Judith
Chapter 14
The Triumphant Morning
Judith said to them: “Listen, my brothers, take this head and hang it from our rampart’s battlements.
Then, when dawn breaks and the sun rises over the earth, let each of you take his weapons and send all those able to fight outside the town. Under the command of a captain, prepare to march as if heading down into the plain toward the Assyrian outposts, but you will not actually go.
The Assyrian guards will grab their weapons and head to their camp to wake the generals of the Assyrian army. These officers will rush to Holofernes’ tent but will not find him; fear will then grip them, and they will run away from you.
Then you and everyone who lives in the land of Israel will follow them and strike them down as they go.
But, before you do this, call Achior the Ammonite so he can see and recognize the one who despised the people of Israel. This man sent him to you death.”
Achior was brought from the house of Uzziah. As soon as he arrived and saw the head of Holofernes in the hand of one of the people, he fainted and fell face down on the ground.
When they had lifted him up, he threw himself at Judith’s feet, bowed before her, and said: “May you be blessed throughout Judea and among all the nations, who, on hearing your name, will be amazed.
But now, tell me all you did during these days.”Standing amid the people, Judith told him everything she had done from the day she set out until the moment she spoke to them.
When she finished talking, the people cried out joyfully, which was heard throughout the town.
When Achior saw all that the God of Israel had done, he immediately believed in him. He was circumcised and became a member of the community of Israel down to this day.
When the sun had risen and they had hung Holofernes’ head on the rampart, all the men gathered their weapons and moved to the mountain slopes in groups.
As soon as the Assyrians saw them, they alerted their commanders. These men then went to inform the generals, the captains, and all their officers.
Finally, they all went to Holofernes’ tent and spoke to the steward in charge of his affairs. “Waken our lord, for the slaves plan to come down and fight against us to their utter destruction.”
So Bagoas drew back the curtain and knocked, thinking Holofernes was sleeping with Judith.
As no one answered, he entered the room and found Holofernes lying across the wooden footstool, dead with his head cut off.
He cried out with a loud voice and tore his clothes.
He entered the tent where Judith had stayed, but did not find her. Then he rushed out to the troops, shouting:
“The slaves have deceived us! One Hebrew woman has put to shame the army of King Nebuchadnezzar, for Holofernes lies dead on the ground.”
When the officers of the Assyrian army heard these words, they were greatly distressed. They tore their garments and cried out loudly in their camp.
Commentaries
The Great Liberation.
The second part of the book focuses on the main protagonist, Judith, who arrives at this point. It is here that the dilemma will be resolved: surrender or resistance. Judith will lead the resistance, but she will also guide it: we must resist not by counting on a miraculous intervention from God, but by using the resources at our disposal to serve the community and divine action—our beauty and our freedom, since as widows, we do not depend on a husband—and finally, our wisdom and resourcefulness. Resistance does not, therefore, mean waiting for extraordinary interventions that are unlikely to happen. Resistance means starting with what little we have, with the strong hope that it is more than enough to face any force opposed to God’s plan.
The Triumphant Morning.
After the night vigil, Judith takes on the role of a strategist and begins giving orders that set the events in motion. With their leader dead, it is customary for the army to disband and retreat.