Judith 16

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 "Strike up the instruments, a song to my God with timbrels, chant to the Lord with cymbals; Sing to him a new song, exalt and acclaim his name.	1 Then Judith sang this canticle to the Lord, saying:
2 For the Lord is God; he crushes warfare, and sets his encampment among his people; he snatched me from the hands of my presecutors.	2 “Call to the Lord with drums, sing to the Lord with cymbals, play for him a new psalm, exalt and invoke his name.
3 "The Assyrian came from the mountains of the north, with the myriads of his forces he came; Their numbers blocked the torrents, their horses covered the hills.	3 The Lord crushes wars; the Lord is his name.
4 He threatened to burn my land, put my youths to the sword, Dash my babes to the ground, make my children a prey, and seize my virgins as spoil.	4 He has set up his camp in the midst of his people, to rescue us from the hand of all our enemies.
5 "But the Lord Almighty thwarted them, by a woman's hand he confounded them.	5 Assur came from the mountains, from the North, with the multitude of his strength. His multitude blockaded the torrents, and their horses covered the valleys.
6 Not by youths was their mighty one struck down, nor did titans bring him low, nor huge giants attack him; But Judith, the daughter of Merari, by the beauty of her countenance disabled him.	6 He told himself that he would set fire to my borders, and kill my young men with the sword, to give my children into plunder and my virgins into captivity.
7 She took off her widow's garb to raise up the afflicted in Israel. She anointed her face with fragrant oil;	7 But the almighty Lord has harmed him, and he has delivered him into the hands of a woman, and he has pierced him through.
8 with a fillet she fastened her tresses, and put on a linen robe to beguile him.	8 For their powerful one did not fall by young men, nor did the sons of Titan strike him, nor did lofty giants set themselves against him, but Judith, the daughter of Merari, dissolved him with the splendor of her face.
9 Her sandals caught his eyes, and her beauty captivated his mind. The sword cut through his neck.	9 For she put away from herself the garments of widowhood, and she clothed herself with the garments of rejoicing, for the sake of the exultation of the sons of Israel.
10 "The Persians were dismayed at her daring, the Medes appalled at her boldness.	10 She anointed her face with ointment, and she gathered the locks of her hair with a headdress; she accepted a new dress in order to deceive him.
11 When my lowly ones shouted, they were terrified; when my weaklings cried out, they trembled; at the sound of their war cry, they took to flight.	11 Her sandals ravished his eyes; her beauty made his soul her captive; with a blade, she cut off his head.
12 Sons of slave girls pierced them through; the supposed sons of rebel mothers cut them down; they perished before the ranks of my Lord.	12 The Persians were horrified at her constancy, and the Medes at her boldness.
13 "A new hymn I will sing to my God. O Lord, great are you and glorious, wonderful in power and unsurpassable.	13 Then the camp of the Assyrians howled, when my humble ones appeared, parched with thirst.
14 Let your every creature serve you; for you spoke, and they were made, You sent forth your spirit, and they were created; no one can resist your word.	14 The sons of the servant girls have pierced them through, and, like fleeing servants, they have killed them. They perished in battle before the face of the Lord, my God.
15 The mountains to their bases, and the seas, are shaken; the rocks, like wax, melt before your glance. "But to those who fear you, you are very merciful.	15 Let us sing a canticle to the Lord; let us sing a new hymn to our God.
16 Though the sweet odor of every sacrifice is a trifle, and the fat of all holocausts but little in your sight, one who fears the Lord is forever great.	16 O Adonai, O Lord, you are great, and splendor is in your virtue, and no one is able to overcome you.
17 "Woe to the nations that rise against my people! the Lord Almighty will requite them; in the day of judgment he will punish them: He will send fire and worms into their flesh, and they shall burn and suffer forever."	17 Let all your creatures serve you. For you spoke, and they became. You sent forth your Spirit, and they were created. And there is no one who can withstand your voice.
18 The people then went to Jerusalem to worship God; when they were purified, they offered their holocausts, freewill offerings, and gifts.	18 The mountains will be moved from the foundations by the waters. The rocks, like wax, will liquefy before your face.
19 Judith dedicated, as a votive offering to God, all the things of Holofernes that the people had given her, as well as the canopy that she herself had taken from his bedroom.	19 But those who fear you will be great with you, throughout all things.
20 For three months the people continued their celebration in Jerusalem before the sanctuary, and Judith remained with them.	20 Woe to the people that rises up against my people. For the Lord almighty will be vindicated against them; in the day of judgment, he will visit them.
21 When those days were over, each one returned to his inheritance. Judith went back to Bethulia and remained on her estate. For the rest of her life she was renowned throughout the land.	21 For he will bestow fire and worms on their flesh, so that they may burn and have sensations without ceasing.”
22 Many wished to marry her, but she gave herself to no man all the days of her life from the time of the death and burial of her husband, Manasseh.	22 And it happened that, after these things, all the people came to Jerusalem after the victory, to adore the Lord. And as soon as they were purified, they all offered holocausts, and vows, and their promises.
23 She lived to be very old in the house of her husband, reaching the advanced age of a hundred and five. She died in Bethulia, where they buried her in the tomb of her husband, Manasseh;	23 Moreover, Judith offered all the implements of war from Holofernes, which the people gave to her, and the canopy that she had taken away from his chamber, as an anathema unto oblivion.
24 and the house of Israel mourned her for seven days. Before she died, she distributed her goods to the relatives of her husband, Manasseh, and to her own relatives; and to the maid she gave her freedom.	24 But the people were cheerful before the face of the sanctuary, and for three months the gladness of this victory was celebrated with Judith.
25 During the life of Judith and for a long time after her death, no one again disturbed the Israelites.	25 And after those days, each one returned to his own house, and Judith became great in Bethulia, and she had great splendor in all the land of Israel.
	26 For chastity was one with her virtue, so that she did not know man all the days of her life, after the passing away of her husband, Manasseh.
	27 And then, on feast days, she came forth with great glory.
	28 But she remained in her husband’s house for one hundred and five years, and she set her handmaid free. And she passed away and was buried with her husband in Bethulia.
	29 And all the people mourned her, for seven days.
	30 And, during all the time of her life, there was no one who disturbed Israel, nor for many years after her death.
	31 Moreover, the day of the festivity of this victory was accepted by the Hebrews in the numbering of holy days, and it was religiously observed by the Jews, from that time, even to the present day.