Judith 14

¹Forsothe Judith seide to al the puple, Britheren, here ye; hang ye this heed on youre wallis.

²And it schal be, whanne the sunne `goith out, ech man take hise armuris, and go ye out with feersnesse, not that ye go doun binethe, but as makyng asauyt.

³Thanne it schal be nede, that the spieris of the lond fle to reise her prynce to batel.

⁴And whanne the duykis of hem rennen togidere to the tabernacle of Holofernes, and fynden hym heedles, waltrid in his blood, dreed schal falle doun on hem.

⁵And whanne ye knowen that thei fleen, go ye sikirli aftir hem, for God schal al to-breke hem vndur youre feet.

⁶Thanne Achior siy the vertu that God of Israel hadde do, and he forsook the custom of hethenesse, and bileuede to God; and he circumcidede the fleisch of his yerde, and he was put to the puple of Israel, and al the aftircomyng of his kyn `til in to this dai.

⁷Forsothe anoon as the dai roos, thei hangiden the heed of Holofernes on the wallis; and ech man took his armuris, and thei yeden out with grete noise and yellyng.

⁸Which thing the aspieris sien, and runnen to the tabernacle of Holofernes.

⁹Certis thei, that weren in the tabernacle, camen, and maden noise bifore the entryng of the bed, and ymagyneden by craft vnrestfulnesse for cause of reisyng, that Holofernes schulde awake not of the reiseris, but of sowneris.

¹⁰For no man was hardi to opene the tabernacle of the vertu of Assiriens bi knockyng ethir bi entryng.

¹¹But whanne hise duykis, and tribunes, and alle the grettere men of the oost of the kyng of Assiriens weren comen, thei seiden to the chaumburleyns, Entre ye, and reise ye hym;

¹²for myis ben goon out of her caues, and doren excite vs to batel.

¹³Thanne Vagao entride in to his closet, and stood bifor the curtyn, and made betyng togidere with hise hondis; for he supposide hym to slepe with Judith.

¹⁴But whanne he perseyuede not `with wit of eeris ony stiryng of Holofernes liggynge, he cam neiyynge to the curtyn, and he `reiside it, and siy the deed bodi with out the heed `of Holofernes `maad slow in his blood ligge on the erthe, and he criede bi grete vois with weping, and to-rente hise clothis.

¹⁵And he entride in to the tabernacle of Judith, and foond not hir, and he skippide out to the puple,

¹⁶and seide, Oon Ebrew womman hath maad confusioun in the hows of kyng Nabugodonosor; for lo! Holofernes liggith in the erthe, and his heed is not in hym.

¹⁷And whanne the prynces of the vertu of Assiriens hadden herd this thing, alle thei to-renten her clothis, and vnsuffrable drede and tremblyng felde doun on hem, and her soulis weren troblid greetli.

¹⁸And `vncomparable cry was maad `bi the myddil of her tentis.

Judith 14

¹Then said Judith unto them, Hear me now, my brethren, and take this head, and hang it upon the highest place of your walls.

²And so soon as the morning shall appear, and the sun shall come forth upon the earth, take ye every one his weapons, and go forth every valiant man out of the city, and set ye a captain over them, as though ye would go down into the field toward the watch of the Assyrians; but go not down.

³Then they shall take their armour, and shall go into their camp, and raise up the captains of the army of Assur, and shall run to the tent of Holofernes, but shall not find him: then fear shall fall upon them, and they shall flee before your face.

⁴So ye, and all that inhabit the coast of Israel, shall pursue them, and overthrow them as they go.

⁵But before ye do these things, call me Achior the Ammonite, that he may see and know him that despised the house of Israel, and that sent him to us as it were to his death.

⁶Then they called Achior out of the house of Ozias; and when he was come, and saw the head of Holofernes in a man’s hand in the assembly of the people, he fell down on his face, and his spirit failed.

⁷But when they had recovered him, he fell at Judith’s feet, and reverenced her, and said, Blessed art thou in all the tabernacles of Juda, and in all nations, which hearing thy name shall be astonished.

⁸Now therefore tell me all the things that thou hast done in these days. Then Judith declared unto him in the midst of the people all that she had done, from the day that she went forth until that hour she spake unto them.

⁹And when she had left off speaking, the people shouted with a loud voice, and made a joyful noise in their city.

¹⁰And when Achior had seen all that the God of Israel had done, he believed in God greatly, and circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, and was joined unto the house of Israel unto this day.

¹¹And as soon as the morning arose, they hanged the head of Holofernes upon the wall, and every man took his weapons, and they went forth by bands unto the straits of the mountain.

¹²But when the Assyrians saw them, they sent to their leaders, which came to their captains and tribunes, and to every one of their rulers.

¹³So they came to Holofernes’ tent, and said to him that had the charge of all his things, Waken now our lord: for the slaves have been bold to come down against us to battle, that they may be utterly destroyed.

¹⁴Then went in Bagoas, and knocked at the door of the tent; for he thought that he had slept with Judith.

¹⁵But because none answered, he opened it, and went into the bedchamber, and found him cast upon the floor dead, and his head was taken from him.

¹⁶Therefore he cried with a loud voice, with weeping, and sighing, and a mighty cry, and rent his garments.

¹⁷After he went into the tent where Judith lodged: and when he found her not, he leaped out to the people, and cried,

¹⁸These slaves have dealt treacherously; one woman of the Hebrews hath brought shame upon the house of king Nabuchodonosor: for, behold, Holofernes lieth upon the ground without a head.

¹⁹When the captains of the Assyrians’ army heard these words, they rent their coats and their minds were wonderfully troubled, and there was a cry and a very great noise throughout the camp.