The author pauses to describe the personal adornments with which Judith decorates herself as she enters the enemy camp. Just as she had been portrayed as an ascetic dressed in sackcloth and smeared with ashes, Judith now wears all her finery to enhance her beauty. “Dressed in sackcloth” would imply that she was seeking the compassion of the arrogant Assyrian, and that is not her intention. “Dressed and adorned for a feast” signifies her presentation, confident in a victory anticipated by her finery and adornments. Her advance through the Assyrian camp fulfills the words of her plea (9:13). The enemy, indeed, blinded by such beauty, does not even consider questioning her words or her very presence.