Judith

Chapter 1

1 In the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who reigned over the Assyrians in Nineveh, the great city, in the days of Arphaxad, who reigned over the Medes in Ecbatana,

2 and built around Ecbatana walls of hewn stones three cubits broad and six cubits long, and made the height of the wall seventy cubits and its breadth fifty cubits,

3 and set its towers upon its gates, a hundred cubits high, and laid their foundations sixty cubits broad,

4 and made its gates, gates rising to a height of seventy cubits and forty cubits broad, for the going forth of his mighty forces and the marshaling of his footmen.

5 And in those days King Nebuchadnezzar made war against King Arphaxad in the great plain, that is, the plain in the borders of Ragau.

6 And there came to meet him all who dwelt in the hill country, and all who dwelt by the Euphrates and the Tigris and the Hydaspes, and the plains of Arioch, king of the Elymeans; and many nations gathered together for the battle of the sons of Cheleoud.

7 And Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, sent to all who dwelt in Persia, and to all who dwelt toward the west, those dwelling in Cilicia and Damascus and Lebanon and Antilebanon, and all who dwelt along the seacoast,

8 and those among the nations of Carmel and Gilead, and upper Galilee, and the great plain of Esdraelon,

9 and all who were in Samaria and its cities, and beyond the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, and Batane and Chelous and Kadesh and the river of Egypt, and Tahpanhes and Rameses and all the land of Goshen,

10 until one comes above Tanis and Memphis, and all who dwelt in Egypt, until one comes to the borders of Ethiopia.

11 But all the inhabitants of the whole land made light of the word of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, and did not join him for the war, for they did not fear him, but he was before them as one man; and they sent back his messengers empty, with dishonor to their face.

12 And Nebuchadnezzar was exceedingly angry with all this land, and he swore by his throne and his kingdom that he would surely take vengeance on all the borders of Cilicia and Damascus and Syria, to slay with his sword also all who dwelt in the land of Moab, and the sons of Ammon, and all Judea, and all who were in Egypt, until one comes to the borders of the two seas.

13 And he set his forces in array against King Arphaxad in the seventeenth year, and prevailed in his battle, and turned back all the army of Arphaxad and all his cavalry and all his chariots,

14 and became master of his cities, and came to Ecbatana, and seized the towers, and plundered its streets, and turned its beauty into its shame.

15 And he took Arphaxad in the mountains of Ragau and struck him through with his spears and destroyed him utterly unto that day.

16 And he returned with them, he and all his mixed company, an exceedingly great multitude of men of war; and there he abode at ease and feasting, he and his army, for a hundred and twenty days.

Chapter 2

1 And in the eighteenth year, on the twenty-second day of the first month, word went forth in the house of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, to take vengeance on all the earth, even as he had spoken.

2 And he called together all his attendants and all his nobles, and set before them the secret of his counsel, and with his own mouth determined all the evil against the earth;

3 and they resolved to destroy all flesh that had not followed the word of his mouth.

4 And it came to pass, when he had finished his counsel, that Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, called Holofernes, the chief general of his army, who was second after himself, and said to him:

5 Thus says the great king, the lord of all the earth: Behold, you shall go out from my presence and take with you men who trust in their strength, of footmen a hundred and twenty thousand, and a multitude of horses with riders, twelve thousand;

6 and you shall go out to meet all the land toward the west, because they disobeyed the word of my mouth.

7 And you shall proclaim to them that they prepare earth and water, for I will go out in my wrath against them and will cover the whole face of the earth with the feet of my army, and I will give them over to plunder by them;

8 and their slain shall fill their ravines, and every brook and river, overflowing, shall be filled with their dead;

9 and I will lead their captivity to the ends of all the earth.

10 But you, going out, shall seize beforehand for me all their territory, and they shall give themselves up to you, and you shall keep them for me until the day of their reproof.

11 But upon those who disobey, your eye shall not spare, so as to give them over to slaughter and pillage in all your land.

12 For as I live, and by the power of my kingdom, I have spoken and I will do these things by my hand.

13 And you—you shall not transgress any one of the words of your lord, but you shall surely accomplish them as I have commanded you, and you shall not delay to do them.

14 And Holofernes went out from the presence of his lord and called all the princes and the generals and officers of the army of Asshur,

15 and he numbered chosen men for battle array, as his lord had commanded him, to the number of a hundred and twenty thousand, and mounted archers twelve thousand,

16 and he arranged them in the way a multitude of war is ordered.

17 And he took camels and asses and mules for their baggage, a very great multitude, and sheep and oxen and goats for their provision, of which there was no number,

18 and provisions for every man in abundance, and gold and silver from the king's house, exceedingly much.

19And he went out, he and all his army, on the march, to go before King Nebuchadnezzar and to cover the whole face of the earth toward the west with chariots and horsemen and their chosen footmen;

20 and a great mixed company went out with them like locusts and like the sand of the earth, for they could not be numbered because of their multitude.

21 And they departed from Nineveh a three days' journey toward the face of the plain of Bectileth, and encamped from Bectileth near the mountain that is on the left of upper Cilicia.

22 And he took all his army, the footmen and the horsemen and his chariots, and departed from there into the hill country.

23 And he cut through Put and Lud, and plundered all the sons of Rassis and the sons of Ishmael who were over against the wilderness to the south of Cheleon.

24 And he crossed the Euphrates and passed through Mesopotamia, and razed all the high cities that were on the brook Abrona, until one comes to the sea.

25 And he seized the borders of Cilicia and cut down all who resisted him, and came to the borders of Japheth, which are toward the south, over against Arabia.

26 And he encircled all the sons of Midian and burned their tents and plundered their sheepfolds.

27 And he went down into the plain of Damascus in the days of the wheat harvest, and burned all their fields, and gave their flocks and herds over to destruction, and despoiled their cities, and laid waste their plains, and struck down all their young men with the edge of the sword.

28 And fear and dread of him fell upon those dwelling on the seacoast, those in Sidon and in Tyre, and those dwelling in Sur and Ocina, and all those dwelling in Jemnaan; and those dwelling in Azotus and Ascalon feared him exceedingly.

Chapter 3

1 And they sent messengers to him with words of peace, saying,

2 "Behold, we the servants of Nebuchadnezzar the great king lie before you; use us as is pleasing in your sight.

3 Behold, our farmsteads and all our land and every field of wheat, and the flocks and the herds and all the sheepfolds of our tents lie before your face; use them as it may please you.

4 Behold, our cities also and those who dwell in them are your servants; come and deal with them as is good in your eyes."

5 And the men came to Holofernes and reported to him according to these words.

6 And he went down to the seacoast, he and his army, and set garrisons in the high cities and took from them chosen men as allies.

7 And they and all the country round about received him with garlands and dances and timbrels.

8 And he demolished all their borders and cut down their sacred groves; and it had been given to him to destroy all the gods of the land, so that all the nations should worship Nebuchadnezzar alone, and all their tongues and tribes should call upon him as a god.

9 And he came toward Esdraelon, near Dothan, which is opposite the great ridge of Judea,

10 and they encamped between Geba and Scythopolis, and he was there a month of days, to gather all the baggage of his army.

Chapter 4

1 And the children of Israel who dwelt in Judea heard all that Holofernes, the chief general of Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians, had done to the nations, and how he had plundered all their temples and given them over to destruction,

2 and they were exceedingly, exceedingly afraid before him, and were troubled for Jerusalem and for the temple of the Lord their God.

3 For they had recently come up from the captivity, and all the people of Judea had lately been gathered together, and the vessels and the altar and the house had been sanctified after the profanation.

4 And they sent into every border of Samaria, and to Kona and Beth-horon and Belmain and Jericho, and to Choba and Aesora and the valley of Salem,

5and they occupied beforehand all the tops of the high mountains and fortified the villages in them and laid up provisions in preparation for war, for their fields had recently been harvested.

6 And Joakim the high priest, who was in those days in Jerusalem, wrote to those dwelling in Bethulia and Betomesthaim, which is opposite Esdraelon, facing the plain near Dothan,

7 telling them to hold fast the passes of the hill country, because through them was the entrance into Judea, and it was easy to hinder those coming up, since the approach was narrow, wide enough for two men at most.

8 And the children of Israel did as Joakim the high priest and the council of elders of all the people of Israel, who sat in Jerusalem, had commanded them.

9 And every man of Israel cried out to God with great fervor, and they humbled their souls with great fervor.

10 They and their wives and their infants and their cattle, and every sojourner and hireling and slave bought with silver, put sackcloth upon their loins.

11 And every man of Israel, and woman, and the children dwelling in Jerusalem fell down before the temple, and cast ashes upon their heads, and spread out their sackcloth before the Lord;

12 and they wrapped the altar in sackcloth, and cried to the God of Israel with one accord fervently, that he would not give their infants over to plunder, nor their wives to spoil, nor the cities of their inheritance to destruction, nor the holy things to profanation and reproach, a mockery for the nations.

13 And the Lord heard their voice and looked upon their affliction; and the people were fasting many days in all Judea and Jerusalem before the sanctuary of the Lord Almighty.

14 And Joakim the high priest and all the priests standing before the Lord and those ministering to the Lord, with sackcloth girded about their loins, offered the continual burnt offering and the vows and the freewill gifts of the people,

15 and there were ashes upon their turbans, and they cried to the Lord with all their might that he would look favorably upon all the house of Israel.

Chapter 5

1 And it was reported to Holofernes, the chief general of the army of Assur, that the sons of Israel had prepared for war and had closed the passes of the hill country and had fortified every summit of the high mountains and had set obstacles in the plains.

2 And he was exceedingly enraged with anger, and he called all the rulers of Moab and the generals of Ammon and all the satraps of the coastland,

3 and said to them, "Tell me now, sons of Canaan, who is this people that dwells in the hill country, and what are the cities they inhabit, and the size of their army, and in what lies their power and their strength, and who has arisen over them as king, leader of their army,

4 and why have they turned their backs, refusing to come to meet me, unlike all who dwell in the west?"

5 And Achior, the leader of all the sons of Ammon, said to him, "Let my lord now hear a word from the mouth of your servant, and I will report to you the truth about this people, which dwells in this hill country near where you are encamped, and no lie shall come out of the mouth of your servant.

6 This people are descendants of the Chaldeans.

7 And they formerly sojourned in Mesopotamia, because they did not wish to follow the gods of their fathers, who were in the land of the Chaldeans;

8 and they departed from the way of their parents and worshipped the God of heaven, the God whom they had come to know, and they cast them out from before their gods, and they fled to Mesopotamia and sojourned there many days.

9 And their God told them to go out from their sojourning place and to go to the land of Canaan, and they settled there and were multiplied with gold and silver and very many cattle.

10 And they went down into Egypt, for famine covered the face of the land of Canaan, and they sojourned there so long as they were sustained; and there they became a great multitude, and their race was without number.

11 And the king of Egypt rose up against them and dealt craftily with them with labor and brick; they humbled them and made them slaves.

12 And they cried out to their God, and he struck all the land of Egypt with plagues for which there was no cure; and the Egyptians cast them out from their presence.

13 And God dried up the Red Sea before them

14 and led them to the way of Sinai and Kadesh Barnea; and they cast out all who dwelt in the wilderness

15 and settled in the land of the Amorites, and destroyed all the Heshbonites by their strength. And crossing the Jordan they inherited all the hill country

16 and cast out from before them the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite and Shechem and all the Girgashites, and they dwelt in it many days.

17 And so long as they did not sin before their God, prosperity was with them, for a God who hates injustice is with them.

18 But when they departed from the way which he had appointed for them, they were utterly destroyed in many wars very greatly, and were taken captive to a land not their own, and the temple of their God was razed to the ground, and their cities were seized by their adversaries.

19 And now, having returned to their God, they have come up from the dispersion where they were scattered, and have taken possession of Jerusalem, where their sanctuary is, and have settled in the hill country, for it was desolate.

