Category: Judith

1 Then Holofernes said to her: “Be steadfast in soul, and do not be terrified in your heart. For I have never harmed a man who was willing to serve king Nebuchadnezzar.

2 But if your people had not despised me, I would not have lifted up my lance over them.

3 But now, tell me, for what reason have you withdrawn from them, and why has it pleased you to come to us?”

4 And Judith said to him: “Receive the words of your maidservant. For, if you will follow the words of your maidservant, the Lord will accomplish an excellent thing by you.

5 For, as Nebuchadnezzar the king of the earth lives, and as his power lives, which is with you for the chastising of all straying souls: not only men serve him through you, but also the beasts of the field are submissive to him.

6 For the diligence of your mind is being reported to all nations, and it has been revealed to all of this age that you alone are good and powerful in all his kingdom, and your discipline is being announced beforehand in all the provinces.

7 This is not hidden, what Achior has said, nor are we ignorant of what you have ordered to befall him.

8 For it is agreed that our God is so offended with sins that he has commanded, through his prophets to the people, that he will deliver them up for their sins.

9 And since the sons of Israel know that they have offended their God, your trembling is upon them.

10 Moreover, now also a famine has assailed them, and, by drought of water, they are already counted among the dead.

11 And finally, they have a plan to put to death their herds, and to drink their blood.

12 And the sacred things of the Lord their God, which God instructed them not to touch, among the grain, wine, and oil, these they have decided to expend, and they are willing to consume the things that they ought not to touch with their hands. Therefore, because they do these things, it is certain that they will be given over to perdition.

13 And I, your maidservant, knowing this, have fled from them, and the Lord has sent me to report to you these same things.

14 For I, your maidservant, worship God even now that I am with you, and your maidservant 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 return and announce it to you, so that I may bring you through the midst of Jerusalem, and you will hold all the people of Israel, like sheep that have no shepherd, and there will not be so much as one dog that barks against you.

16 For these things have been told to me through the providence of God.

17 And because God has been angry with them, I have been sent to report these same things to you.”

18 And so, all these words were pleasing before Holofernes, and before his servants, and they wondered at her wisdom, and they said to one another:

19 “There is not another woman so great upon the earth: in appearance, in beauty, and in charming words.”

20 And Holofernes said to her: “God has done well, who sent you ahead of the people, so that you may give them into our hands.

21 And if your promise is good, if your God will do this for me, he will also be my God, and you will be great in the house of Nebuchadnezzar, and your name will be renowned through all the earth.”

1 Then he ordered her to enter where his valuables were stored, and he ordered her wait there, and he appointed what should be given to her from his own feast.

2 And Judith responded to him, and she said: “Now, I am not able to eat from these things which you instructed to be allotted to me, lest an offense come upon me. But I will eat from that which I have brought.”

3 And Holofernes said to her, “If these things that you have brought with you should fail you, what shall we do for you?”

4 And Judith said, “As your soul lives, my lord, your maidservant will not expend all these things, until God accomplishes by my hand what I have in mind.” And his servants led her into the tabernacle, as he instructed.

5 And, as she was entering, she requested that it be permitted to her to go outside at night, before daylight, in order to pray and to petition the Lord.

6 And he instructed his chamberlains that she may exit and enter, just as it may please her, to adore her God, for three days.

7 And she went out in the nights into the valley of Bethulia, and she washed herself in a fountain of water.

8 And, as she climbed up, she prayed to the Lord God of Israel that he would direct her way, to the liberation of his people.

9 And entering, she remained pure in the tabernacle, until she received her own food in the evening.

10 And it happened on the fourth day that Holofernes made a supper for his servants, and he said to Vagao his eunuch: “Go, and persuade that Hebrew woman to willingly consent to live with me.

11 For it is disgraceful among the Assyrians, if a woman mocks a man, acting so as to pass through with immunity from him.”

12 Then Vagao entered toward Judith, and he said, “May she not dread, my good young woman, to enter to my lord, so that she may be honored before his face, so that she may eat with him and drink wine with cheerfulness.”

13 Judith answered him: “Who am I, that I should contradict my lord?

14 All that will be good and best before his eyes, I will do. Moreover, whatever will please him, to me, that will be what is best, all the days of my life.”

