Judith 12

DOUAI-RHEIMS	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Then he ordered that she should go in where his treasures were laid up, and bade her tarry there, and he appointed what should be given her from his own table.	1 Then he ordered them to lead her into the room where his silverware was kept, and bade them set a table for her with his own delicacies to eat and his own wine to drink.
2 And Judith answered him and said: Now I cannot eat of these things which thou commandest to be given me, lest sin come upon me: but I will eat of the things which I have brought.	2 But Judith said, "I will not partake of them, lest it be an occasion of sin; but I shall be amply supplied from the things I brought with me."
3 And Holofernes said to her: If these things which thou hast brought with thee fail thee, what shall we do for thee?	3 Holofernes asked her: "But if your provisions give out, where shall we get more of the same to provide for you? None of your people are with us."
4 And Judith said: As thy soul liveth, my lord, thy handmaid shall not spend all these things till God do by my hand that which I have purposed. And his servants brought her into the tent which he had commanded.	4 Judith answered him, "As surely as you, my lord, live, your handmaid will not use up her supplies till the Lord accomplishes by my hand what he has determined."
5 And when she was going in, she desired that she might have liberty to go out at night and before day to prayer, and to beseech the Lord.	5 Then the servants of Holofernes led her into the tent, where she slept till midnight. In the night watch just before dawn, she rose
6 And he commanded his chamberlains, that she might go out and in, to adore her God as she pleased, for three days.	6 and sent this message to Holofernes, "Give orders, my lord, to let your handmaid go out for prayer."
7 And she went out in the nights into the valley of Bethulia, and washed herself in a fountain of water.	7 So Holofernes ordered his bodyguard not to hinder her. Thus she stayed in the camp three days. Each night she went out to the ravine of Bethulia, where she washed herself at the spring of the camp.
8 And as she came up, she prayed to the Lord the God of Israel, that he would direct her way to the deliverance of his people.	8 After bathing, she besought the Lord, the God of Israel, to direct her way for the triumph of his people.
9 And going in, she remained pure in the tent, until she took her own meat in the evening.	9 Then she returned purified to the tent, and remained there until her food was brought to her toward evening.
10 And it came to pass on the fourth day, that Holofernes made a supper for his servants, and said to Vagao his eunuch: so, and persuade that Hebrew woman, to consent of her own accord to dwell with me.	10 On the fourth day Holofernes gave a banquet for his servants alone, to which he did not invite any of the officers.
11 For it is looked upon as shameful among the Assyrians, if a woman mock a man, by doing so as to pass free from him.	11 And he said to Bagoas, the eunuch in charge of his household: "Go and persuade this Hebrew woman in your care to come and to eat and drink with us.
12 Then Vagao went in to Judith, and said: Let not my good maid be afraid to go in to my lord, that she may be honoured before his face, that she may eat with him and drink wine and be merry.	12 It would be a disgrace for us to have such a woman with us without enjoying her company. If we do not entice her, she will laugh us to scorn."
13 And Judith answered him: Who am I, that I should gainsay my lord?	13 So Bagoas left the presence of Holofernes, and came to Judith and said, "So fair a maiden should not be reluctant to come to my lord to be honored by him, to enjoy drinking wine with us, and to be like one of the Assyrian women who live in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar."
14 All that shall be good and best before his eyes, I will do. And whatsoever shall please him, that shall be best to me all the days of my life.	14 She replied, "Who am I to refuse my lord? Whatever is pleasing to him I will promptly do. This will be a joy for me till the day of my death."
15 And she arose and dressed herself out with her garments, and going in she stood before his face.	15 Thereupon she proceeded to put on her festive garments and all her feminine adornments. Meanwhile her maid went ahead and spread out on the ground for her in front of Holofernes the fleece Bagoas had furnished for her daily use in reclining at her dinner.
16 And the heart of Holofernes was smitten, for he was burning with the desire of her.	16 Then Judith came in and reclined on it. The heart of Holofernes was in rapture over her, and his spirit was shaken. He was burning with the desire to possess her, for he had been biding his time to seduce her from the day he saw her.
17 And Holofernes said to her: Drink now, and sit down and be merry for thou hast found favour before me.	17 Holofernes said to her, "Drink and be merry with us!"
18 And Judith said: I will drink my lord, because my life is magnified this day above all my days.	18 Judith replied, "I will gladly drink, my lord, for at no time since I was born have I ever enjoyed life as much as I do today."
19 And she took and ate and drank before him what her maid had prepared for her.	19 She then took the things her maid had prepared, and ate and drank in his presence.
20 And Holofernes was made merry on her occasion, and drank exceeding much wine, so much as he had never drunk in his life.	20 Holofernes, charmed by her, drank a great quantity of wine, more than he had ever drunk on one single day in his life.