A   So when they had left of speakyng, Holofernes toke sore indignacion, and said vnto Achior: For so moch as thou hast prophecyed vnto vs, sayinge: that the people of Israel shalbe defended of theyr God, I wyll shewe the, that there is no God but Nabuchodonosor. Yee, when we slaye them all as one man, thou also shalt perysh with them thorow the swerd of the Assiri&abar;s, ∧ all Israel shalbe destroyed with the, and then shalt thou fele, that Nabuchodonosor is þe; Lorde of the whole erth. Then shall the swerd of my knyghthode go thorow thy sydes, and thou shalt fal downe styckte amonge the wounded of Israel, and

shalt not come to thy selfe agayne but be utterly destroyed wyth them. But yf thou thinckest thy prophecy to be true, why doest thou then chaunge thy coloure? why arte þu; afrayed? B   Thynckest thou þt; my wordes are not able to be perfourmed? But that thou mayest knowe, þt; thou shalt fele these thynges with them, beholde, fr&obar; this houre forth wyll I sende the vnto yonder people, that when the punyshment of my swerde (which they haue worthely deserued) falleth vpon them, thou mayest be punyshed with them.

So Holofernes c&obar;maunded his seruauntes to take Achior, ∧ to cary hym vnto Bethulia, ∧ to delyuer hym into the handes of the childr&ebar; of Israel. Then Holofernes seruauntes toke him, and w&ebar;t thorow þe; playne felde. But when they drew nye vnto the mountaynes, the slynge casters came out agaynst them: Neuerthelesse they gat th&ebar; awaye by the syde of the mountayne, &abar;d bounde Achior hande and fote to a tree, and so left hym bo&ubar;de with withyes, and turned agayne vnto theyr Lorde.

Notwithstandinge þe; chyldren of Israell went downe fr&obar; Bethulia, came vnto hym, lowsed him, brought him into Bethulia, set hym in the myddest of the people, and asked him what the matter was, that þe; Assirians had left hym bounde?

C   Osias the sonne of Micha of the trybe of Symeon, and Charmim (which is also called Gothoniel) were the principal rulers at the same tyme. Nowe when Achior stode in the myddest of the Senatoures, and before them al he tolde them, what answere he gaue Holofernes, to the thynge that he asked him, and how Holofernes people wolde haue slayne hym for so sayinge, and how Holofernes hym selfe was wroth, ∧ commaunded hym for the same cause to be delyuered vnto the Israelites: that when he ouercame the children of Israel, he myght comma&ubar;de Achior also to be put to death with diuerse torm&ebar;tes, because he sayde: the God of heauen is their defender. And when Achior had playnely tolde out all these thynges, all the people fell downe vp&obar; their faces, praysing the Lorde, and poured out their prayers together vnto the Lorde, with a general complaynte and wepynge, and sayde: O Lorde God of heau&ebar; ∧ of earth, beholde their pride and loke vpon our lowlynes, and consydre how it standeth with thy saynctes, and make it to be knowne, that thou forsakest not those, which holde them fast by the, &abar;d how that thou bryngest th&ebar; lowe, D   that presume of th&ebar; selues, and make theyr boast in theyr awne strength. So when the wepynge and prayer of the people (whych they had made the whole daye l&obar;ge) was ended, they comforted Achior, sayinge: The God of our fathers, whose power and strength thou hast praysed, shal so rewarde the, that thou shalt rather se theyr destrucci&obar;. When the Lorde our God then shall geue his seruautes thys lybertie, God be also with the am&obar;ge vs: so that yf it please the, thou wyth all thyne mayest dwell with vs.

Now when Osias had ended the co&ubar;cell, he toke him into his house, &abar;d made a great supper, called the elders to it, and so they refresshed them selues after the fastynge. And afterwarde was all the people called together, which made their prayers al the night longe in the congregacion, and besought the God of Israel for helpe.

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