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Atlas of Saints

Judith

Chapter 11 · Douay–Rheims / Challoner

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Chapter XI · Location 11 of 16

Chapter 11 · Open to read

From Judith · Douay–Rheims / Challoner (1749–1752)

What sequence and claims does Judith Chapter 11 record?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

Holofernes claims he has not harmed willing servants of the king and asks why Judith has come. Judith presents claims about Israel’s sin, provisions and imminent punishment, offering to report when God will repay sins. The listeners admire her; Holofernes conditionally promises honor and allegiance to her God if her words prove true.

Chapter breakdown

Holofernes welcomed Judith, telling her not to fear because he claimed he had never harmed anyone willing to serve King Nabuchodonosor. He explained that he would never have lifted his spear against her people if they had not treated him with contempt, and he asked why she had abandoned them to come to the Assyrian camp.

Judith urged the general to listen carefully to her words, promising that if he followed her guidance, the Lord would accomplish a perfect work through him. Invoking the life of Nabuchodonosor and his imperial power present in Holofernes to chastise wandering souls, she declared that both men and beasts were subject to his rule. She praised his intelligence and famed military discipline, saying she had heard what Achior said and then claiming: God defended them when they were faithful, but was offended when they committed sins, sending prophets to warn that they would be delivered up to their enemies. She claimed that because the Israelites knew they had offended God, deep dread of the Assyrian army had fallen upon them.

Judith explained that severe drought and famine had brought the defenders of Bethulia to desperate extremes, so that they were already to be counted among the dead. Starving and dying of thirst, they planned to slaughter their cattle for blood and consume the consecrated grain, wine, and oil that God's law strictly forbade them to touch. She warned that this impending sacrilege made their destruction absolutely certain. She claimed that, knowing these things, she had fled and that God had sent her to disclose them.

She promised that while remaining in his camp, she would continue to worship God and go out to pray. God would reveal to her when he would repay their sins, whereupon she would return to guide Holofernes straight through Judea into the heart of Jerusalem. The Israelites would be scattered like sheep without a shepherd, and not a single dog would bark against the Assyrians. Her wisdom and beauty captivated Holofernes and his officers, who declared that no woman on earth equaled her. Holofernes praised God for sending her ahead, promising that if her words came true, her God would be his God, she would be honored in the palace of Nabuchodonosor, and her name would be renowned across the earth.

The story inside

Opening conditions: Holofernes claims he has not harmed willing servants of the king and asks why Judith has come. Development: Judith presents claims about Israel’s sin, provisions and imminent punishment, offering to report when God will repay sins. Chapter ending: The listeners admire her; Holofernes conditionally promises honor and allegiance to her God if her words prove true.

Lessons worth keeping

  1. 1
    Holofernes claims he has not harmed willing servants of the king and asks why Judith has come.
  2. 2
    Judith presents claims about Israel’s sin, provisions and imminent punishment, offering to report when God will repay sins.
  3. 3
    The listeners admire her; Holofernes conditionally promises honor and allegiance to her God if her words prove true.

Test your recall

Which events are narrated, and which statements belong to the named speakers?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

  1. Lines 52512–52514

    Then Holofernes said to her: Be of good comfort, and fear not in thy heart: for I have never hurt a man that was willing to serve Nabuchodonosor the king.
  2. Lines 52538–52540

    For it is certain that our God is so offended with sins, that he hath sent word by his prophets to the people, that he will deliver them up for their sins.
  3. Lines 52551–52555

    And the consecrated things of the Lord their God which God forbade them to touch, in corn, wine, and oil, these have they purposed to make use of, and they design to consume the things which they ought not to touch with their hands: therefore because they do these things, it is certain they will be given up to destruction.
  4. Lines 52583–52585

    And because thy promise is good, if thy God shall do this for me, he shall also be my God, and thou shalt be great in the house of Nabuchodonosor, and thy name shall be renowned through all the earth.

Location: chapter 11 of 16 · 69%

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