Judith 13

¹Forsothe as euentid was maad, hise seruauntis hastiden to her ynnes; and Vagao closid togidere the doris of the closet, and yede forth.

²For alle men weren maad feynt of wiyn;

³and Judith aloone was in the closet.

⁴Certis Holofernes lai in the bed, aslepid with ful myche drunkenesse.

⁵And Judith seide to hir damesele, that sche schulde stonde with outforth bifor the dore of the closet, and aspie.

⁶And Judith stood bifor the bed, preiynge with teeris, and with stiryng of lippis `in silence,

⁷seiynge, Lord God of Israel, conferme me, and biholde in this our to the werkis of myn hondis, that, as thou bihiytist, thou reise Jerusalem thi citee; and that Y performe this thing, which thing Y bileuynge thouyte to mow be doon bi thee.

⁸And whanne sche hadde seid this, sche neiyede to the piler that was at the heed of his bed, and sche loside his swerd, that hangide boundun `ther ynne.

⁹And whanne sche hadde drawe out of the scheeth thilke swerd, sche took the heer of his heed; and seide, Lord God of Israel, conferme me in this our.

¹⁰And sche smoot twies on his necke, and kittide awei his heed; and sche took awei his curteyn fro the pileris, and walewide awei his bodi heedles.

¹¹And aftir a litil sche yede out, and bitook the heed of Holofernes to hir handmaide, and comaundide, that sche schulde putte it in to hir scrippe.

¹²And the twei wymmen yeden out `bi her custom as to preier, and passiden the castels of Assiriens, and thei cumpassiden the valei, and camen to the yate of the citee.

¹³And Judith seide afer to the keperis of the wallis, `Opene ye the yatis, for God is with vs, that hath do greet vertu in Israel.

¹⁴And it was doon, whanne the men hadden herd `her vois, thei clepiden the prestis of the citee.

¹⁵And alle men fro the leest `til to the mooste runnen to hir; for thei hopiden not, that sche schulde come now.

¹⁶And thei teendiden liytis, and alle men cumpassiden aboute hir. Sotheli sche stiede in to an hiyere place, and comaundide silence to be maad. And whanne alle men weren stille,

¹⁷Judith seide, Herie ye `oure Lord God, that hath not forsake hem that hopen in hym,

¹⁸and bi me, his handmaide, he hath fillid his merci, which he bihiyte to the hows of Israel, and hath slayn in myn hond the enemye of his puple `in this niyt.

¹⁹And sche `brouyte forth of the scrippe the heed of Holofernes, and schewide it to hem, and seide, Lo! the heed of Holofernes, prince of the chiualrie of Assiriens; and, lo! his curteyn, in which he lay in his drunkenesse, where also oure Lord God killide hym bi the hond of a womman.

²⁰Forsothe the Lord God lyueth, for his aungel kepte me, bothe goynge fro hennus, and dwellynge there, and turnynge ayen fro thennus hidur; and the Lord `suffride not his handmaide to be defoulid, but with out defoulyng of synne he ayen clepid me to you, and Y haue ioie in his victorie, and in `my scapyng, and in youre delyueraunce.

²¹Knouleche ye alle to hym, for he is good, for his mercy is in to `the world.

²²Sotheli alle men worschipiden the Lord, and seiden to hir, The Lord hath blessid thee in his vertu, for bi thee he hath brouyt to nouyt oure enemyes.

²³Certis Ozie, prince of the puple of Israel, seide to hir, Douytir, thou art blessid of the hiy Lord God, bifor alle wymmen on erthe.

²⁴Blessid be the Lord, that made heuene and erthe, and that dresside thee in to the woundis of the heed of the prince of oure enemyes;

²⁵for to dai he hath magnefied so thi name, that thi preisyng go not awei fro the mouth of men, that schulen be myndeful of the vertu of the Lord with outen ende; for whiche thou sparidist not thi lijf for the angwischis and tribulaciouns of thi kyn, but helpidist the fallinge bifor the siyt of oure God.

²⁶And al the puple seide, `Be it! be it!

