Judith 5

1It was told to Holofernes, the commander of the Assyrian army, that the Israelites were prepared for war and had blocked the passes in the mountains, fortified all the hilltops, and placed barricades in the plains.

καὶ ἀνηγγέλη Ολοφέρνῃ ἀρχιστρατήγῳ δυνάμεως Ασσουρ διότι οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ παρεσκευάσαντο εἰς πόλεμον καὶ τὰς διόδους τῆς ὀρεινῆς συνέκλεισαν καὶ ἐτείχισαν πᾶσαν κορυφὴν ὄρους ὑψηλοῦ καὶ ἔθηκαν ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις σκάνδαλα

2He was very angry, and he called all the princes of Moab and the captains of Ammon and all the governors of the seacoast together.

καὶ ὠργίσθη θυμῷ σφόδρα καὶ ἐκάλεσεν πάντας τοὺς ἄρχοντας Μωαβ καὶ τοὺς στρατηγοὺς Αμμων καὶ πάντας σατράπας τῆς παραλίας

3He said to them, 'Tell me, sons of Canaan, who are these people who live in the hill country? What cities do they inhabit? How large is their army? In what does their power and strength consist? And who is the king who rules them and leads their army?

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ἀναγγείλατε δή μοι υἱοὶ Χανααν τίς ὁ λαὸς οὗτος ὁ καθήμενος ἐν τῇ ὀρεινῇ καὶ τίνες ἃς κατοικοῦσιν πόλεις καὶ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν τίνι τὸ κράτος αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτῶν καὶ τίς ἀνέστηκεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῶν βασιλεὺς ἡγούμενος στρατιᾶς αὐτῶν

4Why have they alone refused to come and meet with me along with all those dwelling in the west?'

καὶ διὰ τί κατενωτίσαντο τοῦ μὴ ἐλθεῖν εἰς ἀπάντησίν μοι παρὰ πάντας τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ἐν δυσμαῖς

5Then Achior, the leader of the Ammonites, said to him, 'Let my lord hear now the word that comes from the mouth of your servant, and I will tell you the truth concerning this people who dwell in this hill country near you; no falsehood will come out of the mouth of your servant.

καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτὸν Αχιωρ ὁ ἡγούμενος πάντων υἱῶν Αμμων ἀκουσάτω δὴ λόγον ὁ κύριός μου ἐκ στόματος τοῦ δούλου σου καὶ ἀναγγελῶ σοι τὴν ἀλήθειαν περὶ τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου ὃς κατοικεῖ τὴν ὀρεινὴν ταύτην πλησίον σοῦ οἰκοῦντος καὶ οὐκ ἐξελεύσεται ψεῦδος ἐκ τοῦ στόματος τοῦ δούλου σου

6These people are descended from the Chaldeans.

ὁ λαὸς οὗτός εἰσιν ἀπόγονοι Χαλδαίων

7They previously sojourned in Mesopotamia because they did not wish to follow the gods of their fathers, who were in Chaldea.

καὶ παρῴκησαν τὸ πρότερον ἐν τῇ Μεσοποταμίᾳ ὅτι οὐκ ἐβουλήθησαν ἀκολουθῆσαι τοῖς θεοῖς τῶν πατέρων αὐτῶν οἳ ἐγένοντο ἐν γῇ Χαλδαίων

8For they had departed from the way of their ancestors and worshiped the God of heaven, the God they had come to know. As a result, they cast them out from the presence of their gods, and they fled to Mesopotamia and sojourned there for a long time.

καὶ ἐξέβησαν ἐξ ὁδοῦ τῶν γονέων αὐτῶν καὶ προσεκύνησαν τῷ θεῷ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ θεῷ ᾧ ἐπέγνωσαν καὶ ἐξέβαλον αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ προσώπου τῶν θεῶν αὐτῶν καὶ ἔφυγον εἰς Μεσοποταμίαν καὶ παρῴκησαν ἐκεῖ ἡμέρας πολλάς

9Then their God commanded them to depart from the place of their sojourn and go to the land of Canaan. They settled there and became very wealthy in gold, silver, and abundant livestock.

καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς αὐτῶν ἐξελθεῖν ἐκ τῆς παροικίας αὐτῶν καὶ πορευθῆναι εἰς γῆν Χανααν καὶ κατῴκησαν ἐκεῖ καὶ ἐπληθύνθησαν χρυσίῳ καὶ ἀργυρίῳ καὶ ἐν κτήνεσιν πολλοῖς σφόδρα

10But when a famine spread through all of Canaan, they went down into Egypt and sojourned there as long as there was food; and there they became a great multitude, so great they could not be numbered.

καὶ κατέβησαν εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἐκάλυψεν γὰρ τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς Χανααν λιμός καὶ παρῴκησαν ἐκεῖ μέχρις οὗ διετράφησαν καὶ ἐγένοντο ἐκεῖ εἰς πλῆθος πολύ καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἀριθμὸς τοῦ γένους αὐτῶν

11'Then the king of Egypt rose against them and, taking advantage of them, forced them to make bricks; he humbled them and made them slaves.

καὶ ἐπανέστη αὐτοῖς ὁ βασιλεὺς Αἰγύπτου καὶ κατεσοφίσατο αὐτοὺς ἐν πόνῳ καὶ πλίνθῳ ἐταπείνωσαν αὐτοὺς καὶ ἔθεντο αὐτοὺς εἰς δούλους

12So they cried out to their God, and He struck the whole land of Egypt with deadly plagues. The Egyptians cast them out from their presence.

