Judith 8-11

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

The Character of Judith

8 At that time Judith heard about these things: she was the daughter of Merar′i the son of Ox, son of Joseph, son of O′ziel, son of Elki′ah, son of Anani′as, son of Gid′eon, son of Raph′a-im, son of Ahi′tub, son of Eli′jah, son of Hilki′ah, son of El′iab, son of Nathan′ael, son of Salam′iel, son of Sarasad′ai, son of Israel.^{[a] 2} Her husband Manas′seh, who belonged to her tribe and family, had died during the barley harvest. ³ For as he stood overseeing the men who were binding sheaves in the field, he was overcome by the burning heat, and took to his bed and died in Bethu′lia his city. So they buried him with his fathers in the field between Dothan and Bala′mon. ⁴ Judith had lived at home as a widow for three years and four months. ⁵ She set up a tent for herself on the roof of her house, and girded sackcloth about her loins and wore the garments of her widowhood. ⁶ She fasted all the days of her widowhood, except the day before the sabbath and the sabbath itself, the day before the new moon and the day of the new moon, and the feasts and days of rejoicing of the house of Israel. ⁷ She was beautiful in appearance, and had a very lovely face; and her husband Manas′seh had left her gold and silver, and men and women slaves, and cattle, and fields; and she maintained this estate. ⁸ No one spoke ill of her, for she feared God with great devotion.

Judith and the Elders

⁹ When Judith heard the wicked words spoken by the people against the ruler, because they were faint for lack of water, and when she heard all that Uzzi′ah said to them, and how he promised them under oath to surrender the city to the Assyrians after five days, ¹⁰ she sent her maid, who was in charge of all she possessed, to summon^[b] Chabris and Charmis, the elders of her city. ¹¹ They came to her, and she said to them,

“Listen to me, rulers of the people of Bethu′lia! What you have said to the people today is not right; you have even sworn and pronounced this oath between God and you, promising to surrender the city to our enemies unless the Lord turns and helps us within so many days. ¹² Who are you, that have put God to the test this day, and are setting yourselves up in the place of^[c] God among the sons of men? ¹³ You are putting the Lord Almighty to the test—but you will never know anything! ¹⁴ You cannot plumb the depths of the human heart, nor find out what a man is thinking; how do you expect to search out God, who made all these things, and find out his mind or comprehend his thought? No, my brethren, do not provoke the Lord our God to anger. ¹⁵ For if he does not choose to help us within these five days, he has power to protect us within any time he pleases, or even to destroy us in the presence of our enemies. ¹⁶ Do not try to bind the purposes of the Lord our God; for God is not like man, to be threatened, nor like a human being, to be won over by pleading. ¹⁷ Therefore, while we wait for his deliverance, let us call upon him to help us, and he will hear our voice, if it pleases him.

¹⁸ “For never in our generation, nor in these present days, has there been any tribe or family or people or city of ours which worshiped gods made with hands, as was done in days gone by— ¹⁹ and that was why our fathers were handed over to the sword, and to be plundered, and so they suffered a great catastrophe before our enemies. ²⁰ But we know no other god but him, and therefore we hope that he will not disdain us or any of our nation. ²¹ For if we are captured all Judea will be captured and our sanctuary will be plundered; and he will exact of us^[d] the penalty for its desecration. ²² And the slaughter of our brethren and the captivity of the land and the desolation of our inheritance—all this he will bring upon our heads among the Gentiles, wherever we serve as slaves; and we shall be an offense and a reproach in the eyes of those who acquire us. ²³ For our slavery will not bring us into favor, but the Lord our God will turn it to dishonor.

²⁴ “Now therefore, brethren, let us set an example to our brethren, for their lives depend upon us, and the sanctuary and the temple and the altar rest upon us. ²⁵ In spite of everything let us give thanks to the Lord our God, who is putting us to the test as he did our forefathers. ²⁶ Remember what he did with Abraham, and how he tested Isaac, and what happened to Jacob in Mesopota′mia in Syria, while he was keeping the sheep of Laban, his mother’s brother. ²⁷ For he has not tried us with fire, as he did them, to search their hearts, nor has he taken revenge upon us; but the Lord scourges those who draw near to him, in order to admonish them.”

²⁸ Then Uzzi′ah said to her, “All that you have said has been spoken out of a true heart, and there is no one who can deny your words. ²⁹ Today is not the first time your wisdom has been shown, but from the beginning of your life all the people have recognized your understanding, for your heart’s disposition is right. ³⁰ But the people were very thirsty, and they compelled us to do for them what we have promised, and made us take an oath which we cannot break. ³¹ So pray for us, since you are a devout woman, and the Lord will send us rain to fill our cisterns and we will no longer be faint.”

³² Judith said to them, “Listen to me. I am about to do a thing which will go down through all generations of our descendants. ³³ Stand at the city gate tonight, and I will go out with my maid; and within the days after which you have promised to surrender the city to our enemies, the Lord will deliver Israel by my hand. ³⁴ Only, do not try to find out what I plan; for I will not tell you until I have finished what I am about to do.”

