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#Post#: 13381--------------------------------------------------
THE BOOK OF JUDITH
By: patrick jane Date: May 24, 2020, 12:21 pm
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Judith 1 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Arphaxad Fortifies Ecbatana
1 It was the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who
ruled over the Assyrians in the great city of Nineveh. In those
days Arphaxad ruled over the Medes in Ecbatana. 2 He built walls
around Ecbatana with hewn stones three cubits thick and six
cubits long; he made the walls seventy cubits high and fifty
cubits wide. 3 At its gates he raised towers one hundred cubits
high and sixty cubits wide at the foundations. 4 He made its
gates seventy cubits high and forty cubits wide to allow his
armies to march out in force and his infantry to form their
ranks. 5 Then King Nebuchadnezzar made war against King Arphaxad
in the great plain that is on the borders of Ragau. 6 There
rallied to him all the people of the hill country and all those
who lived along the Euphrates, the Tigris, and the Hydaspes,
and, on the plain, Arioch, king of the Elymeans. Thus, many
nations joined the forces of the Chaldeans.[a]
Nebuchadnezzar Issues Ultimatum
7 Then Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, sent messengers to
all who lived in Persia and to all who lived in the west, those
who lived in Cilicia and Damascus, Lebanon and Antilebanon, and
all who lived along the seacoast, 8 and those among the nations
of Carmel and Gilead, and Upper Galilee and the great plain of
Esdraelon, 9 and all who were in Samaria and its towns, and
beyond the Jordan as far as Jerusalem and Bethany and Chelous
and Kadesh and the river of Egypt, and Tahpanhes and Raamses and
the whole land of Goshen, 10 even beyond Tanis and Memphis, and
all who lived in Egypt as far as the borders of Ethiopia. 11 But
all who lived in the whole region disregarded the summons of
Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, and refused to join him
in the war; for they were not afraid of him, but regarded him as
only one man.[b] So they sent back his messengers empty-handed
and in disgrace.
12 Then Nebuchadnezzar became very angry with this whole region,
and swore by his throne and kingdom that he would take revenge
on the whole territory of Cilicia and Damascus and Syria, that
he would kill with his sword also all the inhabitants of the
land of Moab, and the people of Ammon, and all Judea, and every
one in Egypt, as far as the coasts of the two seas.
Arphaxad Is Defeated
13 In the seventeenth year he led his forces against King
Arphaxad and defeated him in battle, overthrowing the whole army
of Arphaxad and all his cavalry and all his chariots. 14 Thus he
took possession of his towns and came to Ecbatana, captured its
towers, plundered its markets, and turned its glory into
disgrace. 15 He captured Arphaxad in the mountains of Ragau and
struck him down with his spears, thus destroying him once and
for all. 16 Then he returned to Nineveh, he and all his combined
forces, a vast body of troops; and there he and his forces
rested and feasted for one hundred twenty days.
Footnotes:
Judith 1:6 Syr: Gk Cheleoudites
Judith 1:11 Or a man
#Post#: 13382--------------------------------------------------
Re: JUDITH
By: patrick jane Date: May 24, 2020, 12:22 pm
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Judith 2 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
The Expedition against the West
2 In the eighteenth year, on the twenty-second day of the first
month, there was talk in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, king of
the Assyrians, about carrying out his revenge on the whole
region, just as he had said. 2 He summoned all his ministers and
all his nobles and set before them his secret plan and recounted
fully, with his own lips, all the wickedness of the region.[a] 3
They decided that every one who had not obeyed his command
should be destroyed.
4 When he had completed his plan, Nebuchadnezzar, king of the
Assyrians, called Holofernes, the chief general of his army,
second only to himself, and said to him, 5 “Thus says the Great
King, the lord of the whole earth: Leave my presence and take
with you men confident in their strength, one hundred twenty
thousand foot soldiers and twelve thousand cavalry. 6 March out
against all the land to the west, because they disobeyed my
orders. 7 Tell them to prepare earth and water, for I am coming
against them in my anger, and will cover the whole face of the
earth with the feet of my troops, to whom I will hand them over
to be plundered. 8 Their wounded shall fill their ravines and
gullies, and the swelling river shall be filled with their dead.