20 And now, master lord, if there is any error in this people and they sin against their God, and we ascertain that this offense is among them, then we shall go up and make war upon them;

21 but if there is no lawlessness in their nation, let my lord pass them by, lest their Lord and their God shield them, and we become a reproach before all the earth."

22 And it came to pass, when Achior ceased speaking these words, that all the people surrounding the tent and standing about murmured, and the great men of Holofernes and all who dwelt in the coastland and in Moab said to cut him to pieces:

23 "For we shall not be afraid of the sons of Israel, for behold, they are a people in whom there is no power nor strength for a strong battle line;

24 therefore we shall indeed go up, and they shall be food for your whole army, master Holofernes." —

Chapter 6

1 And when the uproar of the men who were around the council had ceased, Holofernes, the chief commander of the army of Assur, said to Achior before all the people of the foreigners and to all the sons of Moab:

2 "And who are you, Achior, and the hirelings of Ephraim, that you have prophesied among us as you have today, and have said not to make war on the race of Israel, because their God will shield them? And who is God if not Nebuchadnezzar? He will send forth his might and will destroy them from the face of the earth, and their God will not deliver them;

3 but we, his servants, will strike them down as one man, and they will not withstand the might of our horses.

4 For we will burn them up among them, and their mountains will be drunk with their blood, and their plains will be filled with their dead, and the print of their feet will not stand before our face, but they will utterly perish, says King Nebuchadnezzar, the lord of all the earth; for he has spoken, and the words of his speech will not be made void.

5 But you, Achior, hireling of Ammon, who have spoken these words in the day of your iniquity, you shall not see my face again from this day until I take vengeance on the race of those from Egypt;

6 and then the iron of my army and the host of my servants shall pass through your sides, and you shall fall among their slain when I return.

7 And my servants will restore you to the hill country and will place you in one of the cities of the ascents,

8 and you shall not perish until you are destroyed with them.

9 And if indeed you hope in your heart that they will not be taken, let not your face fall; I have spoken, and none of my words shall fail."

10 And Holofernes commanded his servants who were standing by in his tent to seize Achior and take him back to Bethulia and hand him over into the hands of the sons of Israel.

11 And his servants seized him and led him outside the camp into the plain, and they departed from the midst of the lowland into the hill country and came to the springs that were beneath Bethulia.

12 And when the men of the city saw them on the summit of the mountain, they took up their weapons and went out of the city onto the summit of the mountain, and every slinger held their ascent and threw stones at them.

13 And slipping down beneath the mountain, they bound Achior and left him cast down at the foot of the mountain and went away to their lord.

14 And the sons of Israel came down from their city and stood over him, and loosing him they led him away into Bethulia and set him before the rulers of their city,

15 who in those days were Ozias the son of Micah of the tribe of Simeon, and Chabris the son of Gothoniel, and Charmis the son of Melchiel.

16 And they called together all the elders of the city, and every young man of theirs and the women ran together to the assembly, and they set Achior in the midst of all their people, and Ozias questioned him about what had happened.

17 And answering, he reported to them the words of the council of Holofernes and all the words that he had spoken in the midst of the rulers of the sons of Assur, and all the boastful things Holofernes had spoken against the house of Israel.

18 And the people fell down and worshiped God and cried out, saying,

19 "Lord, God of heaven, look upon their arrogance and have mercy on the humiliation of our race, and look upon the face of those consecrated to you on this day."

20 And they comforted Achior and praised him greatly,

21 and Ozias took him from the assembly into his house and made a feast for the elders, and they called upon the God of Israel for help all that night.

Chapter 7

1 The next day Holofernes commanded all his army and all his people who had come to be his allies to break camp and move against Bethulia, to seize beforehand the ascents of the hill country, and to make war against the sons of Israel.

2 So on that day every able man of theirs broke camp; and their force of fighting men was one hundred seventy thousand foot soldiers and twelve thousand horsemen, besides the baggage train and the men who were on foot among them, a very great multitude.

3 And they encamped in the valley near Bethulia, by the spring, and they spread out in breadth toward Dothan as far as Belbaim, and in length from Bethulia to Cyamon, which is opposite Esdraelon.

4 But the sons of Israel, when they saw their multitude, were greatly troubled, and each said to his neighbor, "Now these men will lick clean the face of the whole land, and neither the high mountains nor the ravines nor the hills will bear their weight."

5 And each man took up his weapons of war, and they kindled fires on their towers and remained on guard all that night.

6 On the second day Holofernes led out all his cavalry before the face of the sons of Israel who were in Bethulia,

7 and he reconnoitered the ascents to their city, and he searched out the springs of water and seized them, and he set over them encampments of fighting men, and he himself returned to his people.

8 Then all the rulers of the sons of Esau and all the leaders of the people of Moab and the commanders of the coastland came to him and said,

9 "Let our lord please hear a word, that there be no defeat in your army.

10 For this people of the sons of Israel do not trust in their spears, but in the heights of the mountains in which they dwell; for it is not easy to approach the tops of their mountains.

11 So now, master, do not fight against them as a battle is fought in pitched array, and not one man of your people will fall.

12 Remain in your camp, keeping every man of your force, and let your servants take control of the spring of water that flows out from the foot of the mountain,

13 for from there all the inhabitants of Bethulia draw their water, and thirst will destroy them, and they will surrender their city; and we and our people will go up to the nearby mountaintops and encamp on them to keep watch, so that not one man may go out of the city.

14 And they will waste away with famine, they and their wives and their children, and before the sword comes upon them they will be laid low in the streets of their dwelling place.

15 And you will repay them with an evil recompense, because they rebelled and did not come to meet your face in peace."

16 And their words pleased Holofernes and all his attendants, and he ordered them to do as they had spoken.

17 So the camp of the sons of Ammon set out, and with them five thousand of the sons of Asshur, and they encamped in the valley and seized the waters and the springs of water of the sons of Israel.

