Judith 11-16
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
11 Then Holofernes said to her, “Take courage, woman, and do not be afraid in your heart, for I have never hurt anyone who chose to serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of all the earth.(A) 2 Even now, if your people who live in the hill country had not slighted me, I would never have lifted my spear against them. They have brought this on themselves.(B) 3 But now tell me why you have fled from them and have come over to us. In any event, you have come to safety. Take courage! You will live tonight and ever after.(C) 4 No one will hurt you. Rather, all will treat you well, as they do the servants of my lord King Nebuchadnezzar.”
Judith Explains Her Presence
5 Judith answered him, “Accept the words of your slave, and let your servant speak in your presence. I will say nothing false to my lord this night. 6 If you follow the words of your servant, God will accomplish something through you, and my lord will not fail to achieve his purposes.(D) 7 By the life of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the whole earth, and by the power of him who has sent you to direct every living being! Not only do humans serve him because of you, but also the animals of the field and the cattle and the birds of the air will live because of your power, under Nebuchadnezzar and all his house.(E) 8 For we have heard of your wisdom and skill, and it is reported throughout the whole world that you alone are the best in the whole kingdom, the most informed and the most astounding in military strategy.
9 “Now as for Achior’s speech in your council, we have heard his words, for the people of Bethulia spared him and he told them all he had said to you.(F) 10 Therefore, lord and master, do not disregard what he said, but keep it in your mind, for it is true. Indeed, our people cannot be punished nor can the sword prevail against them unless they sin against their God.(G)
11 “But 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.(H) 12 Since their food supply is exhausted and their water has almost given out, they have planned to kill their livestock and have determined to use all that God by his laws has forbidden them to eat.(I) 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 in Jerusalem—things it is not lawful for any of the people even to touch with their hands.(J) 14 Since even the people in Jerusalem have been doing this, they have sent messengers there in order to bring back permission from the council of the elders.(K) 15 When the response reaches them and they act upon it, on that very day they will be handed over to you to be destroyed.
16 “So when I, your slave, learned all this, I fled from them. God has sent me to accomplish with you things that will astonish the whole world wherever people shall hear about them. 17 Your servant is indeed God-fearing and serves the God of heaven night and day. So, my lord, I will remain with you, but every night your servant will go out into the valley and pray to God. He will tell me when they have committed their sins.(L) 18 Then I will come and tell you, so that you may go out with your whole army, and not one of them will be able to withstand you. 19 Then I will lead you through Judea until you come to Jerusalem; there I will set your throne.[a] You will drive them like sheep that have no shepherd, and no dog will so much as growl at you. For this was told me to give me foreknowledge; it was announced to me, and I was sent to tell you.”(M)
20 Her words pleased Holofernes and all his attendants. They marveled at her wisdom and said, 21 “No other woman from one end of the earth to the other looks so beautiful or speaks so wisely!” 22 Then Holofernes said to her, “God has done well to send you ahead of the people, to strengthen our hands and bring destruction on those who have despised my lord.(N) 23 You are not only beautiful in appearance but wise in speech. If you do as you have said, your God shall be my God, and you shall live in the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar and be renowned throughout the whole world.”(O)
Judith as a Guest of Holofernes
12 Then he commanded them to bring her in where his silver dinnerware was kept and ordered them to set a table for her with some of his own delicacies and with some of his own wine to drink.(P) 2 But Judith said, “I cannot partake of them, or it will be an offense, but I will have enough with the things I brought with me.”(Q) 3 Holofernes said to her, “If your supply runs out, where can we get you more of the same? For none of your people are here with us.” 4 Judith replied, “As surely as you live, my lord, your servant will not use up the supplies I have with me before the Lord carries out by my hand what he has determined.”(R)
5 Then the attendants of Holofernes brought her into the tent, and she slept until midnight. Toward the morning watch she got up(S) 6 and sent this message to Holofernes: “Let my lord now give orders to allow your servant to go out and pray.”(T) 7 So Holofernes commanded his guards not to hinder her. She remained in the camp three days. She went out each night to the valley of Bethulia and bathed at the spring in the camp.[b](U) 8 After bathing, she prayed the Lord God of Israel to direct her way for the triumph of his[c] people.(V) 9 Then she returned purified and stayed in the tent until she ate her food toward evening.(W)
Judith Attends Holofernes’s Banquet
10 On the fourth day Holofernes held a banquet for his slaves only and did not invite any of his officers.(X) 11 He said to Bagoas, the eunuch who had charge of his personal affairs, “Go and persuade the Hebrew woman who is in your care to join us and to eat and drink with us.(Y) 12 For it would be a disgrace if we let such a woman go without being intimate with her. If we do not seduce her, she will laugh at us.”