9 I will lead them away captive to the ends of the whole earth.
10 You shall go and seize all their territory for me in advance.
They must yield themselves to you, and you shall hold them for
me until the day of their punishment. 11 But to those who resist
show no mercy, but hand them over to slaughter and plunder
throughout your whole region. 12 For as I live, and by the power
of my kingdom, what I have spoken I will accomplish by my own
hand. 13 And you—take care not to transgress any of your lord’s
commands, but carry them out exactly as I have ordered you; do
it without delay.”
Campaign of Holofernes
14 So Holofernes left the presence of his lord, and summoned all
the commanders, generals, and officers of the Assyrian army. 15
He mustered the picked troops by divisions as his lord had
ordered him to do, one hundred twenty thousand of them, together
with twelve thousand archers on horseback, 16 and he organized
them as a great army is marshaled for a campaign. 17 He took
along a vast number of camels and donkeys and mules for
transport, and innumerable sheep and oxen and goats for food; 18
also ample rations for everyone, and a huge amount of gold and
silver from the royal palace.
19 Then he set out with his whole army, to go ahead of King
Nebuchadnezzar and to cover the whole face of the earth to the
west with their chariots and cavalry and picked foot soldiers.
20 Along with them went a mixed crowd like a swarm of locusts,
like the dust[b] of the earth—a multitude that could not be
counted.
21 They marched for three days from Nineveh to the plain of
Bectileth, and camped opposite Bectileth near the mountain that
is to the north of Upper Cilicia. 22 From there Holofernes[c]
took his whole army, the infantry, cavalry, and chariots, and
went up into the hill country. 23 He ravaged Put and Lud, and
plundered all the Rassisites and the Ishmaelites on the border
of the desert, south of the country of the Chelleans. 24 Then he
followed[d] the Euphrates and passed through Mesopotamia and
destroyed all the fortified towns along the brook Abron, as far
as the sea. 25 He also seized the territory of Cilicia, and
killed everyone who resisted him. Then he came to the southern
borders of Japheth, facing Arabia. 26 He surrounded all the
Midianites, and burned their tents and plundered their
sheepfolds. 27 Then he went down into the plain of Damascus
during the wheat harvest, and burned all their fields and
destroyed their flocks and herds and sacked their towns and
ravaged their lands and put all their young men to the sword.
28 So fear and dread of him fell upon all the people who lived
along the seacoast, at Sidon and Tyre, and those who lived in
Sur and Ocina and all who lived in Jamnia. Those who lived in
Azotus and Ascalon feared him greatly.
Footnotes:
Judith 2:2 Meaning of Gk uncertain
Judith 2:20 Gk sand
Judith 2:22 Gk he
Judith 2:24 Or crossed
#Post#: 13383--------------------------------------------------
Re: JUDITH
By: patrick jane Date: May 24, 2020, 12:23 pm
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Judith 3 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Entreaties for Peace
3 They therefore sent messengers to him to sue for peace in
these words: 2 “We, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar, the Great
King, lie prostrate before you. Do with us whatever you will. 3
See, our buildings and all our land and all our wheat fields and
our flocks and herds and all our encampments[a] lie before you;
do with them as you please. 4 Our towns and their inhabitants
are also your slaves; come and deal with them as you see fit.”
5 The men came to Holofernes and told him all this. 6 Then he
went down to the seacoast with his army and stationed garrisons
in the fortified towns and took picked men from them as
auxiliaries. 7 These people and all in the countryside welcomed
him with garlands and dances and tambourines. 8 Yet he
demolished all their shrines[b] and cut down their sacred
groves; for he had been commissioned to destroy all the gods of
the land, so that all nations should worship Nebuchadnezzar
alone, and that all their dialects and tribes should call upon
him as a god.
9 Then he came toward Esdraelon, near Dothan, facing the great
ridge of Judea; 10 he camped between Geba and Scythopolis, and
remained for a whole month in order to collect all the supplies
for his army.
