章节研读
Tobit 8 — The Rout of the Demon and the Wedding Night
Tobit 8 narrates the expulsion of the demon Asmodeus on the wedding night, Tobias's prayer framing the marriage as an act of sincerity before God, Raguel's anxious vigil, and the joyful fourteen-day wedding feast that follows.
经文
- 1.当他们吃完饭以后，他们把托比亚斯送到她那里，托比亚斯就把魔鬼赶走了。Tobias Routs the Demon When they had finished eating, they escorted Tobi′as in to her.
- 2.他一边走，一边记起拉法尔的话，于是取了活的香灰，把鱼的心和肝放在上面，作了一缕烟。As he went he remembered the words of Raph′ael, and he took the live ashes of incense and put the heart and liver of the fish upon them and made a smoke.
- 3.当魔鬼闻到那气味时，他逃到了埃及最远的地方，天使将他捆绑起来。And when the demon smelled the odor he fled to the remotest parts of Egypt, and the angel bound him.
- 4.当门关闭，两个人独处时，托比亚斯从床上站起来，说：“姐姐，起来，我们祈祷，求主怜悯我们。”When the door was shut and the two were alone, Tobi′as got up from the bed and said, “Sister, get up, and let us pray that the Lord may have mercy upon us.”
- 5.托比亚斯开始祷告说，天父的神，你是应当称颂的，你的圣洁荣耀的名永远是应当称颂的。愿天和你所有的造物都称颂你。And Tobi′as began to pray, “Blessed art thou, O God of our fathers, and blessed be thy holy and glorious name for ever. Let the heavens and all thy creatures bless thee.
- 6.你造了亚当，又给他以夏娃为妻作他的帮助和扶持，从他们而来的人类就繁衍出来。你曾说，独居不是好的，我要为他造一个配偶帮助他。Thou madest Adam and gavest him Eve his wife as a helper and support. From them the race of mankind has sprung. Thou didst say, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; let us make a helper for him like himself.’
- 7.现在，主啊，我不是因为淫欲娶这我的妹子，乃是出于真诚。求你赐我恩典，能与她白头到老。And now, O Lord, I am not taking this sister of mine because of lust, but with sincerity. Grant that I may find mercy and may grow old together with her.”
- 8.她对他说：“阿们。”And she said with him, “Amen.”
- 9.他们两人便睡了一夜，但拉古珥起来，出去挖了一个坟墓，Then they both went to sleep for the night. But Rag′uel arose and went and dug a grave,
- 10.带着“也许他也会死”的想法with the thought, “Perhaps he too will die.”
- 11.然后拉古尔进了他的家Then Rag′uel went into his house
- 12.就对妻子以得拿说，叫一个使女去看看他还活着不活着，如果他死了，我们就悄悄地把他埋掉，免得有人知道。and said to his wife Edna, “Send one of the maids to see whether he is alive; and if he is not, let us bury him without any one knowing about it.”
- 13.于是，婢女开了门进去，看见两个人都睡着了。So the maid opened the door and went in, and found them both asleep.
- 14.她出来告诉他们他活了。And she came out and told them that he was alive.
- 15.然后拉格엘이上帝并说：“上帝，你是应当称颂的，所有的纯洁和圣洁的祝福都归于你。愿你的圣徒和你所有的造物称颂你，愿你所有的天使和你所选择的人民永远称颂你。Then Rag′uel blessed God and said, “Blessed art thou, O God, with every pure and holy blessing. Let thy saints and all thy creatures bless thee; let all thy angels and thy chosen people bless thee for ever.
- 16.你是有福的，因为你使我欢喜。事实并不像我所想象的那样，但你却按照你的大怜悯对待了我们。Blessed art thou, because thou hast made me glad. It has not happened to me as I expected; but thou hast treated us according to thy great mercy.
- 17.你得福了，因为你只顾恤这两个独生子。求主怜悯他们，成全他们的生命，给他们健康、快乐和怜悯。Blessed art thou, because thou hast had compassion on two only children. Show them mercy, O Lord; and bring their lives to fulfilment in health and happiness and mercy.”
- 18.于是他命令他的仆人填平坟墓。Then he ordered his servants to fill in the grave.
