1. And it happened that these words were heard by Judith, a widow who was the daughter of Merari, the son of Idox, the son of Joseph, the son of Oziel, the son of Elai, the son of Jamnor, the son of Gideon, the son of Raphaim, the son of Ahitub, the son of Melchiel, the son of Enan, the son of Nathaniel, the son of Salathiel, the son of Simeon, the son of Ruben.
2. And her husband was Manasseh, who died in the days of the barley harvest.
3. For he was standing over those who bound sheaves in the field, and the heat overcame his head, and he died in Bethulia, his own city, and he was buried there with his fathers.
4. But Judith, his bereaved, was a widow now for three years and six months.
5. And she made herself a private chamber in the upper part of her house, in which she stayed enclosed with her handmaids.
6. And she had haircloth around her waist, and she fasted all the days of her life, except Sabbaths, and new moons, and the feasts of the house of Israel.
7. Moreover, she was exceedingly elegant in appearance, and her husband left her many riches, and an abundant household, as well as the ownership of plentiful herds of oxen and flocks of sheep.
8. And she was greatly renowned among all, because she feared the Lord very much, nor was there anyone who spoke an ill word about her.