18 And the sons of Esau and the sons of Ammon went up and encamped in the hill country opposite Dothan. And they sent some of their number toward the south and the east, opposite Egrebel, which is near Chous, which is on the brook Mochmur. And the rest of the army of the Assyrians encamped in the plain and covered the whole face of the land, and their tents and baggage were pitched in a great throng, and they were a very great multitude.

19 And the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord their God, because their spirit grew faint, for all their enemies had surrounded them and there was no escape from their midst.

20 And the whole camp of Asshur remained around them—their foot soldiers and chariots and horsemen, for thirty-four days. And all the water vessels of all the inhabitants of Bethulia ran dry,

21 and the cisterns were being emptied, and they did not have water to drink their fill for even one day, because they gave them a ration to drink by measure.

22 And their infants lost heart, and the women and young men fainted from thirst and fell in the streets of the city and in the passages of the gates, and there was no strength left in them.

23 Then all the people gathered together against Uzziah and the rulers of the city—the young men and the women and the children and they cried out with a loud voice and said before all the elders,

24 "May God judge between you and us, for you have done us a great wrong by not speaking terms of peace with the sons of Asshur.

25 And now there is no one to help us, but God has sold us into their hands, to be laid low before them in thirst and great destruction.

26 So now, call them and surrender the whole city as plunder to the people of Holofernes and to all his army.

27 For it is better for us to become their spoil; for we shall be slaves, and our lives will be spared, and we shall not see the death of our infants before our eyes, nor our wives and our children breathing out their lives.

28 We call to witness against you heaven and earth and our God and the Lord of our fathers, who punishes us according to our sins and according to the sins of our fathers, that he may not do according to these words this very day."

29 And there arose a great weeping in the midst of the assembly, all with one accord, and they cried out to the Lord God with a loud voice.

30 And Uzziah said to them, "Take courage, brothers; let us hold out five more days, in which the Lord our God will turn his mercy back to us, for he will not forsake us utterly.

31 But if these days pass and no help comes to us, I will do according to your words."

32 And he dispersed the people, each to his own post, and they went away to the walls and the towers of their city, and they sent the women and children to their houses; and they were in great distress in the city.

Chapter 8

1 And in those days Judith heard of it, the daughter of Merari, son of Ox, son of Joseph, son of Oziel, son of Elkia, son of Ananias, son of Gideon, son of Raphain, son of Achitob, son of Elias, son of Chelkias, son of Eliab, son of Nathanael, son of Salamiel, son of Sarasadai, son of Israel.

2 And her husband was Manasses, of her tribe and her family; and he died in the days of the barley harvest;

3 for he stood over those binding the sheaves in the field, and the burning heat came upon his head, and he fell upon his bed and died in Bethulia his city, and they buried him with his fathers in the field between Dothaim and Balamon.

4 And Judith was in her house, a widow, for three years and four months.

5 And she made herself a tent upon the roof of her house, and put sackcloth upon her loins, and the garments of her widowhood were upon her.

6 And she fasted all the days of her widowhood, except the days before the sabbaths and the sabbaths, and the days before the new moons and the new moons, and the feasts and days of rejoicing of the house of Israel.

7 And she was beautiful in form and very lovely to behold; and Manasses her husband had left her gold and silver, and menservants and maidservants, and cattle and fields, and she remained upon them.

8 And there was no one who spoke an evil word against her, for she feared God greatly.

9 And she heard the evil words of the people against the ruler, because they were faint-hearted in the scarcity of water, and she heard all the words which Ozias spoke to them, how he had sworn to them to deliver the city to the Assyrians after five days.

10 And she sent her maid, who was set over all her possessions, and called Chabris and Charmis, the elders of her city;

11 and they came to her, and she said to them: Hear me now, rulers of the inhabitants of Bethulia; for your word is not right, which you spoke before the people this day, and you set up this oath which you spoke between God and yourselves, and said you would give up the city to our enemies unless within those days the Lord turn to help you.

12 And now, who are you, that you have tested God this day, and stand in the place of God among the sons of men?

13 And now you are putting the Lord Almighty to the proof, and you will never know anything, even to eternity.

14 For you will not find the depth of the heart of man, nor will you grasp the words of his mind; how then will you search out God, who made all these things, and know his mind and understand his reasoning? By no means, brothers; do not provoke the Lord our God to anger.

15 For if he does not choose to help us within these five days, he has the power to shield us in whatever days he wishes, or even to destroy us before the face of our enemies.

16 But do not bind by pledge the counsels of the Lord our God; for God is not as a man, to be threatened, nor as a son of man, to be brought to terms.

17 Therefore, waiting for the salvation that comes from him, let us call upon him to help us, and he will hear our voice, if it be pleasing to him.

18 For there has not arisen in our generations, nor is there this day, either tribe or family or people or city among us, who worship gods made with hands, as happened in former days;

19 for which cause our fathers were given to the sword and to plunder, and fell with a great fall before our enemies.

20 But we have known no other god besides him; wherefore we hope that he will not despise us, nor any of our race.

21 For if we are taken, so also all Judea will be taken, and our holy places will be plundered, and he will require their profanation from our blood;

22 and the slaughter of our brothers, and the captivity of the land, and the desolation of our inheritance, he will turn back upon our head among the nations wherever we serve, and we shall be a stumbling block and a reproach before those who acquire us.

23 For our servitude will not be directed to favor, but the Lord our God will set it to dishonor.

24 And now, brothers, let us show our brothers that their life hangs upon us, and the holy places and the house and the altar rest upon us.

25 Above all this, let us give thanks to the Lord our God, who tests us as he did our fathers.

26 Remember what things he did with Abraham, and how he tested Isaac, and what happened to Jacob in Mesopotamia of Syria while he tended the sheep of Laban his mother's brother.

27 For as he tried them by fire for the proving of their hearts, so he has not taken vengeance on us, but the Lord scourges those who draw near to him for admonition.

28 And Ozias said to her: All that you have said you have spoken with a good heart, and there is no one who will withstand your words;

29 for your wisdom is not evident merely today, but from the beginning of your days all the people have known your understanding, because the disposition of your heart is good.