15 And she arose and dressed herself with her garments, and entering, she stood before his face.

16 But the heart of Holofernes was struck. For he was burning with desire for her.

17 And Holofernes said to her, “Drink now, and recline with cheerfulness, for you have found favor before me.”

18 And Judith said, “I will drink, my lord, because my soul has been magnified this day, beyond all my days.”

19 And she accepted and ate and drank in his sight what her handmaid had prepared for her.

20 And Holofernes became pleased with her, and he drank very much wine, more than he had ever drunk in his life.

1 So then, when it had become late, his servants hurried to their lodgings, and Vagao closed the chamber doors, and he went away.

2 But they were all drowsy from the wine.

3 And Judith was alone in the chamber.

4 Moreover, Holofernes, being very inebriated, was fast asleep, reclining on his bed.

5 And Judith told her handmaid to stand outside before the chamber, and to watch.

6 And Judith stood in front of the bed, praying with tears, and her lips moved in silence,

7 saying: “Confirm me, O Lord God of Israel, and in this hour look kindly upon the works of my hands, so that, just as you promised, you may raise up Jerusalem, your city, and so that, believing through you that this plan is able to be accomplished, I may succeed.”

8 And when she had said this, she approached the pillar, which was at the head of the bed, and she released his blade, which was hanging tied to it.

9 And when she had unsheathed it, she grabbed him by the hair of his head, and she said, “Confirm me, O Lord God, in this hour.”

10 And she struck him twice on his neck, and she cut off his head, and she took off his canopy from the pillars, and she rolled away the trunk of his body.

11 And after a little while, she went out, and she delivered the head of Holofernes to her handmaid, and she ordered her to put it in her bag.

12 And the two went out, according to their custom, as if to prayer, and they passed through the camp, and having circled around the valley, they came to the gate of the city.

13 And Judith, from a distance, spoke to the watchmen on the walls, “Open the gates, for God is with us, and he has acted with his power in Israel.”

14 And it happened that, when the men had heard her voice, they called the elders of the city.

15 And all rushed toward her, from the least to the greatest. For, until then, they held no hope that she would return.

16 And, enflaming the lights, they gathered all around her. But she climbed up to a higher place, and she ordered them to be made silent. And when all had quieted down,

17 Judith said: “Praise the Lord our God, who has not abandoned those who hope in him.

18 And by me, his handmaid, he has fulfilled his mercy, which he promised to the house of Israel. And he has killed the enemy of his people, by my hand this night.”

19 Then, taking the head of Holofernes from the bag, she displayed it to them, saying: “Behold, the head of Holofernes the leader of the military of the Assyrians, and behold his canopy, under which he reclined in his drunkenness, where the Lord our God struck him by the hand of a woman.

20 But, as the Lord himself lives, his angel has been my guardian both from my departure, and while staying there, and when returning from there. And the Lord has not permitted me, his handmaid, to be defiled, but he has called me back to you without the pollution of sin, rejoicing in his victory, in my escape, and in your liberation.

21 Confess everything to him, for he is good, for his mercy is with every generation.”

22 Then everyone adored the Lord, and they said to her, “The Lord has blessed you by his power, because, through you, he has reduced our enemies to nothing.”

23 Furthermore, Uzziah, the leader of the people of Israel, said to her: “O daughter, you have been blessed by the Lord, the most high God, above all the women on earth.

24 Blessed is the Lord, who made heaven and earth, who has guided you in harming the head of the leader of our enemies.

25 For he has so magnified your name this day, that your praise will not retire from the mouth of men, who will be mindful of the power of the Lord forever, because you have risked your life for the sake of the distress and tribulation of your people, and you have prevented our ruin before the sight of our God.”

26 And all the people said: “Amen. Amen.”

27 And so, Achior was called, and he drew near, and Judith said to him: “The God of Israel, to whom you gave testimony, has avenged himself on his enemies. He has cut down the head of all unbelievers, by my hand this night.

