Judith 16

Wycliffe Bible

16 Then Judith sang this song to the Lord,

² and said, Begin ye to praise God in (or with) tympans; sing ye to the Lord in (or with) cymbals; sing ye sweetly a new psalm to him; fully make ye joy, and inwardly call ye his name. [saying, Beginneth in timbrels; singeth to the Lord in cymbals; mannerly singeth to him a new psalm; full out joyeth, and inwardly calleth his name.]

³ The Lord all-breaketh battles, the Lord is (the) name to him;

⁴ which hath set his castles, that is, (his) angels, or his strengths, (or his strongholds) in the midst of his people, for to deliver us from the hand of all our enemies. [that put his tents in the middle of his people, that he deliver us from the hand of all our enemies.]

⁵ Assur (or The Assyrians) came from the hills, from the north, in the multitude of his strength; whose multitude stopped (the) strands [or the streams], and the horses of them covered (the) valleys.

⁶ And he said, that he should (or that he would) burn my coasts, and slay my young men with (the) sword, to give my young children into prey, and the virgins thereof into captivity. [And he said himself to burn up our coasts, and our young men to slay with sword, thy infants to give into prey, and maidens into captivity.]

⁷ But the Lord Almighty annoyed (or harmed) him, and betook him into the hands of a woman, and she shamed [or confounded] him.

⁸ For the mighty prince of them felled not down by (the) strength of young men, neither the sons of giants killed him, neither high giants putted themselves to him; but Judith, the daughter of Merari, overcame him by the fairness of her face. [Forsooth the mighty of them fell not of young men, nor the sons of a tyrant smote him, nor high giants put them to him; but Judith, widow, the daughter of Merari, in the fairness of her face unloosed him.]

⁹ For she unclothed her(self) from the cloth (or the cloak) of (her) widowhood, and clothed her(self) with (or in) the cloth (or the cloak) of gladness, into the full out joying of the sons of Israel. [Forsooth she (un)clothed her from the cloth of her widowhood, and clothed her in the cloth of gladness, in full out joying of the sons of Israel.]

¹⁰ She anointed her face with ointment, and she bound together the tresses of her hairs with a coronal, to deceive him. [She anointed her face with an ointment, and she bound together her crisp hairs with a mitre, to deceive him.]

¹¹ Her sandals ravished his eyes, her fairness made his soul captive; with a sword she cut off his neck. [Her gay shoes ravished his eyes, her fairness made his life captive; she gird off with a sword his neck.]

¹² Men of Persia had hideousness of (or at) her steadfastness, and men of Media of (or at) her hardiness. [The Persians dreaded her steadfastness, and Medes her hardiness.]

¹³ Then the strong powers of the men of Assyria yelled for dread, when my meek men of Israel, waxing dry for thirst, appeared to them. [Then yelled the tents of Assyrians, when appeared my meek, dry waxing in thirst.]

¹⁴ The sons of young women have pricked them, and they have killed them as children fleeing; they perished in battle from (or before) the face of my God [or the face of my Lord].

¹⁵ Sing we an hymn to the Lord, and sing we a new hymn to our God. [A new hymn sing we to the Lord our God.]

¹⁶ Lord God, thou art a great Lord, and full clear art thou in thy virtue, whom no man may overcome. [Lord Adonai, a great God thou art, and before all clear in thy virtue, and whom no man may overcome.]

¹⁷ Each creature of thine serve thee, for thou saidest, and so all things were made; thou sentest thy Spirit, and then all things were made (out) of nought; and none is that against-standeth thy commandment. [To thee serve all thy creatures, for thou hast said, they be made; thou sentest thy spirit, and they be formed; and there is not that withstand to thy commanding.]

¹⁸ For (the) hills shall be moved from the foundaments (or their foundations) with (the) waters; and (the) stones shall float abroad as wax before thy face, [Hills from foundaments shall be moved with waters; stones as wax shall melt before thy face.]

¹⁹ And they that dread thee, shall be great with thee by (or in) all things.

²⁰ Woe to the folk rising up upon my kin [or upon my kindred]; for the Lord Almighty shall take vengeance in (or on) them, and in the day of doom he shall visit them.

²¹ For he shall give fire and worms in the fleshes of them, (so) that they be burnt, and live, and they feel the fierceness thereof till into without end. [Forsooth he shall give fire and worms in their flesh, that they be burned and live, and feel unto evermore.]

²² And it was done after these things, all the people after the victory came to Jerusalem to worship the Lord; and anon (or at once) as they were cleansed [or were purified] after (or according to) the law, all men offered burnt sacrifices, and avows, and their promises.

²³ Forsooth Judith gave then into the cursing of forgetting all the armours, (or all the arms, or all the weapons) of battle of Holofernes, which the people had given to her, also the curtain, which she had taken away. [Forsooth Judith all the arms of battle of Holofernes, that the people gave to her, and the canopy, that she had taken, she took into the curse of forgetting.]

²⁴ Certainly all the people was merry after (or before) the face of (the) holy men; and by three months the joy of this victory was hallowed with Judith. [Forsooth all the people was joyful after the face of saints; and by three months the joy of this victory is solemnized with Judith.]

²⁵ And after those days each man went again into his own things, or into his own dwelling place; and Judith was made great in Bethulia, and she was more clear (or more glorious) than all the women of the land of Israel. [After those days forsooth each went again into his own; and Judith is made great in Bethulia, and was more clear to all men of the land of Israel.]

²⁶ For chastity was joined to her virtue of steadfastness, so that she knew no man fleshly all the days of her life, since Manasseh, her husband, was dead. [Forsooth she was joined to the virtue of chastity, so that she knew no man all the days of her life, since is dead Manasseh, her husband.]

²⁷ Soothly in (the) feast days she came forth with great glory./In (the) holidays, (or the holy days), Judith came forth, and with great glory she was worshipped (or was honoured) before (all) other women. [Forsooth she was in feast days forth going with great glory.]

²⁸ And she dwelled in the house of her husband an hundred years and five; and she left, (or let go), or made her handmaid free. And then Judith was dead, and she was buried with her husband in Bethulia/And (then) she was dead, and buried with her husband in Bethulia;

²⁹ and all the people bewailed her (for) seven days.

³⁰ Forsooth in all the space of her life, there was none that overcame, or disturbed, (or troubled) Israel, and (for) many years after her death.

³¹ And the day of the victory of this feast is taken of (or by) Hebrews, and reckoned in the number of holy days, and it is worshipped of (or it hath been honoured or celebrated by) the Jews, from that time till into this present day. [The days forsooth of this feast of victory of the Hebrews in the number of holy days is accepted, and praised of the Jews from that time unto the present day.]