Judith Chapters

A Power That Destroys

1 | ¹It was in the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, who ruled over the Assyrians in the great city of Nineveh that, at the same time, Arphaxad, was ruling over the Medes in Ecbatana. ²Arphaxad had built around Ecbatana ramparts of stone, with each stone cut to the size of one and a half meters wide and three meters long. The ramparts were thirty-five meters high and twenty-five meters wide. ³He built at the gates, city towers fifty meters high and rested on foundations twenty meters wide. ⁴The gates were thirty-five meters high and twenty meters wide, wide enough for his valiant warriors and foot soldiers to march through them in battle array. ⁵In those days, King Nebuchadnezzar made war on King Arphaxad in the Great Plain, the plain near the territory of the Ragau.

⁶All the people who lived in the mountains, those who lived along the banks of the rivers Euphrates, Tigris, and Hydaspes, those on the plains of Arioch, king of the Elamites, and many other people joined the ranks of the Chaldeans to fight against the sons of Cheleoud.

⁷Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, sent his messengers to all those living in Persia and the West, to the inhabitants of Cilicia, Damascus, Lebanon, and Antilebanon, to those along the seacoast, ⁸to the people of Carmel, Gilead, Upper Galilee and the Great Plain of Esdraelon, ⁹to those in Samaria and its towns, and beyond the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, Bethany, Chelous, Kadesh, the river of Egypt, Tahpanhes, Raamses, and all the country of Goshen ¹⁰as far as the region beyond Tanis and Memphis, and to all the inhabitants of Egypt as far as the country of Ethiopia.

¹¹But the inhabitants of all these regions took no notice of the order of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, and did not join him in waging war. They no longer feared him because they considered him like any other man. They sent back his messengers empty-handed and shamefaced. ¹²Nebuchadnezzar was greatly enraged against all these regions and swore by his throne and by his kingdom to punish all the districts of Cilicia, Damascus, and Syria and to put to the sword all who were in the lands of Moab, Ammon, the whole of Judea, and all those in Egypt as far as the coasts between the two seas. ¹³In the seventeenth year, Nebuchadnezzar battled with his army against King Arphaxad and conquered him in the campaign. He drove back the army of Arphaxad with all his cavalry and chariots. ¹⁴Nebuchadnezzar occupied all the cities. Finally, he reached Ecbatana, where he demolished its towers, pillaged the city's streets, and reduced its splendor to ruins. ¹⁵He pursued Arphaxad into the Ragau mountains, pierced him with arrows, and utterly destroyed him. ¹⁶Then he returned to Nineveh with a great crowd of followers and many soldiers. He and his entire army stayed there amusing themselves and feasting for one hundred and twenty days.

2 | •  ¹On the twenty-second day of the first month in the eighteenth year of his reign, there was talk in the house of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, of punishing all those who had disobeyed the king’s commands. ²He called together his ministers and his noblemen, and told them his secret plan. ³He proclaimed publicly the total destruction of the land and the punishment of all those who had disregarded his call.

⁴As soon as Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, had made this decision, he summoned Holofernes, the chief general of his army who was second in command, and said to him, ⁵“So says the Great King, Lord of all the earth, you will set out from my presence, taking with you men of true courage, about one hundred and twenty thousand foot soldiers and a great number of horses with about twelve-thousand cavalrymen. ⁶You will go to all the countries in the West and punish all the people, because they disregarded my orders. ⁷Tell them to submit themselves to me on land and water, lest in my anger, I, myself, march against them. I will cover all the face of the earth with the footprints of my army, and I will give them over to my men to be plundered by them. ⁸The ravines will be filled with their wounded, rivers and torrents will be full of their dead. ⁹I will lead away their prisoners as captives to the uttermost parts of the earth. ¹⁰Go, then, and occupy in my name all their territories; if they surrender to you, keep them for me that I may punish them. ¹¹Show no pity to those who resist you. Hand them over to be massacred and plundered throughout all their lands. ¹²For, as truly as I live and by the power of my kingdom, I will carry out what I have said with my hands. ¹³And you, do not disobey the words of your lord nor fail to carry them out exactly as I have instructed you. Do not change any of them.”

¹⁴Holofernes went out from the presence of his lord and called together all the chiefs of staff, the generals, and commanders of the army of Assyria. ¹⁵He gathered about a hundred and twenty thousand specially chosen men for the army as his lord had ordered and twelve thousand archers. ¹⁶He arranged them in battle positions. ¹⁷He took along camels, donkeys, and mules to carry the baggage and many sheep, oxen, and goats for their food. ¹⁸He took a sufficient quantity of provisions for each man and an abundant supply of gold and silver from the king’s treasury.

¹⁹Then Holofernes set out on the march with all his army, with their chariots and cavalry, and picked foot soldiers ahead of King Nebuchadnezzar to cover all the lands to the West with this army. ²⁰ A great crowd of people accompanied them; so many were there that they were like locusts or dust of the earth.

²¹After marching for three days from Nineveh, Holofernes and his men reached the plain of Bectileth, where they encamped before the city near the mountains to the north of Upper Cilicia. ²²Then Holofernes took all his army, foot soldiers, cavalry, and chariots and marched into the mountain region. ²³He utterly destroyed Put and Lud and plundered all the land of Rassis and Ishmael on the border of the desert to the south of the country of the Chileans. ²⁴Then he followed the Euphrates, crossed Mesopotamia, and destroyed all the cities high above the torrent of Abron until he reached the sea. ²⁵He took possession of the land of Cilicia, cut down all who opposed him, and arrived at the land of Japheth in the south toward Arabia. ²⁶He surrounded all the children of Midian, burned their tents, and destroyed their livestock. ²⁷Then, descending to the plain of Damascus at the time of the wheat harvest, he burned all their fields, scattered all their animals and killed the young ones, pillaged their villages, devastated their plains, and put all their young men to the sword.

²⁸He was feared and terrorized by all the inhabitants of the seacoast, those in Tyre and Sidon, Sur, Ocina, and Jamnia. The people of Azotus and Ascalon also feared him.