28 And, so that you may determine that this is so, behold, the head of Holofernes, who, in the contempt of his pride, despised the God of Israel and threatened Israel with ruin, saying, ‘When the people of Israel have been captured, I will instruct your sides to be pierced through with a sword.’ ”

29 Then Achior, seeing the head of Holofernes, and being distressed by fear, fell upon his face on the ground, and his soul became agitated.

30 In truth, after this, when he had recovered his breath, he fell down before her feet, and he showed reverence for her, and he said:

31 “Blessed are you by your God, in every tabernacle of Jacob, for in every nation that will hear of your name, the God of Israel will be magnified over you.”

1 Then Judith said to all the people: “Hear me, brothers. Suspend this head over our walls.

2 And, as soon as the sun rises, let everyone take up his weapons and go out to attack, not going down all the way, but only to seem as if making an assault.

3 Then the scouts will have to hurry to awaken their leader for the fight.

4 And when their commanders rush into the tabernacle of Holofernes, and they find his headless body wallowing in his blood, fear will fall over them.

5 And when you realize that they are fleeing, go after them in security, for the Lord will crush them under your feet.”

6 Then Achior, seeing the power that the God of Israel had wrought, left behind the rituals of the Gentiles. He believed in God, and he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, and he was placed among the people of Israel, and so were all the succession of his kindred, even until this present day.

7 And soon, at the rising of day, they suspended the head of Holofernes above the walls, and every man took up his weapons, and they went out with a great uproar and howling.

8 When the scouts saw this, they rushed to the tent of Holofernes.

9 Moreover, those who were in the tent came and made a loud noise before the entrance to the bedchamber, hoping to awaken him by an attempt at skillful noise-making, not by intruding on him, so that Holofernes might be roused from sleep.

10 For no one dared to knock, or to open and enter, the bedchamber of the powerful leader of the Assyrians.

11 But when his commanders and tribunes had arrived, with all the chiefs of the army of the king of the Assyrians, they said to the chamberlains:

12 “Enter and awaken him, for the mice have come out of their holes, intending to challenge us to fight.”

13 Then Vagao, entering his bedchamber, stood before the curtain, and he made a clapping noise with his hands. For he suspected that he was sleeping with Judith.

14 But when, with attentiveness, he perceived no motion of anyone reclining, he approached the curtain. And lifting it up, he saw the dead body of Holofernes, without a head, lying on the ground, soaked in his own blood. He cried out with a loud voice and weeping, and he tore his garments.

15 And he entered the tent of Judith and did not find her. And he ran out to the people,

16 and he said: “One Hebrew woman has caused confusion in the house of Nebuchadnezzar the king. For behold, Holofernes lies on the ground, and his head is not with him.”

17 Now when the leaders of the army of the Assyrians had heard this, they all tore their garments, and an intolerable fear and trembling fell over them, and their minds were greatly disturbed.

18 And there was an unprecedented outcry in the midst of their camp.

1 And when the entire army had heard that Holofernes was beheaded, reason and resolution fled from them, and, being moved by trembling and fear alone, they thought only to flee to safety.

2 So then, no one spoke with his neighbor, but hanging their heads and leaving everything behind, they hurried to escape from the Hebrews, who, as they had heard, were advancing against them well-armed. And they fled through the ways of the fields and the paths of the hills.

3 And so, the sons of Israel, seeing them fleeing, pursued them. And they went down after them, sounding the trumpets and howling.

4 And, since the Assyrians were not united, they rushed headlong in their flight. But the sons of Israel, pursuing like one unit, struck down all they were able to find.

5 And so, Uzziah sent messengers through all the cities and regions of Israel.

6 And then, every region and every city sent their chosen young men with weapons after them, and they pursued them with the edge of the sword, until they passed through to the extremities of their borders.

7 But the remainder, who were in Bethulia, entered the camp of the Assyrians and took away the plunder that the Assyrians, in their flight, had left behind, and they were exceedingly burdened.

8 In truth, those who returned victorious to Bethulia brought with them everything that was theirs. So there was no numbering their cattle, and beasts, and everything they could carry, so much so that, from the least to the greatest, all were made rich by their spoils.