13 So Bagoas left the presence of Holofernes and approached her and said, “Let this pretty servant not hesitate to come to my lord to be honored in his presence and to enjoy drinking wine with us and to become today like one of the Assyrian women who serve in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar.”(Z) 14 Judith replied, “Who am I to refuse my lord? Whatever pleases him I will do at once, and it will be a joy to me until the day of my death.” 15 So she proceeded to dress herself in all her woman’s finery. Her maid went ahead and spread for her on the ground before Holofernes the lambskins she had received from Bagoas for her daily use in reclining.
16 Then Judith came in and lay down. Holofernes’s heart was ravished with her and his passion was aroused, for he had been waiting for an opportunity to be with her from the day he first saw her.(AA) 17 So Holofernes said to her, “Have a drink and be merry with us!” 18 Judith said, “I will gladly drink, my lord, because today is the greatest day in my whole life.” 19 Then she took what her maid had prepared and ate and drank before him.(AB) 20 Holofernes was greatly pleased with her and drank a great quantity of wine, much more than he had ever drunk in any one day since he was born.(AC)
Judith Beheads Holofernes
13 When evening came, his slaves quickly withdrew. Bagoas closed the tent from outside and shut out the attendants from his master’s presence. They went to bed, for they all were weary because the banquet had lasted so long.(AD) 2 But Judith was left alone in the tent, with Holofernes stretched out on his bed, for he was dead drunk.(AE)
3 Now Judith had told her maid to stand outside the bedchamber and to wait for her to come out, as she did on the other days, for she said she would be going out for her prayers. She had said the same thing to Bagoas.(AF) 4 So everyone went out, and no one, either small or great, was left in the bedchamber. Then Judith, standing beside his bed, said in her heart, “O Lord God of all might, look in this hour on the work of my hands for the exaltation of Jerusalem.(AG) 5 Now indeed is the time to help your heritage and to carry out my design to destroy the enemies who have risen up against us.”(AH)
6 She went up to the bedpost near Holofernes’s head and took down his sword that hung there.(AI) 7 She came close to his bed, took hold of the hair of his head, and said, “Give me strength today, O Lord God of Israel!” 8 Then she struck his neck twice with all her might and cut off his head.(AJ) 9 Next she rolled his body off the bed and pulled down the canopy from the posts. Soon afterward she went out and gave Holofernes’s head to her maid,(AK) 10 who placed it in her food bag.
Judith Returns to Bethulia
Then the two of them went out together, as they were accustomed to do for prayer. They passed through the camp, circled around the valley, went up the mountain to Bethulia, and came to its gates.(AL) 11 From a distance Judith called out to the sentries at the gates, “Open, open the gate! God, our God, is with us, still showing his power in Israel and his strength against our enemies, as he has done today!”
12 When the people of her town heard her voice, they hurried down to the town gate and summoned the elders of the town.(AM) 13 They all ran together, both small and great, for it seemed unbelievable that she had returned. They opened the gate and welcomed them. Then they lit a fire to give light and gathered around them. 14 Then she said to them with a loud voice, “Praise God, O praise him! Praise God, who has not withdrawn his mercy from the house of Israel but has destroyed our enemies by my hand this very night!”
15 Then she pulled the head out of the bag and showed it to them and said, “See here, the head of Holofernes, the commander of the Assyrian army, and here is the canopy beneath which he lay in his drunken stupor. The Lord has struck him down by the hand of a woman.(AN) 16 As the Lord lives, who has protected me in the way I went, I swear that it was my face that seduced him to his destruction and that he committed no sin with me, to defile and shame me.”
17 All the people were greatly astonished. They bowed down and worshiped God and said with one accord, “Blessed are you, our God, who have this day humiliated the enemies of your people.”(AO)
18 Then Uzziah said to her, “O daughter, you are blessed by the Most High God above all other women on earth, and blessed be the Lord God, who created the heavens and the earth, who has guided you to cut off the head of the leader of our enemies.(AP) 19 Your hope[d] will never depart from the hearts of those who remember the power of God. 20 May God grant this to be a perpetual honor to you, and may he reward you with blessings because you risked your own life when our people was brought low, and you averted our ruin, walking in the straight path before our God.” And all the people said, “Amen. Amen.”(AQ)
Judith’s Counsel
14 Then Judith said to them, “Listen to me, my friends. Take this head and hang it upon the parapet of your wall.(AR) 2 As soon as day breaks and the sun rises on the earth, each of you take up your weapons, and let every able-bodied man go out of the town; set a captain over them, as if you were going down to the plain against the Assyrian outpost; only do not go down.(AS) 3 Then they will seize their arms and go into the camp and rouse the officers of the Assyrian army. They will rush into the tent of Holofernes and will not find him. Then panic will come over them, and they will flee before you.(AT) 4 Then you and all who live within the borders of Israel will pursue them and cut them down in their tracks. 5 But before you do all this, bring Achior the Ammonite to me so that he may see and recognize the man who despised the house of Israel and sent him to us as if to his death.”(AU)
6 So they summoned Achior from the house of Uzziah. When he came and saw the head of Holofernes in the hand of one of the men in the assembly of the people, he fell down on his face in a faint.(AV) 7 When they raised him up he threw himself at Judith’s feet and did obeisance to her and said, “Blessed are you in every tent of Judah! In every nation those who hear your name will be alarmed.(AW) 8 Now tell me what you have done during these days.”
So Judith told him in the presence of the people all that she had done from the day she left until the moment she began speaking to them. 9 When she had finished, the people raised a great shout and made a joyful noise in their town. 10 When Achior saw all that the God of Israel had done, he believed firmly in God. So he was circumcised and joined the house of Israel, remaining so to this day.(AX)
Holofernes’s Death Is Discovered
11 As soon as it was dawn, they hung the head of Holofernes on the wall. Then they all took their weapons and went out in companies to the mountain passes.(AY) 12 When the Assyrians saw them, they sent word to their commanders, who then went to the generals and the captains and to all their other officers.(AZ) 13 They came to Holofernes’s 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, to their utter destruction.”(BA)
14 So Bagoas went in and knocked at the entry of the tent, for he supposed that he was sleeping with Judith.(BB) 15 But when no one answered, he opened it and went into the bedchamber and found him dead, sprawled over the footstool, with his head missing. 16 He cried out with a loud voice and wept and groaned and shouted and tore his clothes.(BC) 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,(BD) 18 “The slaves have foiled us! One Hebrew woman has brought disgrace on the house of King Nebuchadnezzar. Look, Holofernes is lying on the ground, and his head is missing!”
19 When the leaders of the Assyrian army heard this, they tore their tunics and were greatly dismayed, and their loud cries and shouts rose up throughout the camp.(BE)
The Assyrians Flee in Panic
15 When the men in the tents heard it, they were amazed at what had happened. 2 Overcome with fear and trembling, 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.(BF) 3 Those who had camped in the hills around Bethulia also took to flight. Then the Israelites, everyone who was a soldier, rushed out upon them.(BG) 4 Uzziah sent men to Betomasthaim[e] 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 the enemy to destroy them. 5 When the Israelites heard it, with one accord they fell upon the enemy[f] 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. The men in Gilead and in Galilee outflanked them with great slaughter, even beyond Damascus and its borders.(BH) 6 The rest of the people of Bethulia fell upon the Assyrian camp and plundered it, acquiring great riches.(BI) 7 And the Israelites, when they returned from the slaughter, took possession of what remained. Even the villages and towns in the hill country and in the plain got a great amount of plunder, since there was a vast quantity of it.