Footnotes:
Judith 3:3 Gk all the sheepfolds of our tents
Judith 3:8 Syr: Gk borders
#Post#: 13384--------------------------------------------------
Re: JUDITH
By: patrick jane Date: May 24, 2020, 12:24 pm
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Judith 4 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Judea on the Alert
4 When the Israelites living in Judea heard of everything that
Holofernes, the general of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the
Assyrians, had done to the nations, and how he had plundered and
destroyed all their temples, 2 they were therefore greatly
terrified at his approach; they were alarmed both for Jerusalem
and for the temple of the Lord their God. 3 For they had only
recently returned from exile, and all the people of Judea had
just now gathered together, and the sacred vessels and the altar
and the temple had been consecrated after their profanation. 4
So they sent word to every district of Samaria, and to Kona,
Beth-horon, Belmain, and Jericho, and to Choba and Aesora, and
the valley of Salem. 5 They immediately seized all the high
hilltops and fortified the villages on them and stored up food
in preparation for war—since their fields had recently been
harvested.
6 The high priest, Joakim, who was in Jerusalem at the time,
wrote to the people of Bethulia and Betomesthaim, which faces
Esdraelon opposite the plain near Dothan, 7 ordering them to
seize the mountain passes, since by them Judea could be invaded;
and it would be easy to stop any who tried to enter, for the
approach was narrow, wide enough for only two at a time to pass.
Prayer and Penance
8 So the Israelites did as they had been ordered by the high
priest Joakim and the senate of the whole people of Israel, in
session at Jerusalem. 9 And every man of Israel cried out to God
with great fervor, and they humbled themselves with much
fasting. 10 They and their wives and their children and their
cattle and every resident alien and hired laborer and purchased
slave—they all put sackcloth around their waists. 11 And all the
Israelite men, women, and children living at Jerusalem
prostrated themselves before the temple and put ashes on their
heads and spread out their sackcloth before the Lord. 12 They
even draped the altar with sackcloth and cried out in unison,
praying fervently to the God of Israel not to allow their
infants to be carried off and their wives to be taken as booty,
and the towns they had inherited to be destroyed, and the
sanctuary to be profaned and desecrated to the malicious joy of
the Gentiles.
13 The Lord heard their prayers and had regard for their
distress; for the people fasted many days throughout Judea and
in Jerusalem before the sanctuary of the Lord Almighty. 14 The
high priest Joakim and all the priests who stood before the Lord
and ministered to the Lord, with sackcloth around their loins,
offered the daily burnt offerings, the votive offerings, and
freewill offerings of the people. 15 With ashes on their
turbans, they cried out to the Lord with all their might to look
with favor on the whole house of Israel.
#Post#: 13385--------------------------------------------------
Re: JUDITH
By: patrick jane Date: May 24, 2020, 12:25 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Judith 5 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Council against the Israelites
5 It was reported to Holofernes, the general of the Assyrian
army, that the people of Israel had prepared for war and had
closed the mountain passes and fortified all the high hilltops
and set up barricades in the plains. 2 In great anger he called
together all the princes of Moab and the commanders of Ammon and
all the governors of the coastland, 3 and said to them, “Tell
me, you Canaanites, what people is this that lives in the hill
country? What towns do they inhabit? How large is their army,
and in what does their power and strength consist? Who rules
over them as king and leads their army? 4 And why have they
alone, of all who live in the west, refused to come out and meet
me?”
Achior’s Report
5 Then Achior, the leader of all the Ammonites, said to him,
“May my lord please listen to a report from the mouth of your
servant, and I will tell you the truth about this people that
lives in the mountain district near you. No falsehood shall come
from your servant’s mouth. 6 These people are descended from the
Chaldeans. 7 At one time they lived in Mesopotamia, because they
did not wish to follow the gods of their ancestors who were in
Chaldea. 8 Since they had abandoned the ways of their ancestors,
and worshiped the God of heaven, the God they had come to know,
their ancestors[a] drove them out from the presence of their
gods. So they fled to Mesopotamia, and lived there for a long
time. 9 Then their God commanded them to leave the place where
they were living and go to the land of Canaan. There they
settled, and grew very prosperous in gold and silver and very
much livestock. 10 When a famine spread over the land of Canaan
they went down to Egypt and lived there as long as they had
food. There they became so great a multitude that their race
could not be counted. 11 So the king of Egypt became hostile to
them; he exploited them and forced them to make bricks. 12 They
cried out to their God, and he afflicted the whole land of Egypt
with incurable plagues. So the Egyptians drove them out of their
sight. 13 Then God dried up the Red Sea before them, 14 and he
led them by the way of Sinai and Kadesh-barnea. They drove out
all the people of the desert, 15 and took up residence in the
land of the Amorites, and by their might destroyed all the
inhabitants of Heshbon; and crossing over the Jordan they took
possession of all the hill country. 16 They drove out before
them the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the
Shechemites, and all the Gergesites, and lived there a long
time.
