Judith 4:11-13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
11 And all the Israelite men, women, and children who lived in Jerusalem fell prostrate in front of the temple[a](A) and sprinkled ashes on their heads, spreading out their sackcloth before the Lord.(B) 12 The altar, too, they draped in sackcloth;[b] and with one accord they cried out fervently to the God of Israel not to allow their children to be seized, their wives to be taken captive, the cities of their inheritance to be ruined, or the sanctuary to be profaned and mocked for the nations to gloat over.
13 The Lord heard their cry[c] and saw their distress. The people continued fasting for many days throughout Judea and before the sanctuary of the Lord Almighty in Jerusalem.(C)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 4:11 Fell prostrate in front of the temple: for a parallel to this ceremony of entreaty see Jl 1:13, 14; 2:15–17.
- 4:12 The altar…draped in sackcloth: attested nowhere else in the Bible.
- 4:13 The Lord heard their cry: this anticipates the role of Judith, the instrument of deliverance (chap. 16), though the people believe God has abandoned them (7:25).
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