Iudith 5

VULGATA	NEW JERUSALEM
1 Nuntiatumque est Holoferni principi militiæ Assyriorum, quod filii Israël præpararent se ad resistendum, ac montium itinera conclusissent :	1 Holofernes, general-in-chief of the Assyrian army, received the intel igence that the Israelites werepreparing for war, that they had closed the mountain passes, fortified al the high peaks and laid obstructions inthe plains.
2 et furore nimio exarsit in iracundia magna, vocavitque omnes principes Moab et duces Ammon,	2 Holofernes was furious. He summoned al the princes of Moab, al the generals of Ammon and al thesatraps of the coastal regions.
3 et dixit eis : Dicite mihi quis sit populus iste, qui montana obsidet : aut quæ, et quales, et quantæ sint civitates eorum : quæ etiam sit virtus eorum, aut quæ sit multitudo eorum, vel quis rex militiæ illorum :	3 'Men of Canaan,' he said, 'tel me: what people is this that occupies the hill-country? What towns does itinhabit? How large is its army? What are the sources of its power and strength? Who is the king who rules it andcommands its army?
4 et quare præ omnibus qui habitant in oriente, isti contempserunt nos, et non exierunt obviam nobis ut susciperent nos cum pace ?	4 Why have they disdained to wait on me, as all the western peoples have?'
5 Tunc Achior dux omnium filiorum Ammon respondens, ait : Si digneris audire, domine mi, dicam veritatem in conspectu tuo de populo isto qui in montanis habitat, et non egredietur verbum falsum ex ore meo.	5 Achior, leader of al the Ammonites, replied, 'May my lord be pleased to listen to what your servant isgoing to say. I shall give you the facts about these mountain folk whose home lies close to you. You wil hear nolie from the mouth of your servant.
6 Populus iste ex progenie Chaldæorum est.	6 These people are descended from the Chaldaeans.
7 Hic primum in Mesopotamia habitavit, quoniam noluerunt sequi deos patrum suorum, qui erant in terra Chaldæorum.	7 They once came to live in Mesopotamia, because they did not want to fol ow the gods of their ancestorswho lived in Chaldaea.
8 Deserentes itaque cæremonias patrum suorum, quæ in multitudine deorum erant,	8 They abandoned the way of their ancestors to worship the God of heaven, the God they learnt toacknowledge. Banished from the presence of their own gods, they fled to Mesopotamia where they lived for along time.
9 unum Deum cæli coluerunt, qui et præcepit eis ut exirent inde et habitarent in Charan. Cumque operuisset omnem terram fames, descenderunt in Ægyptum, illicque per quadringentos annos sic multiplicati sunt, ut dinumerari eorum non posset exercitus.	9 When God told them to leave their home and set out for Canaan, they settled there and accumulatedgold and silver and great herds of cattle.
10 Cumque gravaret eos rex Ægypti, atque in ædificationibus urbium suarum in luto et latere subjugasset eos, clamaverunt ad Dominum suum, et percussit totam terram Ægypti plagis variis.	10 Next, famine having overwhelmed the land of Canaan, they went down to Egypt where they stayed tilthey were well nourished. There they became a great multitude, a race beyond counting.
11 Cumque ejecissent eos Ægyptii a se, et cessasset plaga ab eis, et iterum eos vellent capere, et ad suum servitium revocare,	11 But the king of Egypt turned against them and exploited them by forcing them to make bricks; hedegraded them, reducing them to slavery.
12 fugientibus his, Deus cæli mare aperuit, ita ut hinc inde aquæ quasi murus solidarentur, et isti pede sicco fundum maris perambulando transirent.	12 They cried to their God, who struck the entire land of Egypt with incurable plagues, and the Egyptiansexpel ed them.
