5. And so, she appointed to her handmaid a wineskin, and a vessel of oil, and parched grain, and dried figs, and bread, and cheese, and they departed.
6. And when they came to the gate of the city, they found Uzziah and the elders of the city waiting.
7. And when they saw her, being astounded, they wondered at her surpassing beauty.
8. So, not questioning her at all, they dismissed her to go forth, saying: "May the God of our fathers give you grace, and may he strengthen all the advice of your heart with his virtue, so that Jerusalem may glory over you, and your name may be counted among the holy and the just."
9. And those who were there, all with one voice, said: "Amen. Amen."
10. In truth, Judith was praying to the Lord as she crossed through the gates, she and her handmaid.
11. But it happened that, when she descended the mountain at about the break of day, the scouts of the Assyrians met her, and they stopped her, saying, "Where are you coming from? And where are you going?"
12. And she answered: "I am a daughter of the Hebrews. This is why I have fled from their face: because I realized that in the future they would be given over to you with pillaging, for they hold you in contempt, and they would never be willing to surrender themselves, so that they might find mercy in your sight.
13. For this reason, I thought to myself, saying: I will go to the face of the leader Holofernes, so that I may reveal to him their secrets, and show him by what means he may be able to prevail over them, without one man of his army being slain."
14. And when the men had heard her words, they beheld her face, and their eyes were astounded, because they wondered exceedingly at her beauty.
15. And they said to her: "You have preserved your life by following such an excellent plan, to descend to our lord.