Complete Works of Saint Jerome, Vol. X

A alt: In their shields, and in their chariots, and in their horsemen, not by fighting with iron, but by praying with holy supplications, He cast them down: so shall all the enemies of Israel be, if you persevere in this work which you have begun.

Therefore, at this exhortation of his, praying to the Lord, they remained in the sight of the Lord, so that even those who offered holocausts to the Lord, girded with sackcloth, offered sacrifices to the Lord, and there was ash upon their heads. And with all their heart they all prayed to God that He would visit His people Israel.

B [Chap. V.] And it was announced to Holofernes, the prince of the army of the Assyrians, that the children of Israel were preparing themselves to resist, and had closed the mountain passes, and he burned with excessive fury in great anger, and called all the princes of Moab and the leaders of Ammon, and said to them: Tell me, who is this people that occupies the mountains: or what, and of what kind, and how great are their cities: what also is their strength, or what is their multitude: or who is the king of their army: and why, above all who dwell in the East, have these people despised us, and have not come out to meet us, that they might receive us in peace.

Then Achior, the leader of all the children of Ammon, answering, said: If you deign to listen, my lord, I will tell the truth in your sight concerning this people that dwells in the mountains, and no false word shall come out of my mouth. This people is of the lineage of the Chaldeans: they first dwelt in Mesopotamia, because they would not follow the gods of their fathers, which were in the land of the Chaldeans. Forsaking, therefore, the ceremonies of their fathers, which were in the multitude of gods, they worshipped one God of heaven, who also commanded them to go out from there, and to dwell in Charan. And when famine had covered all the land, they went down into Egypt, and there for four hundred years they were so multiplied that their army could not be numbered. And when the king of Egypt oppressed them, and had subjugated them in the building of his cities with mud and brick, they cried out to their Lord, and He struck the whole land of Egypt with various plagues. And when the Egyptians had cast them out from themselves, and the plague had ceased from them, and they wanted to catch them again, and recall them to their service, as they fled, the God of heaven opened the sea, so that on this side and that the waters were solidified like a wall, and they passed through by walking on the bottom of the sea with dry feet. In which place, while an innumerable army of the Egyptians pursued them, it was so covered by the waters that not even one remained to tell the deed to posterity. Having gone out of the Red Sea, they occupied the deserts of Mount Sinai, in which no man could ever dwell, or the son of man rest. There, bitter fountains were made sweet for them to drink, and for forty years they obtained food from heaven. Wherever they went without bow and arrow, and without shield and sword, their God fought for them and conquered. And there was no one who insulted this people, except when they departed from the worship of the Lord their God. But as often as they worshipped another besides their own God, they were given into plunder, and to the sword, and to reproach. But as often as they repented that they had departed from the worship of their God, the God of heaven gave them the strength to resist. Finally, they overthrew the Canaanite king, and the Jebusite, and the Perizzite, and the Hittite, and the Hivite, and the Amorite, and all the powerful men in Heshbon, and they themselves possessed their lands and their cities: and as long as they did not sin in the sight of their God, good things were with them: for their God hates iniquity. For even before these years, when they had departed from the way which God had given them to walk in, they were exterminated in battles by many nations, and very many of them were led away captive into a land not their own. But recently, having returned to the Lord their God, they have been gathered together from the dispersion where they had been scattered, and have ascended all these mountains, and again possess Jerusalem, where their holy things are. Now therefore, my lord, search if there is any iniquity of theirs in the sight of their God: let us ascend to them, because delivering, their God will deliver them to you, and they will be subjugated under the yoke of your power. But if there is no offense of this people before their God, we shall not be able to resist them; for their God will defend them; and we shall be for a reproach to the whole earth.

And it came to pass, when Achior had ceased speaking these words, all the magnates of Holofernes were angry, and they were thinking of killing him, saying to one another: Who is this, who says that the children of Israel can resist King Nebuchadnezzar and his armies, men unarmed, and without strength, and without skill in the art of war? Therefore, that Achior may know that he is deceiving us, let us ascend into the mountains: and when their powerful ones have been captured, they shall be pierced through with the same sword: so that every nation may know that Nebuchadnezzar is the god of the earth, and there is no other besides him.

D [Cap. VI.] And it happened when they had ceased speaking, Holofernes, being indignant vehemently, said to Achior: Since you have prophesied to us saying that the race of Israel is defended by its God, that I may show you that there is no God but Nebuchadnezzar: when we have struck them all, as one man, then you yourself shall perish with them by the sword of the Assyrians, and all Israel shall perish with you in destruction: