Judith 4

1When the Israelites residing in Judea heard everything Holofernes, the commander of Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians, had done to the nations, and how he stripped and demolished all their temples,

καὶ ἤκουσαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐν τῇ Ιουδαίᾳ πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησεν Ολοφέρνης τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὁ ἀρχιστράτηγος Ναβουχοδονοσορ βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων καὶ ὃν τρόπον ἐσκύλευσεν πάντα τὰ ἱερὰ αὐτῶν καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὰ εἰς ἀφανισμόν

2they were greatly terrified at his presence. They were troubled for Jerusalem and also for the temple of the Lord their God.

καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν σφόδρα σφόδρα ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ καὶ περὶ Ιερουσαλημ καὶ τοῦ ναοῦ κυρίου θεοῦ αὐτῶν ἐταράχθησαν

3For they had just recently come back from exile, and all the people of Judea had only recently been regathered, and the holy vessels, the altar, and the temple had been consecrated, having been profaned.

ὅτι προσφάτως ἦσαν ἀναβεβηκότες ἐκ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας καὶ νεωστὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς συνελέλεκτο τῆς Ιουδαίας καὶ τὰ σκεύη καὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον καὶ ὁ οἶκος ἐκ τῆς βεβηλώσεως ἡγιασμένα ἦν

4So they sent word into all the region of Samaria, and to Kona, Beth Horon, Belmen, and to Jericho and Choba and Aesora, and to the valley of Salem.

καὶ ἀπέστειλαν εἰς πᾶν ὅριον Σαμαρείας καὶ Κωνα καὶ Βαιθωρων καὶ Βελμαιν καὶ Ιεριχω καὶ εἰς Χωβα καὶ Αισωρα καὶ τὸν αὐλῶνα Σαλημ

5Immediately they seized all the hilltops and fortified the villages in them, and stored up provisions in preparation for war, having just harvested their fields.

καὶ προκατελάβοντο πάσας τὰς κορυφὰς τῶν ὀρέων τῶν ὑψηλῶν καὶ ἐτείχισαν τὰς ἐν αὐτοῖς κώμας καὶ παρέθεντο εἰς ἐπισιτισμὸν εἰς παρασκευὴν πολέμου ὅτι προσφάτως ἦν τὰ πεδία αὐτῶν τεθερισμένα

6Joakim the high priest, who was in Jerusalem at that time, wrote to those dwelling in Bethulia and Betomesthaim, which faces Esdraelon opposite the plain near Dothan.

καὶ ἔγραψεν Ιωακιμ ὁ ἱερεὺς ὁ μέγας ὃς ἦν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐν Ιερουσαλημ τοῖς κατοικοῦσι Βαιτυλουα καὶ Βαιτομεσθαιμ ἥ ἐστιν ἀπέναντι Εσδρηλων κατὰ πρόσωπον τοῦ πεδίου τοῦ πλησίον Δωθαϊμ

7He ordered them to occupy the mountain passes, since Judea could be invaded through them. They were easy to defend because the approach was narrow, with space for only two men at the most to pass.

λέγων διακατασχεῖν τὰς ἀναβάσεις τῆς ὀρεινῆς ὅτι δι᾿ αὐτῶν ἦν ἡ εἴσοδος εἰς τὴν Ιουδαίαν καὶ ἦν εὐχερῶς διακωλῦσαι αὐτοὺς προσβαίνοντας στενῆς τῆς προσβάσεως οὔσης ἐπ᾿ ἄνδρας τοὺς πάντας δύο

8The Israelites did as instructed by Joakim the high priest and the council of all the people of Israel, which met in Jerusalem.

καὶ ἐποίησαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ καθὰ συνέταξεν αὐτοῖς Ιωακιμ ὁ ἱερεὺς ὁ μέγας καὶ ἡ γερουσία παντὸς δήμου Ισραηλ οἳ ἐκάθηντο ἐν Ιερουσαλημ

9And all the men of Israel cried to God with great fervor and humbled themselves in great somberness.

