Judith 2

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 In the eighteenth year, on the twenty-second day of the first month, there was a discussion in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, about taking revenge on the whole world, as he had threatened.	1 In the thirteenth year of the reign of Nabuchodonosor, the two and twentieth day of the first month, the word was given out in the house of Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians, that he would revenge himself.
2 He summoned all his ministers and nobles, laid before them his secret plan, and urged the total destruction of those countries.	2 And he called all the ancients, and all the governors, and his officers of war, and communicated to them the secret of his counsel:
3 They decided to do away with all those who had refused to comply with the order he had issued.	3 And he said that his thoughts were to bring all the earth under his empire.
4 When he had completed his plan, Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, summoned Holofernes, general in chief of his forces, second to himself in command, and said to him:	4 And when this saying pleased them all, Nabuchodonosor, the king, called Holofernes the general of his armies,
5 "Thus says the great king, the lord of all the earth: Go forth from my presence, take with you men of proven valor, a hundred and twenty thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry,	5 And said to him: Go out against all the kingdoms of the west, and against them especially that despised my commandment.
6 and proceed against all the land of the West, because they did not comply with the order I issued.	6 Thy eye shall not spare any kingdom, and all the strong cities thou shalt bring under my yoke.
7 Tell them to have earth and water ready, for I will come against them in my wrath; I will cover all the land with the feet of my soldiers, to whom I will deliver them as spoils.	7 Then Holofernes called the captains and officers of the power of the Assyrians: and he mustered men for the expedition, as the king commanded him, a hundred and twenty thousand fighting men on foot, and twelve thousand archers, horsemen.
8 Their slain shall fill their ravines and wadies, the swelling torrent shall be choked with their dead; 9 and I will deport them as exiles to the very ends of the earth.	8 And he made all his warlike preparations to go before with a multitude of innumerable camels, with all provisions sufficient for the armies in abundance, and herds of oxen, and flocks of sheep, without number.
	9 He appointed corn to be prepared out of all Syria in his passage.
10 "You go before me and take possession of all their territories for me. If they surrender to you, guard them for me till the day of their punishment.	10 But gold and silver he took out of the king's house in great abundance.
11 As for those who resist, show them no quarter, but deliver them up to slaughter and plunder in each country you occupy.	11 And he went forth he and all the army, with the chariots, and horsemen, and archers, who covered the face of the earth, like locusts.
12 For as I live, and by the strength of my kingdom, what I have spoken I will accomplish by my power.	12 And when he had passed through the borders of the Assyrians, he came to the great mountains of Ange, which are on the left of Cilicia: and he went up to all their castles, and took all the strong places.
13 Do not disobey a single one of the orders of your lord; fulfill them exactly as I have commanded you, and do it without delay."	13 And he took by assault the renowned city of Melothus, and pillaged all the children of Tharsis, and the children of Ismahel, who were over against the face of the desert, and on the south of the land of Cellon.
14 So Holofernes left the presence of his lord, and summoned all the princes, and the generals and officers of the Assyrian army.	14 And he passed over the Euphrates and came into Mesopotamia: and he forced all the stately cities that were there, from the torrent of Mambre, till one comes to the sea:
15 He mustered a hundred and twenty thousand picked troops, as his lord had commanded, and twelve thousand mounted archers,	15 And he took the borders thereof from Cilicia to the coasts of Japheth, which are towards the south.
16 and grouped them into a complete combat force.	16 And he carried away all the children of Madian, and stripped them of all their riches, and all that resisted him he slew with the edge of the sword.
17 He took along a very large number of camels, asses, and mules for their baggage; innumerable sheep, cattle, and goats for their food supply;	17 And after these things he went down into the plains of Damascus in the days of the harvest, and he set all the corn on fire, and he caused all the trees and vineyards to be cut down
18 abundant provisions for each man, and much gold and silver from the royal palace.	18 And the fear of them fell upon alit the inhabitants of the land.
19 Then he and his whole army proceeded on their expedition in advance of King Nebuchadnezzar, to cover all the western region with their chariots and cavalry and regular infantry.
20 A huge, irregular force, too many to count, like locusts or the dust of the earth, went along with them.
21 After a three-day march from Nineveh, they reached the plain of Bectileth, and from Bectileth they next encamped near the mountains to the north of Upper Cilicia.
22 From there Holofernes took his whole force, the infantry, cavalry, and chariots, and marched into the mountain region.
23 He devastated Put and Lud, and plundered all the Rassisites and the Ishmaelites on the border of the desert toward the south of Chaldea.
24 Then, following the Euphrates, he went through Mesopotamia, and battered down every fortified city along the Wadi Abron, until he reached the sea.
25 He seized the territory of Cilicia, and cut down everyone who resisted him. Then he proceeded to the southern borders of Japheth, toward Arabia.
26 He surrounded all the Midianites, burned their tents, and plundered their sheepfolds.
27 Descending to the plain of Damascus at the time of the wheat harvest, he set fire to all their fields, destroyed their flocks and herds, despoiled their cities, devastated their plains, and put all their youths to the sword.