The song of Judith
1 Judith said, “Sing a song to my God with tambourines,
sing in honor of God with cymbals.
Compose for him a psalm of praise.
Exalt and bless his Name!
2 The Lord is truly a God who crushes war,
who encamps in the midst of his people
for he has snatched me from the hand of those who pursued me.
3 The Assyrian came from the mountains of the north.
He came with the myriads of his army,
his soldiers have filled the torrents
and his cavalry covered the hills.
4 He wanted to burn my land,
to kill the young men by the sword,
to destroy my children at the breast,
to hand over my little ones to slaughter
and to rape my young maidens.
5 The Lord Almighty has driven them back by the hand of a woman.
6 Their hero has not been overcome by young warriors;
he was not struck down by the sons of the Titans,
or laid low by any great giants.
But it is Judith, the daughter of Merari,
who by the beauty of her face has de feated him.
For the relief of the oppressed in Israel
7 she took off her widow’s robes,
anointed her face with perfume,
8 put a jewelled band around her hair,
and put on a linen dress in order to seduce him.
9 Her sandals delighted his eyes,
her beauty captivated his soul,
and the scimitar cut through his neck.
10 The Persians trembled with fear at her boldness,
and the Medes were upset by her daring.
11 Then my oppressed people shouted for joy;
my weak ones cried out,
the enemy was terrified;
they raised their voices; the enemy took to flight.
12 The children of young women pierced them through and struck them down like fugitives,
and so the enemy perished in a battle
arranged by God.
13 I will sing to my God a new song:
Lord, you are great and glorious,
wonderfully strong, invincible!
14 May the whole of your creation serve you,
for you spoke and all things were,
you sent forth your spirit and all things came into being:
No one can resist your voice.
15 For the mountains with the waters will be shaken to their foundations,
the rocks will melt like wax before you,
but to those who fear you
you will always show mercy.
16 The fragrance of any sacrifice is little to please you
and the holocausts of fatted animals
are as nothing before you,
but he who fears the Lord is forever great.
17 Woe to the nations which rise up against my people:
The Lord Almighty will punish them in the day of judgment,
with fire and worms under their skin,
and they will keep on weeping, suffering forever.”
18 When they arrived in Jeru salem, they wor shiped God and, when the people had been purified, they presented their holocausts, free will offerings and gifts.
19 Then Judith offered all of Holo fernes’ belongings which the people had given her and she dedicated to the Lord the hangings from his room which she herself had taken.
20 So the people re mained in Jerusalem, rejoicing before the Sanctuary for three months and Judith stayed with them.
21 After these days were over, each one returned to his own house. Judith returned to Bethulia and devoted herself to her household. During her lifetime she was famous throughout the land.
22 Though many desired to marry her, she had no relation with any man since the death and burial of Manasseh, her husband.
23 She spent her old age in the house of her husband. And she set her maidservant free. She died in Bethulia at the age of a hundred and five and was buried in the grave of Manasseh, her husband.
24 All Israel mourned for her for seven days. Before her death she had divided her property among the relatives of her husband, Manasseh, and those of her own family.
25 No one again threatened the people of Israel while Judith lived, nor for a very long time after her death.