stones of Ophir;
- 18.她所有的道路都要呼喊哈利路亚，并且发出赞美的声音，说，神是应当称颂的，他已将你永远高举起来。all her lanes will cry ‘Hallelujah!’ and will give praise, saying, ‘Blessed is God, who has exalted you for ever.’”
这段经文的意思
Tobit opens with a doxology in verse 1, blessing God who lives forever and whose kingdom endures. The placement is significant: this hymn follows the resolution of Tobit's personal trials (chapters 10–12) and turns his private deliverance into public worship, modeling how individual rescue should lead to corporate praise.
The core theological claim runs through verses 2–6 and 9: God both afflicts and shows mercy. Tobit presents a symmetrical pattern—descent to Hades and return, scattering among nations and regathering, punishment for iniquities and renewed compassion. Verse 6 conditions the return of God's face on turning 'with all your heart and with all your soul,' echoing the covenant language familiar from Deuteronomy, and the chapter repeatedly invites the 'sinners' among the nations to repent, since God's mercy remains open.
Verses 10–18 shift from prayer to prophetic vision. Jerusalem is rebuilt with sapphires, emeralds, beryl, ruby, and Ophir gold; her lanes cry 'Hallelujah.' Nations bring gifts to 'the King of heaven,' the righteous are gathered, and a curse falls on those who hate Jerusalem while blessing rests on those who love her. The chapter thus moves from personal thanksgiving to a universal hope centered on a glorified Jerusalem.
背景
Tobit 13 sits at the end of the book's narrative arc. Chapters 1–3 establish Tobit's piety and blindness; chapters 4–9 follow his son Tobias's journey guided by Raphael; chapters 10–12 describe the healing of Tobit's eyes and Raphael's self-revelation. Chapter 13 opens with the heading 'Tobit's Thanksgiving to God,' indicating a formal liturgical composition rather than spontaneous speech, and chapter 14 continues with Tobit's final words to his sons before his death.
The chapter functions within the book as both prayer and prophecy. It addresses three audiences in sequence: Tobit's fellow exiles (verses 3–6), the nations among whom Israel is scattered (verses 6, 11), and Jerusalem itself (verses 9–10, 16–18). The vision of Jerusalem's gleaming stones and the ingathering of nations presents an eschatological horizon that the earlier narrative chapters only foreshadow. The supplied note indicates this chapter was backfilled from material outside the project's initial P0/P1 scope.
常见问题
Why does Tobit say God both afflicts and shows mercy?
Tobit presents affliction and mercy as two sides of God's sovereign rule. Verse 2 pairs descent to Hades with return from it, and verse 5 links punishment for iniquities with regathering from the nations. The chapter frames suffering not as arbitrary but as discipline within a relationship that God always intends to restore.
What is the relationship between Tobit 13 and the rest of the book?
The chapter serves as Tobit's formal response to all that has happened from chapter 1 onward. After personal healing (chapter 11) and the revelation of Raphael's identity (chapter 12), Tobit composes a hymn that extends his private gratitude into a vision of Jerusalem's future restoration, preparing the way for his final instructions in chapter 14.
How should the description of Jerusalem's stones be understood?
Verses 16–18 depict Jerusalem paved with sapphires, emeralds, beryl, ruby, and Ophir gold, with her lanes crying 'Hallelujah.' Within the chapter's own movement from prayer to prophetic vision, these images function as a picture of eschatological glory rather than a literal architectural blueprint, expressing the hope that the city will shine with a splendor worthy of the 'King of the ages' praised in verses 10 and 15.