30 But the people have been very thirsty, and they compelled us to do as we spoke to them, and to bring upon ourselves an oath which we will not transgress.

31 And now pray for us, for you are a devout woman, and the Lord will send rain to fill our cisterns, and we shall fail no more.

32 And Judith said to them: Hear me, and I will do a thing which will go down to generations of generations among the children of our race.

33 You shall stand at the gate this night, and I will go out with my maid, and within the days after which you said you would deliver the city to our enemies, the Lord will visit Israel by my hand.

34 But you shall not inquire into my deed, for I will not tell you until what I do is accomplished.

35 And Ozias and the rulers said to her: Go in peace, and the Lord God be before you, for vengeance upon our enemies.

36 And they turned back from the tent and went to their posts.

Chapter 9

1 And Judith fell upon her face, and put ashes upon her head, and uncovered the sackcloth wherewith she was clothed; and about the time that the incense of that evening was offered in Jerusalem in the house of God, Judith cried with a loud voice to the Lord and said,

2 O Lord God of my father Simeon, to whom thou gavest a sword in his hand for vengeance on strangers, who loosed the girdle of a virgin to defile her, and uncovered the thigh to her shame, and profaned the womb to her reproach; for thou saidst, It shall not be so, and yet they did so:

3 wherefore thou gavest their rulers to be slain, and their bed, which was ashamed of their deceit, to be deceived unto blood, and smotest servants with their lords, and lords upon their thrones;

4 and gavest their wives for a prey, and their daughters into captivity, and all their spoils to be divided among thy beloved children, who also were zealous with thy zeal, and abhorred the pollution of their blood, and called upon thee for aid: O God, O my God, hear me also, a widow.

5 For thou hast wrought the things that were before those things, and those things, and the things that came after; and thou hast devised the things which are now, and the things which are to come; and the things thou didst determine came to pass;

6 yea, the things which thou didst purpose stood forth and said, Behold, we are here: for all thy ways are prepared, and thy judgment is with foreknowledge.

7 For, behold, the Assyrians are multiplied in their power; they are exalted with horse and rider; they glory in the strength of their footmen; they trust in shield and spear and bow and sling; and they know not that thou art the Lord that breaketh the battles.

8 The Lord is thy name: do thou break their strength by thy power, and bring down their might in thy wrath; for they have purposed to profane thy sanctuary, to defile the tabernacle where the name of thy glory resteth, and to cast down with the sword the horn of thine altar.

9 Look upon their pride, send thy wrath upon their heads, give into my hand, the hand of the widow, the strength that I have conceived.

10 Smite by the deceit of my lips the servant with the ruler, and the ruler with his servant; break down their stateliness by the hand of a woman.

11 For thy power standeth not in multitude, nor thy might in strong men: but thou art a God of the lowly, a helper of the oppressed, an upholder of the weak, a protector of the forsaken, a saviour of them that are without hope.

12 Yea, yea, God of my father, and God of the inheritance of Israel, Lord of the heavens and of the earth, Creator of the waters, King of all thy creation, hear thou my prayer,

13 and grant that my word and deceit be for the wound and stripe of them who have purposed hard things against thy covenant, and thy hallowed house, and the top of Sion, and the house of the possession of thy children.

14 And make every nation and every tribe of thine to know that thou art God, the God of all power and might, and that there is none other that protecteth the race of Israel but thou.

Chapter 10

1 And it came to pass, when she had ceased crying out to the God of Israel and had finished all these words,

2 that she rose up from where she had fallen prostrate and called her maid and went down into the house in which she dwelt on the sabbath days and on her feast days,

3 and she took off the sackcloth which she had put on, and stripped off the garments of her widowhood, and washed her body all over with water, and anointed herself with rich ointment, and combed out the hair of her head, and put a headdress upon it, and put on the garments of her gladness, in which she used to be arrayed in the days of the life of her husband Manasseh,

4 and she took sandals for her feet, and put on her anklets and her bracelets and her rings and her earrings and all her adornment, and made herself very beautiful, to beguile the eyes of all the men who should see her.

5 And she gave her maid a skin of wine and a flask of oil, and filled a bag with barley meal and cakes of dried figs and pure loaves, and wrapped up all her vessels and laid them upon her.

6 And they went out to the gate of the city of Bethulia, and found standing at it Ozias and the elders of the city, Chabris and Charmis.

7 And when they saw her, and how her countenance was altered and her apparel changed, they marveled at her beauty very greatly, and said to her,

8 "May the God of our fathers give you favor and accomplish your purposes, to the exultation of the sons of Israel and the exaltation of Jerusalem."

9 And she worshiped God and said to them, "Command that the gate of the city be opened for me, and I will go out to accomplish the things of which you spoke with me." And they commanded the young men to open for her, as she had said.

10 And they did so. And Judith went out, she and her maidservant with her; and the men of the city watched her until she had gone down the mountain, until she had passed through the valley and they could see her no more.

11 And they went straight on through the valley, and an outpost of the Assyrians met her.

12 And they seized her and asked, "Whose are you, and whence do you come, and where are you going?" And she said, "I am a daughter of the Hebrews, and I am fleeing from their presence, because they are about to be given over to you to be devoured;

13 and I am coming into the presence of Holofernes, the commander-in-chief of your army, to report words of truth, and I will show him a way by which he may go and gain possession of all the hill country, and not one of his men shall perish, neither flesh nor breath of life.

14 Now when the men heard her words and observed her countenance and she was in their eyes marvelously beautiful, they said to her,

15 "You have saved your life by hastening to come down into the presence of our lord; and now come to his tent, and some of us will escort you until they deliver you into his hands.

16 And when you stand before him, do not be afraid in your heart, but declare what you have said, and he will treat you well."

17 And they chose out from among them a hundred men and joined them to her and to her maid, and they brought them to the tent of Holofernes.

18 And there was a running together throughout the whole camp, for her arrival was noised abroad among the tents; and they came and gathered around her as she stood outside the tent of Holofernes, until they told him about her.

