Judith 16
Judith sings a canticle to the Lord, praising Him for delivering the Israelites from their enemies and for allowing her to defeat Holofernes through her beauty and cunning. The Assyrians and Medes are horrified by her bravery, and the Israelites celebrate their victory with feasts and offerings. Judith dedicates the spoils of war to the Lord and becomes a celebrated figure in Israel, known for her virtue and chastity. She lives out the rest of her life in her husband's house, and after her death, the Israelites mourn her for seven days and establish a festival to commemorate her victory.
Then Judith sang this canticle to the Lord, saying"Call to the Lord with drums, sing to the Lord with cymbals, play for him a new psalm, exalt and invoke his nameThe Lord crushes wars; the Lord is his nameHe has set up his camp in the midst of his people, to rescue us from the hand of all our enemiesAssur came from the mountains, from the North, with the multitude of his strength. His multitude blockaded the torrents, and their horses covered the valleysHe told himself that he would set fire to my borders, and kill my young men with the sword, to give my children into plunder and my virgins into captivityBut the almighty Lord has harmed him, and he has delivered him into the hands of a woman, and he has pierced him throughFor their powerful one did not fall by young men, nor did the sons of Titan strike him, nor did lofty giants set themselves against him, but Judith, the daughter of Merari, dissolved him with the splendor of her faceFor she put away from herself the garments of widowhood, and she clothed herself with the garments of rejoicing, for the sake of the exultation of the sons of IsraelShe anointed her face with ointment, and she gathered the locks of her hair with a headdress; she accepted a new dress in order to deceive himHer sandals ravished his eyes; her beauty made his soul her captive; with a blade, she cut off his headThe Persians were horrified at her constancy, and the Medes at her boldnessThen the camp of the Assyrians howled, when my humble ones appeared, parched with thirstThe sons of the servant girls have pierced them through, and, like fleeing servants, they have killed them. They perished in battle before the face of the Lord, my GodLet us sing a canticle to the Lord; let us sing a new hymn to our GodO Adonai, O Lord, you are great, and splendor is in your virtue, and no one is able to overcome youLet all your creatures serve you. For you spoke, and they became. You sent forth your Spirit, and they were created. And there is no one who can withstand your voiceThe mountains will be moved from the foundations by the waters. The rocks, like wax, will liquefy before your faceBut those who fear you will be great with you, throughout all thingsWoe to the people that rises up against my people. For the Lord almighty will be vindicated against them; in the day of judgment, he will visit themFor he will bestow fire and worms on their flesh, so that they may burn and have sensations without ceasing.And it happened that, after these things, all the people came to Jerusalem after the victory, to adore the Lord. And as soon as they were purified, they all offered holocausts, and vows, and their promisesMoreover, Judith offered all the implements of war from Holofernes, which the people gave to her, and the canopy that she had taken away from his chamber, as an anathema unto oblivionBut the people were cheerful before the face of the sanctuary, and for three months the gladness of this victory was celebrated with JudithAnd after those days, each one returned to his own house, and Judith became great in Bethulia, and she had great splendor in all the land of IsraelFor chastity was one with her virtue, so that she did not know man all the days of her life, after the passing away of her husband, ManassehAnd then, on feast days, she came forth with great gloryBut she remained in her husband’s house for one hundred and five years, and she set her handmaid free. And she passed away and was buried with her husband in BethuliaAnd all the people mourned her, for seven daysAnd, during all the time of her life, there was no one who disturbed Israel, nor for many years after her deathMoreover, the day of the festivity of this victory was accepted by the Hebrews in the numbering of holy days, and it was religiously observed by the Jews, from that time, even to the present day
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