And Judith said to them, "Hear me, and I will do a thing, which shall go down to all generations among the children of our race. Ye shall stand at the gate this night, and I will go forth with my maid: and, within the days after which ye said ye would deliver the city to our enemies, the Lord shall visit Israel by my hand. But ye shall not inquire of mine act: for I will not declare it unto you, till the things be finished that I do."

And Ozias and the rulers said unto her, "Go in peace, and the Lord God be before thee, to take vengeance on our enemies." And they returned from the tent and went to their stations.

But Judith fell upon her face, and put ashes upon her head, and uncovered the sackcloth wherewith she was clothed; and the incense of that evening was now being offered at Jerusalem in the house of God, and Judith cried unto the Lord with a loud voice, and said:--

[{90}]

THE PRAYER OF JUDITH.

"O God, O my God, hear me! Behold, the Assyrians are multiplied in their power; they are exalted with horse and rider; they have gloried in the strength of their footmen; they have trusted in shield and spear and bow and sling; and they know not that thou art the Lord that breaketh the battles: the Lord is thy name. Dash thou down their strength in thy power, and bring down their force in thy wrath: for they have purposed to profane thy sanctuary, and to defile the tabernacle where thy glorious name resteth, and to cast down with the sword the horn of thine altar. Look upon their pride, and send thy wrath upon their heads: give into my hand, who am a widow, the might that I have conceived. Smite by the deceit of my lips the servant with the prince, and the prince with his servant: break down their stateliness by the hand of a woman. For thy power standeth not in multitude, nor thy might in strong men: but thou art a God of the afflicted, thou art a helper of the oppressed, an upholder of the weak, a protector of the forlorn, a saviour of them that are without hope. I pray thee, I pray thee, God of my father, and God of the inheritance of Israel, Lord of the heavens and of the earth, Creator of the waters, King of every creature, hear thou my prayer: and make my speech and deceit to be their wound and stripe, who have purposed hard things against thy covenant, and thy hallowed house, and the top of Sion, and the house of the possession of thy children. And make every nation and tribe of thine to know that thou art God, the God of all power and might, and that there is none other that protecteth the race of Israel but thou."

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Judith Goes to the Camp of the Enemy.

And it came to pass, when she had ceased to cry to the God of Israel, and had made an end of all these words, that she rose up where she had fallen down, and called her maid, and went down into the house, in the which she was wont to abide on the Sabbath days and on her feast days, and pulled off her sackcloth which she had put on, and put off the garments of her widowhood, and washed with water, and anointed herself with rich ointment, and braided the hair of her head, and put on her garments of gladness, wherewith she was wont to be clad in the days of the life of Manasses her husband. And she took sandals for her feet, and put her chains about her, and her bracelets, and her rings, and her earrings, and all her ornaments, and decked herself bravely, to beguile the eyes of all men that should see her. And she gave her maid a leathern bottle of wine, and a cruse of oil, and filled a bag with parched corn and lumps of figs and fine bread; and she packed all her vessels together, and laid them upon her.

And they went forth to the gate of the city of Bethulia, and found standing thereby Ozias, and the elders of the city. But when they saw her, that her countenance was altered, and her apparel was changed, they wondered much at her beauty, and said to her, "The God of our fathers give thee favor, and accomplish thy purposes to the glory of the children of Israel, and to the exaltation of Jerusalem."