19 And they marveled at her beauty, and marveled at the sons of Israel because of her, and each said to his neighbor, "Who shall despise this people, which has among them such women? Surely it is not good that one man of them be left alive, for if they are let go they will be able to outwit the whole earth."

20 And those who slept beside Holofernes and all his servants came out and brought her into the tent.

21 And Holofernes was resting upon his bed under the canopy, which was woven of purple and gold and emeralds and precious stones.

22 And they told him about her, and he came out into the front of the tent, with silver lamps going before him.

23 And when Judith came before him and his servants, they all marveled at the beauty of her countenance; and falling upon her face she did obeisance to him, and his slaves raised her up.

Chapter 11

1 And Holofernes said to her, "Take courage, woman; do not be afraid in your heart, for I have never harmed anyone who has chosen to serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of all the earth.

2 And now, as for your people who dwell in the hill country, if they had not despised me, I would not have lifted my spear against them; but they have brought this upon themselves.

3 And now tell me why you fled from them and came to us; for you have come to safety. Take courage: you shall live this night and hereafter;

4 for there is no one who will wrong you; rather, you will be treated well, as is done for the servants of my lord King Nebuchadnezzar."

5 And Judith said to him, "Receive the words of your servant, and let your handmaid speak before your face, and I will report no lie to my lord this night.

6 And if you follow the words of your handmaid, God will bring the matter to completion with you, and my lord will not fail in his undertakings.

7 For as Nebuchadnezzar, king of all the earth, lives, and as his power lives, he who has sent you for the setting right of every living soul—not only do men serve him because of you, but also the beasts of the field and the cattle and the birds of the heaven shall live, through your strength, under Nebuchadnezzar and all his house.

8 For we have heard of your wisdom and the cunning devices of your soul, and it has been reported throughout all the earth that you alone are good in all the kingdom, and mighty in knowledge, and marvelous in campaigns of war.

9 And now, as for the word that Achior spoke in your council, we have heard his words, for the men of Bethulia rescued him, and he reported to them all that he had spoken before you.

10 Therefore, my lord and master, do not disregard his word, but lay it up in your heart, for it is true; for our race is not punished, nor does the sword prevail against them, unless they sin against their God.

11 And now, so that my lord may not be thwarted and unsuccessful, death will fall upon their face, and sin has overtaken them, by which they will provoke their God to anger, whenever they do what is unlawful.

12 Since their food has failed them and all water has become scarce, they have resolved to lay hands on their cattle, and have determined to consume everything that God by his laws forbade them to eat.

13 And the firstfruits of the grain and the tithes of the wine and the oil, which they had kept, consecrating them for the priests who stand in Jerusalem before the face of our God, they have decided to use up, things which it was not fitting for anyone of the people even to touch with their hands.

14 And they have sent to Jerusalem, since even those dwelling there have done these things, men to bring back to them permission from the senate.

15 And it shall be that when word is brought to them and they act, on that day they will be given over to you for destruction.

16 Therefore I, your servant, knowing all these things, fled from their presence, and God sent me to accomplish with you deeds at which all the earth shall be astonished, as many as hear of them.

17 For your servant is god-fearing, serving the God of heaven night and day; and now I will remain with you, my lord, and your servant will go out by night into the ravine, and I will pray to God, and he will tell me when they have committed their sins.

18 And I will come and bring word to you, and you shall go out with all your army, and there is no one among them who will withstand you.

19 And I will lead you through the midst of Judea until you come before Jerusalem, and I will set your throne in the midst of it, and you shall drive them like sheep that have no shepherd, and not a dog will growl with its tongue against you; for these things were told to me according to my foreknowledge and were announced to me, and I was sent to declare them to you."

20 And her words were pleasing before Holofernes and before all his attendants, and they marveled at her wisdom and said,

21 "There is no such woman from one end of the earth to the other, in beauty of face and understanding of speech."

22 And Holofernes said to her, "God has done well in sending you ahead of the people, that might may come into our hands, and destruction upon those who have despised my lord.

23 And now, you are lovely in your appearance and good in your words; for if you do as you have said, your God shall be my God, and you shall sit in the house of King Nebuchadnezzar and be renowned throughout all the earth."

Chapter 12

1 And he commanded to bring her in where his silver vessels were set, and ordered that a table be spread for her from his own delicacies, and that she drink of his own wine.

2 And Judith said, "I will not eat of them, lest it become an offense; but provision shall be made for me from the things that have come with me."

3 And Holofernes said to her, "But if the things with you should run out, from where shall we bring forth the like to give you? For there is no one of your race with us."

4 And Judith said to him, "As your soul lives, my lord, your servant will not use up the things that are with me before the Lord accomplishes by my hand what he has purposed."

5 And the servants of Holofernes brought her into the tent, and she slept until the middle of the night; and she arose toward the morning watch.

6 And she sent to Holofernes, saying, "Let my lord now command that your servant be permitted to go out for prayer."

7 And Holofernes ordered his bodyguards not to hinder her. And she remained in the camp three days; and she went out by night into the ravine of Bethulia and bathed at the spring of water in the camp.

8 And when she came up, she besought the Lord God of Israel to direct her way for the raising up of the sons of his people.

9 And coming in clean, she remained in the tent until she took her food toward evening.

10 And it came to pass on the fourth day that Holofernes made a banquet for his servants only, and invited to the feast none of those attending to duties.

11 And he said to Bagoas the eunuch, who was set over all his affairs, "Go now and persuade the Hebrew woman who is with you to come to us and to eat and drink with us;

12 for behold, it is a disgrace to our face if we let such a woman go without having intercourse with her; for if we do not draw her to us, she will laugh us to scorn."

13 And Bagoas went out from the presence of Holofernes and came in to her and said, "Let this fair maiden not hesitate to come to my lord, to be honored in his presence, and to drink wine with us for gladness, and to become this day like one of the daughters of the sons of Assur who stand in the house of Nebuchadnezzar."

14 And Judith said to him, "And who am I to gainsay my lord? For whatever is pleasing in his eyes I will hasten to do, and this shall be my joy until the day of my death."