3 | ¹They sent messengers to Holofernes offering him terms of peace: ²“See, we consider ourselves as servants of Nebuchadnezzar, the great king, do with us as you will. ³All our farms, whole territory, wheat fields, oxen, and sheepfolds lie before you—use them as you please. ⁴See, our towns and all their inhabitants are yours; deal with them as you wish.” ⁵These men went to Holofernes and repeated these words.

⁶Then Holofernes moved down to the seacoast with his army. He stationed garrisons in the hill cities and took from them men whom he chose as auxiliaries. ⁷The people of these cities received him, as did all the surrounding countryside, with garlands, singing and dancing to the music of tambourines. ⁸Nevertheless, he still laid waste all their land, cut down their sacred woods, and destroyed all their gods, that all people of all languages and nations might worship Nebuchadnezzar alone and proclaim him as god.

⁹Then he arrived opposite Esdraelon, near Dothan, facing the great chain of Judean hills. ¹⁰He encamped between Geba and Scythopolis and remained there a month to reorganize his army's provisions.

4 | ¹The children of Israel in Judea learned what had happened to the other nations at the hands of Holofernes, the chief general of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Assyrians, and how he had plundered the neighboring villages and destroyed their Sanctuaries. ²They trembled with great fear because of him. They were anxious about Jerusalem and the temple of the Lord their God, ³since they had only recently returned from exile. The people of Judea had just come together, and the new furnishings of the Altar and the Sanctuary had just been consecrated after being profaned. ⁴They sent messengers to warn all the inhabitants of the territory of Samaria, Kona, Beth-horon, Belmain, Jericho, Choba, and Aesora, and the valley of Salem. ⁵They occupied all the summits of the mountains, fortified the ramparts of the towns, and prepared stores of foodstuff and provisions for the war since their field had just been harvested.

⁶Joakim, the high priest in Jerusalem in those days, wrote to the inhabitants of Bethulia and Betomesthaim opposite Esdraelon at the entrance to the plain of Dothan. ⁷He told them to seize and fortify the mountain passes because it was by them that Holofernes would enter Judea. It would be easy to stop those advancing there since the narrow passes allowed no more than two men to go forward at a time.

⁸The children of Israel obeyed Joakim's orders, and the Council of the Elders assembled in Jerusalem. ⁹All the people of Israel called upon God with great fervor and humbled themselves before him. ¹⁰Men, women, and children, including the animals, all the foreigners who resided among them, their laborers and slaves, all clothed themselves in sackcloth. ¹¹All the men of Israel in Jerusalem, with their wives and children, bowed before the temple, sprinkled ashes on their heads and held out their hands in supplication before the Lord. ¹²They covered the altar in sackcloth and, with one voice, earnestly begged the God of Israel not to let their children be massacred, their wives raped, their towns destroyed, and their Sanctuary profaned, that they might not become the laughingstock of other nations.

¹³The Lord heard their prayer and looked upon their anguish. The people throughout Judea fasted for many days, and those in Jerusalem fasted before the Sanctuary of the Lord Almighty. ¹⁴The high priest Joakim, with all the priests and ministers, stood before the Lord dressed in sackcloth and offered continual sacrifice, prayers, and the voluntary gifts of the people. ¹⁵They put ashes on their turbans and cried out with all their strength to the Lord, asking him to watch over the whole house of Israel.

5 | ¹It was reported to Holofernes that the people of Israel were prepared for war, that they had closed the mountain passes, fortified the ramparts on the summits of all the high mountains, and placed blockades in the plains. ²Seething with anger, Holofernes called the leaders of the Moabites, the generals of Ammon and all the governors of the seacoast, ³and said to them, “Tell me, sons of Canaan, who are these people living in the mountain region? Which towns do they inhabit? What is the strength of their army? What do their power and strength consist of? Who has been placed at their head as commander of their army? ⁴Why have they not appeared before me like everyone else in the West?”

⁵Achior, commander of the Ammonites, said to him, “May my lord listen to the word spoken by your servant, for I will tell you the truth about these people from the mountain region whom you now encounter. ⁶These people descend from the Chaldeans. ⁷They settled first in Mesopotamia, for they no longer wished to worship the gods of their ancestors who lived in Chaldea. ⁸They abandoned the religion of their ancestors and worshiped the God of Heaven, a God whom they had come to recognize. Because of this, their fathers drove them out, and they fled to Mesopotamia, where they dwelt for a long time. ⁹Then their God told them to leave the country where they had settled and go to the land of Canaan. They went to live there and acquired abundant gold and silver and numerous herds of cattle.

¹⁰There was famine throughout the land of Canaan, so they went down into Egypt, where they remained as long as there was food. Then, they became so numerous that their race could not be counted. ¹¹But the king of Egypt rose against them and tricked them into making bricks, and they were humiliated and made into slaves. ¹²They called upon their God, who punished the whole of Egypt with such incurable plagues that the Egyptians drove them out. ¹³ Then God dried up the Red Sea in front of them, ¹⁴ and he led them along the route of Sinai and Kadesh-Barnea. The Israelites drove all the inhabitants into the desert; ¹⁵they inhabited the country of the Amorites and wiped out the Heshbonites. Then, having crossed the Jordan, they took possession of all the hill country, ¹⁶driving out the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Shechemites, and the Gergesites; they lived there for a long time.

¹⁷As long as they did not offend God, they prospered because their God, who hates wrongdoing, was on their side. ¹⁸But when they strayed from the path he had set for them, they were completely annihilated in many battles, and they were led off into captivity in a country not their own. The temple of their God was leveled to the ground, and their cities were occupied by their enemies. ¹⁹Now that they have turned again to their God, they have returned from exile from the various places in which they had been scattered. They have retaken Jerusalem, where their Sanctuary is, and settled in the mountain region because it has remained deserted. ²⁰And now, Sovereign Lord, we must find out if there is any wrongdoing in these people. ²¹If they sin against their God, we shall march against them and conquer. But if there is no sinfulness in their nation, then, my lord, turn aside from them for fear that their Lord and God will cover them with his shield, and the whole world will witness our downfall.”

