4 “My son, take your children and go at once to Media. I believe that God's judgement which his prophet Nahum announced against Nineveh is about to take place. Everything that God's prophets told Israel about Nineveh and Assyria will happen. It will all come true, every word of it, when the right time comes. I am absolutely convinced that everything God has said is sure to come true. God does not break his promises. It will be safer for you in Media than in Assyria or Babylon.“Our fellow-Jews who live in Israel will all be scattered and taken from that good land into exile. All Israel will become a wilderness; Samaria and Jerusalem will be abandoned cities. God's Temple will be burnt to the ground and will lie in complete ruin for a while.
5 But God will have mercy on his people again, and he will bring them back to the land of Israel. They will rebuild the Temple, but it will not be as splendid as the first Temple, not until the proper time has come. But when that time does come, all the people of Israel will return from exile, and they will rebuild the city of Jerusalem in all its former splendour. They will rebuild God's temple in Jerusalem, just as Israel's prophets have foretold.
6 “Then all the nations in the world will come back to God. They will worship him as the only true God and give up the idols that led them into false worship.
7 The nations of the world will praise the everlasting God by doing what he demands.“At that time God will save all the people of Israel who have been faithful to him. He will bring them together to Jerusalem, and let them take possession of the land of Abraham, and there they will live securely for ever. All who love God with their heart and soul will rejoice, but all sinners and evil people will be wiped off the face of the earth.
8 “Now, my children, follow my instructions. Worship God sincerely and do what is pleasing to him.
9 Bring up your children to do what is right. Teach them that they must give to the poor and must always remember to praise God with all sincerity.
10 “Tobias, my son, leave Nineveh now. Do not stay here. As soon as you bury your mother beside me, leave; do not stay another night within the city limits. It is a wicked city and full of immorality; the people here have no sense of shame. Remember what Nadab did to Ahikar his own uncle who had brought him up. He tried to kill Ahikar and forced him to go into hiding in a tomb. Ahikar came back into the light of day, but God sent Nadab down into everlasting darkness for what he had done. Ahikar escaped the deadly trap which Nadab had set for him, because Ahikar had given generously to the poor. But Nadab fell into that fatal trap and it destroyed him.