The Book of Judith
Chapter
7
¹ The next day Holofernes ordered his whole army, and all the allies who had joined him, to break camp and move against Bethulia, and to seize the passes up into the hill country and make war on the Israelites.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 1)
Oh God my Father acts of kindness are at times repaid by negative acts. The concussion that Holofernes experienced along with the experience that You gave him were not enough to change his plans and objectives. Many times You permit us to experience events that help or hinder us from changing our thoughts, decisions and even our attitudes Amen.
² So all their warriors marched off that day; their fighting forces numbered one hundred seventy thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry, not counting the baggage and the foot soldiers handling it, a very great multitude.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 2)
Oh God my Father, the greater the forces of the enemy, the greater is Your victory over them. I thank You for Your protection my God and Father Amen.
³They encamped in the valley near Berthulia, beside the spring, and they spread out in breadth over Dothan as far as Balbaim and in length from Bethulia to Cyamon, which faces Esdraelon.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 3)
Oh God my Father, brothers and sisters many times even the desolation of the valley can provide us with comfort and security as long as it has a spring that has its source in You. I pray that during the course of life we have safe areas where we can be reunited with You to seek care, peace, love and consolation Amen.
⁴ When the Israelites saw their vast numbers, they were greatly terrified and said to one another, "They will now strip clean the whole land; neither the high mountains nor the valleys nor the hills will bear their weight."
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 4)
Oh God my Father, many times instead of consulting our issues with You we end up consulting with others and among ourselves and may not get a reply that is according to Your will. Therefore it is always best to refer to You in prayer Amen.
⁵ Yet they all seized their weapons, and when they had kindled fires on their towers, they remained on guard all that night.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 5)
Oh God my Father the evil one also has a pattern of stripping us from all our material resources in order to cause harm to both body and soul. I pray for protection for the world from such evil spirits Amen.
⁶ On the second day Holofernes led out all his cavalry in full view of the Israelites in Bethulia.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 6)
Oh God my Father the evil one boasts with its power while You triumph in love mercy and humility Amen.
⁷ He reconnoitred the approaches to their town, and visited the springs that supplied their water; he seized them and set guards of soldiers over them, and then returned to his army.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 7)
Oh God my Father I pray that we be as watchful over ourselves and assess ourselves in both strengths and weaknesses and make a serious action plan based on reflection and prayer in order to amend and reinforce our weak points so that we are found stronger the next time the evil one attacks us Amen.
⁸ Then all the chieftains of the Edomites and all the leaders of the Moabites and the commanders of the coastland came to him and said, ⁹ "Listen to what we have to say, my lord, and your army will suffer no losses.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 8 to 9)
Oh God, my Father many people tell us this and that under the premise of being for our own good, however many people have their own personal agenda and are not all genuine. I pray my God and Father that my will is inspired only by You Amen.
¹⁰ This people, the Israelites, do not rely on their spears but on the height of the mountains where they live, for it is not easy to reach the tops of their mountains.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 10)
Oh God my Father may we be people who find our strength in You alone and not in numbers, weapons or other resources such as ourselves Amen.
¹¹ Therefore, my lord, do not fight against them in regular formation and not a man of your army will fall.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 11)
Oh God my Father I pray that as Your people our focus will be on issues of a higher nature than that of a natural and base level. I pray that our focus will not be worldly but also spiritually Amen.
¹² Remain in your camp, and keep all the men in your forces with you; let your servants take possession of the spring of water that flows from the foot of the mountain, ¹³ for this is where all the people of Bethulla get their water. So thirst will destroy them and they will surrender their town. Meanwhile, we and our people will go up to the tops of the nearby mountains and camp there to keep watch to see that no one gets out of the town.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verses 12 to 13)
Oh God my Father the people of the world are wiser than those who follow You since they are a product of the material world and are familiar with its ways. However, those who follow You are familiar with the ways of heaven and they have made the right choice Amen.
¹⁴ They and their wives and children will waste away with famine, and before the sword reaches them they will be strewn about in the streets where they live.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 14)
Oh God my Father if I were to suffer thirst for a long time my body would experience the negative consequences, however, if I were to lose You in my life, this would be a far greater loss Amen.
