V. Victory and Thanksgiving
Chapter 14
Judith’s Plan of Attack. 1 Then Judith said to them: “Listen to me, my brothers and sisters. Take this head and hang it on the parapet of your wall.(A) 2 At daybreak, when the sun rises on the earth, each of you seize your weapons, and let all the able-bodied men rush out of the city under command of a captain, as if about to go down into the valley against the Assyrian patrol, but without going down. 3 The Assyrians will seize their weapons and hurry to their camp to awaken the generals of the army. When they run to the tent of Holofernes and do not find him, panic will seize them, and they will flee before you.(B) 4 Then you and all the other inhabitants of the whole territory of Israel will pursue them and strike them down in their tracks. 5 But before doing this, summon for me Achior the Ammonite, that he may see and recognize the one who despised the house of Israel and sent him here to meet his death.”
Achior’s Conversion. 6 So they called Achior from the house of Uzziah. When he came and saw the head of Holofernes in the hand of one of the men in the assembly of the people, he collapsed in a faint. 7 Then, after they lifted him up, he threw himself at the feet of Judith in homage, saying: “Blessed are you in every tent of Judah! In every nation, all who hear your name will be struck with terror.(C) 8 But now, tell me all that you did during these days.” So Judith told him, in the midst of the people, all that she had done, from the day she left until the time she began speaking to them. 9 When she had finished her account, the people cheered loudly, so that the city resounded with shouts of joy. 10 Now Achior, seeing all that the God of Israel had done, believed firmly in God. He circumcised the flesh of his foreskin and he has been united with the house of Israel to the present day.(D)
Panic in the Assyrian Camp. 11 At daybreak they hung the head of Holofernes on the wall. Then all the Israelite men took up their weapons and went out by groups to the mountain passes.(E) 12 When the Assyrians saw them, they notified their commanders, who, in turn, went to their generals, their division leaders, and all their other leaders. 13 They came to the tent of Holofernes and said to the one in charge of all his things, “Awaken our lord, for the slaves have dared come down against us in battle, to their utter destruction.” 14 So Bagoas went in and knocked at the entry of the tent, presuming that Holofernes was sleeping with Judith. 15 When no one answered, he parted the curtains, entered the bedchamber, and found him thrown on the floor dead, with his head gone! 16 He cried out loudly, weeping, groaning, and howling, and tore his garments. 17 Then he entered the tent where Judith had her quarters; and, not finding her, he rushed out to the troops and cried: 18 “The slaves have duped us! One Hebrew woman has brought shame on the house of King Nebuchadnezzar. Look! Holofernes on the ground—without a head!”(F)
19 When the leaders of the Assyrian forces heard these words, they tore their tunics and were overcome with great distress. Their loud cries and shouts were heard throughout the camp.
Footnotes
- 14:1–16:25
- 14:1–5
- 14:6–10
Cross references
- 14:1 : 1 Sm 17:54; 31:9–10; 2 Sm 20:21; 2 Kgs 10:7–8; 1 Mc 7:47; 2 Mc 15:30; Mt 14:8.
- 14:3 : 1 Mc 7:44.
- 14:7 : Jgs 5:24.
- 14:10 : Dt 23:4.
- 14:11 : 2 Mc 8:23; 12:20.
- 14:18 : Jgs 9:54.
