King. Greek adds, “of all the earth.”
Why. Greek, “And art come to us? For thou art come for thy own safety. Take courage, for thou shalt live this night and henceforth, as no one shall hurt thee, but shall do thee good, as the servants of my lord, Nabuchodonosor, the king, are treated.”
Handmaid. Greek adds, “and I will tell no untruth to my lord this night, for,” &c. — Thing. Greek adds, “and none of the projects of my lord shall fail.” (Haydock) — All that Judith said was true in her sense, though the enemy did not understand her properly. So Josue lawfully entrapped the citizens of Hai. (St. Augustine, q. 10. in Josue viii.) (Worthington)
Liveth. She imitates Joseph, (Genesis xlii. 15.) and Eliseus; (4 Kings ii. 4.) and speaks the truth, as the general had subjected many to his master. (Menochius) — Her speech was not superstitious, but shewed a civil respect. (Calmet)
To him. Greek intimates that she advised him to follow his counsel. “For our nation is not punished with the sword, unless they sin against their God. But now let not my lord be at a loss what to do. For death has fallen upon them, and sin has taken possession of them, so that they have irritated God by their folly,” &c., ver. 10. This might also be true, though they had not fallen into idolatry (chap. viii. 18.; Haydock) at Bethulia. (Menochius)
Prophets. Though this had been threatened by the ancient prophets, (Haydock) we cannot pretend to specify which she means. (Calmet)
Famine. They might have provisions, but they would be useless, on account of excessive thirst. (Menochius)
Drink. Greek, “and all that God had forbidden them to eat by his laws, (Haydock) without making any distinction between the clean and unclean. (Grotius) — Blood was prohibited even before the law, Genesis ix. 4., and Leviticus xvii. 14. (Calmet)