Judith 4

The people of Israel who lived in Judea heard everything that Holofernes, the chief commander of Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians, had done to the nations. They heard how he had robbed all their temples and wiped them out.

1Now the children of Israel, that dwelt in Judea, heard all that Holofernes the chief captain of Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians had done to the nations, and after what manner he had spoiled all their temples, and brought them to nought.

Note"Nabuchodonosor" is the Greek spelling of Nebuchadnezzar. The historical Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon, and Assyria had already fallen before his reign, so the book's opening line mixes names and empires that do not belong together; ancient readers of the Greek text would have heard it as a story set in a legendary past rather than a dated chronicle. "Chief captain" means commander in chief of the whole army.

2So they were terribly afraid of him. They were deeply worried about Jerusalem and about the temple of the Lord their God,

2Therefore they were exceedingly afraid of him, and were troubled for Jerusalem, and for the temple of the Lord their God:

3because they had only recently come back from being held captive in a foreign land, and all the people of Judea had only lately been gathered together again. The temple containers, the altar, and the house of God had been made holy again after being defiled.

3For they were newly returned from the captivity, and all the people of Judea were lately gathered together: and the vessels, and the altar, and the house, were sanctified after the profanation.

Note"The captivity" is the deportation of Judeans to Babylon and the return that followed it, generations earlier in real history but treated here as recent. The "vessels" are the bowls, lamps, and utensils used in temple worship, and "the house" is the temple building. To "profane" something was to put it to common or foreign use, which stripped it of its set apart status; once that happened it had to be formally cleansed and dedicated again before it could be used in worship.

4So they sent word into all the border regions of Samaria, and to the villages, and to Bethoron, Belmen, Jericho, Choba, Esora, and the valley of Salem.

4Therefore they sent into all the coasts of Samaria, and the villages and to Bethoron, and Belmen, and Jericho, and to Choba, and Esora, and to the valley of Salem:

NoteIn 1611 English "coasts" meant borders or the territory inside them, with no connection to the sea. Of the places named, Bethoron guarded the main road climbing from the coastal plain toward Jerusalem and Jericho lay in the Jordan valley; Belmen, Choba, Esora, and the valley of Salem cannot be located with any confidence, and some appear nowhere else.

5They took control of all the tops of the high mountains ahead of time, built defenses around the villages up there, and stored up food to supply them for war, since their fields had just been harvested.

5And possessed themselves beforehand of all the tops of the high mountains, and fortified the villages that were in them, and laid up victuals for the provision of war: for their fields were of late reaped.

NoteThe timing matters militarily: the grain harvest had just been gathered, so there was food available to haul up into the hill forts and less of it standing in the open fields for an invading army to live on.

6Joacim, who was high priest in Jerusalem in those days, also wrote to the people living in Bethulia and Betomestham, which faces Esdraelon toward the open country, near Dothaim.

6Also Joacim the high priest, which was in those days in Jerusalem, wrote to them that dwelt in Bethulia, and Betomestham, which is over against Esdraelon toward the open country, near to Dothaim,

NoteBethulia appears nowhere outside this book and has never been identified on the ground. Esdraelon is the Greek name for the valley of Jezreel, the broad plain cutting across northern Israel that armies used as a highway. Dothaim is the Dothan of Genesis, near the plain's southeastern edge.

7He ordered them to hold the passes up into the hill country, because that was the way into Judea. It was easy to stop anyone coming up, since the pass was narrow, wide enough for two men at the most.

7Charging them to keep the passages of the hill country: for by them there was an entrance into Judea, and it was easy to stop them that would come up, because the passage was straight, for two men at the most.

NoteThe King James "straight" here is the old spelling of "strait," meaning narrow. The point is width, not direction: the path was so tight that only two men could walk it abreast, which is why a small force could hold it.

8The people of Israel did what Joacim the high priest had commanded them, and so did the council of elders of all the people of Israel, who were in Jerusalem.

8And the children of Israel did as Joacim the high priest had commanded them, with the ancients of all the people of Israel, which dwelt at Jerusalem.

