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THE BIBLE - DOUAY-RHEIMS - BOOK 18
THE BIBLE - DOUAY-RHEIMS - BOOK 18 TITLE THE HOLY BIBLE
Translated from the Latin Vulgate
Diligently Compared with the Hebrew Greek
and Other Editions in Divers Languages
THE OLD TESTAMENT
First Published by the English College at Douay
A.D. 1609 & 1610
and
THE NEW TESTAMENT
First Published by the English College at Rheims
A.D. 1582
With Annotations
The Whole Revised and Diligently Compared with
the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner
A.D. 1749-1752
THE BOOK OF JUDITH
The sacred writer of this Book is generally believed to be the high
priest Eliachim (called also Joachim). The transactions herein related
most probably happened in his days and in the reign of Manasses after
his repentance and return from captivity. It takes its name from that
illustrious woman by whose virtue and fortitude and armed with prayer
the children of Israel were preserved from the destruction threatened
them by Holofernes and his great army. It finishes with her canticle of
thanksgiving to God.
Judith Chapter 1
Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians overcometh Arphaxad king of the
Medes.
1:1. Now Arphaxad king of the Medes had brought many nations under his
dominions and he built a very strong city which he called Ecbatana
Arphaxad... He was probably the same as is called Dejoces by Herodotus;
to whom he attributes the building of Ecbatana the capital city of
Media.
1:2. Of stones squared and hewed: he made the walls thereof seventy
cubits broad and thirty cubits high and the towers thereof he made a
hundred cubits high. But on the square of them each side was extended
the space of twenty feet.
1:3. And he made the gates thereof according to the height of the
towers:
1:4. And he gloried as a mighty one in the force of his army and in the
glory of his chariots.
1:5. Now in the twelfth year of his reign Nabuchodonosor king of the
Assyrians who reigned in Ninive the great city fought against Arphaxad
and overcame him
Nabuchodonosor... Not the king of Babylon who took and destroyed
Jerusalem but another of the same name who reigned in Ninive: and is
called by profane historians Saosduchin. He succeeded Asarhaddan in the
kingdom of the Assyrians and was contemporary with Manasses king of
Juda.
1:6. In the great plain which is called Ragua about the Euphrates and
the Tigris and the Jadason in the plain of Erioch the king of the
Elicians.
1:7. Then was the kingdom of Nabuchodonosor exalted and his heart was
elevated: and he sent to all that dwelt in Cilicia and Damascus and
Libanus
1:8. And to the nations that are in Carmelus and Cedar and to the
inhabitants of Galilee in the great plain of Asdrelon
1:9. And to all that were in Samaria and beyond the river Jordan even
to Jerusalem and all the land of Jesse till you come to the borders of
Ethiopia.
1:10. To all these Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians sent
messengers:
1:11. But they all with one mind refused and sent them back empty and
rejected them without honour.
1:12. Then king Nabuchodonosor being angry against all that land swore
by his throne and kingdom that he would revenge himself of all those
countries.
Judith Chapter 2
Nabuchodonosor sendeth Holofernes to waste the countries of the west.
2:1. In the thirteenth year of the reign of Nabuchodonosor the two and
twentieth day of the first month the word was given out in the house of
Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians that he would revenge himself.
2:2. And he called all the ancients and all the governors and his
officers of war and communicated to them the secret of his counsel:
2:3. And he said that his thoughts were to bring all the earth under his
empire.
2:4. And when this saying pleased them all Nabuchodonosor the king
called Holofernes the general of his armies
2:5. And said to him: Go out against all the kingdoms of the west and
against them especially that despised my commandment.
2:6. Thy eye shall not spare any kingdom and all the strong cities thou
shalt bring under my yoke.
2:7. Then Holofernes called the captains and officers of the power of
the Assyrians: and he mustered men for the expedition and the king
commanded him a hundred and twenty thousand fighting men on foot and
twelve thousand archers horsemen.
2:8. And he made all his warlike preparations to go before with a
multitude of innumerable camels with all provisions sufficient for the
armies in abundance and herds of oxen and flocks of sheep without
number.
2:9. He appointed corn to be prepared out of all Syria in his passage.
2:10. But gold and silver he took out of the king's house in great
abundance.
2:11. And he went forth he and all the army with the chariots and
horsemen and archers who covered the face of the earth like locusts.
2:12. And when he had passed through the borders of the Assyrians he
came to the great mountains of Ange which are on the left of Cilicia:
and he went up to all their castles and took all the strong places.
2:13. And he took by assault the renowned city of Melothus and pillaged
all the children of Tharsis and the children of Ismahel who were over
against the face of the desert and on the south of the land of Cellon.
2:14. And he passed over the Euphrates and came into Mesopotamia: and he
forced all the stately cities that were there from the torrent of
Mambre till one comes to the sea:
2:15. And he took the borders thereof from Cilicia to the coasts of
Japheth which are towards the south.