καὶ ἀνεβόησαν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπάταξεν πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν Αἰγύπτου πληγαῖς ἐν αἷς οὐκ ἦν ἴασις καὶ ἐξέβαλον αὐτοὺς οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν

13So God dried up the Red Sea before them.

καὶ κατεξήρανεν ὁ θεὸς τὴν ἐρυθρὰν θάλασσαν ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν

14He led them by way of Sinai and Kadesh-Barnea, and they drove out all those living in the desert.

καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτοὺς εἰς ὁδὸν τοῦ Σινα καὶ Καδης Βαρνη καὶ ἐξέβαλον πάντας τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ

15They settled in the land of the Amorites, and by their strength they utterly destroyed all the residents of Heshbon. And crossing over the River Jordan, they occupied all of the hill country.

καὶ ᾤκησαν ἐν γῇ Αμορραίων καὶ πάντας τοὺς Εσεβωνίτας ἐξωλέθρευσαν ἐν τῇ ἰσχύι αὐτῶν καὶ διαβάντες τὸν Ιορδάνην ἐκληρονόμησαν πᾶσαν τὴν ὀρεινὴν

16Then they drove out the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Shechemites, and the Gergesites, and they dwelled there for a long time.

καὶ ἐξέβαλον ἐκ προσώπου αὐτῶν τὸν Χαναναῖον καὶ τὸν Φερεζαῖον καὶ τὸν Ιεβουσαῖον καὶ τὸν Συχεμ καὶ πάντας τοὺς Γεργεσαίους καὶ κατῴκησαν ἐν αὐτῇ ἡμέρας πολλάς

17'If they did not sin before their God they prospered, because their God, who hates sin, was with them.

καὶ ἕως οὐχ ἥμαρτον ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ αὐτῶν ἦν μετ᾿ αὐτῶν τὰ ἀγαθά ὅτι θεὸς μισῶν ἀδικίαν μετ᾿ αὐτῶν ἐστιν

18But when they strayed from the path which He prescribed for them, they were destroyed in numerous battles, and they were exiled to a land not their own, and the temple of their God was brought down to the ground, and their cities were seized by their adversaries.

ὅτε δὲ ἀπέστησαν ἀπὸ τῆς ὁδοῦ ἧς διέθετο αὐτοῖς ἐξωλεθρεύθησαν ἐν πολλοῖς πολέμοις ἐπὶ πολὺ σφόδρα καὶ ᾐχμαλωτεύθησαν εἰς γῆν οὐκ ἰδίαν καὶ ὁ ναὸς τοῦ θεοῦ αὐτῶν ἐγενήθη εἰς ἔδαφος καὶ αἱ πόλεις αὐτῶν ἐκρατήθησαν ὑπὸ τῶν ὑπεναντίων

19Yet now they have come back to their God and returned from their dispersion, and they have taken back Jerusalem, where their sanctuary is. They have settled in the hill country, for it was not inhabited.

καὶ νῦν ἐπιστρέψαντες ἐπὶ τὸν θεὸν αὐτῶν ἀνέβησαν ἐκ τῆς διασπορᾶς οὗ διεσπάρησαν ἐκεῖ καὶ κατέσχον τὴν Ιερουσαλημ οὗ τὸ ἁγίασμα αὐτῶν καὶ κατῳκίσθησαν ἐν τῇ ὀρεινῇ ὅτι ἦν ἔρημος

20'Now my lord and master, if there is any sin of ignorance in this people and they sin against their God, then we will identify their offense and will go up to defeat them.

καὶ νῦν δέσποτα κύριε εἰ μὲν ἔστιν ἀγνόημα ἐν τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ καὶ ἁμαρτάνουσιν εἰς τὸν θεὸν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπισκεψόμεθα ὅτι ἔστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς σκάνδαλον τοῦτο καὶ ἀναβησόμεθα καὶ ἐκπολεμήσομεν αὐτούς

21But if there is no lawlessness in their nation, then let my lord leave them alone, lest their Lord shield them, and their God defend them, and we will become a reproach before the whole earth.'

εἰ δ᾿ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀνομία ἐν τῷ ἔθνει αὐτῶν παρελθέτω δὴ ὁ κύριός μου μήποτε ὑπερασπίσῃ ὁ κύριος αὐτῶν καὶ ὁ θεὸς αὐτῶν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν καὶ ἐσόμεθα εἰς ὀνειδισμὸν ἐναντίον πάσης τῆς γῆς

22Now when Achior finished speaking these things, all the people standing around the tent started to grumble. Then Holofernes' officials and all those dwelling in the seacoast and Moab insisted Achior be put to death.

καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἐπαύσατο Αχιωρ λαλῶν τοὺς λόγους τούτους καὶ ἐγόγγυσεν πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ὁ κυκλῶν τὴν σκηνὴν καὶ περιεστώς καὶ εἶπαν οἱ μεγιστᾶνες Ολοφέρνου καὶ πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὴν παραλίαν καὶ τὴν Μωαβ συγκόψαι αὐτόν

23They said, 'We will not be afraid of the Israelites. For behold! They are people in whom there is no might nor the power to wage war.

οὐ γὰρ φοβηθησόμεθα ἀπὸ υἱῶν Ισραηλ ἰδοὺ γὰρ λαὸς ἐν ᾧ οὐκ ἔστιν δύναμις οὐδὲ κράτος εἰς παράταξιν ἰσχυράν

24Now therefore, we will go up, Lord Holofernes, and they will be devoured by your whole army.'

διὸ δὴ ἀναβησόμεθα καὶ ἔσονται εἰς κατάβρωσιν πάσης τῆς στρατιᾶς σου δέσποτα Ολοφέρνη