Judith 3

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 They therefore sent envoys to him to sue for peace, to say,	1 They therefore sent messengers to him to sue for peace in these words:
2 'We are servants of the great King Nebuchadnezzar; we lie prostrate before you. Treat us as you thinkfit.	2 "We, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar the great king, lie prostrate before you; do with us as you will.
3 Our cattle-farms, al our land, al our wheat fields, our flocks and herds, all the sheep-folds in ourencampments are at your disposal. Do with them as you please.	3 Our dwellings and all our wheat fields, our flocks and herds, and all our encampments are at your disposal; make use of them as you please.
4 Our towns and their inhabitants too are at your service; go and treat them as you think fit.'	4 Our cities and their inhabitants are also at your service; come and deal with them as you see fit."
5 These men came to Holofernes and delivered the message as above.	5 After the spokesmen had reached Holofernes and given him this message,
6 He then made his way down to the coast with his army and stationed garrisons in al the fortified towns,levying outstanding men there as auxiliaries.	6 he went down with his army to the seacoast, and stationed garrisons in the fortified cities; from them he impressed picked troops as auxiliaries.
7 The people of these cities and of al the other towns in the neighbourhood welcomed him, wearinggarlands and dancing to the sound of tambourines.	7 The people of these cities and all the inhabitants of the countryside received him with garlands and dancing to the sound of timbrels.
8 But he demolished their shrines and cut down their sacred trees, carrying out his commission to destroyal local gods so that the nations should worship Nebuchadnezzar alone and people of every language andnationality should hail him as a god.	8 Nevertheless, he devastated their whole territory and cut down their sacred groves, for he had been commissioned to destroy all the gods of the earth, so that every nation might worship Nebuchadnezzar alone, and every people and tribe invoke him as a god.
9 Thus he reached the edge of Esdraelon, in the neighbourhood of Dothan, a vil age facing the great ridgeof Judaea.	9 At length Holofernes reached Esdraelon in the neighborhood of Dothan, the approach to the main ridge of the Judean mountains;
10 He pitched camp between Geba and Scythopolis and stayed there a ful month to re-provision hisforces.	10 he set up his camp between Geba and Scythopolis, and stayed there a whole month to refurbish all the equipment of his army.