17 “As long as they did not sin against their God they
prospered, for the God who hates iniquity is with them. 18 But
when they departed from the way he had prescribed for them, they
were utterly defeated in many battles and were led away captive
to a foreign land. The temple of their God was razed to the
ground, and their towns were occupied by their enemies. 19 But
now they have returned to their God, and have come back from the
places where they were scattered, and have occupied Jerusalem,
where their sanctuary is, and have settled in the hill country,
because it was uninhabited.
20 “So now, my master and lord, if there is any oversight in
this people and they sin against their God and we find out their
offense, then we can go up and defeat them. 21 But if they are
not a guilty nation, then let my lord pass them by; for their
Lord and God will defend them, and we shall become the
laughingstock of the whole world.”
22 When Achior had finished saying these things, all the people
standing around the tent began to complain; Holofernes’ officers
and all the inhabitants of the seacoast and Moab insisted that
he should be cut to pieces. 23 They said, “We are not afraid of
the Israelites; they are a people with no strength or power for
making war. 24 Therefore let us go ahead, Lord Holofernes, and
your vast army will swallow them up.”
Footnotes:
Judith 5:8 Gk they
#Post#: 13386--------------------------------------------------
Re: JUDITH
By: patrick jane Date: May 24, 2020, 12:26 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Judith 6 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Achior Handed over to the Israelites
6 When the disturbance made by the people outside the council
had died down, Holofernes, the commander of the Assyrian army,
said to Achior[a] in the presence of all the foreign
contingents:
2 “Who are you, Achior and you mercenaries of Ephraim, to
prophesy among us as you have done today and tell us not to make
war against the people of Israel because their God will defend
them? What god is there except Nebuchadnezzar? He will send his
forces and destroy them from the face of the earth. Their God
will not save them; 3 we the king’s[b] servants will destroy
them as one man. They cannot resist the might of our cavalry. 4
We will overwhelm them;[c] their mountains will be drunk with
their blood, and their fields will be full of their dead. Not
even their footprints will survive our attack; they will utterly
perish. So says King Nebuchadnezzar, lord of the whole earth.
For he has spoken; none of his words shall be in vain.
5 “As for you, Achior, you Ammonite mercenary, you have said
these words in a moment of perversity; you shall not see my face
again from this day until I take revenge on this race that came
out of Egypt. 6 Then at my return the sword of my army and the
spear[d] of my servants shall pierce your sides, and you shall
fall among their wounded. 7 Now my slaves are going to take you
back into the hill country and put you in one of the towns
beside the passes. 8 You will not die until you perish along
with them. 9 If you really hope in your heart that they will not
be taken, then do not look downcast! I have spoken, and none of
my words shall fail to come true.”
10 Then Holofernes ordered his slaves, who waited on him in his
tent, to seize Achior and take him away to Bethulia and hand him
over to the Israelites. 11 So the slaves took him and led him
out of the camp into the plain, and from the plain they went up
into the hill country and came to the springs below Bethulia. 12
When the men of the town saw them,[e] they seized their weapons
and ran out of the town to the top of the hill, and all the
slingers kept them from coming up by throwing stones at them. 13
So having taken shelter below the hill, they bound Achior and
left him lying at the foot of the hill, and returned to their
master.
14 Then the Israelites came down from their town and found him;
they untied him and brought him into Bethulia and placed him
before the magistrates of their town, 15 who in those days were
Uzziah son of Micah, of the tribe of Simeon, and Chabris son of
Gothoniel, and Charmis son of Melchiel. 16 They called together
all the elders of the town, and all their young men and women
ran to the assembly. They set Achior in the midst of all their
people, and Uzziah questioned him about what had happened. 17 He
answered and told them what had taken place at the council of
Holofernes, and all that he had said in the presence of the
Assyrian leaders, and all that Holofernes had boasted he would
do against the house of Israel. 18 Then the people fell down and
worshiped God, and cried out:
19 “O Lord God of heaven, see their arrogance, and have pity on
our people in their humiliation, and look kindly today on the
faces of those who are consecrated to you.”
