[Jdt 3:1]
Then the kings of all the cities and provinces, namely the princes in Syr-ia and MesopotamSyr-ia and SyrSyr-ia Sobal and Libya and CilicSyr-ia, sent their ambassadors, who came to Holofernes and said:
Also habend aller stetten vnnd landen künig botten geschickt / namlich / die fürsten in Syria vnd Mesopotamia / vnd Syrie Sobal vnd Libyen vnnd Cilicien die kamend zum Holoferne / vnd sprachend:
‘נוא | איריש ןיא ןטשריפֿ יד ךילמענ טנעזיג ןטאב גיניוק ‘נוא רידנעל ‘נוא טעטש ילא ןיבאה וזלא ןכֿארפש ‘נוא ינרופילא םוצ ןמאק יד | ןאיקליט ‘נוא ןיביל ‘נוא ליבאש ‘נוא אימטאפישעמ Alzo haben ale shtet un’ lender un’ koynig botn gezent nemlikh di firsten
in Sirye, un’ Mesepotmie un’ Sobel un’ Libyen un’ Tilkiyen, di kamen tsum Oleforne un’ shprakhn:
[Jdt 3:2]
Let thy indignation towards us cease. It is better for us that we should live and serve the great king Nebuchadnezzar, and be subject to thee, than that we should die and be struck down, or suffer even greater misery.
29 In this third chapter of the Book of Judith, chosen arbitrarily to serve as a sam-ple, the Swiss German text is that of the first edition of the Zurich Bible, printed by Christoph Froschauer in 1529. Subsequent editions of the Zurich Bible add or subtract a letter here and there, in line with the unsettled orthography of the time, but make no substantive changes to the text of this chapter, beyond fixing the two typographical errors noted in situ. Each verse of the Swiss German is followed by the corresponding passage in Yiddish, according to the text printed in Cracow in 1571.
Last comes a romanized version of the Yiddish, employing the YIVO transliteration system, the standard for Modern Yiddish, minimally modified here to reflect the different vocalization practices of Old Yiddish. In Swiss German and Yiddish ver-sions alike, the sometimes erratic original spelling and punctuation, characteristic of early modernity, has been retained. Since Leo Jud’s rendition of the Apocrypha in the Zurich Bible represents a word-for-word translation of the Vulgate, and since the Yiddish version first published by Shalom bar Abraham in Italy and reprinted in Cracow is a word-for-word translation from the Zurich Bible, the English version presented here takes for its point of departure the traditional Catholic word-for-word translation of the Vulgate into English, known as Douay-Rheims-Challoner, and adapts it to agree with what Jud makes of the same Latin source.
Laß ab vonn dinem zorn gegen vns: weger ists vns wir dienind läbendig dem grossen künig NebucadNezer / vnnd sygind dir vndetthenig30 / dann das wir sturbind vnd erschlagen wurdind / vnd grösseren schaden empfiengind.
ןרעה ןשורג םעד גנידניבעל ןיניד ריוו רישעב זנוא זיא שע .זנוא ןגיג ןראצ םעד ןופֿ בוא זאל ‘נוא | ןדרעוו ןגאלש רעד ‘נוא ןברעטש ריוו זד ןעד גינעט רטנוא ריד ןייז ‘נוא | רצנ דכובנ גיניוק ןגניפֿנא ןדאש ןרישערג Laz ob fun dem tsorn gegn unz. Es iz unz beser vir dinen lebending dem grosn hern koynig Nevukhad Netser, un’ zayn dir unter tenig, den daz vir shterbn un’ der shlagn verdn, un’ gresern shadn anfingn.
[Jdt 3:3]
All our cities are [i.e., and] property, all mountains and hills, all fields, great and small fish [i.e., livestock], sheep, goats, horses, camels, all our goods, together with our servants – all this is in thy power.
All vnsere stett sind31 ligende güter / alle berg vnnd bühel / alle välder / groß vnd klein fisch32 / schaaff / geyß / rossz / kammeel / all vnsere haab / darzů vnser gsind / das sye in dinem gewalt.