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.(BJ) 9 When they met her, they all blessed her with one accord and said to her, “You are the glory of Jerusalem, you are the great boast of Israel, you are the great pride of our people!(BK) 10 You have done all this with your own hand; you have done great good to Israel, and God is well pleased with it. May the Almighty Lord bless you forever!” And all the people said, “Amen.”(BL)
11 All the people plundered the camp for thirty days. They gave Judith the tent of Holofernes and all his silver dinnerware, his beds, his bowls, and all his furniture. She took them and loaded her mules and hitched up her carts and piled the things on them.(BM)
12 All the women of Israel gathered to see her and blessed her, and some of them performed a dance in her honor. She took ivy-wreathed wands in her hands and distributed them to the women who were with her,(BN) 13 and she and those who were with her crowned themselves with olive wreaths. 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 singing hymns.(BO)
Judith Offers Her Hymn of Praise
14 Judith began this thanksgiving before all Israel, and all the people loudly sang this song of praise. 16 1
“Begin a song to my God with tambourines;
sing to my Lord with cymbals.
Raise to him a new psalm;[g]
exalt him and call upon his name.(BP)
2 For the Lord is a God who crushes wars;
he sets up his camp among his people;
he delivered me from the hands of my pursuers.(BQ)
3 The Assyrian came down from the mountains of the north;
he came with myriads of his warriors;
their numbers blocked up the wadis,
and their cavalry covered the hills.(BR)
4 He boasted that he would burn up my territory
and kill my young men with the sword
and dash my infants to the ground
and seize my children as plunder
and take my virgins as spoil.(BS)
5 “But the Lord Almighty has foiled them
by the hand of a woman.[h](BT)
6 For their mighty one did not fall by the hands of the young men,
nor did the sons of the Titans strike him down,
nor did tall giants set upon him,
but Judith daughter of Merari
with the beauty of her countenance undid him.(BU)
7 “For she put away her widow’s clothing
to exalt the oppressed in Israel.
She anointed her face with perfume;(BV)
8 she fastened her hair with a tiara
and put on a linen gown to beguile him.(BW)
9 Her sandal ravished his eyes,
her beauty captivated his mind,
and the sword severed his neck!(BX)
10 The Persians trembled at her boldness;
the Medes were daunted at her daring.(BY)
11 “Then my oppressed people shouted;
my weak people cried out,[i] and the enemy[j] trembled;
they lifted up their voices, and the enemy[k] were turned back.
12 Sons of female slaves pierced them through
and wounded them like the children of fugitives;
they perished before the army of my Lord.(BZ)
13 “I will sing to my God a new song:
O Lord, you are great and glorious,
wonderful in strength, invincible.(CA)
14 Let all your creatures serve you,
for you spoke, and they were made.
You sent forth your spirit,[l] and it formed them;[m]
there is none that can resist your voice.(CB)
15 For the mountains shall be shaken to their foundations with the waters;
before your glance the rocks shall melt like wax.
But to those who fear you
you show mercy.(CC)
16 For every sacrifice as a fragrant offering is a small thing,
and the fat of all whole burnt offerings to you is a very little thing,
but whoever fears the Lord is great forever.(CD)
17 “Woe to the nations that rise up against my people!
The Lord Almighty will take vengeance on them in the day of judgment;
he will send fire and worms into their flesh;
they shall weep in pain forever.”(CE)
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 possessions of Holofernes that the people had given her, and the canopy that she had taken for herself from his bedchamber she gave as a votive offering.(CF) 20 For three months the people continued feasting in Jerusalem before the sanctuary, and Judith remained with them.(CG)
The Renown and Death of Judith
21 After this they all returned home to their own inheritances. Judith went to Bethulia and remained on her estate. For the rest of her life she was honored throughout the whole country.(CH) 22 Many desired to marry her, but she gave herself to no man all the days of her life after her husband Manasseh died and was gathered to his people.(CI) 23 She became more and more famous and grew old in her husband’s house, reaching the age of one hundred five. She set her maid free. She died in Bethulia, and they buried her in the cave of her husband Manasseh,(CJ) 24 and the house of Israel mourned her for seven days. Before she died she distributed her property to all those who were next of kin to her husband Manasseh and to her own nearest kindred.(CK) 25 No one ever again spread terror among the Israelites during the lifetime of Judith or for a long time after her death.
