1 That is how I ended my song of praise.Tobit died peacefully at the age of 112 and was honored at his burial in Nineveh.
2 He was 62 when he became blind, and after his sight was restored, he was once again wealthy and generous to the poor. He was always praising God and telling others about God's power.
3 Just before Tobit died, he called in his son and said:Tobias, take your children
4 and go to Media! I believe what God said when he told the prophet Nahum what will happen to Nineveh and Assyria. And time after time, God gave messages to other prophets in Israel, telling them what will happen. Every message they spoke will come true at the right time. You will be safe in Media, but not here in Assyria or in Babylonia.Our relatives, the people of Israel, will be taken from that good land and scattered in other countries. The whole land of Israel, including the cities of Samaria and Jerusalem, will be deserted. Even God's temple will suffer and lie in ashes for a while.
5 Then God will have mercy on Israel again, and he will return them to their own land. They will rebuild the temple, but it won't be as glorious a building, until the time that all of God's promises come true. And when that happens, God will bring Israel back from their exile, and they will rebuild Jerusalem into a truly glorious city. God's temple will also be rebuilt there, just as the prophets have said.
6 All the Gentiles on earth will stop worshiping idols, because idols only deceive people and lead them away from the truth. The Gentiles will then turn to God and worship only him.
7 They will praise and obey the eternal God.God will protect those Israelites who are truly loyal to him, and at that time, he will gather them together and bring them back to Jerusalem. God will give them the land he once gave to Abraham, and they will live in safety there forever.