What sequence and claims does Judith Chapter 16 record?

Following the deliverance of Bethulia, Judith sang a canticle of praise to the Lord, summoning the people to sing with timbrels, cymbals, and a new psalm. She exalted God as the one who puts an end to wars and establishes His camp among His people to rescue them from adversaries. Her song recalled the northern invasion of the Assyrians, whose vast multitudes blocked streams and whose cavalry filled the valleys, boasting that they would burn Israel's borders, put young men to the sword, seize infants, and enslave virgins. The canticle says their mighty one did not fall by young men, nor was he struck by the sons of Titan or opposed by tall giants, but through Judith the daughter of Merari, who disarmed the general by her beauty. She cast aside her garments of mourning, adorned herself with joyful apparel, anointed her face, crowned her hair, and wore elegant sandals that captivated Holofernes' eyes before severing his head with his own sword. Her courage struck awe into the Persians and Medes, while the thirsty Israelites routed the howling imperial ranks.

The canticle continued with an adoration of the majesty of God, confessing that no power can overcome the Creator whose word brought all creatures into being. The hymn proclaimed that mountains shall be moved with the waters from their foundations and rocks melt like wax before His presence, while those who fear the Lord find greatness in His favor. In a solemn warning against foreign oppressors, the song pronounced divine retribution upon any nation rising against Israel, declaring that in the day of judgment the Almighty will repay them with fire and worms within their flesh to suffer perpetually.

After completing their victory, the people traveled to Jerusalem to worship at the sanctuary. Once purified, they offered holocausts, vows, and promised gifts. Judith dedicated all of Holofernes' weapons awarded to her, along with the canopy she had taken from his bedchamber, as an anathema of oblivion—an offering defined in the traditional annotation as an everlasting monument to prevent forgetfulness of God's immense favor. The joyful victory was celebrated before the sanctuary for three months. Afterward, the people returned to their homes, and Judith was honored throughout Israel. She maintained perpetual widowhood in Bethulia, knowing no man after her husband Manasses. The edition says she abode in her husband’s house a hundred and five years, she granted freedom to her handmaid, died, and was buried beside Manasses, while the nation observed seven days of mourning. Israel enjoyed enduring peace during her lifetime and for many years thereafter, and the day of this victory was received among the Hebrews’ holy days and observed by the Jews from then until the narrator’s present day.