Footnotes
- 11.19 Or chariot
- 12.7 Other ancient authorities lack in the camp
- 12.8 Other ancient authorities read her
- 13.19 Other ancient authorities read praise
- 15.4 Other ancient authorities add and Bebai
- 15.5 Gk them
- 16.1 Other ancient authorities read a psalm and praise
- 16.5 Other ancient authorities add he has confounded them
- 16.11 Other ancient authorities read feared
- 16.11 Gk they
- 16.11 Gk they
- 16.14 Or breath
- 16.14 Other ancient authorities read they were created
Judith 11-16
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
11 Then Holofernes said to her: Be of good comfort, and fear not in thy heart: for I have never hurt a man that was willing to serve Nabuchodonosor the king.
2 And if thy people had not despised me, I would never have lifted up my spear against them.
3 But now tell me, for what cause hast thou left them, and why it hath pleased thee to come to us?
4 And Judith said to him: Receive the words of thy handmaid, for if thou wilt follow the words of thy handmaid, the Lord will do with thee a perfect thing.
5 For as Nabuchodonosor the king of the earth liveth, and his power liveth which is in thee for chastising of all straying souls: not only men serve him through thee, but also the beasts of the field obey him.
6 For the industry of thy mind is spoken of among all nations, and it is told through the whole world, that thou only art excellent, and mighty in all his kingdom, and thy discipline is cried up in all provinces.
7 It is known also what Achior said, nor are we ignorant of what thou hast commanded to be done to him.
8 For it is certain that our God is so offended with sins, that he hath sent word by his prophets to the people, that he will deliver them up for their sins.
9 And because the children of Israel know they have offended their God, thy dread is upon them.
10 Moreover also a famine hath come upon them, and for drought of water they are already to be counted among the dead.
11 And they have a design even to kill their cattle, and to drink the blood of them.
12 And the consecrated things of the Lord their God which God forbade them to touch, in corn, wine, and oil, these have they purposed to make use of, and they design to consume the things which they ought not to touch with their hands: therefore because they do these things, it is certain they will be given up to destruction.
13 And I thy handmaid knowing this, am fled from them, and the Lord hath sent me to tell thee these very things.
14 For I thy handmaid worship God even now that I am with thee, and thy handmaid will go out, and I will pray to God,
15 And he will tell me when he will repay them for their sins, and I will come and tell thee, so that I may bring thee through the midst of Jerusalem, and thou shalt have all the people of Israel, as sheep that have no shepherd, and there shall not so much as one dog bark against thee:
16 Because these things are told me by the providence of God.
17 And because God is angry with them, I am sent to tell these very things to thee.
18 And all these words pleased Holofernes, and his servants, and they admired her wisdom, and they said one to another:
19 There is not such another woman upon earth in look, in beauty, and in sense of words.
20 And Holofernes said to her: God hath done well who sent thee before the people, that thou mightest give them into our hands:
21 And because thy promise is good, if thy God shall do this for me, he shall also be my God, and thou shalt be great in the house of Nabuchodonosor, and thy name shall be renowned through all the earth.
12 Then he ordered that she should go in where his treasures were laid up, and bade her tarry there, and he appointed what should be given her from his own table.
2 And Judith answered him and said: Now I cannot eat of these things which thou commandest to be given me, lest sin come upon me: but I will eat of the things which I have brought.
3 And Holofernes said to her: If these things which thou hast brought with thee fail thee, what shall we do for thee?
4 And Judith said: As thy soul liveth, my lord, thy handmaid shall not spend all these things till God do by my hand that which I have purposed. And his servants brought her into the tent which he had commanded.
5 And when she was going in, she desired that she might have liberty to go out at night and before day to prayer, and to beseech the Lord.
6 And he commanded his chamberlains, that she might go out and in, to adore her God as she pleased, for three days.
7 And she went out in the nights into the valley of Bethulia, and washed herself in a fountain of water.
8 And as she came up, she prayed to the Lord the God of Israel, that he would direct her way to the deliverance of his people.
