16 There they forced out the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Shechemites, and the Gergesites. The Israelites have lived in Canaan ever since.
17 Their God hates any wrongdoing, so as long as they obeyed him, they were successful.
18 But as soon as they ignored his teachings, he let them be defeated by enemy after enemy, until finally they were taken away as captives to a foreign nation. The temple of their God was destroyed, and their cities were taken over by enemies.
19 But now the Israelites have started worshiping their God again, and they have returned home from the places where they were scattered. The Israelites are living in Jerusalem, where their temple again stands, and in the hill country where no other people have settled.
20 Sir, if we find out that these Israelites have started disobeying their God again, we can attack and defeat them, even if they have accidentally sinned against him.
21 But if they are innocent, you should leave them alone. Their God will defend them, and every nation in the world would laugh at us.
22 When Achior finished speaking, the people standing around the tent started complaining. The commanders of Holofernes' army, together with the Moabites and the people from the Mediterranean coast, demanded that Achior be beaten to death.