2:16. And he carried away all the children of Madian and stripped them
of all their riches and all that resisted him he slew with the edge of
the sword.
2:17. And after these things he went down into the plains of Damascus in
the days of the harvest and he set all the corn on fire and he caused
all the trees and vineyards to be cut down.
2:18. And the fear of them fell upon all the inhabitants of the land.
Judith Chapter 3
Many submit themselves to Holofernes. He destroyeth their cities and
their gods that Nabuchodonosor only might be called God.
3:1. Then the kings and the princes of all the cities and provinces of
Syria Mesopotamia and Syria Sobal and Libya and Cilicia sent their
ambassadors who coming to Holofernes said:
3:2. Let thy indignation towards us cease for it is better for us to
live and serve Nabuchodonosor the great king and be subject to thee
than to die and to perish or suffer the miseries of slavery.
3:3. All our cities and our possessions all mountains and hills and
fields and herds of oxen and flocks of sheep and goats and horses
and camels and all our goods and families are in thy sight:
3:4. Let all we have be subject to thy law
3:5. Both we and our children are thy servants.
3:6. Come to us a peaceable lord and use our service as it shall please
thee
3:7. Then he came down from the mountains with horsemen in great power
and made himself master of every city and all the inhabitants of the
land.
3:8. And from all the cities he took auxiliaries valiant men and chosen
for war
3:9. And so great a fear lay upon all those provinces that the
inhabitants of all the cities both princes and nobles as well as the
people went out to meet him at his coming.
3:10. And received him with garlands and lights and dances and
timbrels and flutes.
3:11. And though they did these things they could not for all that
mitigate the fierceness of his heart:
3:12. For he both destroyed their cities and cut down their groves.
3:13. For Nabuchodonosor the king had commanded him to destroy all the
gods of the earth that he only might be called God by those nations
which could be brought under him by the power of Holofernes.
3:14. And when he had passed through all Syria Sobal and all Apamea
and all Mesopotamia he came to the Idumeans into the land of Gabaa
3:15. And he took possession of their cities and stayed there for
thirty days in which days he commanded all the troops of his army to be
united.
Judith Chapter 4
The children of Israel prepare themselves to resist Holofernes. They cry
to the Lord for help.
4:1. Then the children of Israel who dwelt in the land of Juda hearing
these things were exceedingly afraid of him.
4:2. Dread and horror seized upon their minds lest he should do the
same to Jerusalem and to the temple of the Lord that he had done to
other cities and their temples.
4:3. And they sent into all Samaria round about as far as Jericho and
seized upon all the tops of the mountains:
4:4. And they compassed their towns with walls and gathered together
corn for provision for war.
4:5. And Eliachim the priest wrote to all that were over against
Esdrelon which faceth the great plain near Dothain and to all by whom
there might be a passage of way that they should take possession of the
ascents of the mountains by which there might be any way to Jerusalem
and should keep watch where the way was narrow between the mountains.
4:6. And the children of Israel did as the priests of the Lord Eliachim
had appointed them.
4:7. And all the people cried to the Lord with great earnestness and
they humbled their souls in fastings and prayers both they and their
wives.
4:8. And the priests put on haircloths and they caused the little
children to lie prostrate before the temple of the Lord and the altar
of the Lord they covered with haircloth.
4:9. And they cried to the Lord the God of Israel with one accord that
their children might not be made a prey and their wives carried off
and their cities destroyed and their holy things profaned and that
they might not be made a reproach to the Gentiles.
4:10. Then Eliachim the high priest of the Lord went about all Israel
and spoke to them
4:11. Saying: Know ye that the Lord will hear your prayers if you
continue with perseverance in fastings and prayers in the sight of the
Lord.
4:12. Remember Moses the servant of the Lord overcame Amalec that
trusted in his own strength and in his power and in his army and in
his shields and in his chariots and in his horsemen not by fighting
with the sword but by holy prayers:
4:13. So all the enemies of Israel be if you persevere in this work
which you have begun.
4:14. So they being moved by this exhortation of his prayed to the
Lord and continued in the sight of the Lord.
4:15. So that even they who offered the holocausts to the Lord offered
the sacrifices to the Lord girded with haircloths and with ashes upon
their head.
4:16. And they all begged of God with all their heart that he would
visit his people Israel.
Judith Chapter 5
Achior gives Holofernes an account of the people of Israel.
5:1. And it was told Holofernes the general of the army of the
Assyrians that the children of Israel prepared themselves to resist
and had shut up the ways of the mountains.
5:2. And he was transported with exceeding great fury and indignation
and he called all the princes of Moab and the leaders of Ammon.
5:3. And he said to them: Tell me what is this people that besetteth the
mountains: or what are their cities and of what sort and how great:
also what is their power or what is their multitude: or who is the king
over their warfare:
5:4. And why they above all that dwell in the east have despised us
and have not come out to meet us that they might receive us with peace?
