Judith 5

1And it was told Holofernes the general of the army of the Assyrians, that the children of Israel prepared themselves to resist, and had shut up the ways of the mountains.

2And he was transported with exceeding great fury and indignation, and he called all the princes of Moab and the leaders of Ammon.

3And he said to them: Tell me what is this people that besetteth the mountains: or what are their cities, and of what sort, and how great: also what is their power, or what is their multitude: or who is the king over their warfare:

4And why they above all that dwell in the east, have despised us, and have not come out to meet us, that they might receive us with peace?

5Then Achior captain of all the children of Ammon answering, said; If thou vouchsafe, my lord, to hear, I will tell the truth in thy sight concerning this people, that dwelleth in the mountains, and there shall not a false word come out of my mouth.

6This people is of the offspring of the Chaldeans.

7They dwelt first in Mesopotamia, because they would not follow the gods of their fathers, who were in the land of the Chaldeans.

8Wherefore forsaking the ceremonies of their fathers, which consisted in the worship of many gods,

9They worshipped one God of heaven, who also commanded them to depart from thence, and to dwell in Charan. And when there was a famine over all the land, they went down into Egypt, and there for four hundred years were so multiplied, that the army of them could not be numbered.

10And when the king of Egypt oppressed them, and made slaves of them to labour in clay and brick, in the building of his cities, they cried to their Lord, and he struck the whole land of Egypt with divers plagues.

11And when the Egyptians had cast them out from them, and the plague had ceased from them, and they had a mind to take them again, and bring them back to their service,

12The God of heaven opened the sea to them in their flight, so that the waters were made to stand firm as a wall on either side, and they walked through the bottom of the sea and passed it dry foot.

13And when an innumerable army of the Egyptians pursued after them in that place, they were so overwhelmed with the waters, that there was not one left, to tell what had happened to posterity.

14After they came out of the Red Sea, they abode in the deserts of mount Sina, in which never man could dwell, or son of man rested.

15There bitter fountains were made sweet for them to drink, and for forty years they received food from heaven.

16Wheresoever they went in without bow and arrow, and without shield and sword, their God fought for them and overcame.

17And there was no one that triumphed over this people, but when they departed from the worship of the Lord their God.

18But as often as beside their own God, they worshipped any other, they were given to spoil and to the sword, and to reproach.

19And as often as they were penitent for having revolted from the worship of their God, the God of heaven gave them power to resist.

20So they overthrew the king of the Chanaanites, and of the Jebusites, and of the Pherezites, and of the Hethites, and of the Hevites, and of the Amorrhites, and all the mighty ones in Hesebon, and they possessed their lands, and their cities:

21And as long as they sinned not in the sight of their God, it was well with them: for their God hateth iniquity.

22And even some years ago when they had revolted from the way which God had given them to walk therein, they were destroyed in battles by many nations and very many of them were led away captive into a strange land.

23But of late returning to the Lord their God, from the different places wherein they were scattered, they are come together and are gone up into all these mountains, and possess Jerusalem again, where their holies are.

24Now therefore, my lord, search if there be any iniquity of theirs in the sight of their God: let us go up to them, because their God will surely deliver them to thee, and they shall be brought under the yoke of thy power:

25But if there be no offence of this people in the sight of their God, we cannot resist them because their God will defend them: and we shall be a reproach to the whole earth.

26And it came to pass, when Achior had ceased to speak these words, all the great men of Holofernes were angry, and they had a mind to kill him, saying to each other:

27Who is this, that saith the children of Israel can resist king Nabuchodonosor, and his armies, men unarmed, and without force, and without skill in the art of war?

28That Achior therefore may know that he deceiveth us, let us go up into the mountains: and when the bravest of them shall be taken, then shall he with them be stabbed with the sword,

29That every nation may know that Nabuchodonosor is god of the earth, and besides him there is no other.

1Nuntiatumque est Holoferni principi militiæ Assyriorum, quod filii Israël præpararent se ad resistendum, ac montium itinera conclusissent:

2et furore nimio exarsit in iracundia magna, vocavitque omnes principes Moab et duces Ammon,

3et 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:

4et quare præ omnibus qui habitant in oriente, isti contempserunt nos, et non exierunt obviam nobis ut susciperent nos cum pace?

5Tunc 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.

6Populus iste ex progenie Chaldæorum est.

7Hic primum in Mesopotamia habitavit, quoniam noluerunt sequi deos patrum suorum, qui erant in terra Chaldæorum.

8Deserentes itaque cæremonias patrum suorum, quæ in multitudine deorum erant,

9unum 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.

10Cumque 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.

11Cumque ejecissent eos Ægyptii a se, et cessasset plaga ab eis, et iterum eos vellent capere, et ad suum servitium revocare,

12fugientibus his, Deus cæli mare aperuit, ita ut hinc inde aquæ quasi murus solidarentur, et isti pede sicco fundum maris perambulando transirent.

13In quo loco dum innumerabilis exercitus Ægyptiorum eos persequeretur, ita aquis coopertus est, ut non remaneret vel unus, qui factum posteris nuntiaret.

