⁶ The high priest Joakim, who was in Jerusalem at the time, wrote to the people of Bethulia and Betomesthaim, which faces Esdraelon opposite the plain near Dothan,^(A)

Prayer and Penance

⁸ So the Israelites did as they had been ordered by the high priest Joakim and the council of the whole people of Israel, in session at Jerusalem.^(A)

³ And you shall say to them: This is the offering by fire^[a] that you shall offer to the Lord: two male lambs a year old without blemish, daily, as a regular offering.^(A)

⁵ at home, where she set up a tent for herself on the roof of her house. She put sackcloth around her waist and dressed in widow’s clothing.^(A)

The Israelites Celebrate Their Victory

⁸ Then the high priest Joakim and the council of the Israelites who lived in Jerusalem came to witness the good things that the Lord had done for Israel and to see Judith and to wish her well.^(A)