Iudith 13

VULGATA	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Ut autem sero factum est, festinaverunt servi illius ad hospitia sua, et conclusit Vagao ostia cubiculi, et abiit.	1 So then, when it had become late, his servants hurried to their lodgings, and Vagao closed the chamber doors, and he went away.
2 Erant autem omnes fatigati a vino,	2 But they were all drowsy from the wine.
3 eratque Judith sola in cubiculo.	3 And Judith was alone in the chamber.
4 Porro Holofernes jacebat in lecto, nimia ebrietate sopitus.	4 Moreover, Holofernes, being very inebriated, was fast asleep, reclining on his bed.
5 Dixitque Judith puellæ suæ ut staret foris ante cubiculum, et observaret.	5 And Judith told her handmaid to stand outside before the chamber, and to watch.
6 Stetitque Judith ante lectum, orans cum lacrimis, et labiorum motu in silentio,	6 And Judith stood in front of the bed, praying with tears, and her lips moved in silence,
7 dicens : Confirma me, Domine Deus Israël, et respice in hac hora ad opera manuum mearum, ut, sicut promisisti, Jerusalem civitatem tuam erigas : et hoc quod credens per te posse fieri cogitavi, perficiam.	7 saying: “Confirm me, O Lord God of Israel, and in this hour look kindly upon the works of my hands, so that, just as you promised, you may raise up Jerusalem, your city, and so that, believing through you that this plan is able to be accomplished, I may succeed.”
8 Et cum hæc dixisset, accessit ad columnam quæ erat ad caput lectuli ejus, et pugionem ejus, qui in ea ligatus pendebat, exsolvit.	8 And when she had said this, she approached the pillar, which was at the head of the bed, and she released his blade, which was hanging tied to it.
9 Cumque evaginasset illum, apprehendit comam capitis ejus, et ait : Confirma me, Domine Deus, in hac hora.	9 And when she had unsheathed it, she grabbed him by the hair of his head, and she said, “Confirm me, O Lord God, in this hour.”
10 Et percussit bis in cervicem ejus, et abscidit caput ejus, et abstulit conopeum ejus a columnis, et evolvit corpus ejus truncum.	10 And she struck him twice on his neck, and she cut off his head, and she took off his canopy from the pillars, and she rolled away the trunk of his body.
11 Et post pusillum exivit, et tradidit caput Holofernis ancillæ suæ, et jussit ut mitteret illud in peram suam.	11 And after a little while, she went out, and she delivered the head of Holofernes to her handmaid, and she ordered her to put it in her bag.
12 Et exierunt duæ, secundum consuetudinem suam, quasi ad orationem, et transierunt castra, et gyrantes vallem, venerunt ad portam civitatis.	12 And the two went out, according to their custom, as if to prayer, and they passed through the camp, and having circled around the valley, they came to the gate of the city.
13 Et dixit Judith a longe custodibus murorum : Aperite portas, quoniam nobiscum est Deus, qui fecit virtutem in Israël.	13 And Judith, from a distance, spoke to the watchmen on the walls, “Open the gates, for God is with us, and he has acted with his power in Israel.”
14 Et factum est cum audissent viri vocem ejus, vocaverunt presbyteros civitatis.	14 And it happened that, when the men had heard her voice, they called the elders of the city.
15 Et concurrerunt ad eam omnes, a minimo usque ad maximum : quoniam sperabant eam jam non esse venturam.	15 And all rushed toward her, from the least to the greatest. For, until then, they held no hope that she would return.
16 Et accendentes luminaria, congyraverunt circa eam universi : illa autem ascendens in eminentiorem locum, jussit fieri silentium. Cumque omnes tacuissent,	16 And, enflaming the lights, they gathered all around her. But she climbed up to a higher place, and she ordered them to be made silent. And when all had quieted down,
17 dixit Judith : Laudate Dominum Deum nostrum, qui non deseruit sperantes in se,	17 Judith said: “Praise the Lord our God, who has not abandoned those who hope in him.
18 et in me ancilla sua adimplevit misericordiam suam, quam promisit domui Israël : et interfecit in manu mea hostem populi sui hac nocte.	18 And by me, his handmaid, he has fulfilled his mercy, which he promised to the house of Israel. And he has killed the enemy of his people, by my hand this night.”
