章节研读
Tobit 6 — The Fish, the Demon, and the Journey to Ecbatana
On the journey to Rages, a fish threatens Tobiah in the Tigris; Raphael tells him to keep the heart, liver, and gall. Near Ecbatana, Raphael arranges Tobiah's marriage to his kinswoman Sarah, and prescribes a ritual smoke from the fish organs to drive away the demon that has killed her seven husbands.
经文
- 1.前往拉格斯 现在他们继续前行，到了晚上来到底格里斯河，就在那里扎营。Journey to Rages Now as they proceeded on their way they came at evening to the Tigris river and camped there.
- 2.那时，年轻人下去洗澡，有一条鱼从河里跳起来，几乎把年轻人吞下去；Then the young man went down to wash himself. A fish leaped up from the river and would have swallowed the young man;
- 3.天使对他说：“捉那鱼。”那少年人就抓住鱼，抛在陆地上。and the angel said to him, “Catch the fish.” So the young man seized the fish and threw it up on the land.
- 4.然后天使对他说，“剖开鱼，取出心、肝和胆，好好保管起来。”Then the angel said to him, “Cut open the fish and take the heart and liver and gall and put them away safely.”
- 5.于是这年轻人按照天使的话去做，他们烤鱼并且吃了。他们两人继续前行，直到快到埃克巴塔那。So the young man did as the angel told him; and they roasted and ate the fish. And they both continued on their way until they came near to Ecbat′ana.
- 6.那时，年轻人对天使说，亚撒利亚兄弟，鱼的肝脏、心脏和胆有什么用处？Then the young man said to the angel, “Brother Azari′as, of what use is the liver and heart and gall of the fish?”
- 7.他回答说：“至于心和肝，如果有恶魔或邪灵困扰任何人，你们要用这些东西在那男或女面前熏烟，那个人就再也不会受到困扰了。He replied, “As for the heart and the liver, if a demon or evil spirit gives trouble to any one, you make a smoke from these before the man or woman, and that person will never be troubled again.
- 8.至于胆汁，用它抹在眼中有白翳的人身上，他就会痊愈。And as for the gall, anoint with it a man who has white films in his eyes, and he will be cured.”
- 9.拉法耳的指示 他们接近埃克巴塔那时，Raph′ael’s Instructions When they approached Ecbat′ana,
- 10.天使对年轻人说，兄弟，今天我们要住在拉古埃勒那里，他是你的亲戚，他只有一个女儿，名叫撒拉，我要建议他把她嫁给你为妻，the angel said to the young man, “Brother, today we shall stay with Rag′uel. He is your relative, and he has an only daughter named Sarah. I will suggest that she be given to you in marriage,
- 11.因为你有权得到她和她的遗产，因为你是她唯一合格的亲属。because you are entitled to her and to her inheritance, for you are her only eligible kinsman.
- 12.这个女孩也漂亮又明智，现在听我的计划，我将跟她的父亲谈话，我们一到拉格城回来就举行婚礼，因为我知道拉古尔按照摩西的律法不能把她嫁给别人，否则他就会受到死的惩罚，因为根据律法，你比其他任何人都有权获得这份遗产。The girl is also beautiful and sensible. Now listen to my plan. I will speak to her father, and as soon as we return from Rages we will celebrate the marriage. For I know that Rag′uel, according to the law of Moses, cannot give her to another man without incurring the penalty of death, because you rather than any other man are entitled to the inheritance.”
- 13.那时，年轻人对天使说，亚撒利亚兄弟，鱼的肝脏、心脏和胆有什么用处？Then the young man said to the angel, “Brother Azari′as, I have heard that the girl has been given to seven husbands and that each died in the bridal chamber.
- 14.我现在是父亲唯一的儿子，我害怕如果我进去，我会像以前的那些人一样死去，因为有一个鬼迷恋着她，只有接近她的人才会受到伤害。所以现在我担心我可能会死去，并且因为我而让父母带着悲伤进入坟墓。而他们也没有其他的儿子来埋葬他们。Now I am the only son my father has, and I am afraid that if I go in I will die as those before me did, for a demon is in love with her, and he harms no one except those who approach her. So now I fear that I may die and bring the lives of my father and mother to the grave in sorrow on my account. And they have no other son to bury them.”
