1 It was reported to Holofernes that the people of Israel were prepared for war, that they had closed the mountain passes, fortified the ramparts on the summits of all the high mountains and placed blockades in the plains.
2 Seething with anger, Holofernes called the leaders of the Moabites, the generals of Ammon and all the governors of the Seacoast,
3 and said to them, "Tell me, sons of Canaan, who are these people living in the mountain region? Which towns do they inhabit? What is the strength of their army? In what does their power and strength consist? Who has been placed at their head as commander of their army?
4 Why have they not appeared before me like everyone else in the West?"
5 Achior, commander of the Ammonites, said to him, "May my Lord listen to the word spoken by your servant, for I will tell you the truth about these people from the mountain region whom you now encounter.
6 These people descend from the Chaldeans.
7 They settled first in Mesopotamia, for they did not wish to worship any longer the gods of their fathers who lived in Chaldea.
8 They abandoned the religion of their ancestors, and worshiped the God of Heaven, a God whom they had come to recognize. Because of this their fathers drove them out and they fled to Mesopotamia where they dwelt for a long time.
9 Then their God told them to leave the country where they had settled and go to the land of Canaan. They went to live there, and acquired an abundance of gold and silver and numerous herds of cattle.
10 There was famine throughout the land of Canaan, so they went down into Egypt where they remained as long as there was food. Then they became so numerous that their race could not be counted.
11 But the king of Egypt rose up against them and tricked them into making bricks, and they were humiliated and made into slaves.
12 They called upon their God who punished the whole of Egypt with such incurable plagues that the Egyptians drove them out.
13 Then God dried up the Red Sea in front of them
14 and he led them along the route of Sinai and Kadesh Barnea. The Israelites drove all the inhabitants into the desert;
15 they inhabited the country of the Amorites and wiped out the Heshbonites. Then, having crossed the Jordan, they took possession of all the hill country,
16 driving out the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Shechemites, and the Gergesites, and they lived there for a long time.
17 As long as they did not offend God, they prospered, because their God who hates wrongdoing was on their side.
18 But when they strayed from the path he had set for them, they were completely annihilated in many battles, and they were led off into captivity in a country not their own. The temple of their God was leveled to the ground and their cities were occupied by their enemies.
19 Now that they have turned again to their God, they have returned from exile from the various places in which they had been scattered. They have retaken Jerusalem where their Sanctuary is and they have settled in the mountain region because it has remained deserted.
20 And now, Sovereign Lord, we must find out if there is any wrongdoing in this people.
21 If they are sinning against their God, then we shall march against them and we shall conquer. But if there is no sinfulness in their nation, then, my Lord, turn aside from them for fear that their Lord and God will cover them with his shield and the whole world will witness our downfall."
22 Now it happened that when Achior had finished speaking, all the people standing in a circle around the tent began criticizing and protesting. The officers of Holofernes and all the inhabitants of the seacoast and of Moab wanted to beat him black and blue. They said,
23 "We are not afraid of the children of Israel. Look, they are a people with no strength or energy to sustain a violent conflict.
24 Let us go forth, and they will be like bread for your whole army, O Lord Holofernes!"
Versículos relacionados com Judith, 5:
Judite 5 tells the story of how the leaders of the Ammonitas called the rulers of other neighboring nations to unite and fight against Israel. They mentioned the history of the people of Israel, but presented distorted and misleading information to justify their position. Below are five verses related to topics covered in Judite 5:
Judges 5:8: "They chose new gods; then there was war on the doors, not a shield, no spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel." This verse highlights how Israel's idolatry and unfaithfulness to God led to its weakness and vulnerability before its enemies.
Judges 11:24: "Didn't you occupy you who whose God, did you disagree? And we have not all that the Lord our God designed before us?" This verse is similar to the message of Judith 5, where the Ammonites claim that the land of Israel originally belonged to them and not to the Israelites.
Exodus 23:32-33: "Thou shalt not make a covenant with them, nor with their gods. And they shall not dwell in thy land, that they may not sin against me; for if they serve their gods, they will surely be by loop." This verse emphasizes the importance of Israel not making alliances with idolatrous nations and not allowing them to dwell in their land.
Numbers 20:14-21: This excerpt describes how Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his land on his journey to Canaan. This event illustrates the hostility of neighboring nations in relation to Israel, which is mentioned in Judite 5.
Isaiah 36:18-20: This verse describes how the Assyrian king Senaqueribe tried to persuade the people of Jerusalem to surrender, mentioning as other countries and peoples were defeated by the Assyrian army. This is similar to the tactic used by the friendly leaders in Judite 5, where they present misleading arguments to justify their position against Israel.
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