| 1 Allora Oloferne le disse: « Rassicurati e caccia il timore dal tuo cuore, perchè io non ho mai fatto del male a chi ha voluto servire il re Nabucodonosor; | 1 Then Holofernes said to her, "Take courage, woman, and do not be afraid in your heart, for I have never hurt any one who chose to serve Nebuchadnezzar, the king of all the earth. |
| 2 e se il tuo popolo non mi avesse disprezzato, non avrei alzata la mia lancia contro di lui. | 2 And even now, if your people who live in the hill country had not slighted me, I would never have lifted my spear against them; but they have brought all this on themselves. |
| 3 Dimmi, dunque, per qual motivo ti sei allontanata da essi ed hai scelto di venire da noi? » | 3 And now tell me why you have fled from them and have come over to us--since you have come to safety. |
| 4 Giuditta gli rispose: « Accogli le parole della tua serva, e se seguirai le parole della tua serva, il Signore con te compirà la cosa. | 4 Have courage; you will live, tonight and from now on. No one will hurt you, but all will treat you well, as they do the servants of my lord King Nebuchadnezzar." |
| 5 Viva Nabucodonosor re della terra, viva la sua potenza che è nelle tue mani a castigo di tutti gli erranti: per te lo servono non soltanto gli uomini, ma l'obbediscono anche le bestie dei campi; | 5 Judith replied to him, "Accept the words of your servant, and let your maidservant speak in your presence, and I will tell nothing false to my lord this night. |
| 6 e la saggezza del tuo spirito, celebrata presso tutte le genti e tutto il mondo, sa che in tutto il suo regno tu solo sei buono e potente, e in tutte le provinole viene esaltato il tuo governo. | 6 And if you follow out the words of your maidservant, God will accomplish something through you, and my lord will not fail to achieve his purposes. |
| 7 Quello che disse Achior è risaputo, e non s'ignora ciò che ordinasti di fargli. | 7 Nebuchadnezzar the king of the whole earth lives, and as his power endures, who had sent you to direct every living soul, not only do men serve him because of you, but also the beasts of the field and the cattle and the birds of the air will live by your power under Nebuchadnezzar and all his house. |
| 8 Ed è assicurato che il nostro Dio è così sdegnato per i nostri peccati che ha fatto sapere al popolo per mezzo dei suoi profeti che lo abbandonerà per i suoi peccati; | 8 For we have heard of your wisdom and skill, and it is reported throughout the whole world that you are the one good man in the whole kingdom, thoroughly informed and marvelous in military strategy. |
| 9 e i figli d'Israele, sapendo d'aver offeso il loro Dio, han di te spavento. | 9 "Now as for the things Achior said in your council, we have heard his words, for the men of Bethulia spared him and he told them all he had said to you. |
| 10 Di più sono stretti dalla fame, e, per mancanza d'acqua, son da annoverarsi già tra i morti; | 10 Therefore, my lord and master, do not disregard what he said, but keep it in your mind, for it is true: our nation cannot be punished, nor can the sword prevail against them, unless they sin against their God. |
| 11 son giunti a prendere la risoluzione di uccidere i bestiami e di berne il sangue. | 11 "And now, in order that my lord may not be defeated and his purpose frustrated, death will fall upon them, for a sin has overtaken them by which they are about to provoke their God to anger when they do what is wrong. |
| 12 E anche le cose sante del Signore loro Dio, quelle che Dio ha ordinato di non toccare, sia frumento o vino o olio, han pensato di adoprarle, osando nutrirsi di ciò che non dovrebbero nemmeno toccare colle mani. Or se fanno tali cose, è certo che saranno abbandonati alla rovina. | 12 Since their food supply is exhausted and their water has almost given out, they have planned to kill their cattle and have determined to use all that God by his laws has forbidden them to eat. |
| 13 Ed io tua serva, avendo ciò saputo, son fuggita da loro, e il Signore m'ha mandato a manifestarti queste cose. | 13 They have decided to consume the first fruits of the grain and the tithes of the wine and oil, which they had consecrated and set aside for the priests who minister in the presence of our God at Jerusalem--although it is not lawful for any of the people so much as to touch these things with their hands. |
| 14 Or siccome ancora, presso di te, io tua serva adoro Dio, la tua serva uscirà a pregare Dio; | 14 They have sent men to Jerusalem, because even the people living there have been doing this, to bring back to them permission from the senate. |
| 15 egli mi dirà quando li punirà del loro peccato, ed io verrò ad avvisartene in modo da condurti nel mezzo di Gerusalemme, e troverai tutto il popolo d'Israele come pecore che han perduto il pastore, e neppure un cane abbaierà contro di te. | 15 When the word reaches them and they proceed to do this, on that very day they will be handed over to you to be destroyed. |
| 16 Questo cose mi sono state dette dalla provvidenza di Dio, | 16 "Therefore, when I, your servant, learned all this, I fled from them; and God has sent me to accomplish with you things that will astonish the whole world, as many as shall hear about them. |
| 17 e siccome Dio è sdegnato contro di loro, sono stata mandata ad annunziartele ». | 17 For your servant is religious, and serves the God of heaven day and night; therefore, my lord, I will remain with you, and every night your servant will go out into the valley, and I will pray to God and he will tell me when they have committed their sins. |
| 18 Tutte queste parole piacquero ad Oloferne e ai suoi servi, che, ammirando la sapienza di lei, si dicevan l'un l'altro: | 18 And I will come and tell you, and then you shall go out with your whole army, and not one of them will withstand you. |
| 19 « Non v'è sulla terra una donna simile a lei nell'avvenenza, nella bellezza e nella saggezza delle parole ». | 19 Then I will lead you through the middle of Judea, till you come to Jerusalem; and I will set your throne in the midst of it; and you will lead them like sheep that have no shepherd, and not a dog will so much as open its mouth to growl at you. For this has been told me, by my foreknowledge; it was announced to me, and I was sent to tell you." |
| 20 Oloferne le disse: « Il Signore ha fatto bene a mandarti innanzi al popolo, a consegnarlo nelle nostre mani, | 20 Her words pleased Holofernes and all his servants, and they marveled at her wisdom and said, |
| 21 e siccome la tua promessa è buona, se il tuo Dio mi farà tal cosa, egli sarà anche mio Dio, tu sarai grande nella casa di Nabucodonosor, e il tuo nome sarà celebrato per tutta la terra ». | 21 "There is not such a woman from one end of the earth to the other, either for beauty of face or wisdom of speech!" |
| 22 And Holofernes said to her, "God has done well to send you before the people, to lend strength to our hands and to bring destruction upon those who have slighted my lord. |
| 23 You are not only beautiful in appearance, but wise in speech; and if you do as you have said, your God shall be my God, and you shall live in the house of King Nebuchadnezzar and be renowned throughout the whole world." |
