Chapter Six

1–9. Holofernes’ angry reply to Achior’s speech. 10–17. Achior is taken to Bethulia and, seized by the Israelites, informs them of all that has just occurred in Holofernes’ camp. 18–21. A warm reception of Achior from the moved people.

Judith 6:1. When the murmur around the assembly had subsided, Holofernes, the commander of the Assyrian army, said to Achior before all the foreign people and all the sons of Moab: Judith 6:2. Who are you, Achior, with the mercenaries of Ephraim, that you have prophesied to us this day and told us not to wage war against the race of Israel because their God defends them? Who is God, if not Nebuchadnezzar? He will send his might and will wipe them from the face of the earth—and their God will not save them. Judith 6:3. But we, his servants, shall strike them down like a single man, and they will not withstand the power of our horses. Judith 6:4. We shall trample upon them; their mountains shall be drunk with their blood, their plains shall be filled with their corpses, and their feet shall not stand before us, but they shall utterly perish, declares the king Nebuchadnezzar, lord of all the earth. For he has spoken, and the words of his command will not be in vain. Judith 6:5. But as for you, Achior, the mercenary of Ammon, who has spoken these words on the day of your iniquity, you shall not see my face again from this day, until I have avenged myself on this people coming from Egypt. Judith 6:6. And when I return, the sword of my army and the hosts of my servants shall go through your ribs—and you shall fall among the slain of them. Judith 6:7. My servants shall take you to the highlands and leave you in one of the cities on the heights, Judith 6:8. and you shall not die there until you are destroyed with them. Judith 6:9. But if you hope in your heart that they will not be taken, let not your face fall. I have spoken, and none of my words shall be void. 1–9. Holofernes’ retort attempts first of all to put his god—Nebuchadnezzar—in place of the God of Israel; second, it expresses complete confidence in the success of the attack on the Israelites. The very manner of Achior’s punishment was the expression of this confidence. Having condemned him to death, Holofernes releases him freely to the enemy side, thereby showing the highest degree of confidence that he will not escape his fate and will fall again into their hands together with all that country. “Let not your face fall”—that is, from sorrow, doubt, or faint-heartedness (1 Sam 17:32). These words should be understood, it seems, in an ironic sense. Holofernes presents Achior here as if still wishing the subjugation of the Israelites despite the expressed doubts in their defeat and the fact that this subjugation, which should decide the fate of Achior, could hardly give him particular joy. Holofernes, who did not permit Achior’s doubts, tries to “console” him with his own confidence, and this consolation, in view of the condition mentioned above that made the subjugation of the Israelites equivalent to Achior’s execution, could of course sound to the latter only as bitter irony. How can one explain such treatment of Achior for an action that showed nothing treacherous or unpatriotic in him, and on the contrary distinguished itself by such devoted truthfulness and judgment? One can explain this solely by Holofernes’ extreme arrogance to the point of morbidity, and that of his accomplices, who rated their forces so highly that doubt itself of their success seemed to be presumption and insult, especially given the extreme insignificance of the opponent’s strength. This same arrogance of Holofernes alone could have suggested such a bitter revenge on Achior as his being handed over to the enemy—with the prospect of certain death whether from them or with them, about whom he had given such flattering praise.

Judith 6:10. And Holofernes commanded his servants who were standing in his tent to seize Achior, take him to Bethulia, and hand him over to the hands of the children of Israel. Judith 6:11. His servants took him and led him out beyond the camp into the plain, and from the middle of the plain they went up to the highlands and came to the springs of water beneath Bethulia. Judith 6:12. When the inhabitants of the city saw them on the summit of the mountain, they took up arms, and going out of the city to the top of the mountain, all the men slingers guarded their ascent and threw stones at them. 12. “When the inhabitants of the city saw them on the summit of the mountain.” The last words “on the summit of the mountain” at a careless reading of this verse sound like a modifier of place to the verb “saw” (where?). In fact, these words are a definition of the word “city” and should be read in conjunction with it (“the city on the summit of the mountain”). As is clear from the following verse 13, those accompanying Achior could scarcely bring him only to the foot of the mountain, where they left him bound, and according to the Vulgate—scarcely bound to a tree by his hands and feet.

Judith 6:13. And they came up to the mountain and bound Achior, leaving him at the foot of the mountain, and went to their master. Judith 6:14. The children of Israel came down from their city and, untying him, brought him to Bethulia and presented him to the rulers of their city, Judith 6:15. who at that time were Uzziah, son of Micah, of the tribe of Simeon, Chavaias, son of Gothoniel, and Charmis, son of Melchiah. Judith 6:16. They called together all the elders of the city, and all the young men and women ran together, and they set Achior in their midst and asked him what had occurred. Judith 6:17. He answered and recounted to them all the words of Holofernes’ assembly and all that he himself had spoken in the midst of the princes of Assyria, and all the boastful speeches of Holofernes concerning the house of Israel. Judith 6:18. Then the people fell down and worshiped God and cried out: Judith 6:19. Lord God of heaven! Behold their arrogance and have mercy on the humility of our race, and look upon the faces of those dedicated to you on this day. 19. “Look upon the faces of those dedicated to you”—By these “dedicated” ones should be understood not only the priests and Nazirites, but all the Jewish people as the chosen people of God.

Judith 6:20. And they comforted Achior and praised him. 20. The comforting of Achior and praise for his behavior before Holofernes from the side of the people, instead of the torment expected by Holofernes, gave as it were a hint of future disappointments that were to befall the enemies of Israel. On the other hand, it becomes necessary to establish that the truthfulness of Achior, manifested in the assembly of Uzziah no less than in the assembly of Holofernes, was the result of a marked disposition toward the people of Jehovah—a disposition later completed by formal and convinced adherence to Judaism through circumcision.

Judith 6:21. Then Uzziah took him from the assembly into his house and made a feast for the elders—and that entire night they called upon the God of Israel for help.