13 In quo loco dum innumerabilis exercitus Ægyptiorum eos persequeretur, ita aquis coopertus est, ut non remaneret vel unus, qui factum posteris nuntiaret.	13 God dried up the Red Sea before them
14 Egressi vero mare Rubrum, deserta Sina montis occupaverunt, in quibus numquam homo habitare potuit, vel filius hominis requievit.	14 and led them forward by way of Sinai and Kadesh-Barnea. Having driven off all the inhabitants of thedesert,
15 Illic fontes amari obdulcati sunt eis ad bibendum, et per annos quadraginta annonam de cælo consecuti sunt.	15 they settled in the land of the Amorites and in their strength exterminated the entire population ofHeshbon. Then, having crossed the Jordan, they took possession of al the hil -country,
16 Ubicumque ingressi sunt sine arcu et sagitta, et absque scuto et gladio, Deus eorum pugnavit pro eis, et vicit.	16 driving out the Canaanites before them and the Perizzites, Jebusites, Shechemites and all theGirgashites, and lived there for many years.
17 Et non fuit qui insultaret populo isti, nisi quando recessit a cultu Domini Dei sui.	17 Al the while they did not sin before their God, prosperity was theirs, for they have a God who hateswickedness.
18 Quotiescumque autem præter ipsum Deum suum, alterum coluerunt, dati sunt in prædam, et in gladium, et in opprobrium.	18 But when they turned from the path he had marked out for them some were exterminated in a series ofbattles, others were taken captive to a foreign land. The Temple of their God was rased to the ground and theirtowns were seized by their enemies.
19 Quotiescumque autem p?nituerunt se recessisse a cultura Dei sui, dedit eis Deus cæli virtutem resistendi.	19 Then having turned once again to their God, they came back from the places to which they had beendispersed and scattered, regained possession of Jerusalem, where they have their Temple, and reoccupied thehil -country which had been left deserted.
20 Denique Chananæum regem, et Jebusæum, et Pherezæum, et Hethæum, et Hevæum, et Amorrhæum, et omnes potentes in Hesebon prostraverunt, et terras eorum et civitates eorum ipsi possederunt :	20 So, now, master and lord, if this people has committed any fault, if they have sinned against their God,let us first be sure that they real y have this reason to fail, then advance and attack them.
21 et usque dum non peccarent in conspectu Dei sui, erant cum illis bona : Deus enim illorum odit iniquitatem.	21 But if their nation is guiltless, my lord would do better to abstain, for fear that their Lord and God shouldprotect them. We should then become the laughing-stock of the whole world.'
22 Nam et ante hos annos cum recessissent a via quam dederat illis Deus ut ambularent in ea, exterminati sunt præliis a multis nationibus, et plurimi eorum captivi abducti sunt in terram non suam.	22 When Achior had ended this speech, all the people crowding round the tent began protesting.Holofernes' own senior officers, as wel as al the coastal peoples and the Moabites, threatened to tear him limbfrom limb.
23 Nuper autem reversi ad Dominum Deum suum, ex dispersione qua dispersi fuerant, adunati sunt, et ascenderunt montana hæc omnia, et iterum possident Jerusalem, ubi sunt sancta eorum.	23 'Why should we be afraid of the Israelites? They are a weak and powerless people, quite unable tostand a stiff attack.
24 Nunc ergo mi domine, perquire si est aliqua iniquitas eorum in conspectu Dei eorum : ascendamus ad illos, quoniam tradens tradet illos Deus eorum tibi, et subjugati erunt sub jugo potentiæ tuæ.	24 Forward! Advance! Your army, Holofernes our master, wil swal ow them in one mouthful!'
25 Si vero non est offensio populi hujus coram Deo suo, non poterimus resistere illis, quoniam Deus eorum defendet illos : et erimus in opprobrium universæ terræ.
26 Et factum est, cum cessasset loqui Achior verba hæc, irati sunt omnes magnates Holofernis, et cogitabant interficere eum, dicentes ad alterutrum :
27 Quis est iste, qui filios Israël posse dicat resistere regi Nabuchodonosor et exercitibus ejus, homines inermes, et sine virtute, et sine peritia artis pugnæ ?
28 Ut ergo agnoscat Achior quoniam fallit nos, ascendamus in montana : et cum capti fuerint potentes eorum, tunc cum eisdem gladio transverberabitur :
29 ut sciat omnis gens quoniam Nabuchodonosor deus terræ est, et præter ipsum alius non est.