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Judith / Chapter 2

Judith 2

18 verses • Latin Vulgate (Jerome)

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Nebuchadnezzar summons Holofernes, his chief general, and commissions him to march westward with a vast army to punish every nation that refused his summons. Holofernes is given absolute authority to destroy and plunder. The army musters — 120,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry — and begins its devastating campaign.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

Holofernes is introduced not as an independent villain but as the instrument of Nebuchadnezzar's wrath. The army numbers are deliberately overwhelming, setting up the miracle of their defeat by one woman.

Translation Friction

The campaign geography traces a plausible but stylized route through the ancient Near East. Jerome's Latin preserves place names in forms that sometimes resist identification.

Connections

The dispatching of a supreme general to crush rebellious vassals echoes Sennacherib's campaign against Judah (2 Kings 18-19), establishing the literary pattern that Judith will resolve.

Judith 2:1

Anno tertio decimo Nabuchodonosor regis die vigesima secunda mensis primi factum est verbum in domo Nabuchodonosor regis Assyriorum ut defenderet se.

In the thirteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, on the twenty-second day of the first month, the word went forth in the house of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, that he would take his vengeance.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

factum est verbum
"the word went forth"

Parodies the prophetic 'word of the Lord came' formula.

Translator Notes

  1. The phrasing 'factum est verbum' (the word came to pass) deliberately mirrors prophetic formulae, ironically applied to a pagan king's decree of war.
Judith 2:2

Vocavitque omnes maiores natu omnesque duces et bellatores suos et habuit cum eis mysterium consilii sui.

He summoned all his elders and all his commanders and warriors, and held with them the secret counsel of his plan.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

mysterium consilii sui
"the secret counsel of his plan"

Mysterium here means 'secret deliberation,' not 'mystery' in the theological sense.

Judith 2:3

Dixitque cogitationem suam in eo esse ut omnem terram suo subiugaret imperio.

And he declared that his purpose was to subjugate all the earth under his rule.

Judith 2:4

Quod dictum cum placuisset omnibus vocavit Nabuchodonosor rex Holofernem principem militiae suae.

When this declaration pleased them all, King Nebuchadnezzar summoned Holofernes, the chief commander of his army.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

principem militiae suae
"the chief commander of his army"

The title mirrors the biblical 'sar tsava' — commander of the host.

Translator Notes

  1. Holofernes is a Persian-sounding name, adding to the deliberate anachronistic collage of the narrative.
Judith 2:5

Et dixit ei egredere adversus omne regnum occidentis et contra eos praecipue qui contempserunt imperium meum.

And he said to him: Go forth against every kingdom of the west, and especially against those who despised my command.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

regnum occidentis
"every kingdom of the west"

The westward campaign drives the plot toward Israel's territory.

Judith 2:6

Non parcet oculus tuus ulli regno omnique urbem munitam subiugabis mihi.

Your eye shall spare no kingdom, and every fortified city you shall subjugate for me.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

non parcet oculus tuus
"your eye shall spare no kingdom"

Inverts the divine judgment formula for a human tyrant's use.

Translator Notes

  1. 'Non parcet oculus tuus' — an eye that does not spare — is a terrifying commission of total war, echoing Deuteronomy 7:16 and Ezekiel 5:11 but inverted: there it is God's judgment, here it is a tyrant's.
Judith 2:7

Tunc Holofernes vocavit duces et magistratus virtutis Assyriorum et dinumeravit viros in expeditionem sicut praecepit ei rex centum viginti milia peditum pugnatorum et equitum sagittariorum duodecim milia.

Then Holofernes summoned the commanders and officers of the Assyrian forces and mustered men for the campaign as the king had commanded him: one hundred and twenty thousand foot soldiers and twelve thousand mounted archers.

Judith 2:8

Omnemque expeditionem suam fecit praecedere in multitudine innumerabilium camelorum cum his quae exercitibus sufficerent copiose boum quoque armenta gregesque ovium quorum non erat numerus.

He sent ahead his entire baggage train with an innumerable multitude of camels bearing ample provisions for the armies, together with herds of cattle and flocks of sheep beyond counting.

Judith 2:9

Frumentum ex omni Syria in transitu suo parari constituit.

He ordered grain to be prepared for him from all Syria along his line of march.

Judith 2:10

Aurum vero et argentum de domo regis tulit multum nimis.

And he took gold and silver from the king's house in vast abundance.

Judith 2:11

Et profectus est ipse et omnis exercitus cum quadrigis et equitibus et sagittariis qui cooperuerunt faciem terrae sicut locustae.

And he set out, he and his entire army, with chariots, cavalry, and archers, who covered the face of the earth like locusts.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

sicut locustae
"like locusts"

A biblical plague image applied to the invading army, foreshadowing divine intervention.

Translator Notes

  1. The locust simile directly echoes Joel 1-2, Exodus 10, and Judges 6:5 — armies as devouring swarms.
Judith 2:12

Cumque pertransisset fines Assyriorum venit ad magnos montes Ange qui sunt a sinistro Ciliciae ascenditque omnia castella eorum et obtinuit omnem munitionem.

When he had crossed beyond the borders of Assyria, he came to the great mountains of Ange, which lie to the left of Cilicia, and he stormed all their strongholds and seized every fortification.

Judith 2:13

Effregit autem civitatem opinatissimam Melothi praedavitque omnes filios Tharsis et filios Ismahel qui erant contra faciem deserti et ad austrum terrae Cellon.

He broke open the renowned city of Melothi and plundered all the sons of Tarshish and the sons of Ishmael who lived opposite the desert, south of the land of Chellon.

Judith 2:14

Et transivit Eufraten et venit in Mesopotamiam et fregit omnes civitates excelsas quae erant ibi a torrente Mambre usquequo perveniatur ad mare.

He crossed the Euphrates and entered Mesopotamia and shattered every lofty city there, from the torrent of Mambre until one reaches the sea.

Judith 2:15

Et occupavit terminos eius a Cilicia usque ad fines Iapheth qui sunt ad austrum.

And he seized its borders from Cilicia to the frontiers of Japheth, which lie to the south.

Judith 2:16

Abduxitque omnes filios Madian et praedavit omnem locupletationem eorum omnesque resistentes sibi occidit in ore gladii.

He carried off all the sons of Midian and plundered all their wealth, and everyone who resisted him he slew with the edge of the sword.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

in ore gladii
"with the edge of the sword"

Literally 'at the mouth of the sword' — a Hebraism (lefi cherev) preserved through Jerome's translation chain.

Judith 2:17

Et descendit in campos Damasci in diebus messis et succendit omnia sata omnesque arbores ac vineas fecit incidi.

He descended into the plains of Damascus in the days of harvest and set fire to all the crops, and had every tree and vine cut down.

Judith 2:18

Et cecidit timor illius super omnes inhabitantes terram.

And the dread of him fell upon all the inhabitants of the land.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

cecidit timor illius
"the dread of him fell"

Echoes the 'fear of the LORD' that falls upon nations in the Exodus narrative — here applied to a mortal general.

Translator Notes

  1. This closing verse mirrors the formula used of God's terror in Exodus 15:16 and Joshua 2:9 — another ironic inversion.
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