15 And rising up she adorned herself with her garments and all her womanly ornaments, and her maidservant came and spread for her on the ground before Holofernes the fleeces which she had received from Bagoas for her daily use, that she might eat reclining upon them.

16 And Judith came in and lay down, and the heart of Holofernes was ravished with her, and his soul was shaken, and he was exceedingly eager to lie with her; and he had been watching for an opportunity to seduce her from the day he saw her.

17 And Holofernes said to her, "Drink now, and be with us in gladness."

18 And Judith said, "I will drink indeed, lord, for my life has been magnified in me today beyond all the days since my birth."

19 And taking what her maidservant had prepared, she ate and drank before him.

20 And Holofernes was delighted with her, and drank exceedingly much wine, as much as he had never drunk in one day since he was born.

Chapter 13

1 When evening came, his servants hastened to depart. And Bagoas closed the tent from outside and shut out the attendants from the presence of his lord, and they went away to their beds, for they were all weary because the drinking had gone on so long.

2 And Judith was left alone in the tent, with Holofernes sprawled upon his bed, for the wine had overcome him.

3 And Judith told her maidservant to stand outside her bedchamber and to watch for her going out, as she did every day, for she said she would go out to her prayer; and she spoke to Bagoas according to these same words.

4 And all went away from their presence, and no one was left in the bedchamber, from the least to the greatest. And Judith, standing beside his bed, said in her heart, "O Lord, God of all might, look in this hour upon the works of my hands for the exaltation of Jerusalem;

5 for now is the time to help your inheritance and to carry out my design for the destruction of the enemies who have risen up against us."

6 And going to the bedpost that was at Holofernes' head, she took down his sword from it,

7 and drawing near to the bed she grasped the hair of his head and said, "Strengthen me, O Lord, God of Israel, on this day."

8 And she struck his neck twice with all her strength and cut off his head from him.

9 And she rolled his body off the bed and pulled down the canopy from the posts; and shortly afterward she went out and gave Holofernes' head to her maid,

10 who put it into her food bag. And the two of them went out together, according to their custom, for prayer; and passing through the camp they went around that ravine and went up the mountain of Bethulia and came to its gates.

11 And Judith said from afar to those keeping watch at the gates, "Open, open the gate! God is with us, our God, to show his strength yet again in Israel, and his power against our enemies, even as he has done this day."

12 And it came to pass, when the men of her city heard her voice, they hastened to come down to the gate of their city, and they summoned the elders of the city.

13 And they all ran together, from the least of them to the greatest, for it seemed beyond belief to them that she had come; and they opened the gate and welcomed them, and kindling a fire for light, they gathered around them.

14 And she said to them with a loud voice, "Praise God, praise him! Praise God, who has not withdrawn his mercy from the house of Israel, but has crushed our enemies by my hand this very night."

15 And taking the head out of the bag, she showed it to them and said, "Behold the head of Holofernes, the commander-in-chief of the army of Assyria, and behold the canopy under which he lay in his drunkenness; and the Lord has struck him down by the hand of a woman.

16 And as the Lord lives, who protected me on the way I went, my face deceived him to his destruction, and he committed no sin with me to defile or shame me."

17 And all the people were exceedingly amazed, and bowing down they worshipped God and said with one accord, "Blessed are you, our God, who has brought to nothing on this day the enemies of your people."

18 And Uzziah said to her, "Blessed are you, daughter, by God Most High above all women upon the earth, and blessed be the Lord God, who created the heavens and the earth, who guided you to strike off the head of the leader of our enemies;

19 for your hope shall not depart from the hearts of men who remember the strength of God forever.

20 And may God turn these things to your everlasting exaltation, visiting you with good things, because you did not spare your own life on account of the humiliation of our race, but went forth against our downfall, walking a straight path before our God." And all the people said, "So be it, so be it!"

Chapter 14

1 And Judith said to them, "Hear me now, brothers, and take this head and hang it upon the parapet of your wall.

2 And it shall be, when the dawn breaks and the sun comes forth upon the earth, that each of you shall take up your weapons of war, and every mighty man shall go out of the city, and you shall set a leader over them, as though you were going down to the plain against the outpost of the sons of Assur, but you shall not go down.

3 And these men will take up their full armor and go into their camp and rouse the generals of the army of Assur; and they will run together to the tent of Holofernes, and they will not find him, and fear will fall upon them, and they will flee from before you.

4 And you and all who dwell in every territory of Israel shall pursue them and strike them down in their paths.

5 But before you do these things, call to me Achior the Ammonite, so that seeing he may recognize the one who despised the house of Israel and who sent him to us as if to death."

6 And they called Achior from the house of Uzziah; and when he came and saw the head of Holofernes in the hand of one man in the assembly of the people, he fell upon his face, and his spirit failed.

7 And when they raised him up, he fell at the feet of Judith and did reverence to her face and said, "Blessed are you in every tent of Judah and in every nation, who upon hearing your name shall be troubled.

8 And now tell me all that you have done in these days." And Judith declared to him in the midst of the people all that she had done from the day she went out until she was speaking to them.

9 And when she ceased speaking, the people shouted with a great voice and raised a joyful cry in their city.

10 And when Achior saw all that the God of Israel had done, he believed in God exceedingly and circumcised the flesh of his foreskin and was joined to the house of Israel until this day.

11 And when the dawn arose, they hung the head of Holofernes from the wall, and every man took up his arms, and they went out in companies to the ascents of the mountain.

12 And when the sons of Assur saw them, they sent word to their leaders; and these came to the generals and captains of thousands and to every one of their commanders.

13 And they came to the tent of Holofernes and said to the one who was over all his affairs, "Wake our lord now, for the slaves have dared to come down against us for battle, that they may be utterly destroyed."

14 And Bagoas went in and knocked at the curtain of the tent, for he supposed that he was sleeping with Judith.

15 But when no one answered, he drew it aside and went into the bedchamber and found him thrown down dead upon the footstool, and his head had been taken from him.

