They had just recently returned from captivity in exile. All the people of Judea had only just gathered together again, and the temple together with its altar and equipment had been newly dedicated to God after being polluted.

Then all the people—the young men, the women, and the children—gathered around Uzziah and the rulers of the city. They cried out before all the elders with a loud voice, saying:

All the women of Israel gathered together to see her. They blessed her, and some performed a dance for her. Then Judith took wands wrapped with ivy in her hands and gave them to the women who were with her.