¹⁵ Thus you will pay them back with evil, because they rebelled and did not receive you peaceably,"
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 15)
Oh God my Father teach us to pay good with good and even evil with goodness so that we become more like You and not like our natural sinful self Amen.
¹⁶ These words pleased Holofernes and all his attendants, and he gave orders to do as they had said.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 16)
Oh God my Father when our evil plans turn out well we feel satisfied however when it is the contrary we tend to look at You with much displeasure. I pray that You heal us from this attitude problem Amen. I pray that You continue to deliver us from evil Amen.
¹⁷ So the army of the Ammonites moved forward together with five thousand Assyrians, and they encamped in the valley and seized the water supply and the springs of the Israelites.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 17)
Oh God my Father as one united Church we are also to unite and move ahead in our journey towards the kingdom of Heaven instead of being defragmented into many churches. Our aim and strategy is to be a common one clear enough to be understood and practised Amen.
¹⁸ And the Edomites and Ammonites went up and encamped in the hill country opposite Dothan; and they sent some of their men toward the south and the east, toward Egrebeh which is near Chusi beside the Wadi Mochmur. The rest of the Assyrian army encamped in the plain, and covered the whole face of the land. Their tents and supply trains spread out in great number, and they formed a vast multitude.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 18)
Oh God my Father I pray that You defend me when confronted by my enemies that can harm both the soul and even the body, for the evil spirits always are ready to attack me in my weak areas Amen.
¹⁹ The Israelites then cried out to the Lord their God, for their courage failed, because all their enemies had surrounded them, and there was no way to escape from them.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 19)
Oh God we are so selfish. We only turn to You when we are with our backs to the wall. I pray that we learn to depend more on You than on ourselves Amen.
²⁰ The whole Assyrian army, their infantry, chariots, and cavalry, surrounded them for thirty-four days, until all the water containers of every inhabitant of Bethulia were empty; ²¹ their cisterns were going dry, and on no day did they have enough water to drink, for their drinking water was rationed.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verses 20 to 21)
Oh God my Father, this virus is a source of pure evil, for it is making us thirst for Your presence. We are thirsty for You however we cannot drink. Our supply of water that is our faith may also be reaching a peak shortage. Our only source of viewing mass is on T.V or Internet and in daily prayer. I pray that You liberate us from this great enemy Amen.
²² Their children were listless, and the women and young men fainted from thirst and were collapsing in the streets of the town and in the gateways, they no longer had any strength.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verses 22)
Oh God my Father when we hit rock bottom we feel exhausted when we have played all our cards and we are with our backs to the wall because nothing seems to be working we turn to You for support. I pray that we stop using You as our life-saver and learn to place our trust in You Amen.
²³ Then all the people, the young men, the women, and the children, gathered around Uzziah and the rulers of the town and cried out with a loud voice, and said before all the elders. ²⁴ "Let God judge between you and us! You have done us a great injury in not making peace with the Assyrians.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verses 23 to 24)
Oh God my Father when we start sinking in our problems we end up turning to You for an answer and start questioning and even blaming in the process of trying to make sense of the situation. I pray that when in such a state we do more listening than talking Amen.
²⁵ For now we have no one to help us; God has sold us into their hands, to be strewn before them in thirst and exhaustion.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 25)
Oh God my Father please excuse us for the many times that we have blamed You for negative events that have taken place in our lives. Instead of thanking You for the graces and also for the trials and tribulations that are there to test us we tend to complain and throw the blame on You. Amen. Please forgive us for to this day we are still doing the same thing Amen.
² So all their warriors marched off that day; their fighting forces numbered one hundred seventy thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry, not counting the baggage and the foot soldiers handling it, a very great multitude.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 2)
Oh God my Father, the greater the forces of the enemy, the greater is Your victory over them. I thank You for Your protection my God and Father Amen.