16 And he cried out with a great voice, with weeping and groaning and a mighty cry, and tore his garments.

17 And he went into the tent where Judith had been lodging, and did not find her; and he rushed out to the people and cried,

18 "The slaves have dealt treacherously! One woman of the Hebrews has brought shame upon the house of King Nebuchadnezzar; for behold, Holofernes is on the ground, and his head is not on him."

19 And when the commanders of the army of Assur heard these words, they tore their tunics, and their souls were exceedingly troubled, and there arose a very great crying and shouting in the midst of the camp.

Chapter 15

1 And when those who were in the tents heard, they were amazed at what had happened,

2 and trembling and fear fell upon them, and there was no man remaining any longer in the presence of his neighbor, but pouring out with one accord they fled along every road of the plain and of the hill country.

3 And those who had encamped in the hill country round about Bethulia also turned to flight. And then the sons of Israel, every warrior among them, poured out upon them.

4 And Uzziah sent to Betomasthaim and Bebai and Chobai and Cola and to every border of Israel messengers to report what had been accomplished, and so that all might pour out upon the enemies for their destruction.

5 And when the sons of Israel heard, all with one accord fell upon them and cut them down as far as Choba. Likewise also those from Jerusalem arrived, and from all the hill country, for they had reported to them what had happened to the camp of their enemies; and those in Gilead and those in Galilee outflanked them with a great slaughter, until they passed beyond Damascus and its borders.

6 And the rest, those dwelling in Bethulia, fell upon the camp of Assyria and plundered them and grew exceedingly rich.

7 And the sons of Israel, returning from the slaughter, took possession of what remained; and the villages and farmsteads in the hill country and the plain seized much booty, for there was a very great abundance.

8 And Joakim the high priest and the council of elders of the sons of Israel who dwelt in Jerusalem came to behold the good things which the Lord had done for Israel, and to see Judith and to speak peace with her.

9 And when they came in to her, they all blessed her with one accord and said to her: "You are the exaltation of Jerusalem, you the great pride of Israel, you the great boast of our race.

10 You have done all these things by your hand; you have done good things for Israel, and God was well pleased with them. Blessed may you be by the Almighty Lord for everlasting time." And all the people said, "So be it."

11 And all the people plundered the camp for thirty days; and they gave to Judith the tent of Holofernes and all the silver vessels and the couches and the bowls and all his furnishings, and taking them she loaded them on her mule and yoked her wagons and heaped them upon them.

12 And every woman of Israel ran together to see her, and they blessed her and made among themselves a dance for her; and she took wands in her hands and gave them to the women who were with her.

13 And they crowned themselves with olive, she and those with her, and she went before all the people in the dance, leading all the women, and every man of Israel followed, armed, with garlands, and with hymns on their lips.

14 And Judith began this thanksgiving in all Israel, and all the people raised aloud this praise.

Chapter 16

1 And Judith said: Begin unto my God with timbrels, sing unto the Lord with cymbals, tune unto him a psalm and praise; exalt him and call upon his name.

2 For the Lord is a God who crushes wars; for into his camps in the midst of the people he delivered me out of the hand of those who pursued me.

3 Assur came out of the mountains from the north; he came with the myriads of his host, whose multitude stopped up the torrents, and their cavalry covered the hills.

4 He said he would burn up my borders, and slay my young men with the sword, and dash my sucklings to the ground, and give my infants for a prey, and carry off my virgins as spoil.

5 The Lord Almighty brought them to nothing by the hand of a woman.

6 For their mighty one did not fall by young men, neither did the sons of the Titans smite him, nor did tall giants set upon him; but Judith the daughter of Merari undid him by the beauty of her face.

7 For she put off the garment of her widowhood for the exaltation of those who were afflicted in Israel; she anointed her face with ointment,

8 and bound her hair in a headband, and took a linen garment to deceive him.

9 Her sandal ravished his eye, and her beauty took his soul captive; the scimitar passed through his neck.

10 The Persians shuddered at her daring, and the Medes were dismayed at her boldness.

11 Then my lowly ones shouted aloud, and my weak ones cried out, and they were terrified; they lifted up their voice, and they were overthrown.

12 The sons of young girls pierced them through, and wounded them as fugitive slaves' children; they perished by the battle array of my Lord.

13 I will sing unto my God a new hymn: O Lord, thou art great and glorious, wonderful in strength, invincible.

14 Let all thy creation serve thee; for thou didst speak, and they came to be; thou didst send forth thy spirit, and it built them; and there is none that shall resist thy voice.

15 For the mountains shall be shaken from their foundations together with the waters, and the rocks shall melt like wax before thy face; yet to those who fear thee, thou wilt be merciful to them.

16 For every sacrifice for a sweet-smelling savor is a small thing, and all fat is very little for a whole burnt offering to thee; but he who fears the Lord is great forever.

17 Woe to the nations that rise up against my people: the Lord Almighty will take vengeance on them in the day of judgment, to put fire and worms in their flesh, and they shall weep in pain forever.

18 Now when they came to Jerusalem, they worshipped God, and when the people were purified, they offered their whole burnt offerings and their freewill offerings and their gifts.

19 And Judith dedicated all the vessels of Holofernes, which the people had given her, and the canopy, which she had taken for herself out of his bedchamber, she gave as a votive offering to God.

20 And the people continued rejoicing in Jerusalem before the sanctuary for three months, and Judith remained with them.

21 After these days each one returned to his own inheritance, and Judith departed to Bethulia and remained upon her own estate; and in her time she was honored in all the land.

22 And many desired her, but no man knew her all the days of her life, from the day when Manasses her husband died and was gathered to his people.

23 And she increased more and more in honor, and grew old in her husband's house, being a hundred and five years old; and she set her maid free. And she died in Bethulia, and they buried her in the cave of her husband Manasses.

24 And the house of Israel mourned her seven days. And before she died she distributed her goods to all those nearest of kin to Manasses her husband, and to those nearest of her own kindred.

25 And there was no one who made the children of Israel afraid any more in the days of Judith, nor for a long time after her death.