14Egressi vero mare Rubrum, deserta Sina montis occupaverunt, in quibus numquam homo habitare potuit, vel filius hominis requievit.

15Illic fontes amari obdulcati sunt eis ad bibendum, et per annos quadraginta annonam de cælo consecuti sunt.

16Ubicumque ingressi sunt sine arcu et sagitta, et absque scuto et gladio, Deus eorum pugnavit pro eis, et vicit.

17Et non fuit qui insultaret populo isti, nisi quando recessit a cultu Domini Dei sui.

18Quotiescumque autem præter ipsum Deum suum, alterum coluerunt, dati sunt in prædam, et in gladium, et in opprobrium.

19Quotiescumque autem pœnituerunt se recessisse a cultura Dei sui, dedit eis Deus cæli virtutem resistendi.

20Denique 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:

21et usque dum non peccarent in conspectu Dei sui, erant cum illis bona : Deus enim illorum odit iniquitatem.

22Nam 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.

23Nuper 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.

24Nunc 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.

25Si vero non est offensio populi hujus coram Deo suo, non poterimus resistere illis, quoniam Deus eorum defendet illos : et erimus in opprobrium universæ terræ.

26Et factum est, cum cessasset loqui Achior verba hæc, irati sunt omnes magnates Holofernis, et cogitabant interficere eum, dicentes ad alterutrum:

27Quis est iste, qui filios Israël posse dicat resistere regi Nabuchodonosor et exercitibus ejus, homines inermes, et sine virtute, et sine peritia artis pugnæ?

28Ut ergo agnoscat Achior quoniam fallit nos, ascendamus in montana : et cum capti fuerint potentes eorum, tunc cum eisdem gladio transverberabitur:

29ut sciat omnis gens quoniam Nabuchodonosor deus terræ est, et præter ipsum alius non est.

1καὶ ἀνηγγέλη Ολοφέρνῃ ἀρχιστρατήγῳ δυνάμεως Ασσουρ διότι οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ παρεσκευάσαντο εἰς πόλεμον καὶ τὰς διόδους τῆς ὀρεινῆς συνέκλεισαν καὶ ἐτείχισαν πᾶσαν κορυφὴν ὄρους ὑψηλοῦ καὶ ἔθηκαν ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις σκάνδαλα

2καὶ ὠργίσθη θυμῷ σφόδρα καὶ ἐκάλεσεν πάντας τοὺς ἄρχοντας Μωαβ καὶ τοὺς στρατηγοὺς Αμμων καὶ πάντας σατράπας τῆς παραλίας

3καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ἀναγγείλατε δή μοι υἱοὶ Χανααν τίς ὁ λαὸς οὗτος ὁ καθήμενος ἐν τῇ ὀρεινῇ καὶ τίνες ἃς κατοικοῦσιν πόλεις καὶ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν τίνι τὸ κράτος αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτῶν καὶ τίς ἀνέστηκεν ἐπ' αὐτῶν βασιλεὺς ἡγούμενος στρατιᾶς αὐτῶν

4καὶ διὰ τί κατενωτίσαντο τοῦ μὴ ἐλθεῖν εἰς ἀπάντησίν μοι παρὰ πάντας τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ἐν δυσμαῖς

5καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτὸν Αχιωρ ὁ ἡγούμενος πάντων υἱῶν Αμμων ἀκουσάτω δὴ λόγον ὁ κύριός μου ἐκ στόματος τοῦ δούλου σου καὶ ἀναγγελῶ σοι τὴν ἀλήθειαν περὶ τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου ὃς κατοικεῖ τὴν ὀρεινὴν ταύτην πλησίον σοῦ οἰκοῦντος καὶ οὐκ ἐξελεύσεται ψεῦδος ἐκ τοῦ στόματος τοῦ δούλου σου

6ὁ λαὸς οὗτός εἰσιν ἀπόγονοι Χαλδαίων

7καὶ παρῴκησαν τὸ πρότερον ἐν τῇ Μεσοποταμίᾳ ὅτι οὐκ ἐβουλήθησαν ἀκολουθῆσαι τοῖς θεοῖς τῶν πατέρων αὐτῶν οἳ ἐγένοντο ἐν γῇ Χαλδαίων

8καὶ ἐξέβησαν ἐξ ὁδοῦ τῶν γονέων αὐτῶν καὶ προσεκύνησαν τῷ θεῷ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ θεῷ ᾧ ἐπέγνωσαν καὶ ἐξέβαλον αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ προσώπου τῶν θεῶν αὐτῶν καὶ ἔφυγον εἰς Μεσοποταμίαν καὶ παρῴκησαν ἐκεῖ ἡμέρας πολλάς

9καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς αὐτῶν ἐξελθεῖν ἐκ τῆς παροικίας αὐτῶν καὶ πορευθῆναι εἰς γῆν Χανααν καὶ κατῴκησαν ἐκεῖ καὶ ἐπληθύνθησαν χρυσίῳ καὶ ἀργυρίῳ καὶ ἐν κτήνεσιν πολλοῖς σφόδρα