- 15.但天使对他说，你不记得你父亲吩咐你从本族中娶妻的话吗，现在听我说，兄弟，她将成为你的妻子，不要为鬼神担心，因为今夜她就要被许配给你。But the angel said to him, “Do you not remember the words with which your father commanded you to take a wife from among your own people? Now listen to me, brother, for she will become your wife; and do not worry about the demon, for this very night she will be given to you in marriage.
- 16.当你进入新房时，你要取活炭的香，放在上面加上鱼的心和肝，使其冒烟。When you enter the bridal chamber, you shall take live ashes of incense and lay upon them some of the heart and liver of the fish so as to make a smoke.
- 17.然后魔鬼会闻到气味并逃跑，再也不会回来。当你接近她时，你们两人都站起来，向仁慈的神祈求，他会拯救你们并怜悯你们。不要害怕，因为她从永恒以来就为你而设。你会拯救她，她会跟随你，我想你们会有孩子。”托比亚斯听了这些话后，就爱上了她，并深深地渴望她。Then the demon will smell it and flee away, and will never again return. And when you approach her, rise up, both of you, and cry out to the merciful God, and he will save you and have mercy on you. Do not be afraid, for she was destined for you from eternity. You will save her, and she will go with you, and I suppose that you will have children by her.” When Tobi′as heard these things, he fell in love with her and yearned deeply for her.
这段经文的意思
The first half of the chapter (verses 1–8) centers on an unexpected encounter with a fish in the Tigris. Raphael instructs Tobiah to preserve the heart, liver, and gall, and later explains that the heart and liver drive away demons when burned as incense, while the gall heals white films on the eyes. The episode establishes that Raphael's protection of Tobiah is concrete and practical, not merely verbal.
The second half (verses 9–17) shifts to family and marriage. Raphael identifies Raguel as a relative with an eligible daughter, Sarah, and reminds Tobiah of his father's command to marry within his own people (verses 10–12, 15). The obstacle is a demon who has killed Sarah's seven successive husbands. Raphael's solution combines ritual action (live ashes of incense with the fish's heart and liver) with prayer to the merciful God, and he assures Tobiah that Sarah was 'destined for you from eternity.' The chapter therefore links physical obedience, angelic instruction, and divine providence around the formation of a family.
Throughout the chapter Tobiah's role is to listen and obey: he catches and cuts open the fish, he accepts the marriage plan despite fear, and he falls in love upon hearing Raphael's words. The narrative presents the organs of an ordinary fish as instruments of deliverance from both demonic affliction and physical blindness — a theme the book will complete when the same gall restores Tobit's sight in chapter 11.
背景
The chapter takes place entirely on the road: Tobiah and his disguised companion (still addressed as 'Brother Azarias') are traveling from Nineveh toward Rages in Media to collect a deposit. Chapter 5 set up the journey by introducing Raphael as a kinsman hired as a guide, and chapter 6 unfolds in two scenes — the riverside camp on the Tigris, and the approach to Ecbatana, where Raguel lives.
Chapter 6 functions as the hinge between Tobiah's travel mission and the marriage plot. The fish organs given in verses 2–5 are not used immediately; they become the resources for both Sarah's deliverance from the demon (chapter 8) and Tobit's cure from blindness (chapter 11). The chapter note simply records that the remaining chapters of Tobit outside its main selected range were backfilled for reference; no additional interpretive comment is supplied.
常见问题
Why does Raphael have Tobiah save the heart, liver, and gall of the fish?
According to Raphael's own explanation in verses 7–8, the heart and liver are to be burned as incense to drive away a demon or evil spirit troubling someone, while the gall is to anoint a man with white films in his eyes for healing. The organs thus become the means for both Sarah's deliverance and Tobit's later cure.
Who is Sarah, and why is Tobiah entitled to marry her?
Sarah is the only daughter of Raguel in Ecbatana (verses 10–12). Raphael explains that Tobiah is her closest eligible kinsman and is entitled to both her and her inheritance, and that under 'the law of Moses' Raguel cannot give her to another man without incurring the penalty of death. Raphael also recalls Tobit's earlier command to take a wife from among his own people (verse 15).
What does Raphael prescribe against the demon, and what is the role of prayer?
Raphael instructs Tobiah to lay the heart and liver of the fish upon live ashes of incense in the bridal chamber so that the demon will smell the smoke and flee (verses 16–17). Alongside this ritual, Tobiah and Sarah are told to rise up and cry out to the merciful God, who will save them and have mercy on them. Raphael frames the deliverance as both a physical act of obedience and a prayer to God, assuring Tobiah that Sarah 'was destined for you from eternity.'