19 Et proferens de pera caput Holofernis, ostendit illis, dicens : Ecce caput Holofernis principis militiæ Assyriorum, et ecce conopeum illius, in quo recumbebat in ebrietate sua, ubi per manum feminæ percussit illum Dominus Deus noster.	19 Then, taking the head of Holofernes from the bag, she displayed it to them, saying: “Behold, the head of Holofernes the leader of the military of the Assyrians, and behold his canopy, under which he reclined in his drunkenness, where the Lord our God struck him by the hand of a woman.
20 Vivit autem ipse Dominus, quoniam custodivit me angelus ejus et hinc euntem, et ibi commorantem, et inde huc revertentem, et non permisit me Dominus ancillam suam coinquinari, sed sine pollutione peccati revocavit me vobis gaudentem in victoria sua, in evasione mea, et in liberatione vestra.	20 But, as the Lord himself lives, his angel has been my guardian both from my departure, and while staying there, and when returning from there. And the Lord has not permitted me, his handmaid, to be defiled, but he has called me back to you without the pollution of sin, rejoicing in his victory, in my escape, and in your liberation.
21 Confitemini illi omnes, quoniam bonus, quoniam in sæculum misericordia ejus.	21 Confess everything to him, for he is good, for his mercy is with every generation.”
22 Universi autem adorantes Dominum, dixerunt ad eam : Benedixit te Dominus in virtute sua, quia per te ad nihilum redegit inimicos nostros.	22 Then everyone adored the Lord, and they said to her, “The Lord has blessed you by his power, because, through you, he has reduced our enemies to nothing.”
23 Porro Ozias princeps populi Israël dixit ad eam : Benedicta es tu, filia, a Domino Deo excelso præ omnibus mulieribus super terram.	23 Furthermore, Uzziah, the leader of the people of Israel, said to her: “O daughter, you have been blessed by the Lord, the most high God, above all the women on earth.
24 Benedictus Dominus, qui creavit cælum et terram, qui te direxit in vulnera capitis principis inimicorum nostrorum :	24 Blessed is the Lord, who made heaven and earth, who has guided you in harming the head of the leader of our enemies.
25 quia hodie nomen tuum ita magnificavit, ut non recedat laus tua de ore hominum qui memores fuerint virtutis Domini in æternum, pro quibus non pepercisti animæ tuæ propter angustias et tribulationem generis tui, sed subvenisti ruinæ ante conspectum Dei nostri.	25 For he has so magnified your name this day, that your praise will not retire from the mouth of men, who will be mindful of the power of the Lord forever, because you have risked your life for the sake of the distress and tribulation of your people, and you have prevented our ruin before the sight of our God.”
26 Et dixit omnis populus : Fiat, fiat.	26 And all the people said: “Amen. Amen.”
27 Porro Achior vocatus venit, et dixit ei Judith : Deus Israël, cui tu testimonium dedisti quod ulciscatur se de inimicis suis, ipse caput omnium incredulorum incidit hac nocte in manu mea.	27 And so, Achior was called, and he drew near, and Judith said to him: “The God of Israel, to whom you gave testimony, has avenged himself on his enemies. He has cut down the head of all unbelievers, by my hand this night.
28 Et ut probes quia ita est, ecce caput Holofernis, qui in contemptu superbiæ suæ Deum Israël contempsit, et tibi interitum minabatur, dicens : Cum captus fuerit populus Israël, gladio perforari præcipiam latera tua.	28 And, so that you may determine that this is so, behold, the head of Holofernes, who, in the contempt of his pride, despised the God of Israel and threatened Israel with ruin, saying, ‘When the people of Israel have been captured, I will instruct your sides to be pierced through with a sword.’ ”
29 Videns autem Achior caput Holofernis, angustiatus præ pavore cecidit in faciem suam super terram, et æstuavit anima ejus.	29 Then Achior, seeing the head of Holofernes, and being distressed by fear, fell upon his face on the ground, and his soul became agitated.
30 Postea vero quam resumpto spiritu recreatus est, procidit ad pedes ejus, et adoravit eam, et dixit :	30 In truth, after this, when he had recovered his breath, he fell down before her feet, and he showed reverence for her, and he said:
31 Benedicta tu a Deo tuo in omni tabernaculo Jacob, quoniam in omni gente quæ audierit nomen tuum, magnificabitur super te Deus Israël.	31 “Blessed are you by your God, in every tabernacle of Jacob, for in every nation that will hear of your name, the God of Israel will be magnified over you.”