Judith 9

¹Who going away, Judith went into her oratory: and clothing herself with hair-cloth, put ashes upon her head: and falling prostrate to our Lord, she cried to our Lord, saying:

²Lord God of my father Simeon, who gavest him a sword for defence against strangers, which were ravishers in their coinquination, & discovered the virgin unto confusion:

³and gavest their women into prey, and their daughters into captivity: and all the prey to be divided to thy servants, which were zealous in thy zeal: help I beseech thee, o Lord God, me a widow.

⁴For thou hast done the things heretofore, and hast purposed one thing after another: and that hath been done which thou wouldest.

⁵For all thy ways are ready, and thy judgments thou hast put in thy providence.

⁶Look upon the camp of the Assyrians now, as thou didst vouchsafe to see the camp of the Ægyptians, when they ran armed after thy servants, trusting in chariots, and in their horsemen, and in a multitude of men of war.

⁷But thou didst look over their camp, and darkness wearied them.

⁸The depth held their feet, and the waters overwhelmed them.

⁹So let these also be made o Lord, which trust in their multitude, and in their chariots, and in pikes, and in shields, and in their arrows, and glory in their spears,

¹⁰and know not thyself art our God, which destroyest wars from the beginning, and Lord is thy name.

¹¹Lift up thine arm as from the beginning, & dash their power in thy power: let their power fall in thy wrath, which promise that they will violate thy holy things, and pollute the tabernacle of thy holy name, & with their sword throw down the horn of thine altar.

¹²Bring to pass Lord, that his pride be cut off with his own sword,

¹³let him be caught with the snares of his eyes in me, & thou shalt strike him from the lips of my charity.

¹⁴Give me constancy in mind, that I may contemn him: and power that I may overthrow him.

¹⁵For this shall be a memorial of thy name, when the hand of a woman shall overthrow him.

¹⁶For not in multitude is thy power o Lord, neither in strength of horses is thy will, neither have the proud pleased thee from the beginning: but the prayer of the humble and meek hath always pleased thee.

¹⁷God of the heavens, creator of the waters, & Lord of every creature, hear me wretch, praying and presuming of thy mercy.

¹⁸Remember Lord thy testament, and give a word in my mouth, and strengthen counsel in my heart, that thy house may continue in thy sanctification:

¹⁹and all Nations may acknowledge that thou art God, and there is no other besides thee.