9 And going in, she remained pure in the tent, until she took her own meat in the evening.
10 And it came to pass on the fourth day, that Holofernes made a supper for his servants, and said to Vagao his eunuch: Go, and persuade that Hebrew woman, to consent of her own accord to dwell with me.
11 For it is looked upon as shameful among the Assyrians, if a woman mock a man, by doing so as to pass free from him.
12 Then Vagao went in to Judith, and said: Let not my good maid be afraid to go in to my lord, that she may be honoured before his face, that she may eat with him and drink wine and be merry.
13 And Judith answered him: Who am I, that I should gainsay my lord?
14 All that shall be good and best before his eyes, I will do. And whatsoever shall please him, that shall be best to me all the days of my life.
15 And she arose and dressed herself out with her garments, and going in she stood before his face.
16 And the heart of Holofernes was smitten, for he was burning with the desire of her.
17 And Holofernes said to her: Drink now, and sit down and be merry for thou hast found favour before me.
18 And Judith said: I will drink my lord, because my life is magnified this day above all my days.
19 And she took and ate and drank before him what her maid had prepared for her.
20 And Holofernes was made merry on her occasion, and drank exceeding much wine, so much as he had never drunk in his life.
13 And when it was grown late, his servants made haste to their lodgings, and Vagao shut the chamber doors, and went his way.
2 And they were all overcharged with wine.
3 And Judith was alone in the chamber.
4 But Holofernes lay on his bed, fast asleep, being exceedingly drunk.
5 And Judith spoke to her maid to stand without before the chamber, and to watch:
6 And Judith stood before the bed praying with tears, and the motion of her lips in silence,
7 Saying: Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel, and in this hour look on the works of my hands, that as thou hast promised, thou mayst raise up Jerusalem thy city: and that I may bring to pass that which I have purposed, having a belief that it might be done by thee.
8 And when she had said this, she went to the pillar that was at his bed's head, and loosed his sword that hung tied upon it.
9 And when she had drawn it out, she took him by the hair of his head, and said: Strengthen me, O Lord God, at this hour.
10 And she struck twice upon his neck, and cut off his head, and took off his canopy from the pillars, and rolled away his headless body.
11 And after a while she went out, and delivered the head of Holofernes to her maid, and bade her put it into her wallet.
12 And they two went out according to their custom, as it were to prayer, and they passed the camp, and having compassed the valley, they came to the gate of the city.
13 And Judith from afar off cried to the watchmen upon the walls: Open the gates for God is with us, who hath shewn his power in Israel.
14 And it came to pass, when the men had heard her voice, that they called the ancients of the city.
15 And all ran to meet her from the least to the greatest: for they now had no hopes that she would come.
16 And lighting up lights they all gathered round about her: and she went up to a higher place, and commanded silence to be made. And when all had held their peace,
17 Judith said: Praise ye the Lord our God, who hath not forsaken them that hope in him.
18 And by me his handmaid he hath fulfilled his mercy, which he promised to the house of Israel: and he hath killed the enemy of his people by my hand this night.
19 Then she brought forth the head of Holofernes out of the wallet, and shewed it them, saying: Behold the head of Holofernes the general of the army of the Assyrians, and behold his canopy, wherein he lay in his drunkenness, where the Lord our God slew him by the hand of a woman.
20 But as the same Lord liveth, his angel hath been my keeper both going hence, and abiding there, and returning from thence hither: and the Lord hath not suffered me his handmaid to be defiled, but hath brought me back to you without pollution of sin, rejoicing for his victory, for my escape, and for your deliverance.
21 Give all of you glory to him, because he is good, because his mercy endureth for ever.
22 And they all adored the Lord, and said to her: The Lord hath blessed thee by his power, because by thee he hath brought our enemies to nought.
23 And Ozias the prince of the people of Israel, said to her: Blessed art thou, O daughter, by the Lord the most high God, above all women upon the earth.
24 Blessed be the Lord who made heaven and earth, who hath directed thee to the cutting off the head of the prince of our enemies.