20 Then they reassured Achior, and praised him highly. 21 Uzziah
took him from the assembly to his own house and gave a banquet
for the elders; and all that night they called on the God of
Israel for help.
Footnotes:
Judith 6:1 Other ancient authorities add and to all the Moabites
Judith 6:3 Gk his
Judith 6:4 Other ancient authorities add with it
Judith 6:6 Lat Syr: Gk people
Judith 6:12 Other ancient authorities add on the top of the hill
#Post#: 13387--------------------------------------------------
Re: JUDITH
By: patrick jane Date: May 24, 2020, 12:26 pm
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Judith 7 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
The Campaign against Bethulia
7 The next day Holofernes ordered his whole army, and all the
allies who had joined him, to break camp and move against
Bethulia, and to seize the passes up into the hill country and
make war on the Israelites. 2 So all their warriors marched off
that day; their fighting forces numbered one hundred seventy
thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry, not counting the
baggage and the foot soldiers handling it, a very great
multitude. 3 They encamped in the valley near Bethulia, beside
the spring, and they spread out in breadth over Dothan as far as
Balbaim and in length from Bethulia to Cyamon, which faces
Esdraelon.
4 When the Israelites saw their vast numbers, they were greatly
terrified and said to one another, “They will now strip clean
the whole land; neither the high mountains nor the valleys nor
the hills will bear their weight.” 5 Yet they all seized their
weapons, and when they had kindled fires on their towers, they
remained on guard all that night.
6 On the second day Holofernes led out all his cavalry in full
view of the Israelites in Bethulia. 7 He reconnoitered the
approaches to their town, and visited the springs that supplied
their water; he seized them and set guards of soldiers over
them, and then returned to his army.
8 Then all the chieftains of the Edomites and all the leaders of
the Moabites and the commanders of the coastland came to him and
said, 9 “Listen to what we have to say, my lord, and your army
will suffer no losses. 10 This people, the Israelites, do not
rely on their spears but on the height of the mountains where
they live, for it is not easy to reach the tops of their
mountains. 11 Therefore, my lord, do not fight against them in
regular formation, and not a man of your army will fall. 12
Remain in your camp, and keep all the men in your forces with
you; let your servants take possession of the spring of water
that flows from the foot of the mountain, 13 for this is where
all the people of Bethulia get their water. So thirst will
destroy them, and they will surrender their town. Meanwhile, we
and our people will go up to the tops of the nearby mountains
and camp there to keep watch to see that no one gets out of the
town. 14 They and their wives and children will waste away with
famine, and before the sword reaches them they will be strewn
about in the streets where they live. 15 Thus you will pay them
back with evil, because they rebelled and did not receive you
peaceably.”
16 These words pleased Holofernes and all his attendants, and he
gave orders to do as they had said. 17 So the army of the
Ammonites moved forward, together with five thousand Assyrians,
and they encamped in the valley and seized the water supply and
the springs of the Israelites. 18 And the Edomites and Ammonites
went up and encamped in the hill country opposite Dothan; and
they sent some of their men toward the south and the east,
toward Egrebeh, which is near Chusi beside the Wadi Mochmur. The
rest of the Assyrian army encamped in the plain, and covered the
whole face of the land. Their tents and supply trains spread out
in great number, and they formed a vast multitude.
The Distress of the Israelites
19 The Israelites then cried out to the Lord their God, for
their courage failed, because all their enemies had surrounded
them, and there was no way of escape from them. 20 The whole
Assyrian army, their infantry, chariots, and cavalry, surrounded
them for thirty-four days, until all the water containers of
every inhabitant of Bethulia were empty; 21 their cisterns were
going dry, and on no day did they have enough water to drink,
for their drinking water was rationed. 22 Their children were
listless, and the women and young men fainted from thirst and
were collapsing in the streets of the town and in the gateways;
they no longer had any strength.
23 Then all the people, the young men, the women, and the
children, gathered around Uzziah and the rulers of the town and
cried out with a loud voice, and said before all the elders, 24
“Let God judge between you and us! You have done us a great
injury in not making peace with the Assyrians. 25 For now we
have no one to help us; God has sold us into their hands, to be
strewn before them in thirst and exhaustion. 26 Now summon them
and surrender the whole town as booty to the army of Holofernes
and to all his forces. 27 For it would be better for us to be
captured by them.[a] We shall indeed become slaves, but our
lives will be spared, and we shall not witness our little ones
dying before our eyes, and our wives and children drawing their
last breath. 28 We call to witness against you heaven and earth
and our God, the Lord of our ancestors, who punishes us for our
sins and the sins of our ancestors; do today the things that we
have described!”
