him ready to fight, and when his lords shall see him
dead, they shall be smitten with so great dread and fear that they shall
flee, whom ye then shall pursue, and God shall bring them and tread
them under your feet. Then Achior seeing the virtue of the God of
Israel, left his old heathen's customs and believed in God, and put
himself to the people of Israel, and all the succession of his kindred
unto this day. Then at the springing of the day they hung the head of
Holofernes on the walls, and every man took his arms and went out with
great noise, which thing seeing, the spies ran together to the
tabernacle of Holofernes, and came making noise for to make him to
arise, and that he should awake, but no man was so hardy to knock or
enter into his privy chamber. But when the dukes and leaders of
thousands came, and other, they said to the privy chamberlains: Go and
awake your lord, for the mice be gone out of their caves and be ready to
call us to battle. Then Bagoas went into his privy chamber and stood
before the curtain, and clapped his hands together. And when he
perceived no moving of him, he drew the curtain and seeing the dead body
of Holofernes, without head, lying in his blood, cried with great voice,
weeping and rending his clothes, and went in to the tabernacle of Judith
and found her not, and started out to the people and said: A woman of
the Hebrews hath made confusion in the house of Nebuchadnezzar, she hath
slain Holofernes, and he is dead, and she hath his head with her.

And when the princes and captains of the Assyrians heard this, anon they
rent their clothes, and intolerable dread fell on them, and were sore
troubled in their wits and made a horrible cry in their tents. And when
all the host had heard how Holofernes was beheaded, counsel and mind
flew from them, and with great trembling for succor began to flee, in
such wise that none would speak with other, but with their heads bowed
down fled for to escape from the Hebrews, whom they saw armed coming
upon them, and departed fleeing by fields and ways of hills and valleys.
And the sons of Israel, seeing them fleeing, following them, crying with
trumps and shouting after them, and slew and smote down all them that
they overtook. And Ozias sent forth unto all the cities and regions of
Israel, and they sent after all the young men and valiant to pursue them
by sword, and so they did unto the uttermost coasts of Israel. The other
men soothly, that were in Be