Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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Judith, the Israelite Widow
1 At that time, Judith heard about
Uzziah's decision. She was the
daughter of Merari, the granddaughter
of Ox and the great-granddaughter
of Joseph. Joseph's ancestors
were Oziel, Elkiah, Ananias, Gideon,
Raphaim, Ahitub, Elijah, Hilkiah,
Eliab, Nathanael, Salamiel, Sarasadai,
and Israel.
2 Judith's husband
Manasseh, who belonged to the
same tribe and clan, had died during
the barley harvest.
3 He had suffered
a sunstroke while in the fields supervising
the farm workers and later
died in bed at home in Bethulia. He
was buried in the family tomb in the
field between Dothan and Balamon.
4 For three years and four
months, Judith had lived as a
widow.
5 In her grief she built a little
shelter on the roof of her house and
lived there, wearing sackcloth. note
6 She
fasted during that entire period except
when fasting was forbidden:
the day before the Sabbath and the
Sabbath itself, the eve of the New
Moon Festival and the Festival itself,
and all the festivals and holidays
observed by the people of Israel.
7 Judith was a very beautiful
woman. Her husband had left her
gold and silver, servants and slaves,
livestock and fields. She continued
to supervise the estate,
8 and no one
ever said anything bad about Judith.
She was a very religious woman.
Judith Meets with the Town Officials
9 Judith heard how the people
were complaining bitterly against
Uzziah, now that the water shortage
had broken their morale. She
learned that in answer to their complaints
he had promised to surrender
the town to the Assyrians after five
days.
10 Judith sent a slave, the
woman who managed her business
affairs, to invite Uzziah, note Chabris,
and Charmis, the town officials, to
her home.
11 When the officials arrived, Judith
said to them, “Please listen to
me. You are the leaders of the people
of Bethulia, but you were wrong
to speak to the people as you did today.
You should not have made a
solemn promise before God that you
would surrender the town to our enemies
if the Lord did not come to our
aid within a few days. note
12 What right
do you have to put God to the test as
you have done today? Who are you
to put yourselves in God's place in
dealing with human affairs?
13 It is
the Lord Almighty that you are putting
to the test! Will you never
learn?
14 There is no way that you
can understand what is in the depths
of a human heart or find out what a
person is thinking. Yet you dare to
read God's mind and interpret his
-- --
thoughts! How can you claim to understand
God, the Creator? No, my
friends, you must stop arousing the
anger of the Lord our God! note
15 If he
decides not to come to our aid
within five days, he still may rescue
us at any time he chooses. Or he
may let our enemies destroy us.
16 But you must not lay down conditions
for the Lord our God! Do you
think that he is like one of us? Do
you think you can bargain with him
or force him to make a decision?
17 No! Instead, we should ask God
for his help and wait patiently for
him to rescue us. If he wants to, he
will answer our cry for help.
18 We
do not worship gods made with human
hands. Not one of our clans,
tribes, towns, or cities has ever done
that, even though our ancestors used
to do so.
19 That is why God let their
enemies kill them and take everything
they had. It was a great defeat!
20 But since we worship no other
God but the Lord, we can hope that
he will not reject us or any of our
people.
21 If our town is taken by the enemy,
the entire region of Judah will
then fall, and our Temple in Jerusalem
will be looted. And God will
make us pay with our lives for allowing
the Temple to be defiled.
22 He will hold us responsible for the
slaughter and captivity of our people
and for the destruction of the land
we have inherited. We will be despised
and mocked by the people in
those nations to which we will be
taken as slaves.
23 We are not going
to win the favor of our enemies by
surrendering to them now. noteIf we do
surrender, the Lord our God will see
that we are put to shame.
24 “No, my friends, we should set
an example for our fellow countrymen.
Not only their lives, but the
fate of the Temple and the altar depend
on us.
25 The Lord our God is
putting us to the test, just as he
tested our ancestors, and we should
be thankful for that.
26 Remember
how he put Abraham and Isaac to
the test, and what happened to Jacob
while he was working as a shepherd
for his uncle Laban in Mesopotamia. note
27 God is not testing our
loyalty as severely as he did theirs.
God is not sending this punishment
on us as revenge, but as a warning to
us who worship him.”
28 Then Uzziah answered Judith,
“Everything you have said makes
good sense, and no one can argue
with it.
29 This is not the first time
you have shown wisdom. Ever since
you were a child, all of us have recognized
the soundness and maturity
of your judgment.
30 But our people
are dying of thirst. They forced us to
say what we did and to make a solemn
promise, which we cannot
break.
31 So now, since you are a
deeply religious woman, pray for
our people; ask the Lord to send rain
to fill our cisterns, so that we can get
our strength back.”
32 “All right,” Judith replied, “I am
going to do something which our
Jewish people will never forget.
33 Tonight, the three of you must
stand guard at the gate so that my
slave woman and I can leave the
town. And before the day comes on
which you have promised to surrender,
the Lord will use me to rescue
the people of Israel.
34 But you must
not ask me what I am going to do; I
will explain it to you when it is all
over.”
35 Uzziah and the other officials
said to her, “You have our blessing.
May the Lord our God guide you as
you take revenge on our enemies.”
Then they left Judith's rooftop shelter
and returned to their posts.
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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