29 Then great and general lamentation arose throughout the
assembly, and they cried out to the Lord God with a loud voice.
30 But Uzziah said to them, “Courage, my brothers and
sisters![b] Let us hold out for five days more; by that time the
Lord our God will turn his mercy to us again, for he will not
forsake us utterly. 31 But if these days pass by, and no help
comes for us, I will do as you say.”
32 Then he dismissed the people to their various posts, and they
went up on the walls and towers of their town. The women and
children he sent home. In the town they were in great misery.
Footnotes:
Judith 7:27 Other ancient authorities add than to die of thirst
Judith 7:30 Gk Courage, brothers
#Post#: 13388--------------------------------------------------
Re: JUDITH
By: patrick jane Date: May 24, 2020, 12:28 pm
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Judith 8 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
The Character of Judith
8 Now in those days Judith heard about these things: she was the
daughter of Merari son of Ox son of Joseph son of Oziel son of
Elkiah son of Ananias son of Gideon son of Raphain son of Ahitub
son of Elijah son of Hilkiah son of Eliab son of Nathanael son
of Salamiel son of Sarasadai son of Israel. 2 Her husband
Manasseh, who belonged to her tribe and family, had died during
the barley harvest. 3 For as he stood overseeing those who were
binding sheaves in the field, he was overcome by the burning
heat, and took to his bed and died in his town Bethulia. So they
buried him with his ancestors in the field between Dothan and
Balamon. 4 Judith remained as a widow for three years and four
months 5 at home where she set up a tent for herself on the roof
of her house. She put sackcloth around her waist and dressed in
widow’s clothing. 6 She fasted all the days of her widowhood,
except the day before the sabbath and the sabbath itself, the
day before the new moon and the day of the new moon, and the
festivals and days of rejoicing of the house of Israel. 7 She
was beautiful in appearance, and was very lovely to behold. Her
husband Manasseh had left her gold and silver, men and women
slaves, livestock, and fields; and she maintained this estate. 8
No one spoke ill of her, for she feared God with great devotion.
Judith and the Elders
9 When Judith heard the harsh words spoken by the people against
the ruler, because they were faint for lack of water, and when
she heard all that Uzziah said to them, and how he promised them
under oath to surrender the town to the Assyrians after five
days, 10 she sent her maid, who was in charge of all she
possessed, to summon Uzziah and[a] Chabris and Charmis, the
elders of her town. 11 They came to her, and she said to them:
“Listen to me, rulers of the people of Bethulia! What you have
said to the people today is not right; you have even sworn and
pronounced this oath between God and you, promising to surrender
the town to our enemies unless the Lord turns and helps us
within so many days. 12 Who are you to put God to the test
today, and to set yourselves up in the place of[b] God in human
affairs? 13 You are putting the Lord Almighty to the test, but
you will never learn anything! 14 You cannot plumb the depths of
the human heart or understand the workings of the human mind;
how do you expect to search out God, who made all these things,
and find out his mind or comprehend his thought? No, my
brothers, do not anger the Lord our God. 15 For if he does not
choose to help us within these five days, he has power to
protect us within any time he pleases, or even to destroy us in
the presence of our enemies. 16 Do not try to bind the purposes
of the Lord our God; for God is not like a human being, to be
threatened, or like a mere mortal, to be won over by pleading.
17 Therefore, while we wait for his deliverance, let us call
upon him to help us, and he will hear our voice, if it pleases
him.
18 “For never in our generation, nor in these present days, has
there been any tribe or family or people or town of ours that
worships gods made with hands, as was done in days gone by. 19
That was why our ancestors were handed over to the sword and to
pillage, and so they suffered a great catastrophe before our
enemies. 20 But we know no other god but him, and so we hope
that he will not disdain us or any of our nation. 21 For if we
are captured, all Judea will be captured and our sanctuary will
be plundered; and he will make us pay for its desecration with
our blood. 22 The slaughter of our kindred and the captivity of
the land and the desolation of our inheritance—all this he will
bring on our heads among the Gentiles, wherever we serve as
slaves; and we shall be an offense and a disgrace in the eyes of
those who acquire us. 23 For our slavery will not bring us into
favor, but the Lord our God will turn it to dishonor.
