Go to Procursus.
Previous Chapter, Next Chapter
File last modified:
Go to full text.

Hebrew Tales

The Story of Judith

Chapter 9 (Abridged Text)


Judith prays for divine help in what she is about to do in his name.

[1] Judith fell upon her face and put ashes on her head and uncovered the sackcloth she was wearing; and, about the time that the incense of that evening was offered in Jerusalem in the house of the Lord, Judith cried with a loud voice, and said,

[2] “O Lord God of my father Simeon, to whom you gave a sword to take vengeance on the strangers, who loosened the girdle of a maid to defile her, and uncovered the thigh to her shame, and polluted her virginity to her reproach; for you said, ‘It will not be so,’ and yet they did so.

[7] For, behold, the Assyrians are multiplied in their power; they are exalted with horse and man; they glory in the strength of their foot soldiers; they trust in shield and spear and bow and sling; and they do not know that you are the Lord who breaks the battles: the Lord is your name.

[8] “Throw down their strength in your power and bring down their force in your wrath; for they have resolved to defile your sanctuary and to pollute the tabernacle where your glorious name rests and to cast down with sword the horn of your altar. [9] Behold their pride and send your wrath upon their heads; give into my hand, the hand of a widow, the power that I have conceived. [10] Strike, by the deceit of my lips, the servant with the prince, and the prince with the servant; break down their stateliness by the hand of a woman.

[11] “For your power is not found in numbers, nor your might in strong men; for you are a God of the afflicted, a helper of the oppressed, an upholder of the weak, a protector of the forlorn, a savior of those who are without hope.

[12] “I pray to you, I beg you, O God of my father and God of the inheritance of Israel, Lord of the heavens and the earth, Creator of the waters, King of every creature, hear my prayer; [14] and so make every nation and tribe acknowledge that you are the God of all power and might, and that there is no other who protects the people of Israel but you.”

Go to Previous Chapter, Next Chapter
Return to top.


Source:

This text has been reproduced from:

The World English Bible, a copyright-free modern English rendering of a 1901 translation that has now passed into the public domain.