²⁷Forsothe Achior was clepid, and cam; and Judith seide to hym, Thilke God of Israel, to whom thou yauest witnessyng, that he auengith hym of hise enemyes, hath kit of the heed of alle vnbileueful men in this niyt bi myn hond.

²⁸And that thou preue that it is so, lo! the heed of Holofernes, which in the dispit of his pride dispiside God of Israel, and manaasside deth to thee, and seide, Whanne the puple of Israel is takun, Y schal comaunde thi sidis to be persid with a swerd.

²⁹Sotheli Achior siy the heed of Holofernes, and was angwischid for drede, and felde doun on his face on the erthe, and his soule suffride eneyntisyng.

³⁰Sotheli aftir that he hadde take ayen spirit, and was coumfortid, he felde doun at `hir feet, and worschipide hir,

³¹and seide, Blessid art thou of thi God in al the tabernacle of Jacob; for in ech folk, that schal here thi name, God of Israel schal be magnyfied in thee.

Judith 13

¹Now when the evening was come, his servants made haste to depart, and Bagoas shut his tent without, and dismissed the waiters from the presence of his lord; and they went to their beds: for they were all weary, because the feast had been long.

²And Judith was left along in the tent, and Holofernes lying along upon his bed: for he was filled with wine.

³Now Judith had commanded her maid to stand without her bedchamber, and to wait for her. coming forth, as she did daily: for she said she would go forth to her prayers, and she spake to Bagoas according to the same purpose.

⁴So all went forth and none was left in the bedchamber, neither little nor great. Then Judith, standing by his bed, said in her heart, O Lord God of all power, look at this present upon the works of mine hands for the exaltation of Jerusalem.

⁵For now is the time to help thine inheritance, and to execute thine enterprizes to the destruction of the enemies which are risen against us.

⁶Then she came to the pillar of the bed, which was at Holofernes’ head, and took down his fauchion from thence,

⁷And approached to his bed, and took hold of the hair of his head, and said, Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel, this day.

⁸And she smote twice upon his neck with all her might, and she took away his head from him.

⁹And tumbled his body down from the bed, and pulled down the canopy from the pillars; and anon after she went forth, and gave Holofernes his head to her maid;

¹⁰And she put it in her bag of meat: so they twain went together according to their custom unto prayer: and when they passed the camp, they compassed the valley, and went up the mountain of Bethulia, and came to the gates thereof.

¹¹Then said Judith afar off, to the watchmen at the gate, Open, open now the gate: God, even our God, is with us, to shew his power yet in Jerusalem, and his forces against the enemy, as he hath even done this day.

¹²Now when the men of her city heard her voice, they made haste to go down to the gate of their city, and they called the elders of the city.

¹³And then they ran all together, both small and great, for it was strange unto them that she was come: so they opened the gate, and received them, and made a fire for a light, and stood round about them.

¹⁴Then she said to them with a loud voice, Praise, praise God, praise God, I say, for he hath not taken away his mercy from the house of Israel, but hath destroyed our enemies by mine hands this night.

¹⁵So she took the head out of the bag, and shewed it, and said unto them, behold the head of Holofernes, the chief captain of the army of Assur, and behold the canopy, wherein he did lie in his drunkenness; and the Lord hath smitten him by the hand of a woman.

¹⁶As the Lord liveth, who hath kept me in my way that I went, my countenance hath deceived him to his destruction, and yet hath he not committed sin with me, to defile and shame me.

¹⁷Then all the people were wonderfully astonished, and bowed themselves and worshipped God, and said with one accord, Blessed be thou, O our God, which hast this day brought to nought the enemies of thy people.

¹⁸Then said Ozias unto her, O daughter, blessed art thou of the most high God above all the women upon the earth; and blessed be the Lord God, which hath created the heavens and the earth, which hath directed thee to the cutting off of the head of the chief of our enemies.

¹⁹For this thy confidence shall not depart from the heart of men, which remember the power of God for ever.

²⁰And God turn these things to thee for a perpetual praise, to visit thee in good things because thou hast not spared thy life for the affliction of our nation, but hast revenged our ruin, walking a straight way before our God. And all the people said; So be it, so be it.