Judith 11

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Then Holofernes said to her: "Take courage, lady; have no fear in your heart! Never have I harmed anyone who chose to serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of all the earth.	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 Nor would I have raised my spear against your people who dwell in the mountain region, had they not despised me and brought this upon themselves.	2 But if your people had not despised me, I would not have lifted up my lance over them.
3 But now tell me why you fled from them and came to us. In any case, you have come to safety. Take courage! Your life is spared tonight and for the future.	3 But now, tell me, for what reason have you withdrawn from them, and why has it pleased you to come to us?”
4 No one at all will harm you. Rather, you will be well treated, as are all the servants of my lord, King Nebuchadnezzar."	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 Judith answered him: "Listen to the words of your servant, and let your handmaid speak in your presence! I will tell no lie to my lord this night,	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 and if you follow out the words of your handmaid, God will give you complete success, and my lord will not fail in any of his undertakings.	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 By the life of Nebuchadnezzar, king of all the earth, and by the power of him who has sent you to set all creatures aright! not only do men serve him through you; but even the wild beasts and the cattle and the birds of the air, because of your strength, will live for Nebuchadnezzar and his whole house.	7 This is not hidden, what Achior has said, nor are we ignorant of what you have ordered to befall him.
8 Indeed, we have heard of your wisdom and sagacity, and all the world is aware that throughout the kingdom you alone are competent, rich in experience, and distinguished in military strategy.	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 "As for Achior's speech in your council, we have heard of it. When the men of Bethulia spared him, he told them all he had said to you.	9 And since the sons of Israel know that they have offended their God, your trembling is upon them.
10 So then, my lord and master, do not disregard his word, but bear it in mind, for it is true. For our people are not punished, nor does the sword prevail against them, except when they sin against their God.	10 Moreover, now also a famine has assailed them, and, by drought of water, they are already counted among the dead.
11 But now their guilt has caught up with them, by which they bring the wrath of their God upon them whenever they do wrong; so that my lord will not be repulsed and fail, but death will overtake them.	11 And finally, they have a plan to put to death their herds, and to drink their blood.
12 Since their food gave out and all their water ran low, they decided to kill their animals, and determined to consume all the things which God in his laws forbade them to eat.	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 They decreed that they would use up the first fruits of grain and the tithes of wine and oil which they had sanctified and reserved for the priests who minister in the presence of our God in Jerusalem: things which no layman should even touch with his hands.	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 They have sent messengers to Jerusalem to bring back to them authorization from the council of the elders; for the inhabitants there have also done these 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 On the very day when the response reaches them and they act upon it, they will be handed over to you for destruction.	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 "As soon as I, your handmaid, learned all this, I fled from them. God has sent me to perform with you such deeds that people throughout the world will be astonished on hearing of them.	16 For these things have been told to me through the providence of God.
17 Your handmaid is, indeed, a God-fearing woman, serving the God of heaven night and day. Now I will remain with you, my lord; but each night your handmaid will go out to the ravine and pray to God. He will tell me when the Israelites have committed their crimes.	17 And because God has been angry with them, I have been sent to report these same things to you.”
18 Then I will come and let you know, so that you may go out with your whole force, and not one of them will be able to withstand 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 I will lead you through Judea, till you come to Jerusalem, and there I will set up your judgment seat. You will drive them like sheep that have no shepherd, and not even a dog will growl at you. This was told me, and announced to me in advance, and I in turn have been sent to tell you."	19 “There is not another woman so great upon the earth: in appearance, in beauty, and in charming words.”
20 Her words pleased Holofernes and all his servants; they marveled at her wisdom and exclaimed,	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 "No other woman from one end of the world to the other looks so beautiful and speaks so wisely!"	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.”
22 Then Holofernes said to her: "God has done well in sending you ahead of your people, to bring victory to our arms, and destruction to those who have despised my lord.
23 You are fair to behold, and your words are well spoken. If you do as you have said, your God will be my God; you shall dwell in the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar, and shall be renowned throughout the earth."