Judith 4:3

3 They had only recently returned home to Judah from exile and had just rededicated the Temple and its utensils and its altar after they had been defiled.

Judith 4:3 In-Context

1 The people of Judah heard what Holofernes, the commander of King Nebuchadnezzar's armies, had done to the other nations. They heard how he had looted and destroyed all their temples,

2 and they were terrified of him and afraid of what he might do to Jerusalem and to the Temple of the Lord their God.

3 They had only recently returned home to Judah from exile and had just rededicated the Temple and its utensils and its altar after they had been defiled.

4 So they sent a warning to the whole region of Samaria and to the towns of Kona, Beth Horon, Belmain, Jericho, Choba, and Aesora, and to Salem Valley.

5 They immediately occupied the mountaintops, fortified the villages on the mountains, and stored up food in preparation for war. It was fortunate that they had recently harvested their fields.