Judith 11

NEW JERUSALEM	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 'Courage, woman,' Holofernes said, 'do not be afraid. I have never hurt anyone who chose to serveNebuchadnezzar, king of the whole world.	1 Then Holofernes said to her: Be of good comfort, and fear not in thy heart: for I have never hurt a man that was willing to serve Nabuchodonosor the king.
2 Even now, if your nation of mountain dwellers had not insulted me, I would not have raised a spearagainst them. This was their fault, not mine.	2 And if thy people had not despised me, I would never have lifted up my spear against them.
3 But tell me, why have you fled from them and come to us? . . . Anyhow, this wil prove the saving of you. Courage! You wil live through this night, and many after.	3 But now tell me, for what cause hast thou left them, and why it hath pleased thee to come to us?
4 No one wil hurt you. On the contrary, you wil be treated as wel as any who serve my lord KingNebuchadnezzar.'	4 And Judith said to him: Receive the words of thy handmaid, for if thou wilt follow the words of thy handmaid, the Lord will do with thee a perfect thing.
5 Judith said, 'Please listen favourably to what your slave has to say. Permit your servant to speak inyour presence, I shal speak no word of a lie to my lord tonight.	5 For as Nabuchodonosor the king of the earth liveth, and his power liveth which is in thee for chastising of all straying souls: not only men serve him through thee, but also the beasts of the field obey him.
6 You have only to fol ow your servant's advice and God will bring your work to a successful conclusion;in what my lord undertakes he wil not fail.	6 For the industry of thy mind is spoken of among all nations, and it is told through the whole world, that thou only art excellent, and mighty in all his kingdom, and thy discipline is cried up in all provinces.
7 Long life to Nebuchadnezzar, king of the whole world, who has sent you to set every living soul torights; may his power endure! Since, thanks to you, he is served not only by human beings, but because of yourmight the wild animals themselves, the cattle, and the birds of the air are to live in the service ofNebuchadnezzar and his whole House.	7 It is known also what Achior said, nor are we ignorant of what thou hast commanded to be done to him.
8 'We have indeed heard of your genius and adroitness of mind. It is known everywhere in the world thatthroughout the empire you have no rival for ability, wealth of experience and brilliance in waging war.	8 For it is certain that our God is so offended with sins, that he hath sent word by his prophets to the people, that he will deliver them up for their sins.
9 We have also heard what Achior said in his speech to your council. The men of Bethulia having sparedhim, he has told them everything that he said to you.	9 And because the children of Israel know they have offended their God, thy dread is upon them.
10 Now, master and lord, do not disregard what he said; keep it in your mind, since it is true; our nationwil not be punished, the sword wil indeed have no power over them, unless they sin against their God.	10 Moreover also a famine hath come upon them, and for drought of water they are already to be counted among the dead.
11 But as it is, my lord need expect no repulse or setback, since death is about to fal on their heads, forsin has gained a hold over them, provoking the anger of their God each time that they commit it.	11 And they have a design even to kill their cattle, and to drink the blood of them.
12 As they are short of food and their water is giving out, they have resolved to fall back on their cattleand decided to make use of al the things that God has, by his laws, forbidden them to eat.	12 And the consecrated things of the Lord their God which God forbade them to touch, in corn, wine, and oil, these have they purposed to make use of, and they design to consume the things which they ought not to touch with their hands: therefore because they do these things, it is certain they will be given up to destruction.
13 Not only have they made up their minds to eat the first-fruits of corn and the tithes of wine and oil,though these have been consecrated by them and set apart for the priests who serve in Jerusalem in thepresence of our God, and may not lawfully even be handled by ordinary people,	13 And I thy handmaid knowing this, am fled from them, and the Lord hath sent me to tell thee these very things.
14 but they have sent men to Jerusalem -- where the inhabitants are doing much the same -- to bringthem back authorisation from the Council of Elders.	14 For I thy handmaid worship God even now that I am with thee, and thy handmaid will go out, and I will pray to God,
15 Now this wil be the outcome: when the permission arrives and they act on it, that very day they wil bedelivered over to you for destruction.	15 And he will tell me when he will repay them for their sins, and I will come and tell thee, so that I may bring thee through the midst of Jerusalem, and thou shalt have all the people of Israel, as sheep that have no shepherd, and there shall not so much as one dog bark against thee:
16 'When I, your servant, came to know al this, I fled from them. God has sent me to do things with youat which the world wil be astonished when it hears.	16 Because these things are told me by the providence of God.
17 Your servant is a devout woman; she honours the God of heaven day and night. I therefore propose,my lord, to stay with you. I, your servant, shal go out every night into the val ey and pray to God to let me knowwhen they have committed their sin.	17 And because God is angry with them, I am sent to tell these very things to thee.
18 I shal then come and tel you, so that you can march out with your whole army; and none of them wilbe able to resist you.	18 And all these words pleased Holofernes, and his servants, and they admired her wisdom, and they said one to another:
19 I shal be your guide right across Judaea until you reach Jerusalem; there I shall enthrone you in thevery middle of the city. And then you can round them up like shepherd-less sheep, with never a dog daring tobark at you. Foreknowledge tel s me this; this has been foretold to me and I have been sent to reveal it to you.'	19 There is not such another woman upon earth in look, in beauty, and in sense of words.
20 Her words pleased Holofernes, and all his adjutants. Ful of admiration at her wisdom they exclaimed,	20 And Holofernes said to her: God hath done well who sent thee before the people, that thou mightest give them into our hands:
21 'There is no woman like her from one end of the earth to the other, so lovely of face and so wise ofspeech!'	21 And because thy promise is good, if thy God shall do this for me, he shall also be my God, and thou shalt be great in the house of Nabuchodonosor, and thy name shall be renowned through all the earth.
22 Holofernes said, 'God has done wel to send you ahead of the others. Strength will be ours, and ruintheirs who have insulted my lord.
23 As for you, you are as beautiful as you are eloquent; if you do as you have promised, your God shallbe my God, and you yourself shal make your home in the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar and be famousthroughout the world.'