Iudith 4

VULGATA	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Tunc audientes hæc filii Israël qui habitabant in terra Juda, timuerunt valde a facie ejus.	1 When the Israelites who dwelt in Judea heard of all that Holofernes, commander-in-chief of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, had done to the nations, and how he had despoiled all their temples and destroyed them,
2 Tremor et horror invasit sensus eorum, ne hoc faceret Jerusalem et templo Domini, quod fecerat ceteris civitatibus et templis earum.	2 they were in extreme dread of him, and greatly alarmed for Jerusalem and the temple of the Lord, their God.
3 Et miserunt in omnem Samariam per circuitum usque Jericho, et præoccupaverunt omnes vertices montium :	3 Now, they had lately returned from exile, and only recently had all the people of Judea been gathered together, and the vessels, the altar, and the temple been purified from profanation.
4 et muris circumdederunt vicos suos, et congregaverunt frumenta in præparationem pugnæ.	4 So they sent word to the whole region of Samaria, to Kona, Beth-horon, Belmain, and Jericho, to Choba and Aesora, and to the valley of Salem.
5 Sacerdos etiam Eliachim scripsit ad universos qui erant contra Esdrelon, quæ est contra faciem campi magni juxta Dothain, et universos per quos viæ transitus esse poterat,	5 The people there posted guards on all the summits of the high mountains, fortified their villages, and since their fields had recently been harvested, stored up provisions in preparation for war.
6 ut obtinerent ascensus montium, per quos via esse poterat ad Jerusalem, et illic custodirent ubi angustum iter esse poterat inter montes.	6 Joakim, who was high priest in Jerusalem in those days, wrote to the inhabitants of Bethulia (and Betomesthaim), which is on the way to Esdraelon, facing the plain near Dothan,
7 Et fecerunt filii Israël secundum quod constituerat eis sacerdos Domini Eliachim.	7 and instructed them to keep firm hold of the mountain passes, since these offered access to Judea. It would be easy to ward off the attacking forces, as the defile was only wide enough for two abreast.
8 Et clamavit omnis populus ad Dominum instantia magna, et humiliaverunt animas suas in jejuniis et orationibus, ipsi et mulieres eorum.	8 The Israelites carried out the orders given them by Joakim, the high priest, and the senate of the whole people of Israel, which met in Jerusalem.
9 Et induerunt se sacerdotes ciliciis, et infantes prostraverunt contra faciem templi Domini, et altare Domini operuerunt cilicio :	9 All the men of Israel cried to God with great fervor and did penance--
10 et clamaverunt ad Dominum Deum Israël unanimiter ne darentur in prædam infantes eorum, et uxores eorum in divisionem, et civitates eorum in exterminium, et sancta eorum in pollutionem, et fierent opprobrium gentibus.	10 they, along with their wives, and children, and domestic animals. All their resident aliens, hired laborers, and slaves also girded themselves with sackcloth.
11 Tunc Eliachim sacerdos Domini magnus circuivit omnem Israël, allocutusque est eos,	11 And all the Israelite men, women and children who lived in Jerusalem prostrated themselves in front of the temple building, with ashes strewn on their heads, displaying their sackcloth covering before the Lord.
12 dicens : Scitote quoniam exaudiet Dominus preces vestras, si manentes permanseritis in jejuniis et orationibus in conspectu Domini.	12 The altar, too, they draped in sackcloth; and with one accord they cried out fervently to the God of Israel not to allow their children to be seized, their wives to be taken captive, the cities of their inheritance to be ruined, or the sanctuary to be profaned and mocked for the nations to gloat over.
13 Memores estote Moysi servi Domini, qui Amalec confidentem in virtute sua, et in potentia sua, et in exercitu suo, et in clypeis suis, et in curribus suis, et in equitibus suis, non ferro pugnando, sed precibus sanctis orando dejecit :	13 The Lord heard their cry and had regard for their distress. For the people observed a fast of many days' duration throughout Judea, and before the sanctuary of the Lord Almighty in Jerusalem.
14 sic erunt universi hostes Israël, si perseveraveritis in hoc opere quod c?pistis.	14 The high priest Joakim, and all the priests in attendance on the Lord who served his altar, were also girded with sackcloth as they offered the daily holocaust, the votive offerings, and the freewill offerings of the people.
15 Ad hanc igitur exhortationem ejus deprecantes Dominum, permanebant in conspectu Domini,	15 With ashes upon their turbans, they cried to the Lord with all their strength to look with favor on the whole house of Israel.
16 ita ut etiam hi qui offerebant Domino holocausta, præcincti ciliciis offerrent sacrificia Domino, et erat cinis super capita eorum.
17 Et ex toto corde suo omnes orabant Deum, ut visitaret populum suum Israël.