Judith 14-16

Revised Standard Version

Judith’s Counsel

14 Then Judith said to them, “Listen to me, my brethren, and take this head and hang it upon the parapet of your wall. ² And as soon as morning comes and the sun rises, let every valiant man take his weapons and go out of the city, and set a captain over them, as if you were going down to the plain against the Assyrian outpost; only do not go down. ³ Then they will seize their arms and go into the camp and rouse the officers of the Assyrian army; and they will rush into the tent of Holofer′nes, and will not find him. Then fear will come over them, and they will flee before you, ⁴ and you and all who live within the borders of Israel shall pursue them and cut them down as they flee. ⁵ But before you do all this, bring Ach′ior the Am′monite to me, and let him see and recognize the man who despised the house of Israel and sent him to us as if to his death.”

⁶ So they summoned Ach′ior from the house of Uzzi′ah. And when he came and saw the head of Holofer′nes in the hand of one of the men at the gathering of the people, he fell down on his face and his spirit failed him. ⁷ And when they raised him up he fell at Judith’s feet, and knelt before her, and said, “Blessed are you in every tent of Judah! In every nation those who hear your name will be alarmed. ⁸ Now tell me what you have done during these days.”

Then Judith described to him in the presence of the people all that she had done, from the day she left until the moment of her speaking to them. ⁹ And when she had finished, the people raised a great shout and made a joyful noise in their city. ¹⁰ And when Ach′ior saw all that the God of Israel had done, he believed firmly in God, and was circumcised, and joined the house of Israel, remaining so to this day.

Holofernes’ Death Is Discovered

¹¹ As soon as it was dawn they hung the head of Holofer′nes on the wall, and every man took his weapons, and they went out in companies to the passes in the mountains. ¹² And when the Assyrians saw them they sent word to their commanders, and they went to the generals and the captains and to all their officers. ¹³ So they came to Holofer′nes’ tent and said to the steward in charge of all his personal affairs, “Wake up our lord, for the slaves have been so bold as to come down against us to give battle, in order to be destroyed completely.”

¹⁴ So Bago′as went in and knocked at the door of the tent, for he supposed that he was sleeping with Judith. ¹⁵ But when no one answered, he opened it and went into the bedchamber and found him thrown down on the platform dead, with his head cut off and missing. ¹⁶ And he cried out with a loud voice and wept and groaned and shouted, and rent his garments. ¹⁷ Then he went to the tent where Judith had stayed, and when he did not find her he rushed out to the people and shouted, ¹⁸ “The slaves have tricked us! One Hebrew woman has brought disgrace upon the house of King Nebuchadnez′zar! For look, here is Holofer′nes lying on the ground, and his head is not on him!”

¹⁹ When the leaders of the Assyrian army heard this, they rent their tunics and were greatly dismayed, and their loud cries and shouts arose in the midst of the camp.

The Assyrians Flee in Panic

15 When the men in the tents heard it, they were amazed at what had happened. ² Fear and trembling came over them, so that they did not wait for one another, but with one impulse all rushed out and fled by every path across the plain and through the hill country. ³ Those who had camped in the hills around Bethu′lia also took to flight. Then the men of Israel, every one that was a soldier, rushed out upon them. ⁴ And Uzzi′ah sent men to Betomastha′im and Be′bai and Choba and Kola, and to all the frontiers of Israel, to tell what had taken place and to urge all to rush out upon their enemies to destroy them. ⁵ And when the Israelites heard it, with one accord they fell upon the enemy,^[a] and cut them down as far as Choba. Those in Jerusalem and all the hill country also came, for they were told what had happened in the camp of the enemy; and those in Gil′ead and in Galilee outflanked them with great slaughter, even beyond Damas′cus and its borders. ⁶ The rest of the people of Bethu′lia fell upon the Assyrian camp and plundered it, and were greatly enriched. ⁷ And the Israelites, when they returned from the slaughter, took possession of what remained, and the villages and towns in the hill country and in the plain got a great amount of booty, for there was a vast quantity of it.

The Israelites Celebrate Their Victory

⁸ Then Jo′akim the high priest, and the senate of the people of Israel who lived at Jerusalem, came to witness the good things which the Lord had done for Israel, and to see Judith and to greet her. ⁹ And when they met her they all blessed her with one accord and said to her, “You are the exaltation of Jerusalem, you are the great glory of Israel, you are the great pride of our nation! ¹⁰ You have done all this singlehanded; you have done great good to Israel, and God is well pleased with it. May the Almighty Lord bless you for ever!” And all the people said, “So be it!”

¹¹ So all the people plundered the camp for thirty days. They gave Judith the tent of Holofer′nes and all his silver dishes and his beds and his bowls and all his furniture; and she took them and loaded her mule and hitched up her carts and piled the things on them.

¹² Then all the women of Israel gathered to see her, and blessed her, and some of them performed a dance for her; and she took branches in her hands and gave them to the women who were with her; ¹³ and they crowned themselves with olive wreaths, she and those who were with her; and she went before all the people in the dance, leading all the women, while all the men of Israel followed, bearing their arms and wearing garlands and with songs on their lips.

Judith Offers Her Hymn of Praise

16 Then Judith began this thanksgiving before all Israel, and all the people loudly sang this song of praise. ² And Judith said,

¹⁸ When they arrived at Jerusalem they worshiped God. As soon as the people were purified, they offered their burnt offerings, their freewill offerings, and their gifts. ¹⁹ Judith also dedicated to God all the vessels of Holofer′nes, which the people had given her; and the canopy which she took for herself from his bedchamber she gave as a votive offering to the Lord. ²⁰ So the people continued feasting in Jerusalem before the sanctuary for three months, and Judith remained with them.

The Renown and Death of Judith

²¹ After this every one returned home to his own inheritance, and Judith went to Bethu′lia, and remained on her estate, and was honored in her time throughout the whole country. ²² Many desired to marry her, but she remained a widow all the days of her life after Manas′seh her husband died and was gathered to his people. ²³ She became more and more famous, and grew old in her husband’s house, until she was one hundred and five years old. She set her maid free. She died in Bethu′lia, and they buried her in the cave of her husband Manas′seh, ²⁴ and the house of Israel mourned for her seven days. Before she died she distributed her property to all those who were next of kin to her husband Manas′seh, and to her own nearest kindred. ²⁵ And no one ever again spread terror among the people of Israel in the days of Judith, or for a long time after her death.