Judith 2

NEW JERUSALEM	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 In the eighteenth year, on the twenty-second day of the first month, a rumour ran through the palace thatNebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians was to have his revenge on al the countries, 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 Summoning his general staff and senior officers, he held a secret conference with them, and with hisown lips pronounced utter destruction on the entire area.	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 It was then decreed that everyone should be put to death who had not answered the king's appeal.	3 And he said that his thoughts were to bring all the earth under his empire.
4 When the council was over, Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians sent for Holofernes, general-in-chiefof his armies and subordinate only to himself. He said to him,	4 And when this saying pleased them all, Nabuchodonosor, the king, called Holofernes the general of his armies,
5 'Thus speaks the Great King, lord of the whole world, "Go; take men of proven valour, about a hundredand twenty thousand foot soldiers and a strong company of horse with twelve thousand cavalrymen;	5 And said to him: Go out against all the kingdoms of the west, and against them especially that despised my commandment.
6 then advance against all the western lands, since these people have disregarded my cal .	6 Thy eye shall not spare any kingdom, and all the strong cities thou shalt bring under my yoke.
7 Bid them have earth and water ready, because in my rage I am about to march on them; the feet of mysoldiers wil cover the whole face of the earth, and I shal plunder it.	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 wounded will fil the val eys and the torrents, and rivers, blocked with their dead, wil overflow.	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 I shall lead them captive to the ends of the earth.	9 He appointed corn to be prepared out of all Syria in his passage.
10 Now go! Begin by conquering this whole region for me. If they surrender to you, hold them for me untilthe time comes to punish them.	10 But gold and silver he took out of the king's house in great abundance.
11 But if they resist, look on no one with clemency, hand them over to slaughter and plunder throughoutthe territory entrusted to you.	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 by my life and by the living power of my kingdom I have spoken. Al this I shal do 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 And you, neglect none of your master's commands, act strictly according to my orders without furtherdelay." '	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 Leaving the presence of his sovereign, Holofernes immediately summoned al the marshals, generalsand 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 and detailed the picked troops as his master had ordered, about a hundred and twenty thousand menand a further twelve thousand mounted archers.	15 And he took the borders thereof from Cilicia to the coasts of Japheth, which are towards the south.
16 He organised these in the normal battle formation.	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 then secured vast numbers of camels, donkeys and mules to carry the baggage, and innumerablesheep, oxen and goats for food supplies.	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 Every man received ful rations and a generous sum of gold and silver from the king's purse.	18 And the fear of them fell upon alit the inhabitants of the land.
19 He then set out for the campaign with his whole army, in advance of King Nebuchadnezzar, tooverwhelm the whole western region with his chariots, his horsemen and his picked body of foot.
20 A motley gathering fol owed in his rear, as numerous as locusts or the grains of sand on the ground;there was no counting their multitude.
21 Thus they set out from Nineveh and marched for three days towards the Plain of Bectileth. FromBectileth they went on to pitch camp near the mountains that lie to the north of Upper Cilicia.
22 From there Holofernes advanced into the highlands with his whole army, infantry, horsemen, chariots.
23 He cut his way through Put and Lud, carried away captive al the sons of Rassis and sons of Ishmaelliving on the verge of the desert south of Cheleon,
24 marched along the Euphrates, crossed Mesopotamia, rased al the fortified towns controlling the WadiAbron and reached the sea.
25 Next he attacked the territories of Cilicia, butchering al who offered him resistance, advanced on thesouthern frontiers of Japheth, facing Arabia,
26 completely encircled the Midianites, burned their tents and plundered their sheep-folds,
27 made his way down to the Damascus plain at the time of the wheat harvest, set fire to the fields,destroyed the flocks and herds, sacked the towns, laid the countryside waste and put al the young men to thesword.
28 Fear and trembling seized al the coastal peoples; those of Sidon and Tyre, those of Sur, Ocina andJamnia. The populations of Azotos and Ascalon were panic-stricken.