Hurry off may be rendered “go at once” or “go right away.”

I believe the word of God that Nahum spoke … will take place and overtake Nineveh and Assyria: Good News Translation helpfully identifies Nahum as a “prophet.” These clauses may be combined as follows: “I believe the word [or, message] God caused his messenger Nahum to speak about Assyria and Nineveh.” Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria, and some translators may wish to include this: “… to speak about Assyria and its capital city Nineveh.”

The prophets of Israel, whom God sent: This is reduced in Good News Translation to “God’s prophets.” Some translators may prefer to keep the fuller form.

None of all their words will fail, but all will come true at their appointed times: The Good News Translation rendering is an excellent model and translators should study it carefully.

It will be safer in Media than in Assyria or Babylon: Good News Translation has moved this sentence. In the Greek (see New Revised Standard Version) it interrupts Tobit’s words about his confidence in the words of the prophets. But where Good News Translation has placed it, it makes a fitting conclusion to a paragraph that begins with Tobit telling Tobias to go to Media, and translators are urged to follow Good News Translation.

Will be fulfilled and will come true: This is saying the same thing twice for effect. Good News Translation gets this effect by saying “is sure to come true.”

All of our kindred … will be taken from the good land: The rendering “Those Jews” (Good News Translation) for our kindred, is inaccurate, although the Greek text used the word “Jews” at 11.17. See the note there. “Our relatives” (Contemporary English Version) is better in this context. For from the good land, compare Deut 1.35; 3.25. Another possible model for this sentence is, “Our enemies will take our relatives, the people of Israel, as captives from that good land, and scatter them in other countries.”

The whole land of Israel will be desolate, even Samaria and Jerusalem will be desolate: Good News Translation has “abandoned cities” for desolate in reference to the cities of Samaria and Jerusalem. The point is that they will be uninhabited: “No people will live in the land, not even in Samaria or Jerusalem.”

The temple of God … for a while: Literally this is “The house of God [will be] in grief and will be burned for a while.” The Greek is not necessarily saying that the burning will go on for a while, but that the temple will remain a charred ruin for a while. Here New Revised Standard Version is translating the Old Latin and the other Greek text. “A complete ruin” (Good News Translation) translates the phrase “in grief.” Mourning is a familiar figure in the Old Testament for ruin (compare Amos 1.2; Jer 12.11). Contemporary English Version has “Even God’s temple will suffer and lie in ashes for a while.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• and go immediately to Media. I believe the word [or, message] God caused his messenger [or, prophet] Nahum to speak about Assyria and the city of Nineveh. God gave messages to other prophets in Israel telling them what would happen. Every word that they spoke will come true when the right time comes. For I am absolutely convinced that everything God has said will come true. So it will be safer for you to live in Media than in Assyria or Babylonia.
Our enemies will take our relatives the people of Israel as captives from that good land, and force them to live in other countries. No people will live in Israel, even in Samaria or Jerusalem. Our enemies will even burn the temple [or, house] of God to the ground, and it will lie in ashes for a while.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Tobit. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.