five more days and nights; after that time, if God does not deliver them, the city will let the enemy in. Jewish warriors then come through the gates holding Achior. He tried to persuade Holofernes to stop the siege and follow the God of the Jews; as punishment, Holofernes had him bound and left near the city to share in the Jews' destruction by the Assyrians. Everyone then prays to God for deliverance. Act 2 Judith, alone in her room, decides that, instead of waiting five days, something must be done now. She devises a plan to use the beauty God gave her in order to trick Holofernes and save her people. To her summons the elders arrive. She expresses her pro-active intentions and asks for permission to go to the enemy camp with her slave Avra. They grant permission and leave. When Avra then tries to talk her out of going to the camp, Judith remains steadfast. Act 3 In Holofernes' camp, odalisques perform songs and dances. Holofernes sends them away, intent on his plan to make a full attack on Bethulia the next day. Judith is let into the camp and presented to Holofernes, who is enchanted by her beauty (as are all the Assyrians). When he inquires as to her purpose, she pretends that she will show him a secret way to enter and take Bethulia and Jerusalem as long as he allows her to move freely. Holofernes believes her ruse, even to the point of asking her to be queen. The camp then celebrates the power of Babylon. Act 4 Dances and songs once more resound in the camp. Amidst praise of comely Judith, Asfaneses makes an unfortunate remark about her coldness, and is immediately stabbed to death by Holofernes. Just then Judith comes out and is horrified by the grisly act, but remains resolved in her plan. He informs her that the city will be attacked the next day. In a drunken stupor Holofernes falls to the ground unconscious at Judith's feet. After he is placed on his bed, she remains with him as everyone else leaves. Within the tent she takes his sword and decapitates him. After asking Avra to put the head into a sack, the two of them leave quickly. Act 5 In Bethulia the people, awaiting the dawn of the sixth day, are ready to open the gates to the Assyrians,