Judith 13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 13
Judith Beheads Holofernes. 1 When it grew late, his servants quickly withdrew. Bagoas closed the tent from the outside and dismissed the attendants from their master’s presence. They went off to their beds, for they were all tired because the banquet had lasted so long. 2 Judith was left alone in the tent with Holofernes, who lay sprawled on his bed, for he was drunk with wine. 3 Judith had ordered her maidservant to stand outside the bedchamber and to wait, as on the other days, for her to come out; she had said she would be going out for her prayer. She had also said this same thing to Bagoas.
4 When all had departed, and no one, small or great, was left in the bedchamber, Judith stood by Holofernes’ bed and prayed silently, “O Lord, God of all might, in this hour look graciously on the work of my hands for the exaltation of Jerusalem. 5 Now is the time for aiding your heritage and for carrying out my design to shatter the enemies who have risen against us.”(A) 6 She went to the bedpost near the head of Holofernes, and taking his sword from it, 7 she drew close to the bed, grasped the hair of his head, and said, “Strengthen me this day, Lord, God of Israel!” 8 Then with all her might she struck his neck twice and cut off his head.(B) 9 She rolled his body off the bed and took the canopy from its posts. Soon afterward, she came out and handed over the head of Holofernes to her maid, 10 who put it into her food bag. Then the two went out together for prayer as they were accustomed to do.
Judith and Her Maid Return to Bethulia. They passed through the camp, and skirting that valley, went up the mountain to Bethulia, and approached its gates. 11 From a distance, Judith shouted to the guards at the gates: “Open! Open the gate! God, our God, is with us. Once more he has shown his strength in Israel and his power against the enemy, as he has today!”
Judith Displays the Head of Holofernes. 12 [a]When the citizens heard her voice, they hurried down to their city gate and summoned the elders of the city. 13 All the people, from the least to the greatest, hurriedly assembled, for her return seemed unbelievable. They opened the gate and welcomed the two women. They made a fire for light and gathered around the two. 14 Judith urged them with a loud voice: “Praise God, give praise! Praise God, who has not withdrawn his mercy from the house of Israel, but has shattered our enemies by my hand this very night!” 15 Then she took the head out of the bag, showed it to them, and said: “Here is the head of Holofernes, the ranking general of the Assyrian forces, and here is the canopy under which he lay in his drunkenness. The Lord struck him down by the hand of a female![b] 16 Yet I swear by the Lord, who has protected me in the way I have walked, that it was my face that seduced Holofernes to his ruin, and that he did not defile me with sin or shame.”
17 All the people were greatly astonished. They bowed down and worshiped God, saying with one accord, “Blessed are you, our God, who today have humiliated the enemies of your people.” 18 Then Uzziah said to her, “Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God, above all the women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God, the creator of heaven and earth, who guided your blow at the head of the leader of our enemies.(C) 19 Your deed of hope will never be forgotten by those who recall the might of God.(D) 20 May God make this redound to your everlasting honor, rewarding you with blessings, because you risked your life when our people were being oppressed, and you averted our disaster, walking in the straight path before our God.” And all the people answered, “Amen! Amen!”(E)
Judith 13
Common English Bible
Judith kills Holofernes
13 When evening came, his slaves left quickly, and Bagoas closed up the tent from the outside and shut out those who had been waiting on his master. They all went to bed, for they were exhausted because the party had lasted a long time. 2 Judith was left alone in the tent with Holofernes sprawled out on his bed, dead drunk.
3 Now Judith told her servant to stand outside of the bedroom and to watch for her to come out just as she had done on other days. She said that she would be going out to pray, and she told Bagoas the same thing. 4 So everyone went out, and there was no one left with them in the bedroom, either small or great. Then Judith stood next to his bed and said in her heart, Lord, God of all power, look at this hour upon the work of my hands for the glory of Jerusalem. 5 Now is the time to help your inheritance and to accomplish my plans to destroy the enemies who have risen up against us.
6 Then she went to the bedpost near Holofernes’ head and took down his sword. 7 When she came closer to the bed, she grabbed the hair on his head and said, “Give me strength today, Lord God of Israel.” 8 She struck him in the neck twice with all her might and cut off his head. 9 Then she rolled his body off the bed and pulled down the canopy from the rods. After a little while she went out and handed Holofernes’ head to her servant, 10 who placed it in her food bag.
Judith and her servant escape to Bethulia
The two of them went out to pray, as was their habit. They walked through the camp, circled around the valley, went up the hill to Bethulia, and arrived at the city gates. 11 From a distance Judith called out to the guards at the gate, “Open, open the gate! God, our God, is with us and is still demonstrating strength in Israel and power against our enemies! He has done so even today!”
12 When the people in her city heard her voice, they hurried down to the city gate and called together the elders of the city. 13 They all ran together, from the youngest to the oldest, because it seemed impossible that she had returned safely. They opened the gate and welcomed them. After lighting a fire to give some light, they stood around them. 14 Then Judith said to them in a loud voice, “Praise God! Praise, praise God, who hasn’t taken his mercy away from the house of Israel! Rather, he has destroyed our enemies by my hand this very night!”
15 And with that she pulled the head out of the bag. Showing it to them, she said, “Look! Here’s the head of Holofernes, the general of the Assyrian army, and here too is the canopy under which he was lying in a drunken stupor. The Lord struck him down by the hand of a woman! 16 As the Lord lives, who protected me on my mission, I deceived him with my appearance in order to kill him. But he committed no sin with me, to pollute or shame me.”
17 Everyone was completely amazed and bowed down, worshipping God. They said with one voice, “Blessed are you, our God, who has disgraced the enemies of your people this day.”
18 Then Uzziah said to her, “Daughter, you are blessed by the Most High God above all other women on the earth. And blessed is the Lord God, who made the heavens and the earth, who guided you to cut off the head of our enemy’s leader. 19 Your hope[a] will never fade away from the hearts of the people who remember God’s strength. 20 May God make these things a continual source of honor for you and give you good things. You risked your own life for our nation when it was being oppressed, and you prevented our destruction by walking a straight line before our God.”
And all the people said, “Amen, amen.”
Footnotes
- Judith 13:19 Other sources read Praise of you.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
