her company; for if we don’t draw her to ourselves, she will laugh us to scorn.”
13 Bagoas went from the presence of Holofernes, and came in to her, and said, “Let this fair lady not fear to come to my lord, and to be honoured in his presence, and to drink wine and be merry with us, and to be made this day as one of the daughters of the children of Asshur who serve in Nebuchadnezzar’s palace.”
14 Judith said to him, “Who am I, that I should contradict my lord? For whatever would be pleasing in his eyes, I will do speedily, and this will be my joy to the day of my death.” 15 She arose, and decked herself with her apparel and all her woman’s attire; and her servant went and laid fleeces on the ground for her next to Holofernes, which she had received from Bagoas for her daily use, that she might sit and eat upon them.
16 Judith came in and sat down, and Holofernes’ heart was ravished with her. His passion was aroused, and he exceedingly desired her company. He was watching for a time to deceive her from the day that he had seen her. 17 Holofernes said to her, “Drink now, and be merry with us.”
18 Judith said, “I will drink now, my lord, because my life is magnified in me this day more than all the days since I was born.” 19 Then she took and ate and drank before him what her servant had prepared. 20 Holofernes took great delight in her, and drank exceedingly much wine, more than he had drunk at any time in one day since he was born.
13
1 But when the evening had come, his servants hurried to depart. Bagoas shut the tent outside, and dismissed those who waited from the presence of his lord. They went away to their beds; for they were all weary, because the feast had been long. 2 But Judith was left alone in the tent, with Holofernes lying along upon his bed; for he was drunk with wine. 3 Judith had said to her servant that she should stand outside her bedchamber, and wait for her to come out, as she did daily; for she said she would go out to her prayer. She spoke to Bagoas according to the same words. 4 All went away from her presence, and none was left in the bedchamber, small or great. Judith, standing by his bed, said in her heart, O Lord God of all power, look in this hour upon the works of my hands for the exaltation of Jerusalem. 5 For now is the time to help your inheritance, and to do the thing that I have purposed to the destruction of the enemies which have risen up against us. 6 She came to the bedpost which was at Holofernes’ head, and took down his sword from there. 7 She drew near to the bed, took hold of the hair of his head, and said, “Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel, this day.” 8 She struck twice upon his neck with all her might and cut off his head, 9 tumbled his body down from the bed, and took down the canopy from the posts. After a little while she went out, and gave Holofernes’ head to her maid; 10 and she put it in her bag of food. They both went out together to prayer, according to their custom. They passed through the camp, circled around that valley, and went up to the mountain of Bethulia, and came to its gates.
11 Judith said afar off to the watchmen at the gates, “Open, open the gate, now. God is with us, even our God, to show his power yet in Israel, and his might against the enemy, as he has done even this day.”
12 It came to pass, when the men of her city heard her voice, they made haste to go down to the gate of their city, and they called together the elders of the city. 13 They all ran together, both small and great, for it seemed unbelievable to them that she had come. They opened the gate and received them, making a fire to give light, and surrounded them. 14 She said to them with a loud voice, “Praise God! Praise him! Praise God, who has not taken away his mercy from the house of Israel, but has destroyed our enemies by my hand tonight!”
15 Then she took the head out of the bag and showed it, and said to them, “Behold, the head of Holofernes, the chief captain of the army of Asshur, and behold, the canopy under which he laid in his drunkenness. The Lord struck him by the hand of a woman. 16 And as the Lord lives, who preserved me in my way that I went, my countenance deceived him to his destruction, and he didn’t commit sin with me, to defile and shame me.”
17 All the people were exceedingly amazed, and bowed themselves, and worshipped God, and said with one accord, “Blessed are you, O our God, who have this day humiliated the enemies of your people.”
18 Ozias said to her, “Blessed are you, daughter, in the sight of the Most High God, above all the women upon the earth; and blessed is the Lord God, who created the heavens and the earth, who directed you to cut off the head of the prince of our enemies. 19 For your hope will not depart from the heart of men that remember the strength of God forever. 20 May God turn these things to you for a perpetual praise, to visit you with good things, because you didn’t spare your life by reason of the affliction of our race, but prevented our ruin, walking a straight way before our God.”
And all the people said, “Amen! Amen!”
14
1 Judith said to them, “Hear me now, my kindred, and take this head, and hang it upon the battlement of your wall. 2 It will be, so soon as the morning appears, and the sun comes up on the earth, you shall each take up his weapons of war, and every valiant man of you go out of the city. You shall set a captain over them, as though you would go down to the plain towards the watch of the children of Asshur; but you men shall not go down. 3 These will take up their full armour, and shall go into their camp and rouse up the captains of the army of Asshur. They will run together to Holofernes’ tent. They won’t find him. Fear will fall upon them, and they will flee before your face. 4 You men, and all that inhabit every border of Israel, shall pursue them and overthrow them as they go. 5 But before you do these things, summon Achior the Ammonite to me, that he may see and know him that despised the house of Israel, and that sent him to us, as it were to death.
6 And they called Achior out of the house of Ozias; but when he came, and saw the head of Holofernes in a man’s hand in the assembly of the people, he fell upon his face, and his spirit failed. 7 But when they had recovered him,† he fell at Judith’s feet, bowed down to her, and said, “Blessed are you in every tent of Judah! In every nation, those who hear your name will be troubled. 8 Now tell me all the things that you have done in these days.”
And Judith declared to him in the midst of the people all the things that she had done, from the day that she went out until the time that she spoke to them. 9 But when she finished speaking, the people shouted with a loud voice, and made a joyful noise in their city. 10 But when Achior saw all the things that the God of Israel had done, he believed in God exceedingly, and circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, and was joined to the house of Israel, to this day.
11 But as soon as the morning arose, they hanged the head of Holofernes upon the wall, and every man took up his weapons, and they went forth by bands to the ascents of the mountain. 12 But when the children of Asshur saw them, they sent word to their leaders, and they went to their captains and tribunes, and to every one of their rulers. 13 They came to Holofernes’ tent, and said to him that was over all that he had, “Wake our lord up, now, for the slaves have been bold to come down against us to battle, that they may be utterly destroyed.”
14 Bagoas went in, and knocked at the outer door of the tent; for he supposed that Holofernes was sleeping with Judith. 15 But when no one answered, he opened it, went into the bedchamber, and found him cast upon the threshold dead; and his head had been taken from him. 16 He cried with a loud voice, with weeping, groaning, and shouting, and tore his garments. 17 He entered into the tent where Judith lodged, and he didn’t find her. He leapt out to the people, and cried aloud, 18 “The slaves have dealt treacherously! One woman of the Hebrews has brought shame upon the house of King Nebuchadnezzar; for, behold, Holofernes lies upon the ground, and his head is not on him!”
19 But when the rulers of the army of Asshur heard