¶ The councel of Iudith. Achior beynge an Heathen man, turneth to God. The Assirians are afrayed of the Iewes.
CAPI. XIIII.
IUdith sayde vnto all the people▪ Brethrē, [unspec A] heare me. Styck vp this heade vpon our walles, & when the Sūne ariseth, take euery man his weapē / & fall out vyolently: not as though ye wolde go besyde thē, but to rēne v∣pon thē / with vyo••ēce. When the spyes •• the ••entes se thys / they shall of necessyte be com∣pelled to ••le backward, and to rayse vp their captayne to the batayle. So when their ca∣ptaynes come into Holofernes pa••ylyon / and fynde y• dead body wrapped in y• bloude, fearfulnes shall fall vpon them: and whē ye perceyue that they flye, folow thē without al care, for God shal delyuer them vnto you / to be destroyed.
Then Achior seying y• power of God whi¦che he had shewed vnto y• peple of Israel, fel of from h{is} Heathenish belefe, & put his trust in God, & let him selfe be circūcised, & so was he nōbred amōg the people of Israel, he & all his posterite vnto this daye.
Nowe as sone as it was daye, they styckt [unspec B] vp Holofernes heade vpon the walles, and euery man toke his weapen, & so they wente out with an horryble cry. When the spyes sawe that, they came vnto Holofernes tente. And they that were within the tente, came before hys chamber, and made a greate rus∣shing to wake him vp, because they thought with the noyse to haue raysed him. For there durst not one of the Assyrians knocke, go in or open.
But when the captaynes & princes & al the chefe in the kyng of the Assyriās host came to¦gether, they sayde vnto the Chāberlay••es. Go your way in & wake him vp, for the myse are crept out of theyr holes, & darre prouoke vs vnto batayle.
Then wente Uagao into his chambre / [unspec C] stode before the bed, and clapped with hys handes, for he thought he had bene slepynge with Iudith.
But whē he had herkened perfectly with his eares / and coulde perceyue no sterynge, he wente nyer to the bed / and lyfte it vp, and thē sawe he ye deed body of Holofernes lyēge there without a heade / weltred in his bloud vpon the earthe. Then cryed he with loude voyce / and with wepynge rente his clothes / and went into Iudithes tent, and found her not: And so he leapt out vnto the people and sayd: one woman of y• Iewes, hath broughte all Nabuchodonosors people to shame. For lo / Holofernes lyeth vpon the grounde and hath no heade.
When y• chefe of the Assyrians hoste herde that, they rente theyr clothes, and there fell an intollerable feare and tremblynge vpon thē, so that their myndes were sore afrayed. And there was an excedynge greate crye in the whole hoste.