Judith 6

¹And it came to pass when they had ceased to speak, Holofernes being sore offended, said to Achior:

²Because thou hast prophesied unto us saying, that the nation of Israel is defended of their God, that I may shew thee that there is no God but Nabuchodonosor,

³when we shall have struck them all as one man, then thyself with them shalt die by the sword of the Assyrians, & all Israel with thee shall perish by destruction:

⁴and thou shalt prove that Nabuchodonosor is Lord of the whole earth: and then the sword of my warfare shall pass through thy sides, & pierced thou shalt fall among the wounded of Israel, & thou shalt no more fetch breath, till thou be destroyed with them.

⁵But if thou think thy prophecy true, let not thy countenance quail, and the paleness that is in thy face, let it depart from thee, if thou think these my words cannot be accomplished.

⁶And that thou mayst know that thou shalt prove these things together with them, behold from this hour thou shalt be associate to their people, that whiles they shall receive worthy punishment of my sword, thou withal may be subject to the vengeance.

⁷Then Holofernes commanded his servants that they should take Achior, and lead him into Bethulia, & should deliver him into the hands of the children of Israel.

⁸And the servants of Holofernes taking him, went through the champion: but when they came near the mountains, the slingers came forth against them.

⁹And they returning out of the way by the side of the mountain, tied Achior to a tree hand and foot, and so left him bound with withes, and returned to their lord.

¹⁰Moreover the children of Israel descending from Bethulia, came to him. Whom loosing they brought to Bethulia, and setting him in the midst of the people, demanded what was the matter, that the Assyrians had left him bound.

¹¹In those days the Princes there, were Ozias the son of Micha of the tribe of Simeon, and Charmi, who also is Gothoniel.

¹²In the midst therefore of the ancients, and in the sight of all, Achior told all things that he had spoken being asked of Holofernes: and how the people of Holofernes would have killed him for this word,

¹³and how Holofernes himself being angry commanded him to be delivered for this cause to the Israelites: that when he should overcome the children of Israel, then he might command Achior also himself to die by diverse torments, for this that he had said: The God of heaven is their defender.

¹⁴And when Achior had declared all these things, all the people fell on their face, adoring our Lord, and with common lamentation and weeping they poured out their prayers with one accord to our Lord,

¹⁵saying: Lord God of heaven and earth, behold their pride, and have regard to our humility, and attend the face of thy saints, and shew that thou forsakest not them that presume of thee, and that thou humblest them that presume of themselves, and glory of their power.

¹⁶Their weeping therefore being ended, and the people's prayer by the whole day being finished, they comforted Achior,

¹⁷saying: The God of our fathers, whose power thou hast set forth, he will give thee this recompense, that thou rather shalt see their destruction.

¹⁸And when the Lord our God shall give this liberty to his servants, be God with thee also in the midst of us: that as it shall please thee, so thou with all thine mayst converse with us.

¹⁹Then Ozias, the counsel being ended, received him into his house, and made him a great supper.

²⁰And all the ancients being called, they refreshed themselves together after the fasting was ended.

²¹But afterward all the people was called together, & all the night long within the Church, they prayed desiring help of the God of Israel.