Synopsis of the Chapter
Tobias praises God, and at verse 11 he prophesies illustriously about the happiness and glory of Jerusalem.
Verse 1: He Blessed the Lord ¶
1. HE BLESSED THE LORD. — In Greek: He wrote a prayer of exaltation, and said.
Verse 5: He Will Save Us for His Mercy ¶
5. HE HIMSELF WILL SAVE US FOR HIS MERCY'S SAKE. — The Greek adds: And He will gather us from all the nations where He scattered us among them. If you are converted to Him with your whole heart and with your whole soul, to do truth (justice, that is, just and holy works) before Him, then He will turn to you and will not hide His face from you.
Verse 7: He Has Shown His Majesty upon a Sinful Nation ¶
7. HE HAS SHOWN HIS MAJESTY UPON A SINFUL NATION, — as if to say: God has shown His august and divine power, justice, and vengeance upon the Israelite nation, punishing its idolatry through the Assyrian destruction and captivity, and again He has shown His magnificent clemency toward it by having mercy on it and bringing it back from captivity to its homeland.
Verse 11: Jerusalem, City of God ¶
11. JERUSALEM, CITY OF GOD, THE LORD HAS CHASTISED YOU; — both because He has already led many Jews captive from Jerusalem to Babylon with the impious King Manasseh; and because shortly after He will lead the rest there with Joachim and Zedekiah through Nebuchadnezzar; for he speaks of the future as if of the past, on account of the certainty of the prophecy.
Note: Tobias from this verse to the end of the chapter, and in the next chapter verses 7, 8, and 9, prophesies about the destruction of Jerusalem to be carried out by Nebuchadnezzar, the earthly city, and about the restoration of it and its temple to be carried out by Cyrus after 70 years of captivity; but in such a way that in prophetic fashion from Jerusalem the city of Judea he rises allegorically to the Christian Church to be erected by Christ in Jerusalem, and from there anagogically flies up to the Church Triumphant in heaven, of which Jerusalem was a figure and type. Isaiah does the same, chapters 60, 65, and 66. And so in this and the following verses, under the type of Jerusalem — partly already desolated on account of the idols of Manasseh, as is gathered from 4 Kings chapter 33, verses 10 and 11; partly to be completely desolated and overthrown under Zedekiah, and again to be restored and raised to greater glory through Ezra, Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, and Cyrus — he prophesies the renewal and restoration of the Old Church through Christ, especially because the Christian Church began at Jerusalem on Zion; and because there was one Church of all ages, though having various states; whence in verse 14 he predicts the calling of the nations and the spread of the Church throughout the whole world: but in verse 21, he is carried anagogically to the heavenly Church, or to the state which the Church Militant will have in heaven, where it will be triumphant. Whence St. John alludes, Apocalypse 21, where he gloriously depicts the Church Triumphant under the figure of Jerusalem, as I explained at length there.
In the works, — that is, on account of your works, namely on account of your idols and crimes He has led away, that is, He will lead you away to Babylon.
Verse 13: With a Splendid Light You Shall Shine ¶
13. WITH A SPLENDID LIGHT (of the Gospel and the preaching of Christ, and His Apostles) YOU SHALL SHINE, AND ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH SHALL WORSHIP YOU. — He predicts the conversion of all nations to Christ, who worshipped the Church as the spouse of Christ, that is, venerated and honored her most humbly, and still venerate and honor her. Isaiah predicted the same, chapter 49, verse 23: "With their face bowed down to the earth, he says, they shall worship you, and they shall lick the dust of your feet."
Verse 14: They Shall Hold Your Land as Holy ¶
14. AND THEY SHALL HOLD YOUR LAND AS HOLY (that is, as sacred, and sanctified by Christ and the Apostles).
Verse 20: Blessed Shall I Be If Remnants of My Seed ¶
20. BLESSED SHALL I BE IF THERE SHALL BE REMNANTS OF MY SEED (that is, my grandchildren and descendants) TO SEE THE GLORY OF JERUSALEM; — both which Cyrus will bring to her literally, and which Christ will bring to her mystically in this life and more so in the future.
Verse 21: The Gates of Jerusalem ¶
21. THE GATES OF JERUSALEM. — All these things from verse 19 onward pertain properly to the glorious Church in heaven; for there he says it is to be built of sapphire, emerald, and every precious stone, by which figuratively nothing else is signified than the beauty, sweetness, majesty, splendor, and eternity of heavenly beatitude, as I declared at length at Apocalypse 21. Moreover the Greek has at this place: Jerusalem shall be built of sapphire and emerald, and of precious stone your walls, and towers, and battlements in pure gold; and the streets of Jerusalem shall be paved in beryl and carbuncle and stone from Ophir. The Hebrew adds: The kings of Tarshish and the islands shall offer gifts, the kings of Arabia and Sheba shall bring presents.
Verse 22: In Her Lanes Alleluia Shall Be Sung ¶
22. IN HER LANES ALLELUIA SHALL BE SUNG. — "Alleluia" in Hebrew is the same as "Praise the Lord." Alleluia therefore is a word of praise, exultation, and jubilation, which the blessed continually utter in heaven. Whence St. Augustine, sermon 151 On the Seasons, which is about Easter: "The time of mourning, he says, which the days of Lent signify, we both signify and possess. But the time of joy and rest and kingdom, which these days signify, we signify through alleluia, but we do not yet possess it. But now we breathe toward alleluia. What is alleluia? Praise God. But we do not yet possess the praises; in the Church the praises of God are celebrated after the resurrection, because for us there will be perpetual praise after our own resurrection.