Judith 6

1 When the uproar of the men around the council had died down, Holofernes, commander of the army of Assyria, spoke to Achior, in front of the whole company of foreigners and to all the children of Moab: [a] 2 “And who are you, Achior — you and the hired men of Ephraim — to prophesy among us as you have today, and to say that the nation of Israel is not to be fought, because their God will hold his shield over them? And who is God but Nebuchadnezzar? He will send out his power and destroy them from the face of the earth, and their God will not rescue them. [b] 3 But we, his servants, will strike them down as one man, and they will not stand up under the power of our horses. 4 For we will burn them up where they stand, and their mountains will be drunk with their blood, and their plains will be filled with their dead. The track of their feet will not hold before us; they will utterly perish — so says king Nebuchadnezzar, lord of all the earth. For he has spoken, and not one word of what he says will be made empty. [d]

5 And you, Achior, you hired man of Ammon, who have spoken these words in the day of your wrongdoing — you will not see my face again from this day, until I take vengeance on the nation that came out of Egypt. 6 And then the iron of my army, and the people of my servants, will go through your sides, and you will fall among their slain, when I come back. [e] 7 My slaves will take you back to the hill country and put you in one of the cities of the ascents, [f] 8 and you will not perish until you are destroyed along with them. 9 And if you really hope in your heart that they will not be taken, then do not let your face fall. I have spoken, and not one of my words will fall to the ground.”

10 Then Holofernes ordered his slaves, the ones standing by in his tent, to seize Achior and take him back to Bethulia and hand him over into the hands of the children of Israel. 11 So his slaves seized him and led him out of the camp into the plain, and from the middle of the plain they set off into the hill country and came to the springs that were below Bethulia. 12 And when the men of the city saw them coming up toward the top of the mountain, they took up their weapons and went out of the city to the top of the mountain, and every man with a sling held them back from coming up and pelted them with stones. [g] 13 But they crept in under the mountain, tied Achior up, and left him lying at the foot of the mountain, and went off to their lord.

14 Then the children of Israel came down from their city and stood over him, and they untied him and brought him to Bethulia and set him before the rulers of their city, 15 who in those days were Uzziah son of Micah, of the tribe of Simeon, and Chabris son of Gothoniel, and Charmis son of Melchiel. [h] 16 And they called together all the elders of the city, and every young man of theirs and the women came running to the assembly, and they set Achior in the middle of all their people. And Uzziah asked him what had happened. 17 And he answered and told them the words of Holofernes’ council, and all the words he had spoken in the midst of the leaders of the children of Assyria, and all the boasting Holofernes had made against the house of Israel.

18 Then the people fell down and bowed down to God, and they cried out, saying, 19 “Lord, God of heaven, look on their arrogance, and have mercy on the humiliation of our nation, and look on the face of those who are made holy to you this day.” 20 Then they comforted Achior and praised him greatly, 21 and Uzziah took him out of the assembly to his own house and made a drinking feast for the elders; and they called on the God of Israel for help all that night.