5:5. Then Achior captain of all the children of Ammon answering said;
If thou vouchsafe my lord to hear I will tell the truth in thy sight
concerning this people that dwelleth in the mountains and there shall
not a false word come out of my mouth.
5:6. This people is of the offspring of the Chaldeans.
5:7. They dwelt first in Mesopotamia because they would not follow the
gods of their fathers who were in the land of the Chaldeans.
5:8. Wherefore forsaking the ceremonies of their fathers which
consisted in the worship of many gods
5:9. They worshipped one God of heaven who also commanded them to
depart from thence and to dwell in Charan. And when there was a famine
over all the land they went down into Egypt and there for four hundred
years were so multiplied that the army of them could not be numbered.
5:10. And when the king of Egypt oppressed them and made slaves of them
to labour in clay and brick in the building of his cities they cried
to their Lord and he struck the whole land of Egypt with divers
plagues.
5:11. And when the Egyptians had cast them out from them and the plague
had ceased from them and they had a mind to take them again and bring
them back to their service
5:12. The God of heaven opened the sea to them in their flight so that
the waters were made to stand firm as a wall on either side and they
walked through the bottom of the sea and passed it dry foot.
5:13. And when an innumerable army of the Egyptians pursued after them
in that place they were so overwhelmed with the waters that there was
not one left to tell what had happened to posterity.
5:14. After they came out of the Red Sea they abode in the deserts of
mount Sina in which never man could dwell or son of man rested.
5:15. There bitter fountains were made sweet for them to drink and for
forty years they received food from heaven.
5:16. Wheresoever they went in without bow and arrow and without shield
and sword their God fought for them and overcame.
5:17. And there was no one that triumphed over this people but when
they departed from the worship of the Lord their God.
5:18. But as often as beside their own God they worshipped any other
they were given to spoil and to the sword and to reproach.
5:19. And as often as they were penitent for having revolted from the
worship of their God the God of heaven gave them power to resist.
5:20. So they overthrew the king of the Chanaanites and of the
Jebusites and of the Pherezites and of the Hethites and of the
Hevites and of the Amorrhites and all the mighty ones in Hesebon and
they possessed their lands and their cities:
5:21. And as long as they sinned not in the sight of their God it was
well with them: for their God hateth iniquity.
5:22. And even some years ago when they had revolted from the way which
God had given them to walk therein they were destroyed in battles by
many nations and very many of them were led away captive into a strange
land.
5:23. But of late returning to the Lord their God from the different
places wherein they were scattered they are come together and are gone
up into all these mountains and possess Jerusalem again where their
holies are.
5:24. Now therefore my lord search if there be any iniquity of theirs
in the sight of their God: let us go up to them because their God will
surely deliver them to thee and they shall be brought under the yoke of
thy power:
5:25. But if there be no offence of this people in the sight of their
God we cannot resist them because their God will defend them: and we
shall be a reproach to the whole earth.
5:26. And it came to pass when Achior had ceased to speak these words
all the great men of Holofernes were angry and they had a mind to kill
him saying to each other:
5:27. Who is this that saith the children of Israel can resist king
Nabuchodonosor and his armies men unarmed and without force and
without skill in the art of war?
5:28. That Achior therefore may know that he deceiveth us let us go up
into the mountains: and when the bravest of them shall be taken then
shall he with them be stabbed with the sword
5:29. That every nation may know that Nabuchodonosor is god of the
earth and besides him there is no other.
Judith Chapter 6
Holofernes in great rage sendeth Achior to Bethulia there to be slain
with the Israelites.
6:1. And it came to pass when they had left off speaking that
Holofernes being in a violent passion said to Achior:
6:2. Because thou hast prophesied unto us saying: That the nation of
Israel is defended by their God to shew thee that there is no God but
Nabuchodonosor:
6:3. When we shall slay them all as one man then thou also shalt die
with them by the sword of the Assyrians and all Israel shall perish
with thee:
6:4. And thou shalt find that Nabuchodonosor is lord of the whole earth:
and then the sword of my soldiers shall pass through thy sides and thou
shalt be stabbed and fall among the wounded of Israel and thou shalt
breathe no more till thou be destroyed with them.
6:5. But if thou think thy prophecy true let not thy countenance sink
and let the paleness that is in thy face depart from thee if thou
imaginest these my words cannot be accomplished.
6:6. And that thou mayst know that thou shalt experience these things
together with them behold from this hour thou shalt be associated to
their people that when they shall receive the punishment they deserve
from my sword thou mayst fall under the same vengeance.
6:7. Then Holofernes commanded his servants to take Achior and to lead
him to Bethulia and to deliver him into the hands of the children of
Israel.
6:8. And the servants of Holofernes taking him went through the plains:
but when they came near the mountains the slingers came out against
them.
6:9. Then turning out of the way by the side of the mountain they tied
Achior to a tree hand and foot and so left him bound with ropes and
returned to their master.
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