Judith 7

NEW JERUSALEM	KING JAMES BIBLE
1 The fol owing day Holofernes issued orders to his whole army and to the whole host of auxiliaries whohad joined him, to break camp and march on Bethulia, to occupy the mountain passes and so open thecampaign against the Israelites.	1 The next day Holofernes commanded all his army, and all his people which were come to take his part, that they should remove their camp against Bethulia, to take aforehand the ascents of the hill country, and to make war against the children of Israel.
2 The troops broke camp that same day. The actual fighting force numbered one hundred and twentythousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry, not to mention the baggage train with the vast number of men onfoot concerned with that.	2 Then their strong men removed their camps in that day, and the army of the men of war was an hundred and seventy thousand footmen, and twelve thousand horsemen, beside the baggage, and other men that were afoot among them, a very great multitude.
3 They penetrated the val ey in the neighbourhood of Bethulia, near the spring, and deployed on a widefront from Dothan to Balbaim and, in depth, from Bethulia to Cyamon, which faces Esdraelon.	3 And they camped in the valley near unto Bethulia, by the fountain, and they spread themselves in breadth over Dothaim even to Belmaim, and in length from Bethulia unto Cynamon, which is over against Esdraelon.
4 When the Israelites saw this horde, they were al appal ed and said to each other, 'Now they wil lick thewhole country clean. Not even the loftiest peaks, the gorges or the hil s wil be able to stand the weight of them.'	4 Now the children of Israel, when they saw the multitude of them, were greatly troubled, and said every one to his neighbour, Now will these men lick up the face of the earth; for neither the high mountains, nor the valleys, nor the hills, are able to bear their weight.
5 Each man snatched up his arms; they lit beacons on their towers and spent the whole night on watch.	5 Then every man took up his weapons of war, and when they had kindled fires upon their towers, they remained and watched all that night.
6 On the second day Holofernes deployed his entire cavalry in sight of the Israelites in Bethulia.	6 But in the second day Holofernes brought forth all his horsemen in the sight of the children of Israel which were in Bethulia,
7 He reconnoitred the slopes leading up to the town, located the water-points, seized them and postedpickets over them and returned to the main body.	7 And viewed the passages up to the city, and came to the fountains of their waters, and took them, and set garrisons of men of war over them, and he himself removed toward his people.
8 The chieftains of the sons of Esau, al the leaders of the Moabites and the generals of the coastal districtthen came to him and said,	8 Then came unto him all the chief of the children of Esau, and all the governors of the people of Moab, and the captains of the sea coast, and said,
9 'If our master wil be pleased to listen to us, his forces wil not sustain a single wound.	9 Let our lord now hear a word, that there be not an overthrow in thine army.
10 These Israelites do not rely so much on their spears as on the height of the mountains where they live.And admittedly it is not at all easy to scale these heights of theirs.	10 For this people of the children of Israel do not trust in their spears, but in the height of the mountains wherein they dwell, because it is not easy to come up to the tops of their mountains.
11 'This being the case, master, avoid engaging them in a pitched battle and then you wil not lose a singleman.	11 Now therefore, my lord, fight not against them in battle array, and there shall not so much as one man of thy people perish.
12 Stay in camp, keep al your troops there too, while your servants seize the spring which rises at the footof the mountain,	12 Remain in thy camp, and keep all the men of thine army, and let thy servants get into their hands the fountain of water, which issueth forth of the foot of the mountain:
13 since that is what provides the population of Bethulia with their water supply. Thirst wil then force themto surrender their town. Meanwhile, we and our men wil climb the nearest mountain tops and form advanceposts there to prevent anyone from leaving the town.	13 For all the inhabitants of Bethulia have their water thence; so shall thirst kill them, and they shall give up their city, and we and our people shall go up to the tops of the mountains that are near, and will camp upon them, to watch that none go out of the city.
14 Hunger wil waste them, with their wives and children, and before the sword can reach them they wilalready be lying in the streets outside their houses.	14 So they and their wives and their children shall be consumed with fire, and before the sword come against them, they shall be overthrown in the streets where they dwell.
15 And you will make them pay dearly for their defiance and their refusal to meet you peaceably.'	15 Thus shalt thou render them an evil reward; because they rebelled, and met not thy person peaceably.
16 Their words pleased Holofernes as wel as al his officers, and he decided to do as they suggested.	16 And these words pleased Holofernes and all his servants, and he appointed to do as they had spoken.
