ARKCODEX
Judith
Ch. 8–9
Judith, the Israelite Widow
1At that time, Judith heard about Uzziah's decision. She was the daughter of Merari, the granddaughter of Ox and the great-granddaughter of Joseph. Joseph's ancestors were Oziel, Elkiah, Ananias, Gideon, Raphaim, Ahitub, Elijah, Hilkiah, Eliab, Nathanael, Salamiel, Sarasadai, and Israel.
2Judith's husband Manasseh, who belonged to the same tribe and clan, had died during the barley harvest.
3He had suffered a sunstroke while in the fields supervising the farm workers and later died in bed at home in Bethulia. He was buried in the family tomb in the field between Dothan and Balamon.
4For three years and four months, Judith had lived as a widow.
5In her grief she built a little shelter on the roof of her house and lived there, wearing sackcloth.
6She fasted during that entire period except when fasting was forbidden: the day before the Sabbath and the Sabbath itself, the eve of the New Moon Festival and the Festival itself, and all the festivals and holidays observed by the people of Israel.
7Judith was a very beautiful woman. Her husband had left her gold and silver, servants and slaves, livestock and fields. She continued to supervise the estate,
8and no one ever said anything bad about Judith. She was a very religious woman.
Judith Meets with the Town Officials
9Judith heard how the people were complaining bitterly against Uzziah, now that the water shortage had broken their morale. She learned that in answer to their complaints he had promised to surrender the town to the Assyrians after five days.
10Judith sent a slave, the woman who managed her business affairs, to invite Uzziah, Chabris, and Charmis, the town officials, to her home.
11When the officials arrived, Judith said to them, Please listen to me. You are the leaders of the people of Bethulia, but you were wrong to speak to the people as you did today. You should not have made a solemn promise before God that you would surrender the town to our enemies if the Lord did not come to our aid within a few days.
12What right do you have to put God to the test as you have done today? Who are you to put yourselves in God's place in dealing with human affairs?
13It is the Lord Almighty that you are putting to the test! Will you never learn?
14There is no way that you can understand what is in the depths of a human heart or find out what a person is thinking. Yet you dare to read God's mind and interpret his thoughts! How can you claim to understand God, the Creator? No, my friends, you must stop arousing the anger of the Lord our God!
15If he decides not to come to our aid within five days, he still may rescue us at any time he chooses. Or he may let our enemies destroy us.
16But you must not lay down conditions for the Lord our God! Do you think that he is like one of us? Do you think you can bargain with him or force him to make a decision?
17No! Instead, we should ask God for his help and wait patiently for him to rescue us. If he wants to, he will answer our cry for help.
18We do not worship gods made with human hands. Not one of our clans, tribes, towns, or cities has ever done that, even though our ancestors used to do so.
19That is why God let their enemies kill them and take everything they had. It was a great defeat!
20But since we worship no other God but the Lord, we can hope that he will not reject us or any of our people.
21If our town is taken by the enemy, the entire region of Judah will then fall, and our Temple in Jerusalem will be looted. And God will make us pay with our lives for allowing the Temple to be defiled.
22He will hold us responsible for the slaughter and captivity of our people and for the destruction of the land we have inherited. We will be despised and mocked by the people in those nations to which we will be taken as slaves.
23We are not going to win the favor of our enemies by surrendering to them now. If we do surrender, the Lord our God will see that we are put to shame.
24No, my friends, we should set an example for our own people. Not only their lives, but the fate of the Temple and the altar depend on us.
25The Lord our God is putting us to the test, just as he tested our ancestors, and we should be thankful for that.
26Remember how he put Abraham and Isaac to the test, and what happened to Jacob while he was working as a shepherd for his uncle Laban in Mesopotamia.
27God is not testing our loyalty as severely as he did theirs. God is not sending this punishment on us as revenge, but as a warning to us who worship him.
28Then Uzziah answered Judith, Everything you have said makes good sense, and no one can argue with it.
29This is not the first time you have shown wisdom. Ever since you were a child, all of us have recognized the soundness and maturity of your judgment.
30But our people are dying of thirst. They forced us to say what we did and to make a solemn promise, which we cannot break.
31So now, since you are a deeply religious woman, pray for our people; ask the Lord to send rain to fill our cisterns, so that we can get our strength back.
32All right, Judith replied, I am going to do something which our Jewish people will never forget.
33Tonight, the three of you must stand guard at the gate so that my slave woman and I can leave the town. And before the day comes on which you have promised to surrender, the Lord will use me to rescue the people of Israel.
34But you must not ask me what I am going to do; I will explain it to you when it is all over.
35Uzziah and the other officials said to her, You have our blessing. May the Lord our God guide you as you take revenge on our enemies. Then they left Judith's rooftop shelter and returned to their posts.
Judith 9
Judith's Prayer
1Then Judith put ashes on her head, opened her robe to reveal the sackcloth she was wearing under her clothes, and bowed down with her face to the floor. It was the time that the evening incense was being offered in the Temple in Jerusalem, and Judith prayed in a loud voice:
2O Lord, the God of my ancestor Simeon, remember how you armed Simeon with a sword to take revenge on those foreigners who seized Dinah, who was a virgin, tore off her clothes, and defiled her; they stripped her naked and shamed her; they raped her and disgraced her, even though you had forbidden this.
3That is why you let their leaders be killed—put to death on the same bed where they had raped the woman. You destroyed them all, slaves, princes, and rulers on their thrones.
4You let their wives be carried off, their daughters taken captive, and their possessions plundered by the Israelites, your chosen people, who were eager to do your will. Dinah's brothers were furious because of this disgrace to their family, so they called on you for help. O my God, listen to my prayer, the prayer of a widow.
5Your hand guided all that happened then, and all that happened before and after. You have planned it all—what is happening now, and what is yet to be. Your plans have always been carried out.
6Whatever you want to be done is as good as done. You know in advance all that you will do and what decisions you will make.
7Now the Assyrians are stronger than ever; they take pride in their cavalry and their infantry. They rely on their weapons, but they do not know that you, O Lord, are a warrior who ends war. The Lord is your name.
8In your anger, use your power to shatter their mighty army. They plan to defile your Temple, where you are worshiped, and to hack off the corners of your altar with their swords.
9Look how proud and boastful they are! Pour out your fury upon them! I am only a widow, but give me the strength to carry out my plan.
10Use my deceitful words to strike them all dead, master and slave alike. Let a woman's strength break their pride.
11Your power does not depend on the size and strength of an army. You are a God who cares for the humble and helps the oppressed. You give support and protection to people who are weak and helpless; you save those who have lost hope.
12Now hear my prayer, O God of my ancestor Simeon, the God in whom Israel trusts, ruler of heaven and earth, creator of the rivers and the seas, king of all creation. Hear my prayer and
13let my deceitful words wound and kill those who have planned such cruelty against your covenant and your holy Temple, against Mount Zion and the land you have given your people.
14Make your whole nation and every tribe recognize that you are God, almighty and all-powerful, and that you alone protect the people of Israel!