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Judith 13:15-17
New Catholic Bible
Judith 13:15-17
New Catholic Bible
15 Then she removed the head from the food pouch and held it up for them to see. “Behold the head of Holofernes,” she said, “the commander-in-chief of the Assyrian army, and here is the canopy under which he lay in a drunken daze. The Lord has struck him down by the hand of a woman. 16 As the Lord lives, who has protected me on my journey, I swear that it was my face that seduced him to his destruction, and that he committed no sinful act with me to cause my defilement or my disgrace.”[a]
17 Blessed Are You above All Other Women![b] All the people were greatly astonished, and, bowing in worship to God, they spoke with a single voice: “Blessed are you, our God, for this day you have humiliated the enemies of your people.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judith 13:16 The Vulgate (Jud 13:20-21) has a fuller text corresponding to this verse: “20As the Lord is a living God, his angel has protected me on the way to Holofernes, during my stay there, and on my return. The Lord has not allowed his handmaid to be defiled but has brought me back to you without stain of sin, rejoicing over his victory, my escape, and your deliverance. 21One and all, glorify him, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever” [see Ps 136:1].
- Judith 13:17 The Liturgy has made use of this text to render homage to the Blessed Virgin Mary who with full knowledge faced the moral sufferings connected with her divine motherhood.