‘נוא ףאש ךיו | ןיילק ‘נוא שורג רידלעו ילא | יליהיב ‘נוא גרעב ילא | רטוג ‘נוא טעטש ירזנוא לא .טלאוויג םנייד ןיא אייז זד דניזיג רזנוא וצ רד באה רזנוא לא ‘נוא לימעק סאר ןגיצ רדניר Al unzre shtet un’ guter, ale berg un’ bihele, ale velder gros un’ kleyn, vikh
shaf un’ rinder tsign ros kemel un’ al unzer hab dar tsu unzer gezind daz zay in daynem gevalt.
[Jdt 3:4–6]
Let all we have be subject to thy law. Both we and our children are thine.
Come to us a peaceable lord, and use our service as it shall please thee.
Es sye dir alles vnderthon. Darzů wöllend wir vnd vnsere kinder din eigen sin / kumm vns ein fridsamer herr / vnnd bruch vnseren dienst nach dinem gefallen.
30 Typographical error, corrected to vnderthenig as early as Froschauer’s first octavo edition, Zurich, 1529.
31 Apparent typographical error, corrected from sind (they are) to sampt (together with) in the “Catholic Bible” printed by Peter Jordan in Mainz, 1534, and to un’ (and) in the Yiddish, but not corrected in the 1536 Zurich Bible (nor in the 1545 edition).
32 Typographical error, corrected from fisch (fish) to vych (livestock) in Froschauer’s first octavo edition, Zurich, 1529, although persisting, like vndetthenig [Jdt 3:2], into the monumental first illustrated edition, Zurich, 1531.
רזנוא אייז .ןייז ןגייא ןייד רדניק רזנוא ‘נוא ריוו ןילעוו וצ רד .ןאט רטנוא שילא ריד אייז שע .ןילאפֿיג םנייד ךאנ טשניד רזנוא ךיורפ ‘נוא | רעה Es zay dir ales unter-ton, dar tsu velen vir un’ unzer kinder dayn eygn zayn. Zay unzer her, un’ proykh unzer dinst nakh daynem gefalen.
[Jdt 3:7]
Then Holofernes sallied forth, came down from the mountains with the horsemen and great might, and captured all the walled cities and all the inhabitants of the land.
Do macht sich Holofernes vf / zoch hinab ab dem gebirg mit dem reysi-gen züg vnd grosser macht / vnd namm alle veste stett yn / vnd was im land wonet.
רשורג ‘נוא ריה ןגיזייר םעד טימ גריביג םעד ןופֿ באניה ךוצ ‘נוא ףיוא ינראפילא ךיז טכֿאמ אד .טנואוו דנל םיא שאוו ‘נוא | ןייא טעטש ןטסעו ילא םאנ ‘נוא טכֿאמ Do makht zikh Oleforne oyf un’ tsokh hinab fun dem gebirg mit dem reyzign her un’ groser makht un’ nam ale vestn shtet eyn, un’ vas im land vont.
[Jdt 3:8]
And from all the cities he took whatever strong men there were, well-suited for war, that they should help him.
Vnd nam do vss allen stetten was starcker mannen warend / vnnd zum krieg touglich / das sy jm hulffind.
.ןפֿלעה םיא יז זד ןטיגיוט גירק םוצ ‘נוא | ןראוו ןינאמ יקראטש שאוו | ןטעטש ןילא שיוא אד םאנ ‘נוא Un’ nam do oys alen shtetn, vas shtarke manen varen, un’ tsum krig toy-getn daz zi im helfn.
[Jdt 3:9]
And so great a fear lay upon all those provinces, that all the inhabitants of all the cities, both princes and dignitaries, as well as the people, went out to meet him at his coming.
Es kam ouch über die selben land ein sölicher grosser schräck / das alle ynwoner aller stetten / deßglychen die fürsten vnnd was verrümpt was / mit sampt allem volck / jm / so er kam / hinuß entgegen giengend.
זד ןטעטש רילא רנואוו ןיא ילא רביוא | ןקערש רשורג ןייא דנל ןבלעז יד רביוא ךא םאק שע ןגיגטנא םיא ןגניג קלאו םילא טימ ןרעה ‘נוא ןטשריו יד ןכֿיילג Es kam akh oyber di zelbn land eyn groser shrekn, oyber ale in-voner aler shteten dez glaykhn di virstn un’ hern mit alem volk gingn im antgegn.
