The
Ranums'
Panat Times
Volume 1, redone Dec. 2014
Table 2: A comparison of passages from Judith 13
The English translation comes from the Douai-Reims Bible; the French translation is based partly on Lemaistre de Sacy's French version and partly on J. Duron's renderings of phrases added by Du Bois. (1)
Bold-face type highlights passages taken almost intact from the Book of Judith. Underlined words call attention to brief modifications made by Du Bois. Ordinary type shows passages from the Vulgate that Du Bois did not use.
Passages from the Closing Hymn (Book of Judith, 13:17-25)
followed by comparable passages from the Libretto
13:17 - Laudate Dominum Deum nostrum, qui non deservit sperantes in se. [Judith said: Praise ye the Lord our God, who hath not forsaken them that hope in him.] versus:
Laudate Dominum Deum nostrum, qui non deservit sperantes in se. [Louez le Seigneur notre Dieu qui n'a point abandonné ceux qui espéroient en lui.]
13:18 - Et in me ancilla sua adimplevit misericordiam suam, quam promisit domui Israel: et interfecit in manu mea hostem populi sui hac nocte. [And by me his handmaid he hath fulfilled his mercy, which he promised to the house of Israel: and he hath killed the enemy of his people by my hand this night.] versus:
Adimplevit in me ancilla sua misericordiam suam: et interfecit in manu mea hostem populi sui hac nocte. [repeat:] Laudate Dominum... [Il a accompli par sa servante la miséricorde qu'il avoit promise à la maison d'Israël, et il a tué cette nuit par ma main l'ennemi de son peuple. Louez le Seigneur...]
13:19-20 - Et proferens de pera caput Holofenris, ostendit illis, dicens: Ecce caput Holofernis principis militia Assyriorum, et ecce conopeum illius, in quo recumbebat in ebrietate sua, ubi per manum foeminae percussit illum Dominus Deus noster. Vivit autem ipse Dominus, quoniam custovit me angelus ejus, et hinc euntem, et ibi commorantem, et inde huc revertentem, et non permisit me Dominus ancilla suam coinquinari, sed sine pollutione peccati revocavit me vobis, gaudentem in victoria sua, in evasione mea, et in liberatione vestra. [Then she brought forth the head of Holofernes out of the wallet, and shewed it them, saying: Behold the head of Holofernes the general of the army of the Assyrians, and behold his canopy, wherein he lay in his drunkenness, where the Lord our God slew him by the hand of a woman. But as the same Lord liveth, his angel hath been my keeper both going hence, and abiding there, and returning from thence hither: and the Lord hath not suffered me his handmaid to be defiled, but hath brought me back to you without pollution of sin, rejoicing for his victory, for my escape, and for your deliverance.] versus:
Ecce caput Holofernis, quem percussit Dominus per manum foeminae. Ipse est qui hinc exeuntem, ibi commorantem, et inde huc revertentem sine macula peccati vobis revocavit me. [repeat:] Laudate Dominum... [Voici la tête d'Holoferne, que le Seigneur a frappé par la main d'une femme. Celle-là est celle qui est sortie d'ici, et qui est demeurée là, et qui est revenue avec vous sans aucune tache de péché. Louez le Seigneur...]
13:21-22 - Confitemini illi omnes, quoniam bonus, quoniam in saeculum misericordia ejus. Universi autem adorantes Dominum, dixerunt ad eam: Benedixit te, Dominus in virtute sua, quia per te ad nihilum redegit inimicos nostros. [Give all of you glory to him, because he is good, because his mercy endureth for ever. And they all adored the Lord, and said to her: The Lord hath blessed thee by his power, because by thee he hath brought our enemies to nought.] versus:
Hymnum cantate Domino, dicite illi canticum, annuntiate gentibus quoniam suavis est et mansuetus, quoniam in saeculum misericordia ejus. [Chantez un hymne au Seigneur, dites-lui une cantique, annoncez tout ceci aux peuples parce qu'il est doux et bon, parce que sa miséricorde s'étend dans tous les siècles.]
13:23-25 - Porro Ozias princeps populi Israel dixit ad eum: [repeat:] Benedicta es tu filia à Domino Deo excelso, prae omnibus mulieribus super terram. Benedictus Dominus, qui creavit caelum et terram, qui te direxit in vulnera capitis principis inimicorum nostrorum: Quia hodie nomen tuum ita magnificavit, ut non recedat laus tua de ore homini in aeternum, pro quibus non pepercisti animae tuae, propter angustias et tribulationem generis tui, sed subenisti ruinae ante conspectum Dei nostri.[And Ozias the prince of the people of Israel, said to her: Blessed art thou, O daughter, by the Lord the most high God, above all women upon the earth. Blessed be the Lord who made heaven and earth, who hath directed thee to the cutting off the head of the prince of our enemies. Because he hath so magnified thy name this day, that thy praise shall not depart out of the mouth of men who shall be mindful of the power of the Lord for ever, for that thou hast not spared thy life, by reason of the distress and tribulation of thy people, but hast prevented our ruin in the presence of our God.] versus"
Et tu benedicta es mulier, prae omnibus super terram; quae non pepercisti animae tuae, propter angustias generis tui. Benedictus Deus Israel qui per manum tuam percussit Holofernem. [Repeat:] Et tu benedicta es mulier, prae omnibus super terram. Judith fortis, Judith pulchra, Judith casta, magnificabitur nomen tuum per universam terram. [Vous êtes celle que le Seigneur a bénie parmi toutes les femmes qui sont sur la terre. Parce que vous n'avez point épargné votore vie, en voyant l'extrême affliction où votre peuple se trouvait réduit. Béni soit le Dieu d'Israël qui par votre main frappa Holoferne. Vous êtes celle que le Seigneur a bénie parmi toutes les femms qui sont sur la terre. Courageuse Judith, belle Judith, chaste Judith, votre nom sera magnifié par toute la terre.]
Notes:
1. Louis-Isaac Lemaistre de Sacy, Tobie, Judith et Esther traduits en françois avec une explication tirée des Saints Pères et des auteurs ecclésiastiques (Paris: Desprez, 1711), and M.-A. Charpentier, Histoires sacrées, ed. Jean Duron, vol. 4 (Versailles: CBMV). The first edition of this translation appeared in 1688, four years after de Sacy's death. The New Testament of Mons was published in 1667.