Liber Iudith, 6

1. Et, cum cessasset tumultus viro rum, qui erant in circuitu conci lii, dixit Holofernes princeps militiae virtutis Assyriae ad Achior coram omni populo alienigenarum et ad omnes filios Moab:

1. When the disturbance made by the men outside the council died down, Holofernes, the commander of the Assyrian army, said to Achior and all the Moabites in the presence of all the foreign contingents:

2. “Et quis es tu, Achior, et mercennarii Ephraim, quoniam prophetasti nobis sicut hodie et dixisti quoniam genus filiorum Israel non expugnatur, quoniam Deus eorum proteget eos? Et quis est Deus, nisi Nabuchodonosor rex omnis terrae? Hic mittet potestatem suam et disperdet eos a facie terrae, et non liberabit eos Deus eorum.

2. "And who are you, Achior, and you hirelings of Ephraim, to prophesy among us as you have done today and tell us not to make war against the people of Israel because their God will defend them? Who is God except Nebuchadnezzar?

3. Sed nos servi illius percutiemus eos sicut hominem unum, nec sustinebunt vim equorum nostrorum.

3. He will send his forces and will destroy them from the face of the earth, and their God will not deliver them -- we the king's servants will destroy them as one man. They cannot resist the might of our cavalry.

4. Inundabimus enim eos in ipsis, et montes eorum inebriabuntur sanguine eorum, et campi eorum replebuntur mortuis eorum, et non resistet vestigium pedum eorum contra faciem nostram, sed perditione perient. Dicit rex Nabuchodonosor, dominus universae terrae; dixit enim, et non frustrabuntur verba oris eius.

4. We will burn them up, and their mountains will be drunk with their blood, and their fields will be full of their dead. They cannot withstand us, but will utterly perish. So says King Nebuchadnezzar, the lord of the whole earth. For he has spoken; none of his words shall be in vain.

5. Tu autem, Achior, mercennari Ammon, qui locutus es verba haec in die iniquitatis tuae, non videbis faciem meam iam ex hac die, quoadusque ulciscar in genus illorum, qui ascenderunt ex Aegypto.

5. "But you, Achior, you Ammonite hireling, who have said these words on the day of your iniquity, you shall not see my face again from this day until I take revenge on this race that came out of Egypt.

6. Et tunc pertransiet ferrum militiae meae et populus famulorum meorum latera tua, et cades cum vulneratis eorum, cum venero.

6. Then the sword of my army and the spear of my servants shall pierce your sides, and you shall fall among their wounded, when I return.

7. Et deducent te servi mei in montanam et ponent te in una civitatum ascensuum

7. Now my slaves are going to take you back into the hill country and put you in one of the cities beside the passes,

8. et non peries, donec extermineris cum eis.

8. and you will not die until you perish along with them.

9. Et, si speras corde tuo quoniam non capientur, non concidat facies tua. Locutus sum, et nihil decidet verborum meorum”.

9. If you really hope in your heart that they will not be taken, do not look downcast! I have spoken and none of my words shall fail."

10. Et praecepit Holofernes servis suis, qui erant adstantes in tabernaculo eius, ut comprehenderent Achior et ducerent eum in Betuliam et traderent in manus filiorum Israel.

10. Then Holofernes ordered his slaves, who waited on him in his tent, to seize Achior and take him to Bethulia and hand him over to the men of Israel.

11. Et comprehenderunt eum servi eius et duxerunt illum extra castra in campum et promoverunt ex medio campo in montanam et advenerunt ad fontes, qui erant sub Betulia.

11. So the slaves took him and led him out of the camp into the plain, and from the plain they went up into the hill country and came to the springs below Bethulia.

12. Et, ut viderunt eos viri civitatis super verticem montis, acceperunt arma sua et exierunt extra civitatem supra cacumen montis, et omnis vir fundibalarius occupavit ascensus eorum et mittebat lapides super eos.

12. When the men of the city saw them, they caught up their weapons and ran out of the city to the top of the hill, and all the slingers kept them from coming up by casting stones at them.

13. Et accedentes sub monte alligaverunt Achior et reliquerunt proiectum sub radice montis et reversi sunt ad dominum suum.

13. However, they got under the shelter of the hill and they bound Achior and left him lying at the foot of the hill, and returned to their master.

14. Descendentes autem filii Israel de civitate sua adstiterunt ei et solventes eum perduxerunt in Betuliam et adduxerunt eum ad principes civitatis suae,

14. Then the men of Israel came down from their city and found him; and they untied him and brought him into Bethulia and placed him before the magistrates of their city,

15. qui erant in diebus illis Ozias filius Michae de tribu Simeon et Chabris filius Gothoniel et Charmis filius Melchiel.

15. who in those days were Uzziah the son of Micah, of the tribe of Simeon, and Chabris the son of Gothoniel, and Charmis the son of Melchiel.

16. Et convocaverunt omnes seniores civitatis, et concurrerunt omnes iuvenes eorum et mulieres et pueri eorum in ecclesiam; et statuerunt Achior in medio omnis populi ipsorum, et interrogavit eum Ozias, quid contigisset.

16. They called together all the elders of the city, and all their young men and their women ran to the assembly; and they set Achior in the midst of all their people, and Uzziah asked him what had happened.

17. Et respondens indicavit eis verba consilii Holofernis et omnia verba, quaecumque locutus est in medio principum filiorum Assyriae, et quaecumque magniverbatus est Holofernes adversus domum Israel.

17. He answered and told them what had taken place at the council of Holofernes, and all that he had said in the presence of the Assyrian leaders, and all that Holofernes had said so boastfully against the house of Israel.

18. Et procidens omnis populus adoraverunt Deum et clamaverunt dicentes:

18. Then the people fell down and worshiped God, and cried out to him, and said,

19. “Domine, Deus caeli, respice ad superbiam eorum et miserere humilitatis generis nostri et respice ad faciem eorum, qui sanctificati sunt tibi in hac die”.

19. "O Lord God of heaven, behold their arrogance, and have pity on the humiliation of our people, and look this day upon the faces of those who are consecrated to thee."

20. Et consolati sunt Achior et laudaverunt eum valde.

20. Then they consoled Achior, and praised him greatly.

21. Et suscepit eum Ozias de ecclesia in domum suam et fecit cenam senioribus, et invocaverunt Deum Israel in adiutorium per totam noctem illam.

21. And Uzziah took him from the assembly to his own house and gave a banquet for the elders; and all that night they called on the God of Israel for help.