[Jdt 3:10]
And received him splendidly and solemnly with garlands, lights, with dances, timbrels and pipes.
Vnd jnn herrlich vnnd eerlich empfiengend / mit krentzen / facklen / mit reyen / trummen vnd pfyffen.
.ןיפֿייפֿפֿ ‘נוא ןטבמורט טימ ןאייר טימ ןריקאלפֿ ‘נוא | ךילצנערק טימ ךילדער ןיא ןגניפֿטנא ‘נוא Un’ antfingn in redlikh mit krentslikh, un’ flakern mit rayen mit trumbetn un’ pfayfen.
[Jdt 3:11]
And though they did these things, they could not for all that soften his cruel disposition.
Vnd so sy schon sölichs thettend / mochtend sy dennocht sin grusam gemüt nit milteren.
.רדניל טינ םיזיורג ןייז ךאניד יז ןטכֿאמ | ןטעט שכֿלוז ןוש יז בוא ‘נוא Un’ ob zi shon zolkhes tetn, makhtn zi denokh zayn groyzem nit linder.
[Jdt 3:12]
But rather he destroyed their cities and cut down their groves.
Sunder er brach jre stett / hüw jre wäld ab.
.בא דלאוו ריא ‘נוא טעטש ריא ךארב רע רדנוז Zunder er brakh ir shtet un’ ir vald ab.
[Jdt 3:13]
For Nebuchadnezzar the king had commanded him to destroy all gods of the earth, that he only might be called and esteemed as God by those nations that Holofernes could subjugate with his power.
Dann NebucadNezer hatt jm in empfelch geben / das er alle Gött in landen vßrütete / das er allein für ein Gott genennt vnd gehalten wurde / von denen landen die Holofernes mit sinem gewalt / vnder jn brechte.
רע זד | ןדנאל ילא ןיא ריטאג ילא דיינש רו רע זד | ןבעגיג ךלעפֿיב ןייא םיא טה רצנ דכובנ ןעד טלאוויג םנייז טימ ינראפילא יד ןדנאל ןעד ןופֿ | דרעוו ןטלאהיג ‘נוא טנעניג טֿוג ןייא רו ןיילא .טכֿארב ןיא ריטנוא Den Nevukhad Netser hat im eyn befelkh gegebn, daz er ver-shnayd ale goter in ale landn, daz er aleyn ver ayn gõt genent un’ gehaltn verd, fun den landn di Oleforne mit zaynem gevalt unter in brakht.
[Jdt 3:14]
And when he had passed through Syria Sobal, and all Apamea, and all Mesopotamia, he came to the Idumeans in the land of Gabaa and Sep-topoli.
Also zoch er durch Syriam Sobal / vnd durch alles Appamiam / vnd alles Mesopotamiam / kam zun Jdumeern ins land Gabaa vnd Septopoli.
דנל שניא םיתוכ ןעד וצ םאק ‘נוא איינאפש ץנג ךרוד ‘נוא לבוש ‘נוא אייריש ךרוד רע ךוצ וזלא .ילפאטפעש ‘נוא | אבעג Alzo tsokh er durkh Siriye un’ Sobl un’ durkh gants Shpaniye un’ kam tsu
den Kusim ins land Gebe, un’ Septople.
[Jdt 3:15]
He took possession of their cities and stayed there for thirty days, during which he marshaled all the troops of his army.
Nam yn jre stett / vnd bleyb da dryssig tag / in denen er den gantzen huffen siner heermacht zemmen bringen ließ.
ריה רנייז ןפֿיוה ןיצנג ןעד רע םעד ןיא | גאט גיסיירד אד ביילב ‘נוא | טעטש יריא ןייא םאנ ‘נוא .זיל ןגנירב ימאז וצ טכֿאמ Un’ nam eyn ire shtet, un’ blayb da draysig tag, in dem er den gantsen hoyfn zayner her makht tsu-zame bringn liz.