9 But Joachim, the high priest, came from Jerusalem to Bethulia with all his elders to see Judith.

10 And when she had gone out to him, they all blessed her with one voice, saying: “You are the glory of Jerusalem, you are the joy of Israel, you are the honor of our people.

11 For you have acted manfully, and your heart has been strengthened. For you loved chastity, and, after your husband, you have not known any other. Therefore, also the hand of the Lord has strengthened you, and, therefore, you will be blessed for all eternity.”

12 And all the people said: “Amen. Amen.”

13 But all of thirty days were scarcely enough for the people of Israel to collect the spoils of the Assyrians.

14 But moreover, all of those things that were clearly the particular possessions of Holofernes they gave to Judith: with gold, and silver, and garments, and gems, and furniture. And these were all delivered to her by the people.

15 And all the people rejoiced, with the women, and the virgins, and the young men, playing on wind instruments and stringed instruments.

1 Then Judith sang this canticle to the Lord, saying:

2 “Call to the Lord with drums, sing to the Lord with cymbals, play for him a new psalm, exalt and invoke his name.

3 The Lord crushes wars; the Lord is his name.

4 He has set up his camp in the midst of his people, to rescue us from the hand of all our enemies.

5 Assur came from the mountains, from the North, with the multitude of his strength. His multitude blockaded the torrents, and their horses covered the valleys.

6 He told himself that he would set fire to my borders, and kill my young men with the sword, to give my children into plunder and my virgins into captivity.

7 But the almighty Lord has harmed him, and he has delivered him into the hands of a woman, and he has pierced him through.

8 For their powerful one did not fall by young men, nor did the sons of Titan strike him, nor did lofty giants set themselves against him, but Judith, the daughter of Merari, dissolved him with the splendor of her face.

9 For she put away from herself the garments of widowhood, and she clothed herself with the garments of rejoicing, for the sake of the exultation of the sons of Israel.

10 She anointed her face with ointment, and she gathered the locks of her hair with a headdress; she accepted a new dress in order to deceive him.

11 Her sandals ravished his eyes; her beauty made his soul her captive; with a blade, she cut off his head.

12 The Persians were horrified at her constancy, and the Medes at her boldness.

13 Then the camp of the Assyrians howled, when my humble ones appeared, parched with thirst.

14 The sons of the servant girls have pierced them through, and, like fleeing servants, they have killed them. They perished in battle before the face of the Lord, my God.

15 Let us sing a canticle to the Lord; let us sing a new hymn to our God.

16 O Adonai, O Lord, you are great, and splendor is in your virtue, and no one is able to overcome you.

17 Let all your creatures serve you. For you spoke, and they became. You sent forth your Spirit, and they were created. And there is no one who can withstand your voice.

18 The mountains will be moved from the foundations by the waters. The rocks, like wax, will liquefy before your face.

19 But those who fear you will be great with you, throughout all things.

20 Woe to the people that rises up against my people. For the Lord almighty will be vindicated against them; in the day of judgment, he will visit them.

21 For he will bestow fire and worms on their flesh, so that they may burn and have sensations without ceasing.”

22 And it happened that, after these things, all the people came to Jerusalem after the victory, to adore the Lord. And as soon as they were purified, they all offered holocausts, and vows, and their promises.

23 Moreover, Judith offered all the implements of war from Holofernes, which the people gave to her, and the canopy that she had taken away from his chamber, as an anathema unto oblivion.

24 But the people were cheerful before the face of the sanctuary, and for three months the gladness of this victory was celebrated with Judith.

25 And after those days, each one returned to his own house, and Judith became great in Bethulia, and she had great splendor in all the land of Israel.

26 For chastity was one with her virtue, so that she did not know man all the days of her life, after the passing away of her husband, Manasseh.

27 And then, on feast days, she came forth with great glory.

28 But she remained in her husband’s house for one hundred and five years, and she set her handmaid free. And she passed away and was buried with her husband in Bethulia.

29 And all the people mourned her, for seven days.

30 And, during all the time of her life, there was no one who disturbed Israel, nor for many years after her death.

31 Moreover, the day of the festivity of this victory was accepted by the Hebrews in the numbering of holy days, and it was religiously observed by the Jews, from that time, even to the present day.