JUDITH 9

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

¹But 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,

²O Lord God of my father Simeon, into whose hand thou gavest a sword to take vengeance of the strangers, who loosened the girdle of a virgin to defile her, and uncovered the thigh to her shame, and profaned the womb to her reproach; for thou saidst, It shall not be so; and they did so:

³wherefore thou gavest their rulers to be slain, and their bed, which was ashamed for her that was deceived, to be dyed in blood, and smotest the servants with their lords, and the lords upon their thrones;

⁴and gavest their wives for a prey, and their daughters to be captives, and all their spoils to be divided among thy dear children; which were moved with zeal for thee, and abhorred the pollution of their blood, and called upon thee for aid: O God, O my God, hear me also that am a widow.

⁵For thou wroughtest the things that were before those things, and those things, and such as ensued after; and thou didst devise the things which are now, and the things which are to come: and the things which thou didst devise came to pass;

⁶yea, the things which thou didst determine stood before thee, and said, Lo, we are here: for all thy ways are prepared, and thy judgement is with foreknowledge.

⁷For, 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.

⁸Dash 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.

⁹Look upon their pride, and send thy wrath upon their heads: give into my hand, which am a widow, the might that I have conceived.

¹⁰Smite 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.

¹¹For 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.

¹²Yea, yea, 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:

¹³and 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.

¹⁴And 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.