17 Accordingly, a troop of Moabites moved forward with a further five thousand Assyrians. Theypenetrated the val ey and seized the Israelites' waterpoints and springs.	17 So the camp of the children of Ammon departed, and with them five thousand of the Assyrians, and they pitched in the valley, and took the waters, and the fountains of the waters of the children of Israel.
18 Meanwhile the Edomites and Ammonites went and took up positions in the highlands opposite Dothan,sending some of their men to the south-east opposite Egrebel near Chous on the Wadi Mochmur. The rest of theAssyrian army took up positions in the plain, covering every inch of the ground; their tents and equipment madean immense encampment, so vast were their numbers.	18 Then the children of Esau went up with the children of Ammon, and camped in the hill country over against Dothaim: and they sent some of them toward the south, and toward the east over against Ekrebel, which is near unto Chusi, that is upon the brook Mochmur; and the rest of the army of the Assyrians camped in the plain, and covered the face of the whole land; and their tents and carriages were pitched to a very great multitude.
19 The Israelites cal ed on the Lord their God, dispirited because the enemy had surrounded them and cutal line of retreat.	19 Then the children of Israel cried unto the Lord their God, because their heart failed, for all their enemies had compassed them round about, and there was no way to escape out from among them.
20 For thirty-four days the Assyrian army, infantry, chariots, cavalrymen, had them surrounded. Everywater-jar the inhabitants of Bethulia had was empty,	20 Thus all the company of Assur remained about them, both their footmen, chariots, and horsemen, four and thirty days, so that all their vessels of water failed all the inhibitants of Bethulia.
21 their storage-wel s were drying up; on no day could a man drink his fil , since their water was rationed.	21 And the cisterns were emptied, and they had not water to drink their fill for one day; for they gave them drink by measure.
22 Their little children pined away, the women and young men grew weak with thirst; they col apsed in the streets and gateways of the town; they had no strength left.	22 Therefore their young children were out of heart, and their women and young men fainted for thirst, and fell down in the streets of the city, and by the passages of the gates, and there was no longer any strength in them.
23 Young men, women, children, the whole people thronged clamouring round Uzziah and the chief menof the town, shouting in the presence of the assembled elders,	23 Then all the people assembled to Ozias, and to the chief of the city, both young men, and women, and children, and cried with a loud voice, and said before all the elders,
24 'May God be judge between you and us! For you have done us great harm, by not suing for peace withthe Assyrians.	24 God be judge between us and you: for ye have done us great injury, in that ye have not required peace of the children of Assur.
25 And now there is no one to help us. God has delivered us into their hands to be prostrated before themin thirst and utter helplessness.	25 For now we have no helper: but God hath sold us into their hands, that we should be thrown down before them with thirst and great destruction.
26 Cal them in at once; hand the whole town over to be sacked by Holofernes' men and al his army.	26 Now therefore call them unto you, and deliver the whole city for a spoil to the people of Holofernes, and to all his army.
27 After al , we should be much better off as their booty than we are now; no doubt we shall be enslaved,but at least we shal be alive and not see our little ones dying before our eyes or our wives and childrenperishing.	27 For it is better for us to be made a spoil unto them, than to die for thirst: for we will be his servants, that our souls may live, and not see the death of our infants before our eyes, nor our wives nor our children to die.
28 By heaven and earth and by our God, the Lord of our fathers, who is punishing us for our sins and thesins of our ancestors, we implore you to take this course now, today.'	28 We take to witness against you the heaven and the earth, and our God and Lord of our fathers, which punisheth us according to our sins and the sins of our fathers, that he do not according as we have said this day.
29 Bitter lamentations rose from the whole assembly, and they all cried loudly to the Lord God.	29 Then there was great weeping with one consent in the midst of the assembly; and they cried unto the Lord God with a loud voice.
30 Then Uzziah spoke to them, 'Take heart, brothers! Let us hold out five days more. By then the Lord ourGod will take pity on us, for he wil not desert us altogether.	30 Then said Ozias to them, Brethren, be of good courage, let us yet endure five days, in the which space the Lord our God may turn his mercy toward us; for he will not forsake us utterly.
31 At the end of this time, if no help is forthcoming, I shall do as you have said.'	31 And if these days pass, and there come no help unto us, I will do according to your word.
32 With that he dismissed the people to their various quarters. The men went to man the wal s and towersof the town, sending the women and children home. The town was ful of despondency.	32 And he dispersed the people, every one to their own charge; and they went unto the walls and towers of their city, and sent the women and children into their houses: and they were very low brought in the city.