Note"The ancients" does not mean people of long ago. It means the elders, the senior men who governed as a standing council; the Greek word behind it is the one used for a senate.

9Then every man of Israel called out to God with deep feeling, and with deep feeling they humbled themselves.

9Then every man of Israel cried to God with great fervency, and with great vehemency did they humble their souls:

Note"Humble their souls" is a fixed idiom for self denial, and above all for going without food. Verse 13 spells out what it meant in practice.

10They, their wives, their children, their cattle, and every foreigner living among them, every hired worker, and every servant they had bought with money put sackcloth around their waists.

10Both they, and their wives and their children, and their cattle, and every stranger and hireling, and their servants bought with money, put sackcloth upon their loins.

NoteSackcloth was coarse dark cloth woven from goat hair, the cheapest fabric there was, worn against the skin as a public and visible sign of grief or of desperate appeal. A "stranger" is a foreigner living permanently among them, a "hireling" is a laborer working for wages, and "servants bought with money" are slaves; all three counted as part of the household. Including the cattle is a deliberate extreme, the same gesture the king of Nineveh orders in Jonah 3.

11So every man and woman, and the little children, and the people who lived in Jerusalem, lay face down in front of the temple. They threw ashes on their heads and spread out their sackcloth before the Lord. They also put sackcloth around the altar.

11Thus every man and women, and the little children, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, fell before the temple, and cast ashes upon their heads, and spread out their sackcloth before the face of the Lord: also they put sackcloth about the altar,

NoteThrowing ashes or dust on the head was a recognized gesture of mourning, the physical opposite of anointing the head with oil for a celebration. Draping sackcloth around the altar extends the mourning from the people's own bodies to the temple's furniture.

12All together and with one mind they cried out to the God of Israel. They begged him not to let their children be carried off, or their wives be taken as plunder, or the cities they had inherited be destroyed, or the holy place be defiled and disgraced, with the nations laughing over it.

12And cried to the God of Israel all with one consent earnestly, that he would not give their children for a prey, and their wives for a spoil, and the cities of their inheritance to destruction, and the sanctuary to profanation and reproach, and for the nations to rejoice at.

Note"Prey" and "spoil" both mean what a victorious army carries off, goods and people alike. "The cities of their inheritance" refers to land held as an allotted family and tribal portion passed down through generations, not property simply bought; losing it meant losing the family's standing permanently.

13So God heard their prayers and saw their suffering, for the people went on fasting many days in all Judea and in Jerusalem, in front of the sanctuary of the Lord Almighty.

13So God heard their prayers, and looked upon their afflictions: for the people fasted many days in all Judea and Jerusalem before the sanctuary of the Lord Almighty.

14Joacim the high priest, and all the priests who stood before the Lord, and those who served the Lord, had sackcloth around their waists. They offered the burnt offerings that were made every day, along with the offerings people had promised and the gifts they gave freely.

14And Joacim the high priest, and all the priests that stood before the Lord, and they which ministered unto the Lord, had their loins girt with sackcloth, and offered the daily burnt offerings, with the vows and free gifts of the people,

Note"Stood before the Lord" is an idiom for being on duty in the temple, since standing was the posture of a servant at work. "Loins girt with sackcloth" means the cloth was gathered and tied around the waist. The daily burnt offering was fixed by law: a lamb burned whole on the altar each morning and each evening, the regular rhythm of the temple. A "vow" offering was one promised in advance in exchange for help; a "free gift" carried no obligation at all.

15They had ashes on their turbans, and they cried out to the Lord with all their strength, asking him to look with favor on the whole house of Israel.

15And had ashes on their mitres, and cried unto the Lord with all their power, that he would look upon all the house of Israel graciously.

NoteA "mitre" here is not a bishop's hat but the priest's turban, a length of cloth wound around the head as part of his official dress. Ashes on it put the sign of mourning on the most formal and ceremonial thing they wore. "Look upon ... graciously" translates a phrase meaning to regard someone with favor and act for their good.