- 19.在这之后，他为他们摆设了一个十四天的婚宴。Wedding Feast After this he gave a wedding feast for them which lasted fourteen days.
- 20.在节日的日子还没有过去之前，拉古埃尔对托比亚斯立下誓言，说他不应该离开，直到十四天的婚宴结束。And before the days of the feast were over, Rag′uel declared by oath to Tobi′as that he should not leave until the fourteen days of the wedding feast were ended,
- 21.他应该拿走拉古力的财产的一半，并安全地回到他父亲那里，其余的部分将在“我和我的妻子死后”属于他。that then he should take half of Rag′uel’s property and return in safety to his father, and that the rest would be his “when my wife and I die.”
这段经文的意思
Chapter 8 centers on the rout of the demon. The chapter opens by showing that Tobias does not rely on his own strength: on the way to the bridal chamber he remembers Raphael's instructions and uses the heart and liver of the fish with live ashes of incense to drive the demon away (vv. 1–3). The binding of the demon in the remotest parts of Egypt by the angel frames the defeat as a divine, not merely human, victory. Marriage is thus introduced in the chapter not merely as a social event but as a space where supernatural evil is confronted and overcome.
The prayer of Tobias (vv. 5–8) reframes the marriage around creation and covenant rather than desire. He blesses the God of the fathers, recalls that God made Adam and gave him Eve as a helper, and explicitly states that he is not taking his kinswoman 'because of lust, but with sincerity' (v. 7). The closing line — that he may 'find mercy and grow old together with her' — sets the marriage's horizon as lifelong companionship under God's mercy, and Sarah's 'Amen' (v. 8) makes the prayer a joint act of the couple.
The final movement of the chapter (vv. 9–21) shows the resolution of the threat and the celebration of the marriage. Raguel's secret grave, dug because he feared Tobias had died like the previous seven husbands, is filled back in once the couple is found alive (vv. 9–18). His blessing of God is built on the theme of mercy: God has dealt with them 'according to thy great mercy' and has had compassion on 'two only children' (vv. 16–17). The chapter closes with a fourteen-day wedding feast, an oath that Tobias will stay until it ends, and the promise of half Raguel's property immediately and the rest at the parents' death (vv. 19–21).
背景
The chapter note supplied with the passage identifies it as a backfill of chapters from Tobit outside an initial priority set, and the provided text contains no cross references or original-language notes. Within the chapter itself, the defeat of the demon is tied to the fish organs introduced earlier in the book, since Tobias 'remembered the words of Raphael' and reused the heart and liver of the fish on incense ashes to produce the smoke that drives Asmodeus away (vv. 1–3). The bridal chamber sequence therefore depends on instructions given before the journey, not on anything introduced inside chapter 8.
The wedding narrative is structurally framed by two fears and two reliefs. Raguel fears a seventh death in the family and digs a grave in secret (vv. 9–12); the maid's discovery that Tobias and Sarah are alive (vv. 13–14) relieves that fear and is met with a long blessing built on the language of mercy (vv. 15–17). The chapter then moves from the private bridal chamber to a public fourteen-day feast and a legal settlement of property (vv. 19–21), so that the domestic danger is shown to be resolved by both divine action and community celebration.
常见问题
What does Tobias do to drive the demon away in Tobit 8?
On the way to the bridal chamber he remembers Raphael's earlier instruction, takes live ashes of incense, and places the heart and liver of the fish on them to make a smoke; when the demon smells the odor he flees to the remotest parts of Egypt, and the angel binds him there (vv. 1–3).
Why does Tobias say he is marrying Sarah 'not because of lust, but with sincerity' (v. 7)?
Within the prayer itself Tobias frames the marriage by recalling God's creation of Adam and Eve and by explicitly naming his motive as sincerity rather than desire, asking that the Lord grant him mercy and that he may grow old together with her (vv. 5–7). Sarah's 'Amen' (v. 8) joins her to that self-understanding of the marriage.
Why does Raguel dig a grave before the wedding night is over?
Fearing that Tobias will die like Sarah's previous seven husbands, Raguel digs a grave in secret and tells his wife Edna to send a maid to check; when the maid reports that both are alive (vv. 9–14), the grave is filled back in (v. 18) and Raguel blesses God for the mercy shown to 'two only children' (vv. 15–17).