Judith 13

When evening came, his servants hurried away. Bagoas shut the tent from the outside and sent the attendants away from his master's presence. They went to their beds, because they were all tired; the feast had gone on a long time.

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.

NoteBagoas is the eunuch in charge of Holofernes' household and personal affairs, named in chapter 12; a commander's chief steward controlled access to his tent. The "waiters" of the King James are not restaurant staff but the servants who attended the meal and waited on their master. To "shut his tent without" is to close it from the outside, leaving Holofernes and Judith inside.

2Judith was left alone in the tent, and Holofernes lay alone on his bed, for he was full of wine.

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

Note"Filled with wine" is the Greek text's way of saying he was dead drunk. Chapter 12 notes that he had drunk more that day than on any day since he was born.

3Judith had told her maid to stand outside her bedchamber and wait for her to come out, as she did every day, for she had said she would go out to pray. She had said the same thing to Bagoas.

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.

NoteThis routine was set up in chapter 12: Judith had obtained permission to leave the camp each night with her maid to wash and pray in the valley. The sentries were used to seeing the two women walk out in the dark, which is why nobody stops them in verse 10.

4So everyone went out, and no one at all was left in the bedchamber, small or great. Then Judith stood by his bed and said in her heart, "Lord God of all power, look now on the work of my hands, for the lifting up of Jerusalem.

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.

Note"Neither little nor great" is a set phrase meaning no one whatever, from the lowest-ranking servant to the highest. "Said in her heart" means said silently, to herself. "The exaltation of Jerusalem" means the raising up of Jerusalem again, its restoration to honor after humiliation.

5For now is the time to help the people who are your inheritance, and to carry out the plan I have made, so that the enemies who have risen up against us are destroyed."

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.

NoteCalling Israel God's "inheritance" is standard biblical language: the nation is the portion allotted to God as his own property, the way a plot of land is allotted to a family. It is not a statement about what God has received from someone else.

6Then she went to the bedpost at Holofernes' head and took his sword down from it.

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

Note"Fauchion" is the older spelling of falchion, a short sword with a broad curved blade, heavy toward the tip and made for chopping strokes rather than thrusts. The "pillar of the bed" is the bedpost, one of the uprights that carried the canopy; a soldier hung his weapon there within reach of his head.

7She came close to his bed, took hold of the hair of his head, and said, "Give me strength, Lord God of Israel, this day."

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.

8She struck his neck twice with all her might, and took his head off him.

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

9She rolled his body off the bed and pulled the canopy down from its posts. A little while after, she went out and gave Holofernes' head to her maid,

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;

NoteThe canopy was a fine netted cloth hung over the bed on its four posts, partly a screen against insects and partly a display of luxury. Judith takes it deliberately: it is a recognizable piece of Holofernes' own furniture and so serves, along with the head, as proof of what she has done.

10and the maid put it in her food bag. Then the two of them went out together to pray, as they always did. They passed through the camp, went around that valley, climbed the mountain of Bethulia, and came to its gates.

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.

Note"Meat" in 1611 English means food of any kind, not flesh specifically. Judith had brought her own provisions in this bag so that she would not have to eat the general's food, and it is that same bag she now uses to carry the head out. "They twain" is simply the two of them. To "compass the valley" is to go around it rather than across. Bethulia is the hill town under siege in this story; no such place is known outside the book of Judith.

11Then Judith called from far off to the watchmen at the gate, "Open the gate, open it now. God, our own God, is with us, to show his power still in Israel and his strength against the enemy, just as he has done this very day."

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.

NoteThe King James has Judith say God will show his power "yet in Jerusalem"; the Greek manuscripts read "in Israel," which is what the rendering follows. The difference goes back to the Latin text the 1611 translators consulted alongside the Greek.

12When the men of her city heard her voice, they hurried down to the gate of their city, and they called the elders of the city together.

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.

13Then they all ran together, small and great, because they could hardly believe she had come. So they opened the gate and welcomed the two of them, and they made a fire to give light and stood around them.

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.

Note"Strange unto them" does not mean odd or eerie. In 1611 English it means unlooked for, hard to credit: they had given the two women up for lost. "Both small and great" again means everyone, of whatever rank.

14Then she said to them in a loud voice, "Praise God, praise God, praise God, I say. He has not taken his mercy away from the house of Israel. He has destroyed our enemies by my hands this night."

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.

15Then she took the head out of the bag and showed it to them and said, "Look at the head of Holofernes, the chief commander of the army of Assur, and look at the canopy he lay under while he was drunk. The Lord struck him down by the hand of a woman.

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.

NoteAssur is the older form of Asshur, that is, Assyria; the army besieging the town is described throughout the book as Assyrian. The claim that a man was struck down "by the hand of a woman" carried a sharp sting in this culture: to die at a woman's hands was held to be a soldier's most shameful death, which is why Abimelech in Judges 9 begs to be run through rather than have it said of him.

16As surely as the Lord lives, who guarded me on the road I traveled: my face fooled him and led him to his ruin, and he did not sin with me to make me unclean and to shame me."

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.

Note"As the Lord liveth" is the standard oath formula, the equivalent of swearing on the most solemn thing available: as surely as God is alive, what I say is true. "Countenance" means face or appearance, so she is saying her looks, not her words, did the deceiving. The second half is a formal denial that she was raped; "defile" points to ritual uncleanness as well as to disgrace, and the point matters because her whole standing in the town depends on it.

17Then all the people were astonished beyond measure. They bowed down and worshiped God, and said with one voice, "Blessed are you, our God, who this day have brought the enemies of your people to nothing."

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.

Note"With one accord" means all together, with one voice. "Brought to nought" means reduced to nothing, wiped out.

18Then Ozias said to her, "Daughter, you are blessed by the Most High God above all the women on the earth. And blessed be the Lord God, who made the heavens and the earth, who guided you to cut off the head of the chief of our enemies.

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.

NoteOzias, elsewhere spelled Uzziah, is the chief magistrate of Bethulia, the man who earlier agreed to surrender the town if no help came within five days. His words closely echo the song of Deborah in Judges 5:24, where Jael, another woman who killed an enemy commander in his sleep, is called blessed above women.

19The trust you showed will never leave the hearts of people who remember the power of God forever.

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

Note"Confidence" here means the trust in God that Judith acted on, and the nerve it gave her, not self-assurance in the modern sense. He is saying people will keep telling the story.

20And may God turn these things into praise for you that never ends, and come to you with good things, because you did not spare your own life when our nation was suffering, but avenged our downfall, walking a straight path before our God." And all the people said, "So be it. So be it."

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.

Note"Revenged our ruin" means avenged our downfall, paid back those who brought it about. "Walking a straight way before our God" is an idiom for conducting yourself with integrity, keeping to the path laid down rather than turning aside. "So be it, so be it" is the King James translation of the doubled Amen, the crowd's formal endorsement of what has just been said.