24 “Therefore, my brothers, let us set an example for our
kindred, for their lives depend upon us, and the sanctuary—both
the temple and the altar—rests upon us. 25 In spite of
everything let us give thanks to the Lord our God, who is
putting us to the test as he did our ancestors. 26 Remember what
he did with Abraham, and how he tested Isaac, and what happened
to Jacob in Syrian Mesopotamia, while he was tending the sheep
of Laban, his mother’s brother. 27 For he has not tried us with
fire, as he did them, to search their hearts, nor has he taken
vengeance on us; but the Lord scourges those who are close to
him in order to admonish them.”
28 Then Uzziah said to her, “All that you have said was spoken
out of a true heart, and there is no one who can deny your
words. 29 Today is not the first time your wisdom has been
shown, but from the beginning of your life all the people have
recognized your understanding, for your heart’s disposition is
right. 30 But the people were so thirsty that they compelled us
to do for them what we have promised, and made us take an oath
that we cannot break. 31 Now since you are a God-fearing woman,
pray for us, so that the Lord may send us rain to fill our
cisterns. Then we will no longer feel faint from thirst.”
32 Then Judith said to them, “Listen to me. I am about to do
something that will go down through all generations of our
descendants. 33 Stand at the town gate tonight so that I may go
out with my maid; and within the days after which you have
promised to surrender the town to our enemies, the Lord will
deliver Israel by my hand. 34 Only, do not try to find out what
I am doing; for I will not tell you until I have finished what I
am about to do.”
35 Uzziah and the rulers said to her, “Go in peace, and may the
Lord God go before you, to take vengeance on our enemies.” 36 So
they returned from the tent and went to their posts.
Footnotes:
Judith 8:10 Other ancient authorities lack Uzziah and (see
verses 28 and 35)
Judith 8:12 Or above
#Post#: 13389--------------------------------------------------
Re: JUDITH
By: patrick jane Date: May 24, 2020, 12:29 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Judith 9 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
The Prayer of Judith
9 Then Judith prostrated herself, put ashes on her head, and
uncovered the sackcloth she was wearing. At the very time when
the evening incense was being offered in the house of God in
Jerusalem, Judith cried out to the Lord with a loud voice, and
said,
2 “O Lord God of my ancestor Simeon, to whom you gave a sword to
take revenge on those strangers who had torn off a virgin’s
clothing[a] to defile her, and exposed her thighs to put her to
shame, and polluted her womb to disgrace her; for you said, ‘It
shall not be done’—yet they did it; 3 so you gave up their
rulers to be killed, and their bed, which was ashamed of the
deceit they had practiced, was stained with blood, and you
struck down slaves along with princes, and princes on their
thrones. 4 You gave up their wives for booty and their daughters
to captivity, and all their booty to be divided among your
beloved children who burned with zeal for you and abhorred the
pollution of their blood and called on you for help. O God, my
God, hear me also, a widow.
5 “For you have done these things and those that went before and
those that followed. You have designed the things that are now,
and those that are to come. What you had in mind has happened; 6
the things you decided on presented themselves and said, ‘Here
we are!’ For all your ways are prepared in advance, and your
judgment is with foreknowledge.
7 “Here now are the Assyrians, a greatly increased force,
priding themselves in their horses and riders, boasting in the
strength of their foot soldiers, and trusting in shield and
spear, in bow and sling. They do not know that you are the Lord
who crushes wars; the Lord is your name. 8 Break their strength
by your might, and bring down their power in your anger; for
they intend to defile your sanctuary, and to pollute the
tabernacle where your glorious name resides, and to break off
the horns[b] of your altar with the sword. 9 Look at their
pride, and send your wrath upon their heads. Give to me, a
widow, the strong hand to do what I plan. 10 By the deceit of my
lips strike down the slave with the prince and the prince with
his servant; crush their arrogance by the hand of a woman.