³⁵ Uzzi′ah and the rulers said to her, “Go in peace, and may the Lord God go before you, to take revenge upon our enemies.” ³⁶ So they returned from the tent and went to their posts.

The Prayer of Judith

9 Then Judith fell upon her face, and put ashes on her head, and uncovered the sackcloth she was wearing; and at the very time when that evening’s incense was being offered in the house of God in Jerusalem, Judith cried out to the Lord with a loud voice, and said,

² “O Lord God of my father Sim′eon, to whom thou gavest a sword to take revenge on the strangers who had loosed the girdle^[e] of a virgin to defile her, and uncovered her thigh to put her to shame, and polluted her womb to disgrace her; for thou hast said, ‘It shall not be done’—yet they did it. ³ So thou gavest up their rulers to be slain, and their bed, which was ashamed of the deceit they had practiced, to be stained with blood, and thou didst strike down slaves along with princes, and princes on their thrones; ⁴ and thou gavest their wives for a prey and their daughters to captivity, and all their booty to be divided among thy beloved sons, who were zealous for thee, and abhorred the pollution of their blood, and called on thee for help—O God, my God, hear me also, a widow.

⁵ “For thou hast done these things and those that went before and those that followed; thou hast designed the things that are now, and those that are to come. Yea, the things thou didst intend came to pass, ⁶ and the things thou didst will presented themselves and said, ‘Lo, we are here’; for all thy ways are prepared in advance, and thy judgment is with foreknowledge.

⁷ “Behold now, the Assyrians are increased in their might; they are exalted, with their horses and riders; they glory in the strength of their foot soldiers; they trust in shield and spear, in bow and sling, and know not that thou art the Lord who crushest wars; the Lord is thy name. ⁸ Break their strength by thy might, and bring down their power in thy anger; for they intend to defile thy sanctuary, and to pollute the tabernacle where thy glorious name rests, and to cast down the horn of thy altar with the sword. ⁹ Behold their pride, and send thy wrath upon their heads; give to me, a widow, the strength to do what I plan. ¹⁰ By the deceit of my lips strike down the slave with the prince and the prince with his servant; crush their arrogance by the hand of a woman.

¹¹ “For thy power depends not upon numbers, nor thy might upon men of strength; for thou art God of the lowly, helper of the oppressed, upholder of the weak, protector of the forlorn, savior of those without hope. ¹² Hear, O hear me, God of my father, God of the inheritance of Israel, Lord of heaven and earth, Creator of the waters, King of all thy creation, hear my prayer! ¹³ Make my deceitful words to be their wound and stripe, for they have planned cruel things against thy covenant, and against thy consecrated house, and against the top of Zion, and against the house possessed by thy children. ¹⁴ And cause thy whole nation and every tribe to know and understand that thou art God, the God of all power and might, and that there is no other who protects the people of Israel but thou alone!”

Judith Prepares to Go to Holofernes

10 When Judith^[f] had ceased crying out to the God of Israel, and had ended all these words, ² she rose from where she lay prostrate and called her maid and went down into the house where she lived on sabbaths and on her feast days; ³ and she removed the sackcloth which she had been wearing, and took off her widow’s garments, and bathed her body with water, and anointed herself with precious ointment, and combed her hair and put on a tiara, and arrayed herself in her gayest apparel, which she used to wear while her husband Manas′seh was living. ⁴ And she put sandals on her feet, and put on her anklets and bracelets and rings, and her earrings and all her ornaments,^[g] and made herself very beautiful, to entice the eyes of all men who might see her. ⁵ And she gave her maid a bottle of wine and a flask of oil, and filled a bag with parched grain and a cake of dried fruit and fine bread; and she wrapped up all her vessels and gave them to her to carry.

⁶ Then they went out to the city gate of Bethu′lia, and found Uzzi′ah standing there with the elders of the city, Chabris and Charmis. ⁷ When they saw her, and noted how her face was altered and her clothing changed, they greatly admired her beauty, and said to her, ⁸ “May the God of our fathers grant you favor and fulfil your plans, that the people of Israel may glory and Jerusalem may be exalted.” And she worshiped God.

⁹ Then she said to them, “Order the gate of the city to be opened for me, and I will go out and accomplish the things about which you spoke with me.” So they ordered the young men to open the gate for her, as she had said. ¹⁰ When they had done this, Judith went out, she and her maid with her; and the men of the city watched her until she had gone down the mountain and passed through the valley and they could no longer see her.

Judith Is Captured

¹¹ The women^[h] went straight on through the valley; and an Assyrian patrol met her ¹² and took her into custody, and asked her, “To what people do you belong, and where are you coming from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I am a daughter of the Hebrews, but I am fleeing from them, for they are about to be handed over to you to be devoured. ¹³ I am on my way to the presence of Holofer′nes the commander of your army, to give him a true report; and I will show him a way by which he can go and capture all the hill country without losing one of his men, captured or slain.”