²²Now, when Achior finished speaking, all the people standing in a circle around the tent began criticizing and protesting. The officers of Holofernes and all the inhabitants of the seacoast and Moab said he should be cut to pieces. They said, ²³“We are not afraid of the children of Israel. Look, they have no strength or energy to sustain a violent conflict. ²⁴Let us go forth, and they will be like bread for your whole army, O lord Holofernes!”

6 | ¹When the tumult among the men standing around the tent had died down, Holofernes, general in chief of the Assyrian army, said to Achior in the presence of all the foreigners and all the people of Moab, ²“Who are you, Achior, you and all the people bribed by Israel to prophesy against us as you have done today? Why do you counsel us not to make war on the race of Israel because their God will cover them with a shield? Who is God, if not Nebuchadnezzar? He will send out his army and wipe them off the face of the earth, and their God will not save them. ³But we, the king’s servants, will crush them as though they were just one man. They will not withstand the onslaught of our horses. ⁴We will burn the whole lot of them in their own homes. Their mountains will be soaked with their blood; their plains will be full of their dead. They will not be able to hold their ground before us. Most surely, they will perish, as King Nebuchadnezzar, lord of all the earth, had foretold. He said it, and his words will not be in vain.

⁵But you, Achior, an Ammonite mercenary who has today uttered these words to your shame, from now on, you will not see my face until I avenge myself on this race who came from Egypt. ⁶The sword of my soldiers and the lance of my officers will pierce your sides. When I return from battle, your body will be with all the dead of Israel. ⁷My servants will lead you into the mountain region and deposit you in one of the towns on the slopes, ⁸so that you will share the same fate as the rest of them. ⁹But do not put on such a long face if you believe they will not be taken. I have spoken, and none of my words will be without effect.”

¹⁰Holofernes ordered his guards who were standing in the tent to seize Achior, take him to Bethulia, and hand him over into the hands of the Israelites. ¹¹The servants seized him and took him outside the camp onto the plain from the middle of the plain, they took him towards the mountain country and reached the springs which were at the foot of Bethulia. ¹²When the men of the town at the top of the mountain saw them coming, they took their weapons, went out of the town to the summit of the mountain, and those who were armed with catapults tried to stop their ascent by slinging stones at them. ¹³The guards took shelter, tied up Achior and left him lying on the ground at the foot of the mountain. They then returned to their lord.

¹⁴The Israelites descended from the town and went up to Achior, and having untied him, they led him to Bethulia and took him to the rulers of the town, ¹⁵who in those days were Uzziah the son of Micah of the tribe of Simeon, Chabris the son of Gothoniel, and Charmis, the son of Melchiel. ¹⁶As they called for a meeting of all the town elders, the young people and the women also joined the assembly. They placed Achior among the assembled people, and Uzziah asked him what had happened. ¹⁷In reply, he told them about the council meeting of Holofernes and all that he had said to the leaders of the Assyrians. He also told them of the threatening words of Holofernes against Israel.

¹⁸The people threw themselves down on the ground, worshiped God, and called upon his help, saying, ¹⁹“Lord God of Heaven, take into consideration the insolence of the Assyrians and have pity on your humiliated people. Look this day upon those who are consecrated to you.” ²⁰They encouraged Achior and congratulated him warmly. ²¹Then Uzziah led him from the assembly into his own house and gave a meal for the elders. Throughout the night, the people called upon the God of Israel, begging him to come to their aid.

7 | ¹The next day, Holofernes gave an order to the whole of his army and to those people who had come to his help to move camp in the direction of Bethulia, to occupy the mountain slopes, and to wage war against the Israelites. ²All his valiant warriors moved that day; the forces of fighting men numbered one hundred and seventy thousand foot soldiers and twelve thousand cavalry, without counting the baggage and the men who looked after it as well as the crowd of people who accompanied them—a considerable crowd. ³They camped in the valley near Bethulia, near the spring; they spread out the whole width from Dothan to Balbaim and from Bethulia to Cyamon, which faces Esdraelon.

⁴When the Israelites saw how numerous they were, they were extremely afraid and said to one another, “Without doubt, this crowd is going to devour all the country; neither the high mountains nor the ravines nor the hills will be able to put a stop to their progress.” ⁵Nonetheless, each one seized his fighting equipment; they lit fires on the tops of the towers and kept watch all that night.

⁶The second day, Holofernes lined up all his cavalry in front of the Israelites in Bethulia. ⁷He observed the approaches to their town, discovered the sources supplying water, seized them, and stationed guards over them, then he returned to his army. ⁸The leaders of the Edomites, the commanders of the Moabites, and the generals of the seacoast approached Holofernes and said, ⁹“Let our master listen to us, and your army will not suffer loss. ¹⁰This people of Israel do not put their trust in javelins but in the height of the mountains, which they inhabit, for it is not easy to reach the summit of their mountains. ¹¹Therefore, master, if you wish to save the lives of your men, do not fight against them in battle formation. ¹²Remain in your camp and keep all the men in your army safe, but let us take possession of the spring which flows at the foot of the mountain, ¹³because it is from there that the people of Bethulia draw all their water. They will die of thirst so that they will hand over their town. We and our people will scale the summits of the neighboring mountains and set up outposts to prevent anyone from leaving the town. ¹⁴The famine will destroy them; men, women, and children will be lying dead in the streets of their town before ever the sword is raised against them. ¹⁵So you will have punished them severely for rebelling and not coming out to meet you with offers of peace.”

¹⁶This advice pleased Holofernes and all his officers, and he agreed to do what they said. ¹⁷The Moabites, with five thousand Assyrians, moved camp; they encamped in the valley and cut off the springs and the water supply from the Israelites. ¹⁸The Edomites and the Ammonites climbed up and camped on the mountain near Dothan; they sent some of their men to the south and east-facing Egrebel, near Chusi, which is on the torrent of Mochmur. The rest of the Assyrian army encamped in the plain, covering the countryside. Their tents covered the campsite, and their baggage spread out wide, for they were an enormous crowd.

