Content

CAP 6
1 Forsothe Tobie yede forth, and `a dogge suede hym, and he dwellide in the firste dwellyng bisidis the flood of Tigrys.
2 And he `yede out to waische hise feet; and lo! a greet fisch yede out to deuoure hym.
3 Which fisch Tobie dredde, and criede with greet vois, and seide, Sire, he assailith me.
4 And the aungel seide to hym, Take `thou his gile, `ether iowe, and drawe hym to thee. And whanne he hadde do this thing, he drow it in to the drie place, and it bigan to spraule bifor hise feet.
5 Thanne the aungel seide to hym, Drawe out the entrails of this fisch, and kepe to thee his herte and galle and mawe; for these thingis ben nedeful to medicyns profitabli.
6 And whanne he hadde do this thing, he rostide `hise fleischis, and thei token `with hem in the weie; thei saltiden othere thingis, that schulde suffice to hem in the weie, til thei camen in to Rages, the citee of Medeis.
7 Thanne Tobie axide the aungel, and seide to hym, Azarie, brother, Y biseche thee, that thou seie to me, what remedie these thingis schulen haue, whiche thou comaundidist to be kept of the fisch.
8 And the aungel answeride, and seide to hym, If thou puttist a lytil part of his herte on the coolis, the smoke therof dryueth awei al the kynde of feendis, ethir fro man ether fro womman, so that it neiye no more to hem.
9 And the galle is myche worth to anoynte iyen, in whiche is a web, and tho schulen be heelid.
10 And Tobie seide to him, Where wolt thou, that we dwelle?
11 And the aungel answeride, and seide, Here is a man, Raguel bi name, a nyy man of thi lynage, and he hath a douytir, Sare bi name; but nether he hath male nethir ony other femal, outakun hir.
12 Al his catel is due to thee; and it bihoueth thee haue hir to wijf.
13 Therfor axe thou hir of hir fadir; and he schal yyue `hir a wijf to thee.
14 Thanne Tobie answeride, and seide, Y haue herd, that sche was youun to seuene hosebondis, and thei ben deed; but also Y herde this, that a fend killide hem.
15 Therfor Y dredde, lest perauenture also these thingis bifalle to me; and sithen Y am oon aloone to my fadir and modir, Y putte doun `with sorewe her eelde to hellis.
16 Thanne the aungel Raphael seide to hym, Here thou me, and Y schal schewe to thee, `whiche it ben, ouer whiche the fend hath maistrie; ouer hem,
17 that taken so weddyngys, that thei close out God fro hem and fro her mynde; `the fend hath power ouer hem, that yyuen so tent to her letcherie, as an hors and mule doon, `that han noon vndurstondyng.
18 But whanne thou hast take hir, entre thou in to the bed, and bi thre daies be thou continent `fro hir, and to noon other thing thou schalt yyue tent with hir, no but to preieris.
19 Forsothe in that firste niyt, whanne the mawe of the fisch is brent, the fend schal be dryuun awei.
20 Sotheli in the secounde nyyt thou schalt be resseyued in the couplyng of hooli patriarkis.
21 Forsothe in the thridde nyyt thou schalt gete blessyng, that hoole sones be gendrid of you.
22 But whanne the thridde niyt is passid, thou schalt take the virgyn with the drede of the Lord, and thou schalt be led more bi the loue of children than of lust, that in the seed of Abraham thou gete blessyng in sones.