¹⁴ When the men heard her words, and observed her face—she was in their eyes marvelously beautiful—they said to her, ¹⁵ “You have saved your life by hurrying down to the presence of our lord. Go at once to his tent; some of us will escort you and hand you over to him. ¹⁶ And when you stand before him, do not be afraid in your heart, but tell him just what you have said, and he will treat you well.”

¹⁷ They chose from their number a hundred men to accompany her and her maid, and they brought them to the tent of Holofer′nes. ¹⁸ There was great excitement in the whole camp, for her arrival was reported from tent to tent, and they came and stood around her as she waited outside the tent of Holofer′nes while they told him about her. ¹⁹ And they marveled at her beauty, and admired the Israelites, judging them by her, and every one said to his neighbor, “Who can despise these people, who have women like this among them? Surely not a man of them had better be left alive, for if we let them go they will be able to ensnare the whole world!”

Judith Is Brought before Holofernes

²⁰ Then Holofer′nes’ companions and all his servants came out and led her into the tent. ²¹ Holofer′nes was resting on his bed, under a canopy which was woven with purple and gold and emeralds and precious stones. ²² When they told him of her he came forward to the front of the tent, with silver lamps carried before him. ²³ And when Judith came into the presence of Holofer′nes^[i] and his servants, they all marveled at the beauty of her face; and she prostrated herself and made obeisance to him, and his slaves raised her up.

11 Then Holofer′nes said to her, “Take courage, woman, and do not be afraid in your heart, for I have never hurt any one who chose to serve Nebuchadnez′zar, the king of all the earth. ² And even now, if your people who live in the hill country had not slighted me, I would never have lifted my spear against them; but they have brought all this on themselves. ³ And now tell me why you have fled from them and have come over to us—since you have come to safety. ⁴ Have courage; you will live, tonight and from now on. No one will hurt you, but all will treat you well, as they do the servants of my lord King Nebuchadnez′zar.”

Judith Explains Her Presence

⁵ Judith replied to him, “Accept the words of your servant, and let your maidservant speak in your presence, and I will tell nothing false to my lord this night. ⁶ And if you follow out the words of your maidservant, God will accomplish something through you, and my lord will not fail to achieve his purposes. ⁷ Nebuchadnez′zar the king of the whole earth lives, and as his power endures, who had sent you to direct every living soul, not only do men serve him because of you, but also the beasts of the field and the cattle and the birds of the air will live by your power under Nebuchadnez′zar and all his house. ⁸ For we have heard of your wisdom and skill, and it is reported throughout the whole world that you are the one good man in the whole kingdom, thoroughly informed and marvelous in military strategy.

⁹ “Now as for the things Ach′ior said in your council, we have heard his words, for the men of Bethu′lia spared him and he told them all he had said to you. ¹⁰ Therefore, my lord and master, do not disregard what he said, but keep it in your mind, for it is true: our nation cannot be punished, nor can the sword prevail against them, unless they sin against their God.

¹¹ “And now, in order that my lord may not be defeated and his purpose frustrated, death will fall upon them, for a sin has overtaken them by which they are about to provoke their God to anger when they do what is wrong. ¹² Since their food supply is exhausted and their water has almost given out, they have planned to kill their cattle and have determined to use all that God by his laws has forbidden them to eat. ¹³ They have decided to consume the first fruits of the grain and the tithes of the wine and oil, which they had consecrated and set aside for the priests who minister in the presence of our God at Jerusalem—although it is not lawful for any of the people so much as to touch these things with their hands. ¹⁴ They have sent men to Jerusalem, because even the people living there have been doing this, to bring back to them permission from the senate. ¹⁵ When the word reaches them and they proceed to do this, on that very day they will be handed over to you to be destroyed.

¹⁶ “Therefore, when I, your servant, learned all this, I fled from them; and God has sent me to accomplish with you things that will astonish the whole world, as many as shall hear about them. ¹⁷ For your servant is religious, and serves the God of heaven day and night; therefore, my lord, I will remain with you, and every night your servant will go out into the valley, and I will pray to God and he will tell me when they have committed their sins. ¹⁸ And I will come and tell you, and then you shall go out with your whole army, and not one of them will withstand you. ¹⁹ Then I will lead you through the middle of Judea, till you come to Jerusalem; and I will set your throne^[j] in the midst of it; and you will lead them like sheep that have no shepherd, and not a dog will so much as open its mouth to growl at you. For this has been told me, by my foreknowledge; it was announced to me, and I was sent to tell you.”

²⁰ Her words pleased Holofer′nes and all his servants, and they marveled at her wisdom and said, ²¹ “There is not such a woman from one end of the earth to the other, either for beauty of face or wisdom of speech!” ²² And Holofer′nes said to her, “God has done well to send you before the people, to lend strength to our hands and to bring destruction upon those who have slighted my lord. ²³ You are not only beautiful in appearance, but wise in speech; and if you do as you have said, your God shall be my God, and you shall live in the house of King Nebuchadnez′zar and be renowned throughout the whole world.”