The Discouragement of the People

•  ¹⁹Disheartened, the people of Israel called upon the Lord their God because their enemies had encircled them and had cut off all means of escape. ²⁰ The Assyrian army, foot soldiers, chariots, and horsemen surrounded them for thirty-four days. ²¹The inhabitants of Bethulia saw the water jars becoming empty and the wells running dry, so drinking water had to be rationed daily. ²²The small children became weak with thirst; the women and the young collapsed in the streets and gateways of the town. ²³Then, men, women, young people, and children gathered and accused Uzziah and the town's leaders.

They called out with loud cries and said before all the elders, ²⁴“May God judge between you and us, for you are the cause of this misfortune by not engaging in peaceful negotiations with the Assyrians. ²⁵And now no one can bring us any help; God has delivered us into the hands of these pagans in such a way that we lie dying before them from great thirst and misery. ²⁶You must call on the Assyrians and let the whole army of Holofernes pillage us. ²⁷It is better for us to become their booty, for then we shall become slaves. Still, at least we shall live and not have to see our women, our older children, and the little ones die before our eyes. ²⁸We urge you by heaven and earth and by our God, the Lord of our ancestors, who punishes us according to our sins and the sins of our fathers: make this decision this very day.”

²⁹Altogether, they raised a great lamentation amid the assembly and cried out loudly to the Lord God.

³⁰Then Uzziah said to them, “Have confidence, my brothers; hold out for five days more, during which time the Lord our God will show us his mercy, for he will not abandon us forever. ³¹If these days pass without his coming to our help, then we shall do what you say.” ³²Then he dismissed the men, each to his post, and they went towards the ramparts and the town towers, and he sent the women and children back to their homes. Now, there was a great depression throughout the town.

8 | ¹The news of what had happened came in those days to Judith, daughter of Merari, son of Ox, son of Joseph, of Oziel, of Elkiah, of Ananias, of Gideon, of Raphain, of Ahitub, of Elijah, of Hilkiah, of Eliab, of Nathanael, of Salamiel, of Sarasadai, son of Simeon, of Israel. ²Her husband was Manasseh, of the same tribe and family. He had died during the harvesting of the barley ³as he was supervising the reapers who were binding the sheaves on the plain; he suffered sunstroke, took to his bed, and died in Bethulia, his town. He was buried with his ancestors in the field between Dothan and Balamon.

Judith: The Jewess Who Never Wavered In Her Faith

•  ⁴As a widow, Judith remained in her house for three years and four months. ⁵She had built a room on the rooftop of her house. ⁶She covered herself in sackcloth, put on widow’s garments, and fasted all the days of her widowhood except the eves of the Sabbath, the Sabbath day, the eves of the new moons, the days of the new moons, and all the celebrations of the people of Israel. ⁷She was exceedingly beautiful and very pleasing to look at. Manasseh, her husband, had left her gold, silver, servants, cattle, and fields, and she remained the owner of all this estate. ⁸No one could say anything evil of her because she greatly feared God.

⁹She heard of the threatening words the people had addressed to their leaders because they were downcast, suffering from lack of water. Judith also heard all that Uzziah had promised in reply, how he had sworn to hand over their city to the Assyrians at the end of five days. ¹⁰So she sent the maidservant who looked after her affairs to call Chabris and Charmis, two elders of the town, to come and see her. ¹¹They came to her house, and she said to them, “Listen to me, you elders of Bethulia, for the words which you have spoken in front of the people today are not right. You did wrong to take an oath between God and yourselves and to say that you would hand over the town to our enemies if, within a certain number of days, the Lord does not come to your help. ¹²Who are you to put God to the test and take God’s place when you answered the people? ¹³That is not the way to call for his mercy, but one that leads to his wrath. ¹⁴If you cannot probe the depths of the human heart nor know what a man is thinking, how can you understand the God who has made all things? Do you know his mind or understand his thoughts? No, my brothers, do not annoy the Lord our God. ¹⁵For if he does not wish to come to our help within these five days, he has the power to protect us for as many days as he wishes or to annihilate us in front of our enemies.

¹⁶As for yourselves, do not challenge the designs of the Lord our God, for God cannot give in to threats as humans do, nor can any decision be imposed upon him as it can on a mere mortal. ¹⁷That is why, while waiting patiently for him to save us, let us beg him to come to our help. He will listen to our plea if it pleases him. ¹⁸For it has not happened in our generation, nor is there among us today, any tribe or family or people or city that worships gods made by human hands, as happened in days past. ¹⁹It was for that reason that our ancestors were handed over to be slain by the sword and pillaged and that they suffered great disaster at the hands of their enemies. ²⁰But we do not recognize any god other than the One God; therefore, let us hope he will not look contemptuously at us or any of our race.

²¹If the enemies capture us, so in the same way, the whole of Judea will be taken; our Sanctuary will be pillaged, and we will answer for its profanation with our blood. ²²God will bring upon our heads the murder of our brothers, the bondage of our country, and the devastation of our heritage. Wherever among the nations, we shall be slaves; we shall be maltreated by those to whom we belong. ²³Our enslavement will not be changed in our favor, but the Lord our God will turn it into dishonor. ²⁴Now, my brothers, let us show our fellow countrymen that their lives depend on ours and that the safety of the Sanctuary, the Temple, and the Altar rests with us.

²⁵Much more, let us thank the Lord our God, who is putting us to the test as he did our ancestors. ²⁶Remember what he did with Abraham, all the trials to which he subjected Isaac, and all those that happened to Jacob in Mesopotamia of Syria, where he looked after the sheep of Laban, his mother’s brother. ²⁷Is not God making us pass through fire as he did the others to prove their hearts? The Lord is not punishing us but scourges those who draw near to him to admonish them.”