25 Because he hath so magnified thy name this day, that thy praise shall not depart out of the mouth of men who shall be mindful of the power of the Lord for ever, for that thou hast not spared thy life, by reason of the distress and tribulation of thy people, but hast prevented our ruin in the presence of our God.
26 And all the people said: So be it, so be it.
27 And Achior being called for came, and Judith said to him: The God of Israel, to whom thou gavest testimony, that he revengeth himself of his enemies, he hath cut off the head of all the unbelievers this night by my hand.
28 And that thou mayst find that it is so, behold the head of Holofernes, who in the contempt of his pride despised the God of Israel: and threatened thee with death, saying: When the people of Israel shall be taken, I will command thy sides to be pierced with a sword.
29 Then Achior seeing the head of Holofernes, being seized with a great fear he fell on his face upon the earth, and his soul swooned away.
30 But after he had recovered his spirits he fell down at her feet, and reverenced her and said:
31 Blessed art thou by thy God in every tabernacle of Jacob, for in every nation which shall hear thy name, the God of Israel shall be magnified on occasion of thee.
14 And Judith said to all the people: Hear me, my brethren, hang ye up this head upon our walls.
2 And as soon as the sun shall rise, let every man take his arms, and rush ye out, not as going down beneath, but as making an assault.
3 Then the watchmen must needs run to awake their prince for the battle.
4 And when the captains of them shall run to the tent of Holofernes, and shall find him without his head wallowing in his blood, fear shall fall upon them.
5 And when you shall know that they are fleeing, go after them securely, for the Lord will destroy them under your feet.
6 Then Achior seeing the power that the God of Israel had wrought, leaving the religion of the gentiles, he believed God, and circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, and was joined to the people of Israel, with all the succession of his kindred until this present day.
7 And immediately at break of day, they hung up the head of Holofernes upon the walls, and every man took his arms, and they sent out with a great noise and shouting.
8 And the watchmen seeing this, ran to the tent of Holofernes.
9 And they that were in the tent came, and made a noise before the door of the chamber to awake him, endeavouring by art to break his rest, that Holofernes might awake, not by their calling him, but by their noise.
10 For no man durst knock, or open and go into the chamber of the general of the Assyrians.
11 But when his captains and tribunes were come, and all the chiefs of the army of the king of the Assyrians, they said to the chamberlains:
12 Go in, and awake him, for the mice coming out of their holes, have presumed to challenge us to fight.
13 Then Vagao going into his chamber, stood before the curtain, and made a clapping with his hands: for he thought that he was sleeping with Judith.
14 But when with hearkening, he perceived no motion of one lying, he came near to the curtain, and lifting it up, and seeing the body of Holofernes, lying upon the ground, without the head, sweltering in his blood, he cried out with a loud voice, with weeping, and rent his garments.
15 And he went into the tent of Judith, and not finding her, he ran out to the people,
16 And said: One Hebrew woman hath made confusion in the house of king Nabuchodonosor: for behold Holofernes lieth upon the ground, and his head is not upon him.
17 Now when the chiefs of the army of the Assyrians had heard this, they all rent their garments, and an intolerable fear and dread fell upon them, and their minds were troubled exceedingly.
18 And there was a very great cry in the midst of their camp.
15 And when all the army heard that Holofernes was beheaded, courage and counsel fled from them, and being seized with trembling and fear they thought only to save themselves by flight:
2 So that no one spoke to his neighbour, but hanging down the head, leaving all things behind, they made haste to escape from the Hebrews, who, as they heard, were coming armed upon them, and fled by the ways of the fields, and the paths of the hills.
3 So the children of Israel seeing them fleeing, followed after them. And they went down sounding with trumpets and shouting after them.
4 And because the Assyrians were not united together, they went without order in their flight; but the children of Israel pursuing in one body, defeated all that they could find.
5 And Ozias sent messengers through all the cities and countries of Israel.
6 And every country, and every city, sent their chosen young men armed after them, and they pursued them with the edge of the sword until they came to the extremities of their confines.
7 And the rest that were in Bethulia went into the camp of the Assyrians, and took away the spoils, which the Assyrians in their flight had left behind them, and they were laden exceedingly.