³They encamped in the valley near Berthulia, beside the spring, and they spread out in breadth over Dothan as far as Balbaim and in length from Bethulia to Cyamon, which faces Esdraelon.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 3)
Oh God my Father, brothers and sisters many times even the desolation of the valley can provide us with comfort and security as long as it has a spring that has its source in You. I pray that during the course of life we have safe areas where we can be reunited with You to seek care, peace, love and consolation Amen.
⁴ When the Israelites saw their vast numbers, they were greatly terrified and said to one another, "They will now strip clean the whole land; neither the high mountains nor the valleys nor the hills will bear their weight."
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 4)
Oh God my Father, many times instead of consulting our issues with You we end up consulting with others and among ourselves and may not get a reply that is according to Your will. Therefore it is always best to refer to You in prayer Amen.
⁵ Yet they all seized their weapons, and when they had kindled fires on their towers, they remained on guard all that night.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 5)
Oh God my Father the evil one also has a pattern of stripping us from all our material resources in order to cause harm to both body and soul. I pray for protection for the world from such evil spirits Amen.
⁶ On the second day Holofernes led out all his cavalry in full view of the Israelites in Bethulia.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 6)
Oh God my Father the evil one boasts with its power while You triumph in love mercy and humility Amen.
⁷ He reconnoitred the approaches to their town, and visited the springs that supplied their water; he seized them and set guards of soldiers over them, and then returned to his army.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 7)
Oh God my Father I pray that we be as watchful over ourselves and assess ourselves in both strengths and weaknesses and make a serious action plan based on reflection and prayer in order to amend and reinforce our weak points so that we are found stronger the next time the evil one attacks us Amen.
⁸ Then all the chieftains of the Edomites and all the leaders of the Moabites and the commanders of the coastland came to him and said, ⁹ "Listen to what we have to say, my lord, and your army will suffer no losses.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 8 to 9)
Oh God, my Father many people tell us this and that under the premise of being for our own good, however many people have their own personal agenda and are not all genuine. I pray my God and Father that my will is inspired only by You Amen.
¹⁰ This people, the Israelites, do not rely on their spears but on the height of the mountains where they live, for it is not easy to reach the tops of their mountains.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 10)
Oh God my Father may we be people who find our strength in You alone and not in numbers, weapons or other resources such as ourselves Amen.
¹¹ Therefore, my lord, do not fight against them in regular formation and not a man of your army will fall.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 11)
Oh God my Father I pray that as Your people our focus will be on issues of a higher nature than that of a natural and base level. I pray that our focus will not be worldly but also spiritually Amen.
¹² Remain in your camp, and keep all the men in your forces with you; let your servants take possession of the spring of water that flows from the foot of the mountain, ¹³ for this is where all the people of Bethulla get their water. So thirst will destroy them and they will surrender their town. Meanwhile, we and our people will go up to the tops of the nearby mountains and camp there to keep watch to see that no one gets out of the town.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verses 12 to 13)
Oh God my Father the people of the world are wiser than those who follow You since they are a product of the material world and are familiar with its ways. However, those who follow You are familiar with the ways of heaven and they have made the right choice Amen.
¹⁴ They and their wives and children will waste away with famine, and before the sword reaches them they will be strewn about in the streets where they live.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 14)
Oh God my Father if I were to suffer thirst for a long time my body would experience the negative consequences, however, if I were to lose You in my life, this would be a far greater loss Amen.
¹⁵ Thus you will pay them back with evil, because they rebelled and did not receive you peaceably,"
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 15)
Oh God my Father teach us to pay good with good and even evil with goodness so that we become more like You and not like our natural sinful self Amen.
¹⁶ These words pleased Holofernes and all his attendants, and he gave orders to do as they had said.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 16)
Oh God my Father when our evil plans turn out well we feel satisfied however when it is the contrary we tend to look at You with much displeasure. I pray that You heal us from this attitude problem Amen. I pray that You continue to deliver us from evil Amen.