²⁸Uzziah said to her, “All that you have said has been said with wisdom, and no one can contradict your words. ²⁹, it is not just today that your wisdom is evident, but ever since your early days, all the people have recognized your intelligence and the natural goodness of your heart. ³⁰But the people were suffering great thirst, so they forced us to carry out what we have said, and they have charged us with an oath which we cannot break. ³¹Since you are a devout woman, pray for us that the Lord will send rain to fill our reservoirs and we shall no longer be exhausted.”

³²Judith said to them, “Listen to me, I will do something which will be handed down from generation to generation of the children of our race. ³³Tonight, you will stand at the gate of the town, and I will go out with my maidservant and, by the end of the time which has been fixed for you to hand over the town to our enemies, the Lord will visit Israel through my hand. ³⁴But do not try to find out what I shall do, for I will not tell you until I have fulfilled what I will do.”

³⁵Then Uzziah and the leaders said to her, “Go in peace, and may the Lord our God go before you so that you may take vengeance upon our enemies.” ³⁶Then, leaving Judith’s room, they returned to their posts.

9 | ¹Judith knelt, bowed to the ground, put ashes on her head, and uncovered the sackcloth with which she was clothed. At precisely the exact moment as incense was being offered in the house of God at Jerusalem, Judith invoked aloud the Lord God; she said, ²“Lord, God of my father Simeon, you placed a sword in his hand to punish the foreigners who did violence to a young girl, for they had abused her, uncovering her body to shame her and violating her womb to dishonor her. They did this, though you said: This shall not be done. ³Because of this, you handed over their leaders to be slain, and their bed, reddened because of their deceit, was left red with their blood. You struck down the slaves with their leaders and the leaders themselves with their servants. ⁴You handed over their women to rape, their daughters to slavery, and all their possessions to be shared among your favored sons who were filled with horror at this defilement of their blood and invoked your help.

⁵O God, my God, listen to me, a widow! You made everything past, what is present and yet to come. It is you who consider things present and to come. Those things which you decided to have been realized. ⁶The things you have planned have presented themselves, saying: Here we are. In truth, all your ways are prepared, and your decision is known from the beginning.

⁷Therefore, see what a great multitude these Assyrians made with their army, how they pride themselves on their horses and cavalrymen. They have placed great pride in their foot soldiers' strength and trust in their shields, javelins, bows, and arrows. ⁸But they do not recognize that you, Lord, decide the outcome of wars. Lord is your name; wipe out their force with your power, and in your anger, overthrow their superiority, for they intend to profane your Sanctuary, defile your tabernacle where your glorious name resides, and overturn by force the horn of your altar.

⁹Consider their pride, let your anger fall on their heads, and give to my hands, the hands of a widow, the strength necessary for what I have decided. ¹⁰By my lying lips, punish the slave with his master and the master with his servant; put an end to their arrogance by the hand of a woman.

¹¹Truly, your strength is not in numbers nor your power in strong men; for you are a God of the humble, the defender of the little ones, the support of the weak, the protector of the abandoned, and the savior of those in despair.

¹²Yes, God of my fathers and God of Israel's heritage, Ruler of the heavens and the earth, Creator of the waters, king of all creation, listen to my prayer.

¹³Give me tempting words to wound and kill those who have conceived cruel designs against your Covenant, your consecrated house, Mount Zion, and the house which belongs to your children.

¹⁴Make every nation and every tribe know clearly that you are God, all-powerful and strong, and that, apart from you, there is no other protector for the people of Israel.”

The Exploits of Judith

10 | ¹When Judith had finished her prayer to the God of Israel, ²she rose from the ground, and after calling her maidservant, she went down into the house where she usually spent the Sabbath days and the feasts. ³She took off the sackcloth and her widow’s clothes, which she was dressed in. She washed her whole body with water, anointed it with rich perfume, combed her hair, and placed a jeweled band around it. She dressed in the beautiful garments she had been accustomed to wearing when her husband, Manasseh, lived. ⁴She put sandals on her feet, put on her anklets, bracelets and rings, her earrings, and all her jewels. She made herself extremely beautiful to attract the attention of the men who would see her.

⁵She gave the servant a skin of wine and a jar of oil; she filled a bag with flour made from barley and some small cakes made from dried figs and refined flour. She wrapped up all these things and put the maid in charge. ⁶Then they set out toward the gate of the town of Bethulia, where they found stationed Uzziah and the elders of the town, Chabris, and Charmis.

⁷As soon as the men saw her, her face was transformed, and her clothes were so different; they admired her beauty. They said to her, ⁸“May the God of our fathers grant that you may find favor and that your undertakings may be successful for the glory of the sons of Israel and the exaltation of Jerusalem.”

She adored God and said to them, ⁹“Command that the gate of the town be opened for me, and I will go forth to accomplish what you have just said.” They ordered the young men to open the gate as she had asked. ¹⁰ They carried out the command, and Judith went out with her maidservant.

The townsmen watched her until she reached the foot of the mountain and crossed the valley, then they lost sight of her. ¹¹Judith and the maid walked straight through the valley, and a sentry for the Assyrians came to meet them. ¹²He stopped them and asked, “Who are you? Where have you come from? Where are you going?” She replied, “I am a daughter of the Hebrews; I am fleeing far from them because they are on the point of handing themselves over to be despoiled by you. ¹³I have come to present myself to Holofernes, the general-in-chief of your army, to speak to him in all sincerity. I will show him how to advance and become master of the whole mountain without losing a single man either from injury or loss of life.”

¹⁴As soon as the men had heard her words and noticed her face (for she was strikingly beautiful), they said to her, ¹⁵“You have saved your life by hurrying to present yourself before our lord. Approach his tent; certain men from among us will accompany you until they have handed you over safely into his hands. ¹⁶When you stand before him, do not fear in your heart, but tell him what you have to say, and he will treat you well.”

