Judith
Judith 5
Chapter V · Vol. III, p. 1540
1 Achior telleth Holofernes what the Jews are, and what their God had done for them. 21 He adviseth not to meddle with them. 22 All that heard him were offended at him.
1 THEN was it declared to Holofernes, the chief captain of the army of Assur, that 1the children of Israel had prepared for war, and had 2shut up the passages of the hill-country, and had fortified 3all the tops of the high hills, and had laid impediments in the champaign countries:
1 ch. 4. 1.
2 ch. 4. 7.
3 Gr. all the top.
2 Wherewith 4he was very angry, and called all the princes of Moab, and the captains of Ammon, and all the governors of the sea-coast,
4 ch. 1. 12.
3 And he said unto them, Tell me now, ye sons of Chanaan, who this people is that dwelleth 5in the hill-country, and what are the cities that they inhabit, and what is the multitude of their army, and wherein is their power and strength, and what king is set over them, or captain of their army;
5 Luke 1. 30.
4 And why have they determined not to come and meet me, 6more than all the inhabitants of the west.
6 ch. 3. 1.
5 7Then said Achior, 8the captain of all the sons of Ammon, Let my lord now hear a word from the mouth of thy servant, and I will declare unto thee the truth concerning this people, which dwelleth near thee, and inhabiteth the hill-countries: and there shall no lie come out of the mouth of thy servant.
7 ch. 6. 5, 8, 11.
8 ver. 2.
6 This people are descended of the Chaldeans:
7 9And they sojourned heretofore in Mesopotamia, because they would not follow *the gods of their fathers, which were in the land of Chaldea.
9 Gen. 11. 31.
* Josh. 24. 15.
8 For they †left the way of their ancestors, and worshipped the God of heaven, the God whom they knew: so they cast them out from the face of their gods, and they fled into Mesopotamia, and sojourned there many days.
† Or, went out of.
9 Then ‡their God commanded them to depart from the place where they sojourned, and to go into the land of Chanaan: where they dwelt, and were increased with gold and silver, and with very much cattle.
‡ Gen. 12. 1. & 15. 7. Neh. 9. 7.
10 But when a famine covered all the land of Chanaan, ||they went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, while they were nourished, 1and became there a great multitude, so that one could not number their nation.
|| Gen. 46. 5, 6, 7.
1 Ex. 1. 7.
11 Therefore the king of Egypt rose up against them, 2and dealt subtilly with them, and brought them low with labouring in 3brick, and made them slaves.
3 Ex. 1. 11.
12 Then they cried unto their God, and he smote all the land of Egypt with incurable plagues: so the 4Egyptians cast them out of their sight.
13 And 5God dried the Red sea before them,
5 Ex. 14. 21.
14 And 6brought them 7to mount Sina, and Cades-Barne, and cast forth all that dwelt in the wilderness.
6 Ex. 19. 1.
7 Gr. into the way of the wilderness of Sina.
15 So they dwelt in the land of the Amorites, and they destroyed by their strength all them of Esebon, and passing over Jordan they possessed all the hill-country.
16 8And they cast forth before them the Chanaanite, the Pherezite, the Jebusite, and the Sychemite, and all the Gergesites, and they dwelt in that country many days.
17 And whilst they sinned not before their God, they prospered, because the God 9that hateth iniquity was with them.
9 Hab. 1. 13.
18 *But when they departed from the way which he appointed them, they were destroyed in many battles very sore, †and were led captives into a land that was not theirs, and the temple of their God was cast to the ground, and their cities were taken by the enemies.
* Judg. 2. 11. & 3. 8.
19 But ‡now they are returned to their God, and are come up from the places where they were scattered, and have possessed Jerusalem, where their sanctuary is, and ||are seated in 1the hill-country; for it was desolate.
20 Now therefore, my lord and governor, 2if there be any error in this people, and they sin against their God, let us consider that this shall be their ruin, and let us go up, and we shall overcome them.
21 But if there be no iniquity in their nation, let my lord now pass by, lest their Lord defend them, and 3their God be for them, and we become a reproach before all the world.
3 Rom. 8. 31.
22 And when Achior had finished these sayings, all the people standing round about the tent murmured, and the chief men of Holofernes, and all that dwelt by the sea-side, and in Moab, spake that he should kill him.
23 For, say they, we will not be afraid of the face of the children of Israel: for lo, it is 4a people that have no strength nor power 5for a strong battle.
4 ver. 3.
5 Gr. against a mighty army.
24 Now therefore, lord Holofernes, we will go up, and they shall be a prey to be devoured of all thine army.