Judit 4

BIBLIA	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Los israelitas que habitaban en Judea oyeron todo cuanto Holofernes, jefe supremo del ejército de Nabucodonosor, rey de Asiria, había hecho con todas las naciones: cómo había saqueado sus templos y los había destruido,	1 Then, upon hearing these things, the sons of Israel, who dwelt in the land of Judah, were very afraid before his face.
2 y tuvieron gran miedo ante él, temblando por la suerte de Jerusalén y por el Templo del Señor su Dios,	2 Trembling and horror invaded their senses, lest he should do the same thing to Jerusalem and to the temple of the Lord that he had done to other cities and their temples.
3 pues hacía poco que habían vuelto del destierro y apenas si acababa de reunirse el pueblo de Judea y de ser consagrados el mobiliario, el altar y el Templo profanados.	3 And they sent into all of Samaria, and by an indirect route even to Jericho, and they seized in advance all the tops of the mountains.
4 Pusieron, pues, sobre aviso a toda la región de Samaría, a Koná, Bet Jorón, Belmáin, Jericó, y también Joba, Esorá y el valle de Salem,	4 And they surrounded their villages with walls, and they gathered together grain in preparation for the fight.
5 y ocuparon con tiempo todas las alturas de las montañas más elevadas, fortificaron los poblados que había en ellas e hicieron provisiones con vistas a la guerra, pues tenían reciente la cosecha de los campos.	5 And then Eliachim the priest wrote to all who were opposite Esdrelon, which is opposite the face of the great plain near Dothain, and to all whom he would be able to reach through a passable way:
6 El sumo sacerdote Yoyaquim, que estaba entonces en Jerusalén, escribió a los habitantes de Betulia y Betomestáin, que está frente a Esdrelón, a la entrada de la llanura cercana a Dotán,	6 that they should hold the ascents of the mountains, through which there might be any passage able to reach Jerusalem, and that they should keep watch where the passage was narrow, wherever possible, between the mountains.
7 ordenándoles que tomaran posiciones en las subidas de la montaña que dan acceso a Judea, pues era fácil detener allí a los atacantes por la angostura del paso que sólo permite avanzar dos hombres de frente.	7 And the sons of Israel did just as Eliachim, the priest of the Lord, had appointed them.
8 Los israelitas cumplieron la orden del sumo sacerdote Yoyaquim y del Consejo de Ancianos de todo el pueblo de Israel que se encontraba en Jerusalén.	8 And all the people cried out to the Lord with great urgency, and they humbled their souls with fastings, and prayers, both they and their wives.
9 Todos los hombres de Israel clamaron a Dios con gran fervor, y con gran fervor se humillaron;	9 And the priests clothed themselves with haircloths, and they prostrated the little children opposite the face of the temple of the Lord, and they covered the altar of the Lord with haircloth.
10 y ellos, sus mujeres, sus hijos y sus ganados, los forasteros residentes, los jornaleros y los esclavos, se ciñeron de sayal.	10 And they cried out to the Lord God of Israel with one accord, lest their children should be given over as prey, and their wives into distribution, and their cities into extermination, and their holy things into defilement, and so that they might not become the disgrace of the Gentiles.
11 Todos los hombres, mujeres y niños de Israel que habitaban en Jerusalén se postraron ante el Templo, cubrieron de ceniza sus cabezas y extendieron las manos ante el Señor.	11 Then Eliachim, the high priest of the Lord, traveled all around Israel, and he was talking to them,
12 Cubrieron el altar de saco y clamaron insistentemente, todos a una, al Dios de Israel, para que no entregase sus hijos al saqueo, sus mujeres al pillaje, las ciudades de su herencia a la destrucción y las cosas santas a la profanación y al ludibrio, para mofa de los gentiles.	12 saying: “Know that the Lord will heed your prayers, if you continue to persevere in fastings and prayers in the sight of the Lord.
13 El Señor oyó su voz y vio su angustia. El pueblo ayunó largos días en toda Judea y en Jerusalén, ante el santuario del Señor Omnipotente.	13 Recall that Moses, the servant of the Lord, overcame Amalek, who trusted in his own strength, and in his power, and in his army, and in his bronze shields, and in his swift chariots, and in his horsemen. He overcame him, not by fighting with iron, but by pleading with holy prayers.
14 El sumo sacerdote Yoyaquim y todos los que estaban delante del Señor, sacerdotes y ministros del Señor, ceñidos de sayal, ofrecían el holocausto perpetuo, las oraciones y las ofrendas voluntarias del pueblo,	14 So will it be with all the enemies of Israel, if you persevere in this work that you have begun.”
15 y con la tiara cubierta de ceniza clamaban al Señor con todas sus fuerzas para que velara benignamente por toda la casa de Israel.	15 Therefore, by this exhortation and his prayer to the Lord, they continued in the sight of the Lord,
	16 so that even those who offered holocausts to the Lord, offered the sacrifices to the Lord girded with haircloths, and there were ashes upon their heads.
	17 And they all begged God with their whole heart, that he would visit his people Israel.