¹⁷They chose one hundred men from their number; these men accompanied Judith and the maid and led them to the tent of Holofernes. ¹⁸In the whole camp, the news of her arrival spread from tent to tent, and throughout the whole camp, men came running. They circled her as she waited outside Holofernes’ tent while someone informed him of her arrival. ¹⁹They were captivated by her beauty and, on seeing her, praised the sons of Israel and said to one another, “Who can look down on the people who have such women? It would be a mistake to leave one man alive; they would be able to deceive the whole world.”

²⁰Those sleeping near Holofernes and all his officers came out and led her into the tent. ²¹Holofernes was lying on his bed under hangings of purple and gold set with emerald and precious stones. ²²Having been informed about her, he moved towards the tent's entrance, with silver lamps carried before him. ²³As Judith came before him and his officers, they all admired the beauty of her face. Throwing herself face downwards to the ground, she bowed before him; the servants of Holofernes raised her up.

11 | ¹Holofernes said to Judith, “Have confidence, woman; have no fear in your heart; I do not harm any person who has chosen to serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of all the earth. ²And, if those of your people who dwell on the mountain had not ignored me, I should not have raised my sword against them; but they have brought this upon themselves. ³Tell me why you have fled from their midst and come to us. Are you doing this to save yourself? Have confidence; your life is safe tonight and in the future. 4 No one will harm you; you will be well-treated, as are all the servants of my lord, King Nebuchadnezzar.”

⁵Judith replied, “Listen to the words of your servant so that I may speak freely in your presence, and I will not lie to my lord tonight. ⁶And if you follow the advice of your servant, everything will be accomplished by the hand of God; and my lord will not fail in his undertakings. ⁷For just as truly as Nebuchadnezzar is the king of all the earth and his presence is felt; and he has sent you for the correction of others; it is thanks to your power that not only do men serve him but also wild beasts, animals; and the birds of the air live for Nebuchadnezzar and all his house.

⁸We have heard of your wisdom and prudence of mind, and it is said throughout the world that you alone are the bravest man in the kingdom, powerful because of your knowledge and outstanding military strategy. ⁹We have heard about the discourse delivered in your council by Achior and of its terms because the men of Bethulia took him in and reported to them all that he had said in your presence. ¹⁰Now, all-powerful lord, do not dismiss what he said but keep it in mind because it is true. Our nation will never be punished, nor the sword used against it unless its people sin against their God. ¹¹Yet my lord will not be driven back and fail. Death will overtake them, for they have fallen into the sin that arouses the anger of God every time they commit it. ¹²Due to the shortage of food and water, they have decided to lay hands on their animals. They have resolved to eat those things which God, in his laws, forbade them to eat, including the firstfruits of the harvest and the tithes of wine and oil which, after their consecration, had been put aside for the priests who minister before the face of our God in Jerusalem. ¹³They have decided to consume these things completely. However, it is not lawful for any of the people even to touch them with their hands. ¹⁴They have sent messengers to Jerusalem—for those who dwell there have also done this—and they have charged these men to bring back this permission from the Council of the Elders. ¹⁵Now it will come to pass that when this permission arrives, and the people will have acted upon it, on that same day, they will be delivered over to you for their destruction. ¹⁶I, your servant, have fled far from them, having understood all this. God has sent me to bring about, along with you, deeds that will strike terror throughout the world and cause those who hear them to talk. ¹⁷For your servant is a pious woman who serves God night and day. From now on, I will remain near you, my lord. Each evening, I will go out towards the ravine and pray to God, and he will tell me when they have fallen into sin. ¹⁸Then I will report this to you so that you will go forth with your whole army, and no man can withstand you. ¹⁹I will lead you through Judea until I arrive in Jerusalem, where I will set up your tent. You will lead them like sheep without a shepherd; no dog will growl at you. I have been given a premonition of these things. It has been revealed to me, and I have been sent to make it known to you.”

²⁰Her words pleased Holofernes and all his officers. They admired her wisdom and said, ²¹“From one end of the earth to the other, there is no woman like her for the beauty of her face and the wisdom of her words.” ²²Holofernes said to her, “God has done well to send you ahead of this people, to show them that the power is in my hands; and that destruction is the fate of those who despised my lord. ²³You are beautiful to look at and prudent in your words: if you do as you have said, your God shall be my God; and you will live in the house of King Nebuchadnezzar and be famous worldwide.”

12 | ¹Then Holofernes had her brought into the place where his silver dishes were laid out and commanded them to serve her from his food and to give her his wine to drink. ²But Judith said, “I will not eat it, for fear that it might be the occasion of my downfall. What I have brought with me is sufficient.” ³Holofernes asked her, “When you have finished the things you have brought, where will we be able to get the same kind of food to give you, for there is no one of your race here?” ⁴Judith said to him, “As your soul lives, my lord, your servant will not have finished what I have brought with me before the Lord will have carried out by my hand what he has decided to do.”

⁵Then the officers of Holofernes led her to the tent, and she slept until midnight. She arose at the morning watch ⁶and told Holofernes, “Will my lord command that his servant be allowed to go out to pray.” ⁷Holofernes ordered his bodyguards not to prevent her from doing so.

She remained in the camp for three days. Each night, she went to the ravine of Bethulia and bathed herself in the spring in the camp. ⁸ When she returned to the tent, she prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, that he would guide her in the right path to release her people. ⁹ Now purified, once she had returned, she remained in the tent until she took her food towards evening.

In The Tent of Holofernes

•  ¹⁰Then, on the fourth day, Holofernes gave a banquet for his personal servants without sending invitations to any of his officers. ¹¹He said to the eunuch Bagoas, who looked after his affairs, “Go and persuade this Hebrew woman who is under your care to come to eat and drink with us, ¹²for it would be a disgrace if we allowed such a woman to depart without having enjoyed her company. If we cannot allure her, she will laugh at us.”

¹³So Bagoas left Holofernes and entered Judith’s tent, and said to her, “Will this beautiful slave not hesitate to come to my lord’s tent to be honored in his presence, merrily to drink wine with us and to become this very day like an Assyrian woman who dwells in the house of Nebuchadnezzar?” ¹⁴Judith said to him, “Who am I to go against the wishes of my Lord? I will hasten to do all that pleases him, and that will be for me, joy, until the day of my death.”

¹⁵Then she arose, dressed in beautiful garments and all the finery of a woman. Her servant spread the fleece Judith had received from Bagoas on the ground in front of Holofernes for her daily use so that she could recline on it while she ate.

¹⁶So Judith entered the tent and took her place. Her beauty ravished the heart of Holofernes; his whole being was captivated, and he had a passionate desire to possess her. Ever since the first day he had seen her, he had been waiting for an occasion to seduce her. ¹⁷Holofernes said to her: “Drink and share our happiness.” ¹⁸Judith said, “I will drink then, my lord, because today my life has become more precious to me than on any other day since my birth.” ¹⁹She took what her servant had prepared for her and ate and drank before him. ²⁰ She bewitched Holofernes, and he drank a great quantity of wine, much more than he had ever drunk on any single day since his birth.

God Works Marvels

13 | •  ¹When it was late, the servants hurried away. Bagoas dismissed those standing around from the presence of his master and closed the tent from the outside. All the men hurried to bed, for they were tired from having drunk too much. 2 So Judith was left alone in the tent with Holofernes, who, sodden with wine, had collapsed onto the bed. ³Judith told her servant to stand outside the room and watch for her coming out because she would go out to pray, as she did each day. She also spoke to Bagoas in much the same way.

⁴Everyone left the tent of Holofernes; not one—small or great—remained in the room. Judith, then, stood by Holofernes’ bed and prayed in her heart, “Lord God all-powerful, help me now in what I will do for the glory of Jerusalem. ⁵Now is the time to support the cause of your people and to ensure that my undertaking brings about the ruin of the enemies who are drawn up against us.”

⁶Then she moved towards the bedpost near Holofernes’ head and took down the sword and, ⁷approaching the bed, she seized the hair of his head saying, “O Lord God of Israel, give me strength, this very moment!” ⁸Then with all her strength she struck his neck twice and cut off his head. ⁹She then rolled his body from the bed and took off the hangings from the columns. Then she went out at once and gave the head of Holofernes to her servant, ¹⁰who put it in the bag where she carried the food. Then they went out together as they used to do for prayer. After they had crossed the camp, they passed around the edge of the ravine, climbed the mountain to Bethulia, and reached the town's gates.

¹¹Judith called from a distance to those guarding the gates, “Open, open the gates! God, our God, is with us! He has again worked a miracle in Israel and exerted his power against our enemies.” ¹²As soon as the townsfolk heard her voice, they called the elders and hurried down to the town's gates. ¹³They all ran together, from the smallest to the greatest, waiting for her return. They opened the gates and welcomed the two women; then, having lit a fire to see them, they gathered around them. ¹⁴She said to them loudly, “Praise God, praise him! Praise God who has not withheld his mercy from the house of Israel. This very night, he has crushed our enemies by my hand.” ¹⁵And, taking out the head of Holofernes from the bag, she showed it to them saying, “Here is the head of Holofernes, general-in-chief of the Assyrian army, and here are the hangings under which he was lying in his drunkenness. The Lord has struck him down by the hand of a woman. ¹⁶As truly as the Lord lives, my face seduced him to his undoing, but the Lord has protected me. This man could not sin with me to disgrace or dishonor me.” ¹⁷All the people were incredibly amazed, so they bowed down and worshiped God, saying with one voice, “Blessed are you, our God, who today have crushed the enemies of your people.”

Blessed Are You Among All Women

•  ¹⁸Uzziah said, “My daughter, may the Most High God bless you more than all women on earth.

And blessed be the Lord God, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has led you to behead the leader of our enemies.

¹⁹Never will people forget the confidence you have shown; they will always remember the power of God.

²⁰May God ensure your everlasting glory, and may he reward and bless you, for you have risked your life when your race was humiliated.

You chose instead to do the best before God to prevent our downfall.”

And all the people said, “Amen! Amen!”

14 | ¹Judith said to them, “Listen, my brothers, take this head and hang it from the battlements of our rampart, ²then when dawn breaks, and the sun rises over the earth, let each of you take his weapons and let all those able to fight to go outside the town. And under the command of a captain, proceed as if you were about to go down into the plain toward the Assyrian outposts, but you will not descend. ³The Assyrian guards will seize their arms and go towards their camp to awaken the generals of the Assyrian army. These officers will run to the tent of Holofernes but will not find him; fear will then come upon them, and they will flee from you. ⁴Then you and all those who dwell in the land of Israel will follow them and strike them down as they go. ⁵But, before you do this, call Achior the Ammonite so that he may see and recognize the one who despised the people of Israel. This man sent him to you as to his death.”

⁶Achior was brought from the house of Uzziah. As soon as he arrived and saw the head of Holofernes in the hand of one of the people, he fainted and fell face down on the ground. ⁷When they had lifted him up, he threw himself at the feet of Judith, bowed before her, and said, “May you be blessed throughout Judea and among all the nations, who on hearing your name will be amazed. ⁸But now, tell me all you did during these days.”

Standing amid the people, Judith told him everything she had done from the day she set out until the moment she spoke to them. ⁹When she finished talking, the people cried out joyfully, which was heard throughout the town. ¹⁰When Achior saw all that the God of Israel had done, he immediately believed in him. He was circumcised and became a member of the community of Israel down to this day.

¹¹When the sun had risen, and they had hung Holofernes’ head on the rampart, all the men took their arms and went to the mountain slopes in groups. ¹²As soon as the Assyrians saw them, they warned their commanders. These men, in turn, went to inform the generals, the captains, and all their officers. ¹³Then they all went to the tent of Holofernes and said to the steward in charge of his affairs, “Waken our lord, for the slaves plan to come down and fight against us to their utter destruction. ¹⁴So Bagoas drew back the curtain and knocked, thinking Holofernes was sleeping with Judith. ¹⁵As no one answered, he entered the room and found Holofernes lying across the wooden footstool, dead with his head cut off. ¹⁶He cried out with a loud voice and tore his clothes. ¹⁷He entered the tent where Judith had stayed but did not find her. Then he rushed out to the troops, shouting, ¹⁸“The slaves have deceived us! One Hebrew woman has put to shame the army of King Nebuchadnezzar, for Holofernes lies dead on the ground. ¹⁹When the officers of the Assyrian army heard these words, they were greatly distressed. They tore their garments and cried out loudly in their camp.