8 But they that returned conquerors to Bethulia, brought with them all things that were theirs, so that there was no numbering of their cattle, and beasts, and all their moveables, insomuch that from the least to the greatest all were made rich by their spoils.
9 And Joachim the high priest came from Jerusalem to Bethulia with all his ancients to see Judith.
10 And when she was come out to him, they all blessed her with one voice, saying: Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the joy of Israel, thou art the honour of our people:
11 For thou hast done manfully, and thy heart has been strengthened, because thou hast loved chastity, and after thy husband hast not known any other: therefore also the hand of the Lord hath strengthened thee, and therefore thou shalt be blessed for ever.
12 And all the people said: So be it, so be it.
13 And thirty days were scarce sufficient for the people of Israel to gather up the spoils of the Assyrians.
14 But all those things that were proved to be the peculiar goods of Holofernes, they gave to Judith in gold, and silver, and garments and precious stones, and all household stuff, and they all were delivered to her by the people.
15 And all the people rejoiced, with the women, and virgins, and young men, playing on instruments and harps.
16 Then Judith sung this canticle to the Lord, saying:
2 Begin ye to the Lord with timbrels, sing ye to the Lord with cymbals, tune unto him a new psalm, extol and call upon his name.
3 The Lord putteth an end to wars, the Lord is his name.
4 He hath set his camp in the midst of his people, to deliver us from the hand of all our enemies.
5 The Assyrians came out of the mountains from the north in the multitude of his strength: his multitude stopped up the torrents, and their horses covered the valleys.
6 He bragged that he would set my borders on fire, and kill my young men with the sword, to make my infants a prey, and my virgins captives.
7 But the almighty Lord hath struck him, and hath delivered him into the hands of a woman, and hath slain him.
8 For their mighty one did not fall by young men, neither did the sons of Titan strike him, nor tall giants oppose themselves to him, but Judith the daughter of Merari weakened him with the beauty of her face.
9 For she put off her the garments of widowhood, and put on her the garments of joy, to give joy to the children of Israel.
10 She anointed her face with ointment, and bound up her locks with a crown, she took a new robe to deceive him.
11 Her sandals ravished his eyes, her beauty made his soul her captive, with a sword she cut off his head.
12 The Persians quaked at her constancy, and the Medes at her boldness.
13 Then the camp of the Assyrians howled, when my lowly ones appeared, parched with thirst.
14 The sons of the damsels have pierced them through, and they have killed them like children fleeing away: they perished in battle before the face of the Lord my God.
15 Let us sing a hymn to the Lord, let us sing a new hymn to our God.
16 O Adonai, Lord, great art thou, and glorious in thy power, and no one can overcome thee.
17 Let all thy creatures serve thee: because thou hast spoken, and they were made: thou didst send forth thy spirit, and they were created, and there is no one that can resist thy voice.
18 The mountains shall be moved from the foundations with the waters: the rocks shall melt as wax before thy face.
19 But they that fear thee, shall be great with thee in all things.
20 Woe be to the nation that riseth up against my people: for the Lord almighty will take revenge on them, in the day of judgment he will visit them.
21 For he will give fire, and worms into their flesh, that they may burn, and may feel for ever.
22 And it came to pass after these things, that all the people, after the victory, came to Jerusalem to adore the Lord: and as soon as they were purified, they all offered holocausts, and vows, and their promises.
23 And Judith offered for an anathema of oblivion all the arms of Holofernes, which the people gave her, and the canopy that she had taken away out of his chamber.
24 And the people were joyful in the sight of the sanctuary, and for three months the joy of this victory was celebrated with Judith.
25 And after those days every man returned to his house, and Judith was made great in Bethulia, and she was most renowned in all the land of Israel.
26 And chastity was joined to her virtue, so that she knew no man all the days of her life, after the death of Manasses her husband.
27 And on festival days she came forth with great glory.
28 And she abode in her husband's house a hundred and five years, and made her handmaid free, and she died, and was buried with her husband in Bethulia.
29 And all the people mourned for seven days.
30 And all the time of her life there was none that troubled Israel, nor many years after her death.
31 But the day of the festivity of this victory is received by the Hebrews in the number of holy days, and is religiously observed by the Jews from that time until this day.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)