10καὶ κατέβησαν εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἐκάλυψεν γὰρ τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς Χανααν λιμός καὶ παρῴκησαν ἐκεῖ μέχρις οὗ διετράφησαν καὶ ἐγένοντο ἐκεῖ εἰς πλῆθος πολύ καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἀριθμὸς τοῦ γένους αὐτῶν

11καὶ ἐπανέστη αὐτοῖς ὁ βασιλεὺς Αἰγύπτου καὶ κατεσοφίσατο αὐτοὺς ἐν πόνῳ καὶ πλίνθῳ ἐταπείνωσαν αὐτοὺς καὶ ἔθεντο αὐτοὺς εἰς δούλους

12καὶ ἀνεβόησαν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπάταξεν πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν Αἰγύπτου πληγαῖς ἐν αἷς οὐκ ἦν ἴασις καὶ ἐξέβαλον αὐτοὺς οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν

13καὶ κατεξήρανεν ὁ θεὸς τὴν ἐρυθρὰν θάλασσαν ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν

14καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτοὺς εἰς ὁδὸν τοῦ Σινα καὶ Καδης Βαρνη καὶ ἐξέβαλον πάντας τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ

15καὶ ᾤκησαν ἐν γῇ Αμορραίων καὶ πάντας τοὺς Εσεβωνίτας ἐξωλέθρευσαν ἐν τῇ ἰσχύι αὐτῶν καὶ διαβάντες τὸν Ιορδάνην ἐκληρονόμησαν πᾶσαν τὴν ὀρεινὴν

16καὶ ἐξέβαλον ἐκ προσώπου αὐτῶν τὸν Χαναναῖον καὶ τὸν Φερεζαῖον καὶ τὸν Ιεβουσαῖον καὶ τὸν Συχεμ καὶ πάντας τοὺς Γεργεσαίους καὶ κατῴκησαν ἐν αὐτῇ ἡμέρας πολλάς

17καὶ ἕως οὐχ ἥμαρτον ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ αὐτῶν ἦν μετ' αὐτῶν τὰ ἀγαθά ὅτι θεὸς μισῶν ἀδικίαν μετ' αὐτῶν ἐστιν

18ὅτε δὲ ἀπέστησαν ἀπὸ τῆς ὁδοῦ ἧς διέθετο αὐτοῖς ἐξωλεθρεύθησαν ἐν πολλοῖς πολέμοις ἐπὶ πολὺ σφόδρα καὶ ᾐχμαλωτεύθησαν εἰς γῆν οὐκ ἰδίαν καὶ ὁ ναὸς τοῦ θεοῦ αὐτῶν ἐγενήθη εἰς ἔδαφος καὶ αἱ πόλεις αὐτῶν ἐκρατήθησαν ὑπὸ τῶν ὑπεναντίων

19καὶ νῦν ἐπιστρέψαντες ἐπὶ τὸν θεὸν αὐτῶν ἀνέβησαν ἐκ τῆς διασπορᾶς οὗ διεσπάρησαν ἐκεῖ καὶ κατέσχον τὴν Ιερουσαλημ οὗ τὸ ἁγίασμα αὐτῶν καὶ κατῳκίσθησαν ἐν τῇ ὀρεινῇ ὅτι ἦν ἔρημος

20καὶ νῦν δέσποτα κύριε εἰ μὲν ἔστιν ἀγνόημα ἐν τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ καὶ ἁμαρτάνουσιν εἰς τὸν θεὸν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπισκεψόμεθα ὅτι ἔστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς σκάνδαλον τοῦτο καὶ ἀναβησόμεθα καὶ ἐκπολεμήσομεν αὐτούς

21εἰ δ' οὐκ ἔστιν ἀνομία ἐν τῷ ἔθνει αὐτῶν παρελθέτω δὴ ὁ κύριός μου μήποτε ὑπερασπίσῃ ὁ κύριος αὐτῶν καὶ ὁ θεὸς αὐτῶν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν καὶ ἐσόμεθα εἰς ὀνειδισμὸν ἐναντίον πάσης τῆς γῆς

22καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἐπαύσατο Αχιωρ λαλῶν τοὺς λόγους τούτους καὶ ἐγόγγυσεν πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ὁ κυκλῶν τὴν σκηνὴν καὶ περιεστώς καὶ εἶπαν οἱ μεγιστᾶνες Ολοφέρνου καὶ πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὴν παραλίαν καὶ τὴν Μωαβ συγκόψαι αὐτόν

23οὐ γὰρ φοβηθησόμεθα ἀπὸ υἱῶν Ισραηλ ἰδοὺ γὰρ λαὸς ἐν ᾧ οὐκ ἔστιν δύναμις οὐδὲ κράτος εἰς παράταξιν ἰσχυράν

24διὸ δὴ ἀναβησόμεθα καὶ ἔσονται εἰς κατάβρωσιν πάσης τῆς στρατιᾶς σου δέσποτα Ολοφέρνη