15 | ¹When those in the camp heard the cries, they were astounded. ²Terror and fear fell on them; they no longer controlled themselves, but at the exact moment, they all broke rank and fled by way of the roads across the plain and the mountain. ³Those encamped in the mountains around Bethulia also began to flee. Then the men of Israel, all among them who were capable of fighting, fell on them. ⁴Uzziah sent messengers to Betomasthaim, Choba, Kona, and throughout the land of Israel to announce what had happened and to invite them all to fall upon the enemy and destroy them. ⁵When the men of Israel heard this, they threw themselves on the enemy and pursued them as far as Choba. Even those from Jerusalem came, as did those from all the mountainous regions because they were told what had happened in the camp of their enemies. Those from Gilead and Galilee caught them on the flank and struck great blows against them until they reached Damascus and its surrounding territory. ⁶As for the inhabitants of Bethulia who remained behind, they rushed into the Assyrian camp, pillaged it, and thereby greatly enriched themselves. ⁷Once they returned from the carnage, the Israelite men possessed what remained. Also, the people from the villages and farms in the mountains and on the plains seized great booty because there was plenty that they could get.

⁸Then the high priest Joakim and the council of the Elders of Israel in Jerusalem came to hear the good things, which the Lord had done for Israel, and to see Judith and congratulate her. ⁹As soon as they had approached her, they blessed her altogether and said,

“You are Jerusalem's pride and joy, Israel's glory, and our people's honor.

¹⁰You alone have accomplished all this. You have done great things for Israel, and God has blessed you with your work. May the almighty Lord bless you forever.”

And all the people said, “Amen!”

¹¹All the people pillaged the camp for thirty days. They gave Holofernes’ tent to Judith, along with all his silver, beds, drinking vessels, and furniture. She took them, and after harnessing her mule, she prepared her chariots and piled up all these goods in them.

¹²All the Israelite women also ran out to see her, and they blessed her. A number of them formed a choir in her honor. She took olive branches in her hand and gave some to the women who accompanied her. ¹³She and the women with her made crowns of olive leaves. Then she went ahead of the people, leading the women in dance. All the Israelite men followed, clad in their armor, carrying crowns, and loudly chanting hymns. ¹⁴Then Judith intoned this hymn of thanksgiving, and the entire people of Israel echoed this praise.

The Song of Judith

16 | ¹Judith said, “Sing a song to my God with tambourines,

sing in honor of God with cymbals.

Compose for him a psalm of praise.

Exalt and bless his name!

²The Lord is truly a God who crushes war,

who encamps amid his people,

for he has snatched me from the hand of those who pursued me.

³The Assyrians came from the mountains of the north.

He came with the myriads of his army,

his soldiers filled the torrents

and his cavalry covered the hills.

⁴He wanted to burn my land,

to kill the young men by the sword,

to destroy my children at the breast,

to hand over my little ones to slaughter

and to rape my young maidens.

⁵The Lord Almighty has driven them back by a woman's hand.

⁶Young warriors have not overcome their hero;

he was not struck down by the sons of the Titans

or laid low by any great giants.

But it is Judith, the daughter of Merari,

who, by the beauty of her face, has defeated him.

For the relief of the oppressed in Israel, ⁷she took off her widow’s robes,

anointed her face with perfume,

⁸put a jeweled band around her hair,

and put on a linen dress to seduce him.

⁹Her sandals delighted his eyes,

her beauty captivated his soul,

and the scimitar cut through his neck.

¹⁰The Persians trembled with fear at her boldness,

and the Medes were upset by her daring.

¹¹Then my oppressed people shouted for joy;

my weak ones cried out,

the enemy was terrified;

they raised their voices; the enemy took to flight.

¹²The children of young women pierced them through and struck them down like fugitives,

and so the enemy perished in a battle

arranged by God.

¹³I will sing to my God a new song:

Lord, you are great and glorious,

wonderfully strong, invincible!

¹⁴May the whole of your creation serve you,

for you spoke and all things were,

you sent forth your spirit, and all things came into being:

No one can resist your voice.

¹⁵For the mountains with the waters will be shaken to their foundations,

the rocks will melt like wax before you,

but to those who fear you

you will always show mercy.

¹⁶The fragrance of any sacrifice is little to please you

and the holocausts of fatted animals

are as nothing before you,

but he who fears the Lord is forever great.

¹⁷Woe to the nations that rise up against my people:

The Lord Almighty will punish them in the day of judgment,

with fire and worms under their skin,

and they will keep on weeping, suffering forever.”

¹⁸When they arrived in Jerusalem, they worshiped God, and when the people had been purified, they presented their holocausts, freewill offerings, and gifts. ¹⁹Then Judith offered Holofernes’ belongings, which the people had given her, and she dedicated to the Lord the hangings from his room, which she had taken. ²⁰So the people remained in Jerusalem, rejoicing before the Sanctuary for three months, and Judith stayed with them.

²¹After these days, each returned to his own house. Judith returned to Bethulia and devoted herself to her household. During her lifetime, she was famous throughout the country.

²²Though many desired to marry her, she had no relation with any man since the death and burial of Manasseh, her husband.

²³She spent her old age in the house of her husband. And she set her maidservant free. She died in Bethulia at the age of one hundred and five and was buried in the grave of Manasseh, her husband. ²⁴All Israel mourned for her for seven days. Before her death, she had divided her property among the relatives of her husband, Manasseh, and those of her own family.

²⁵No one again threatened the people of Israel while Judith lived, nor for a very long time after her death.