3 He had stood a long time in the hot sun, supervising his workers, and he became so hot that he went to bed, where he later died. Manasseh was buried in his family burial place in a field between the towns of Dothan and Balamon, near his hometown of Bethulia.
4 Judith had now been a widow for three years and four months,
5 and she had moved into a small shelter she had made on the roof of her house. She wore widow's clothes and wrapped pieces of sackcloth around her waist.
6 To show her sorrow, Judith went without eating, although she did eat on those days when it was commanded by God's Law: on each Sabbath and the day before it, on each New Moon Festival and the day before it, as well as on every joyous festival the Israelites celebrated.
7 Judith was very beautiful. And she was also very rich, because her husband had left her a lot of gold and silver, as well as male and female slaves, property, and livestock.
8 Judith faithfully worshiped God, and no one ever said anything bad about her.
9 Judith heard that the people of Bethulia were weak from a shortage of water and that they had blamed Uzziah for their misery. She also learned that Uzziah had promised to surrender to the Assyrians in five days.