Judith 16 New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

◄ Judith 16 ►

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

161And Judith said,

Begin a song to my God with tambourines,
    sing to my Lord with cymbals.
Raise to him a new psalm;[a]
    exalt him, and call upon his name.
2For the Lord is a God who crushes wars;
    he sets up his camp among his people;
    he delivered me from the hands of my pursuers.
3The Assyrian came down from the mountains of the north;
    he came with myriads of his warriors;
their numbers blocked up the wadis,
    and their cavalry covered the hills.
4He boasted that he would burn up my territory,
    and kill my young men with the sword,
and dash my infants to the ground,
    and seize my children as booty,
    and take my virgins as spoil.

5But the Lord Almighty has foiled them
    by the hand of a woman.[b]
6For their mighty one did not fall by the hands of the young men,
    nor did the sons of the Titans strike him down,
    nor did tall giants set upon him;
but Judith daughter of Merari
    with the beauty of her countenance undid him.

7For she put away her widow’s clothing
    to exalt the oppressed in Israel.
She anointed her face with perfume;
8    she fastened her hair with a tiara
    and put on a linen gown to beguile him.
9Her sandal ravished his eyes,
    her beauty captivated his mind,
    and the sword severed his neck!
10The Persians trembled at her boldness,
    the Medes were daunted at her daring.

11Then my oppressed people shouted;
    my weak people cried out,[c] and the enemy[d] trembled;
    they lifted up their voices, and the enemy[e] were turned back.
12Sons of slave-girls pierced them through
    and wounded them like the children of fugitives;
    they perished before the army of my Lord.

13I will sing to my God a new song:
O Lord, you are great and glorious,
    wonderful in strength, invincible.
14Let all your creatures serve you,
    for you spoke, and they were made.
You sent forth your spirit,[f] and it formed them;[g]
    there is none that can resist your voice.
15For the mountains shall be shaken to their foundations with the waters;
    before your glance the rocks shall melt like wax.
But to those who fear you
    you show mercy.
16For every sacrifice as a fragrant offering is a small thing,
    and the fat of all whole burnt offerings to you is a very little thing;
but whoever fears the Lord is great forever.

17Woe to the nations that rise up against my people!
The Lord Almighty will take vengeance on them in the day of judgment;
he will send fire and worms into their flesh;
they shall weep in pain forever.

18When they arrived at Jerusalem, they worshiped God. As soon as the people were purified, they offered their burnt offerings, their freewill offerings, and their gifts. 19Judith also dedicated to God all the possessions of Holofernes, which the people had given her; and the canopy that she had taken for herself from his bedchamber she gave as a votive offering. 20For three months the people continued feasting in Jerusalem before the sanctuary, and Judith remained with them.

The Renown and Death of Judith

21After this they all returned home to their own inheritances. Judith went to Bethulia, and remained on her estate. For the rest of her life she was honored throughout the whole country. 22Many desired to marry her, but she gave herself to no man all the days of her life after her husband Manasseh died and was gathered to his people. 23She became more and more famous, and grew old in her husband’s house, reaching the age of one hundred five. She set her maid free. She died in Bethulia, and they buried her in the cave of her husband Manasseh; 24and the house of Israel mourned her for seven days. Before she died she distributed her property to all those who were next of kin to her husband Manasseh, and to her own nearest kindred. 25No one ever again spread terror among the Israelites during the lifetime of Judith, or for a long time after her death.

Footnotes

Judith 16:1 Other ancient authorities read a psalm and praise
Judith 16:5 Other ancient authorities add he has confounded them
Judith 16:11 Other ancient authorities read feared
Judith 16:11 Gk they
Judith 16:11 Gk they
Judith 16:14 Or breath
Judith 16:14 Other ancient authorities read they were created

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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