Iudith 12

VULGATA	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Tunc jussit eam introire ubi repositi erant thesauri ejus, et jussit illic manere eam, et constituit quid daretur illi de convivio suo.	1 Then he ordered them to lead her into the room where his silverware was kept, and bade them set a table for her with his own delicacies to eat and his own wine to drink.
2 Cui respondit Judith, et dixit : Nunc non potero manducare ex his quæ mihi præcipis tribui, ne veniat super me offensio : ex his autem quæ mihi detuli, manducabo.	2 But Judith said, "I will not partake of them, lest it be an occasion of sin; but I shall be amply supplied from the things I brought with me."
3 Cui Holofernes ait : Si defecerint tibi ista, quæ tecum detulisti, quid faciemus tibi ?	3 Holofernes asked her: "But if your provisions give out, where shall we get more of the same to provide for you? None of your people are with us."
4 Et dixit Judith : Vivit anima tua, domine meus, quoniam non expendet omnia hæc ancilla tua, donec faciat Deus in manu mea hæc quæ cogitavi. Et induxerunt illam servi ejus in tabernaculum quod præceperat.	4 Judith answered him, "As surely as you, my lord, live, your handmaid will not use up her supplies till the Lord accomplishes by my hand what he has determined."
5 Et petiit dum introiret, ut daretur ei copia nocte et ante lucem egrediendi foras ad orationem, et deprecandi Dominum.	5 Then the servants of Holofernes led her into the tent, where she slept till midnight. In the night watch just before dawn, she rose
6 Et præcepit cubiculariis suis ut sicut placeret illi, exiret et introiret ad adorandum Deum suum per triduum :	6 and sent this message to Holofernes, "Give orders, my lord, to let your handmaid go out for prayer."
7 et exibat noctibus in vallem Bethuliæ, et baptizabat se in fonte aquæ.	7 So Holofernes ordered his bodyguard not to hinder her. Thus she stayed in the camp three days. Each night she went out to the ravine of Bethulia, where she washed herself at the spring of the camp.
8 Et ut ascendebat, orabat Dominum Deum Israël ut dirigeret viam ejus ad liberationem populi sui.	8 After bathing, she besought the Lord, the God of Israel, to direct her way for the triumph of his people.
9 Et introiens, munda manebat in tabernaculo usque dum acciperet escam suam in vespere.	9 Then she returned purified to the tent, and remained there until her food was brought to her toward evening.
10 Et factum est, in quarto die Holofernes fecit c?nam servis suis, et dixit ad Vagao eunuchum suum : Vade, et suade Hebræam illam ut sponte consentiat habitare mecum.	10 On the fourth day Holofernes gave a banquet for his servants alone, to which he did not invite any of the officers.
11 F?dum est enim apud Assyrios, si femina irrideat virum agendo ut immunis ab eo transeat.	11 And he said to Bagoas, the eunuch in charge of his household: "Go and persuade this Hebrew woman in your care to come and to eat and drink with us.
12 Tunc introivit Vagao ad Judith, et dixit : Non vereatur bona puella introire ad dominum meum, ut honorificetur ante faciem ejus, ut manducet cum eo, et bibat vinum in jucunditate.	12 It would be a disgrace for us to have such a woman with us without enjoying her company. If we do not entice her, she will laugh us to scorn."
13 Cui Judith respondit : Quæ ego sum, ut contradicam domino meo ?	13 So Bagoas left the presence of Holofernes, and came to Judith and said, "So fair a maiden should not be reluctant to come to my lord to be honored by him, to enjoy drinking wine with us, and to be like one of the Assyrian women who live in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar."
14 omne quod erit ante oculos ejus bonum et optimum, faciam. Quidquid autem illi placuerit, hoc mihi erit optimum omnibus diebus vitæ meæ.	14 She replied, "Who am I to refuse my lord? Whatever is pleasing to him I will promptly do. This will be a joy for me till the day of my death."
15 Et surrexit, et ornavit se vestimento suo, et ingressa stetit ante faciem ejus.	15 Thereupon she proceeded to put on her festive garments and all her feminine adornments. Meanwhile her maid went ahead and spread out on the ground for her in front of Holofernes the fleece Bagoas had furnished for her daily use in reclining at her dinner.
16 Cor autem Holofernes concussum est : erat enim ardens in concupiscentia ejus.	16 Then Judith came in and reclined on it. The heart of Holofernes was in rapture over her, and his spirit was shaken. He was burning with the desire to possess her, for he had been biding his time to seduce her from the day he saw her.
17 Et dixit ad eam Holofernes : Bibe nunc, et accumbe in jucunditate, quoniam invenisti gratiam coram me.	17 Holofernes said to her, "Drink and be merry with us!"
18 Et dixit Judith : Bibam, domine, quoniam magnificata est anima mea hodie præ omnibus diebus meis.	18 Judith replied, "I will gladly drink, my lord, for at no time since I was born have I ever enjoyed life as much as I do today."
19 Et accepit, et manducavit et bibit coram ipso ea quæ paraverat illi ancilla ejus.	19 She then took the things her maid had prepared, and ate and drank in his presence.
20 Et jucundus factus est Holofernes ad eam, bibitque vinum multum nimis, quantum numquam biberat in vita sua.	20 Holofernes, charmed by her, drank a great quantity of wine, more than he had ever drunk on one single day in his life.