¹⁷ So the army of the Ammonites moved forward together with five thousand Assyrians, and they encamped in the valley and seized the water supply and the springs of the Israelites.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 17)
Oh God my Father as one united Church we are also to unite and move ahead in our journey towards the kingdom of Heaven instead of being defragmented into many churches. Our aim and strategy is to be a common one clear enough to be understood and practised Amen.
¹⁸ And the Edomites and Ammonites went up and encamped in the hill country opposite Dothan; and they sent some of their men toward the south and the east, toward Egrebeh which is near Chusi beside the Wadi Mochmur. The rest of the Assyrian army encamped in the plain, and covered the whole face of the land. Their tents and supply trains spread out in great number, and they formed a vast multitude.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 18)
Oh God my Father I pray that You defend me when confronted by my enemies that can harm both the soul and even the body, for the evil spirits always are ready to attack me in my weak areas Amen.
¹⁹ The Israelites then cried out to the Lord their God, for their courage failed, because all their enemies had surrounded them, and there was no way to escape from them.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 19)
Oh God we are so selfish. We only turn to You when we are with our backs to the wall. I pray that we learn to depend more on You than on ourselves Amen.
²⁰ The whole Assyrian army, their infantry, chariots, and cavalry, surrounded them for thirty-four days, until all the water containers of every inhabitant of Bethulia were empty; ²¹ their cisterns were going dry, and on no day did they have enough water to drink, for their drinking water was rationed.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verses 20 to 21)
Oh God my Father, this virus is a source of pure evil, for it is making us thirst for Your presence. We are thirsty for You however we cannot drink. Our supply of water that is our faith may also be reaching a peak shortage. Our only source of viewing mass is on T.V or Internet and in daily prayer. I pray that You liberate us from this great enemy Amen.
²² Their children were listless, and the women and young men fainted from thirst and were collapsing in the streets of the town and in the gateways, they no longer had any strength.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verses 22)
Oh God my Father when we hit rock bottom we feel exhausted when we have played all our cards and we are with our backs to the wall because nothing seems to be working we turn to You for support. I pray that we stop using You as our life-saver and learn to place our trust in You Amen.
²³ Then all the people, the young men, the women, and the children, gathered around Uzziah and the rulers of the town and cried out with a loud voice, and said before all the elders. ²⁴ "Let God judge between you and us! You have done us a great injury in not making peace with the Assyrians.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verses 23 to 24)
Oh God my Father when we start sinking in our problems we end up turning to You for an answer and start questioning and even blaming in the process of trying to make sense of the situation. I pray that when in such a state we do more listening than talking Amen.
²⁵ For now we have no one to help us; God has sold us into their hands, to be strewn before them in thirst and exhaustion.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 25)
Oh God my Father please excuse us for the many times that we have blamed You for negative events that have taken place in our lives. Instead of thanking You for the graces and also for the trials and tribulations that are there to test us we tend to complain and throw the blame on You. Amen. Please forgive us for to this day we are still doing the same thing Amen.
²⁶ Now summon them and surrender the whole town as booty to the army of Holofernes and to all his forces. ²⁷ For it would be better for us to be captured by them. We shall indeed become slaves, but our lives will be spared, and we shall not witness our little ones dying before our eyes, and our wives and children drawing their last breath.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 26 to 27)
As humans oh God my Father we tend to give up because we think we are alone, instead of turning to You who are only hope Amen. We almost never turn to You who is our only hope and pathway to salvation of both our bodies and our souls Amen.
²⁸ We call to witness against you heaven and earth and our God, the Lord of our ancestors, who punishes us for our sins and the sins of our ancestors; do today the things that we have described!"
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 28)
Today oh God my Father I call on You to be my witness in front of many others, that You are my God and Father and that I will dedicate my life to You with all my sins and all the gifts that You have given me Amen.
²⁹ Then great and general lamentation arose throughout the assembly, and they cried out to the Lord God with a loud voice.
(The Book of Judith Chapter 7 verse 29)
Oh God my Father when we become aware of ourselves of our sins and of our weaknesses we end up turning to You since You are our only hope. Even though we may have counsellors or psychologists or social workers, You can offer us comfort for our soul and salvation that nobody else can give Amen.
