17 And while they sinned not before their God, they prospered, because God that hates iniquity was with them.
18 But when they departed from the way which he appointed them, they were destroyed in many battles very sore, and were led captives into a land that was not theirs, and the temple of their God was cast to the ground, and their cities were taken by their adversaries.
19 And now they are returned to their God, and are come up from the dispersion where they were dispersed, and have possessed Jerusalem, where their sanctuary is, and are seated in the hill country: for it was desolate.
20 And now, my lord and master, if there is any error in this people, and they sin against their God, we will consider what this thing is wherein they stumble, and we will go up and overcome them.
21 But if there is no lawlessness in their nation, let my lord now pass by, lest their Lord defend them, and their God be for them, and we shall be a reproach before all the earth.
22 And it came to pass, when Achior had finished speaking these words, all the people that compassed the tent and stood round about it murmured; and the great men of Holofernes, and all that lived by the sea side, and in Moab, spoke that he should kill him.
23 For, said they, we will not be afraid of the children of Israel: for, behold, it is a people that has no power nor might to make the battle strong.