First ReadingTobit 1:1a, 2-3a; 2:1c-8*
From the Book of Tobit
1The book of the words of Tobit,the son of Tobiel,the son of Ananiel,the son of Aduel, the son of Gabael,of the seed of Asiel,of the tribe of Naphtali;2who in the days of Enemessar king of the Assyrians was carried away captive out of Thisbe,which is on the right hand of Kedesh Naphtali in Galilee above Asher.
3I, Tobit walked in the ways of truthand righteousness all the days of my life,and I did many alms deeds to my kindred and my nation,who went with me into the land of the Assyrians, to Nineveh.
some verses are not read1Now when I had come home again,and my wife Anna was restored to me,and my son Tobias,in the feast of Pentecost,which is the holy feast of the seven weeks,there was a good dinner prepared for me,and I sat down to eat.2I saw abundance of meat,and I said to my son,“Go and bring whatever poor man you find of our kindred,who is mindful of the Lord.Behold, I wait for you.”
3Then he came, and said,“Father, one of our race is strangled,and has been cast out in the marketplace.”4Before I had tasted anything,I sprang up,and took him up into a chamber until the sun had set.5Then I returned, washed myself, ate my bread in heaviness,6and remembered the prophecy of Amos, as he said,
“Your feasts will be turned into mourning,and all your mirth into lamentation.
7So I wept: and when the sun had set,I went and dug a grave, and buried him.8My neighbors mocked me,and said, “He is no longer afraid to be put to death for this matter;and yet he fled away.Behold, he buries the dead again.”