Judith 5

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Holofernes, general-in-chief of the Assyrian army, received the intel igence that the Israelites werepreparing for war, that they had closed the mountain passes, fortified al the high peaks and laid obstructions inthe plains.	1 And it was reported to Holofernes, the leader of the military of the Assyrians, that the sons of Israel were preparing themselves to resist, and also that they had closed the mountain passes.
2 Holofernes was furious. He summoned al the princes of Moab, al the generals of Ammon and al thesatraps of the coastal regions.	2 And he was enraged with extreme fury and great indignation, and he called together all the leaders of Moab and the leaders of Ammon.
3 'Men of Canaan,' he said, 'tel me: what people is this that occupies the hill-country? What towns does itinhabit? How large is its army? What are the sources of its power and strength? Who is the king who rules it andcommands its army?	3 And he said to them: “Tell me who this people may be, who obstruct the mountains. And which are their cities, and of what kind, and how many? And then, what may be their power, and what may be their number, and who is king over their military?
4 Why have they disdained to wait on me, as all the western peoples have?'	4 And why have these, more than all who dwell in the east, shown contempt for us, and have not gone out to meet us, so that they might receive us with peace?”
5 Achior, leader of al the Ammonites, replied, 'May my lord be pleased to listen to what your servant isgoing to say. I shall give you the facts about these mountain folk whose home lies close to you. You wil hear nolie from the mouth of your servant.	5 Then Achior, commander of all the sons of Ammon, responding, said: “If you would deign to listen, my lord, I will tell the truth in your sight about this people, who dwell in the mountains, and not a false word will go forth from my mouth.
6 These people are descended from the Chaldaeans.	6 This people is from the progeny of the Chaldeans.
7 They once came to live in Mesopotamia, because they did not want to fol ow the gods of their ancestorswho lived in Chaldaea.	7 These dwelt at first in Mesopotamia, because they were not willing to follow the gods of their fathers, who were in the land of the Chaldeans.
8 They abandoned the way of their ancestors to worship the God of heaven, the God they learnt toacknowledge. Banished from the presence of their own gods, they fled to Mesopotamia where they lived for along time.	8 And so, forsaking the ceremonies of their fathers, which were with a multitude of gods,
9 When God told them to leave their home and set out for Canaan, they settled there and accumulatedgold and silver and great herds of cattle.	9 they worshipped one God of heaven, who also instructed them to go forth from that place and to dwell in Canaan. And when a famine covered the whole land, they went down into Egypt, and there, through four hundred years, they were so multiplied, that the army of them could not be numbered.
10 Next, famine having overwhelmed the land of Canaan, they went down to Egypt where they stayed tilthey were well nourished. There they became a great multitude, a race beyond counting.	10 And when the king of Egypt oppressed them, and also subjugated them to labor with clay and brick in the building of his cities, they cried out to their Lord, and he struck the entire land of Egypt with various plagues.
11 But the king of Egypt turned against them and exploited them by forcing them to make bricks; hedegraded them, reducing them to slavery.	11 And when the Egyptians had cast them away from them, and the plague had ceased from them, and they were willing to seize them again and recall them to their servitude:
12 They cried to their God, who struck the entire land of Egypt with incurable plagues, and the Egyptiansexpel ed them.	12 the God of heaven opened the sea to these as they fled, so that the waters were made to stand firm like a wall on either side, and these walked across the bottom of the sea and passed through with dry feet.
13 God dried up the Red Sea before them	13 In that place, when an innumerable army of the Egyptians pursued after them, they were so overwhelmed with the waters, that not even one remained to report to posterity what had happened.
14 and led them forward by way of Sinai and Kadesh-Barnea. Having driven off all the inhabitants of thedesert,	14 In truth, going forth from the Red Sea, they occupied the deserts of mount Sinai, in which man could never dwell, nor a son of man take rest.
15 they settled in the land of the Amorites and in their strength exterminated the entire population ofHeshbon. Then, having crossed the Jordan, they took possession of al the hil -country,	15 In that place, bitter fountains became sweet for them to drink, and, through forty years, they continued to receive provisions from heaven.
16 driving out the Canaanites before them and the Perizzites, Jebusites, Shechemites and all theGirgashites, and lived there for many years.	16 And, although they had entered without bow and arrow, and without shield and sword, their God fought on their behalf and was victorious.
17 Al the while they did not sin before their God, prosperity was theirs, for they have a God who hateswickedness.	17 And there was no one who could attack this people, except when they withdrew from the worship of the Lord their God.
18 But when they turned from the path he had marked out for them some were exterminated in a series ofbattles, others were taken captive to a foreign land. The Temple of their God was rased to the ground and theirtowns were seized by their enemies.	18 But as often as they worshipped any other, except their own God, they were delivered to plunder, and to the sword, and into reproach.
19 Then having turned once again to their God, they came back from the places to which they had beendispersed and scattered, regained possession of Jerusalem, where they have their Temple, and reoccupied thehil -country which had been left deserted.	19 But as often as they were repentant for having withdrawn from the worship of their God, the God of heaven gave them the power to resist.
20 So, now, master and lord, if this people has committed any fault, if they have sinned against their God,let us first be sure that they real y have this reason to fail, then advance and attack them.	20 And, indeed, they overthrew the king of the Canaanites, and of the Jebusites, and of the Perizzites, and of the Hethites, and of the Hevites, and of the Amorrhites, and all the powerful ones in Hesebon, and these same possessed their lands and their cities.
21 But if their nation is guiltless, my lord would do better to abstain, for fear that their Lord and God shouldprotect them. We should then become the laughing-stock of the whole world.'	21 And, as long as they did not sin in the sight of their God, it was well with them. For their God hates iniquity.
22 When Achior had ended this speech, all the people crowding round the tent began protesting.Holofernes' own senior officers, as wel as al the coastal peoples and the Moabites, threatened to tear him limbfrom limb.	22 And even some years ago, when they had withdrawn from the way that their God had given them to walk, they were destroyed in battles by many nations and very many of them were led away captive into a land not their own.
23 'Why should we be afraid of the Israelites? They are a weak and powerless people, quite unable tostand a stiff attack.	23 But, more recently, returning to the Lord their God, from the dispersion in which they had been scattered, they have united and have ascended into all these mountains, and they again possess Jerusalem, where their holy things are.
24 Forward! Advance! Your army, Holofernes our master, wil swal ow them in one mouthful!'	24 Therefore, now my lord, inquire if there may be any iniquity of theirs in the sight of their God. If so, let us ascend to them, because their God will surely deliver them to you, and they will be subjugated under the yoke of your power.
	25 But if, in truth, there may be no offense of this people before their God, we will not be able to resist them, because their God will defend them, and we will become a disgrace to the whole earth.”
	26 And it happened, when Achior had ceased to speak these words, all the great men of Holofernes were angry, and they intended to execute him, saying to each other:
	27 “Who is this, that says the sons of Israel are able to resist king Nebuchadnezzar and his armies: unarmed men, and without strength, and without skill in the art of fighting?
	28 Therefore, so that Achior may know that he has failed us, let us ascend to the mountains. And, when the most powerful among them have been taken, then, with them, he will be impaled with the sword.
	29 So may every people know that Nebuchadnezzar is god of the earth, and there is no other, except him.”