Tobit 8:2-4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
2 Tobiah, mindful of Raphael’s instructions, took the fish’s liver and heart from the bag where he had them, and put them on the embers intended for incense.[a] 3 The odor of the fish repulsed the demon, and it fled to the upper regions of Egypt;[b] Raphael went in pursuit of it and there bound it hand and foot. Then Raphael returned immediately.
4 When Sarah’s parents left the bedroom and closed the door behind them, Tobiah rose from bed and said to his wife, “My sister, come, let us pray and beg our Lord to grant us mercy and protection.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 8:2–3 The manner of coping with demonic influences among the ancients seems strange to us. However, the fish here is a folktale element, suggesting the hero’s fight with a dragon, and not a recipe for exorcism. It is clear that the author places primary emphasis on the value of prayer to God (6:18; 8:4–8), on the role of the angel as God’s agent, and on the pious disposition of Tobiah.
- 8:3 The desert was considered the dwelling place of demons. Cf. Is 13:21; 34:14; Mt 4:1; 12:43.
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