1 So Tobit made an end of praising God. 2 And he was eight and fifty years old when he lost his sight, which was restored to him after eight years: and he gave alms, and he increased in the fear of the Lord God, and praised him. 3 And when he was very aged he called his son, and the sons of his son, and said to him, My son, take thy children; for, behold, I am aged, and am ready to depart out of this life. 4 Go into Media my son, for I surely believe those things which Jonas the prophet spake of Nineve, that it shall be overthrown; and that for a time peace shall rather be in Media; and that our brethren shall lie scattered in the earth from that good land: and Jerusalem shall be desolate, and the house of God in it shall be burned, and shall be desolate for a time; 5 And that again God will have mercy on them, and bring them again into the land, where they shall build a temple, but not like to the first, until the time of that age be fulfilled; and afterward they shall return from all places of their captivity, and build up Jerusalem gloriously, and the house of God shall be built in it for ever with a glorious building, as the prophets have spoken thereof. 6 And all nations shall turn, and fear the Lord God truly, and shall bury their idols. 7 So shall all nations praise the Lord, and his people shall confess God, and the Lord shall exalt his people; and all those which love the Lord God in truth and justice shall rejoice, shewing mercy to our brethren. 8 And now, my son, depart out of Nineve, because that those things which the prophet Jonas spake shall surely come to pass. 9 But keep thou the law and the commandments, and shew thyself merciful and just, that it may go well with thee. 10 And bury me decently, and thy mother with me; but tarry no longer at Nineve. Remember, my son, how Aman handled Achiacharus that brought him up, how out of light he brought him into darkness, and how he rewarded him again: yet Achiacharus was saved, but the other had his reward: for he went down into darkness. Manasses gave alms, and escaped the snares of death which they had set for him: but Aman fell into the snare, and perished. 11 Wherefore now, my son, consider what alms doeth, and how righteousness doth deliver. When he had said these things, he gave up the ghost in the bed, being an hundred and eight and fifty years old; and he buried him honourably. 12 And when Anna his mother was dead, he buried her with his father. But Tobias departed with his wife and children to Ecbatane to Raguel his father in law, 13 Where he became old with honour, and he buried his father and mother in law honourably, and he inherited their substance, and his father Tobit's. 14 And he died at Ecbatane in Media, being an hundred and seven and twenty years old. 15 But before he died he heard of the destruction of Nineve, which was taken by Nabuchodonosor and Assuerus: and before his death he rejoiced over Nineve. .
[AD 735] Bede on Tobit 14:1-15
"Direct your steps, so that you may leave Nineveh. For I see that its iniquity will bring about its end." And this is to say to the faithful to their hearers: "Direct the intention of your heart, so that you may leave behind the desires of this world and earthly life, and seek heavenly things with your whole mind. For it is evident that the multitude of the wicked and the transgression of God's commandments throughout the world are such that they can only be ended by the destruction of the world itself, just as it was once terminated in the flood and the abolition of the entire human race."
So Tobias left Nineveh with his wife, sons, and grandsons, and returned to his in-laws, finding them in good old age. This is what the Lord does daily, and will do until the end of the world: He turns away from those whom He recognizes are not His own, to visit and enlighten the hearts of those whom He has predestined to eternal life. He finds these in good old age, rejoicing that they have long been devoted to good works by His grace. Otherwise, He sees them in bad old age and passes them by, as those who, living far from the divine, are not mature in counsel, not venerable with the whiteness of good action like gray hair, but are bent under the burden of vices. Of such, Isaiah says: "The child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed" (Isa. LXV). Rightly, they will be subject to a curse for their sins, who, although living many years, never cared to abandon the levity of a childish mind.
He finds them in good old age and unharmed, etc. And our Lord and Savior takes care of those whom He knows to persevere in the safety of good works. He Himself, closing their heart’s gaze to the delight of this present life, lifts them to the contemplation of eternal light. He Himself leads them to heavenly places after the end of this life. His is the inheritance, of which the prophet sings to Him: "Arise, O God, judge the earth, for you shall inherit all nations" (Psalm LXXXII).
And having completed many years in the fear of the Lord with joy, all his relatives buried him. The burial of Tobias signifies the faith of the whole world when our Lord, with His whole body, which is the Church that He has redeemed, enters into eternal rest, with angels rejoicing in the fellowship of redeemed men and placing each member of their Creator in various mansions of the heavenly homeland according to the diversity of merits.
And all his generation remained in good life and holy conversation. This is one generation throughout the whole world and throughout the whole time of the world, seeking the Lord, seeking the face of the God of Jacob (Psalm XXIII). Of which it also says: "The generation of the upright will be blessed" (Psalm CXII). What better life, what holier conversation is there than to remain forever in the glory of their Creator?
So that they were accepted by both God and all the inhabitants of the earth. Men brought to the heavenly homeland will be accepted by God, by whose grace they have been redeemed; they will also be accepted by the angels, whose number they will complete, to whom they will be joined in perpetual fraternal society. These are indeed the inhabitants of that earth, of which the Lord says: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matt. V); which the Psalmist, desiring to see, said: "I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm XXVI).