11 “For your strength does not depend on numbers, nor your might
on the powerful. But you are the God of the lowly, helper of the
oppressed, upholder of the weak, protector of the forsaken,
savior of those without hope. 12 Please, please, God of my
father, God of the heritage of Israel, Lord of heaven and earth,
Creator of the waters, King of all your creation, hear my
prayer! 13 Make my deceitful words bring wound and bruise on
those who have planned cruel things against your covenant, and
against your sacred house, and against Mount Zion, and against
the house your children possess. 14 Let your whole nation and
every tribe know and understand that you are God, the God of all
power and might, and that there is no other who protects the
people of Israel but you alone!”
Footnotes:
Judith 9:2 Cn: Gk loosed her womb
Judith 9:8 Syr: Gk horn
#Post#: 13390--------------------------------------------------
Re: JUDITH
By: patrick jane Date: May 24, 2020, 12:30 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Judith 10 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Judith Prepares to Go to Holofernes
10 When Judith[a] had stopped crying out to the God of Israel,
and had ended all these words, 2 she rose from where she lay
prostrate. She called her maid and went down into the house
where she lived on sabbaths and on her festal days. 3 She
removed the sackcloth she had been wearing, took off her widow’s
garments, bathed her body with water, and anointed herself with
precious ointment. She combed her hair, put on a tiara, and
dressed herself in the festive attire that she used to wear
while her husband Manasseh was living. 4 She put sandals on her
feet, and put on her anklets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and
all her other jewelry. Thus she made herself very beautiful, to
entice the eyes of all the men who might see her. 5 She gave her
maid a skin of wine and a flask of oil, and filled a bag with
roasted grain, dried fig cakes, and fine bread;[b] then she
wrapped up all her dishes and gave them to her to carry.
6 Then they went out to the town gate of Bethulia and found
Uzziah standing there with the elders of the town, Chabris and
Charmis. 7 When they saw her transformed in appearance and
dressed differently, they were very greatly astounded at her
beauty and said to her, 8 “May the God of our ancestors grant
you favor and fulfill your plans, so that the people of Israel
may glory and Jerusalem may be exalted.” She bowed down to God.
9 Then she said to them, “Order the gate of the town to be
opened for me so that I may go out and accomplish the things you
have just said to me.” So they ordered the young men to open the
gate for her, as she requested. 10 When they had done this,
Judith went out, accompanied by her maid. The men of the town
watched her until she had gone down the mountain and passed
through the valley, where they lost sight of her.
Judith Is Captured
11 As the women[c] were going straight on through the valley, an
Assyrian patrol met her 12 and took her into custody. They asked
her, “To what people do you belong, and where are you coming
from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I am a daughter of
the Hebrews, but I am fleeing from them, for they are about to
be handed over to you to be devoured. 13 I am on my way to see
Holofernes the commander of your army, to give him a true
report; I will show him a way by which he can go and capture all
the hill country without losing one of his men, captured or
slain.”
14 When the men heard her words, and observed her face—she was
in their eyes marvelously beautiful—they said to her, 15 “You
have saved your life by hurrying down to see our lord. Go at
once to his tent; some of us will escort you and hand you over
to him. 16 When you stand before him, have no fear in your
heart, but tell him what you have just said, and he will treat
you well.”
17 They chose from their number a hundred men to accompany her
and her maid, and they brought them to the tent of Holofernes.
18 There was great excitement in the whole camp, for her arrival
was reported from tent to tent. They came and gathered around
her as she stood outside the tent of Holofernes, waiting until
they told him about her. 19 They marveled at her beauty and
admired the Israelites, judging them by her. They said to one
another, “Who can despise these people, who have women like this
among them? It is not wise to leave one of their men alive, for
if we let them go they will be able to beguile the whole world!”
Judith Is Brought before Holofernes
20 Then the guards of Holofernes and all his servants came out
and led her into the tent. 21 Holofernes was resting on his bed
under a canopy that was woven with purple and gold, emeralds and
other precious stones. 22 When they told him of her, he came to
the front of the tent, with silver lamps carried before him. 23
When Judith came into the presence of Holofernes[d] and his
servants, they all marveled at the beauty of her face. She
prostrated herself and did obeisance to him, but his slaves
raised her up.
Footnotes:
Judith 10:1 Gk she
Judith 10:5 Other ancient authorities add and cheese
Judith 10:11 Gk they
Judith 10:23 Gk him
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