καὶ ἀνεβόησαν πᾶς ἀνὴρ Ισραηλ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἐν ἐκτενείᾳ μεγάλῃ καὶ ἐταπείνωσαν τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν ἐν ἐκτενείᾳ μεγάλῃ

10They, their wives and children, their cattle, and all the strangers, the hired servants and the purchased slaves, put sackcloth around their waists.

αὐτοὶ καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν καὶ τὰ νήπια αὐτῶν καὶ τὰ κτήνη αὐτῶν καὶ πᾶς πάροικος καὶ μισθωτὸς καὶ ἀργυρώνητος αὐτῶν ἐπέθεντο σάκκους ἐπὶ τὰς ὀσφύας αὐτῶν

11All the men of Israel and the women and the children living in Jerusalem prostrated themselves before the temple, and put ashes on their heads and spread out their sackcloth before the face of the Lord.

καὶ πᾶς ἀνὴρ Ισραηλ καὶ γυνὴ καὶ τὰ παιδία οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐν Ιερουσαλημ ἔπεσον κατὰ πρόσωπον τοῦ ναοῦ καὶ ἐσποδώσαντο τὰς κεφαλὰς αὐτῶν καὶ ἐξέτειναν τοὺς σάκκους αὐτῶν κατὰ πρόσωπον κυρίου

12They also covered the altar with sackcloth, and cried out fervently with one accord to the God of Israel that He would not allow their infants to be prey and their wives to be seized; that the cities they inherited not be destroyed; that their sanctuary not be desecrated and be a reproach to the gloating of the Gentiles.

καὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον σάκκῳ περιέβαλον καὶ ἐβόησαν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν Ισραηλ ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐκτενῶς τοῦ μὴ δοῦναι εἰς διαρπαγὴν τὰ νήπια αὐτῶν καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας εἰς προνομὴν καὶ τὰς πόλεις τῆς κληρονομίας αὐτῶν εἰς ἀφανισμὸν καὶ τὰ ἅγια εἰς βεβήλωσιν καὶ ὀνειδισμὸν ἐπίχαρμα τοῖς ἔθνεσιν

13The Lord heard their cry and looked down on their affliction, for the people were fasting many days in all Judea and Jerusalem before the sanctuary of the Lord Almighty.

καὶ εἰσήκουσεν κύριος τῆς φωνῆς αὐτῶν καὶ εἰσεῖδεν τὴν θλῖψιν αὐτῶν καὶ ἦν ὁ λαὸς νηστεύων ἡμέρας πλείους ἐν πάσῃ τῇ Ιουδαίᾳ καὶ Ιερουσαλημ κατὰ πρόσωπον τῶν ἁγίων κυρίου παντοκράτορος

14And Joakim the high priest and all the priests who stood before the presence of the Lord and served the Lord, having girded their waists with sackcloth, offered the continual whole burnt offerings and the votive and the freewill offerings of the people.

καὶ Ιωακιμ ὁ ἱερεὺς ὁ μέγας καὶ πάντες οἱ παρεστηκότες ἐνώπιον κυρίου ἱερεῖς καὶ οἱ λειτουργοῦντες κυρίῳ σάκκους περιεζωσμένοι τὰς ὀσφύας αὐτῶν προσέφερον τὴν ὁλοκαύτωσιν τοῦ ἐνδελεχισμοῦ καὶ τὰς εὐχὰς καὶ τὰ ἑκούσια δόματα τοῦ λαοῦ

15With ashes on their turbans, with all their strength they cried out to the Lord to look with favor upon all the house of Israel.

καὶ ἦν σποδὸς ἐπὶ τὰς κιδάρεις αὐτῶν καὶ ἐβόων πρὸς κύριον ἐκ πάσης δυνάμεως εἰς ἀγαθὸν ἐπισκέψασθαι πᾶν οἶκον Ισραηλ