Judith 2

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition	BIBBIA TINTORI
1 In the eighteenth year, on the twenty-second day of the first month, there was talk in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians about carrying out his revenge on the whole region, just as he said.	1 L'anno decimoterzo del re Nabucodonosor, ai ventidue del primo mese, Nabucodonosor, nella sua reggia d'Assiria, fece decidere la guerra,
2 He called together all his officers and all his nobles and set forth to them his secret plan and recounted fully, with his own lips, all the wickedness of the region;	2 e, convocati tutti gli anziani, tutti i capi e i suoi guerrieri, tenuto con essi un consiglio segreto,
3 and it was decided that every one who had not obeyed his command should be destroyed.	3 disse essere sua intenzione di assoggettare al suo impero tutta la terra.
4 When he had finished setting forth his plan, Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians called Holofernes, the chief general of his army, second only to himself, and said to him,	4 Essendo piaciute a tutti queste parole, Nabucodonosor, chiamato a sè Oloferne, capo dei suoi eserciti,
5 "Thus says the Great King, the lord of the whole earth: When you leave my presence, take with you men confident in their strength, to the number of one hundred and twenty thousand foot soldiers and twelve thousand cavalry.	5 gli disse: « Mettiti in marcia, contro tutti i regni d'occidente, specialmente contro quelli che han disprezzato il mio comando;
6 Go and attack the whole west country, because they disobeyed my orders.	6 il tuo occhio non risparmierà alcun regno, e mi sottometterai tutte le città forti ».
7 Tell them to prepare earth and water, for I am coming against them in my anger, and will cover the whole face of the earth with the feet of my armies, and will hand them over to be plundered by my troops,	7 Allora Oloferne chiamò a sè i capi e gli ufficiali dell'esercito assiro, e secondo l'ordine del re arruolò gli uomini per la spedizione: centoventi mila combattenti a piedi, e dodici mila arcieri a cavallo.
8 till their wounded shall fill their valleys, and every brook and river shall be filled with their dead, and overflow;	8 Ratta andare innanzi tutta la sua armata, una moltitudine innumerevole di cammelli, con abbondanti provvisioni per l'esercito, e innumerevoli armenti di buoi e greggi di pecore,
9 and I will lead them away captive to the ends of the whole earth.	9 fatto preparare del grano da tutta la Siria, pel suo passaggio,
10 You shall go and seize all their territory for me in advance. They will yield themselves to you, and you shall hold them for me till the day of their punishment.	10 presa dalla cassa del re gran quantità d'oro e d'argento,
11 But if they refuse, your eye shall not spare and you shall hand them over to slaughter and plunder throughout your whole region.	11 Oloferne si mise in marcia con tutto l'esercito, colle quadrighe, i cavalieri, gli arcieri, i quali, come locuste, coprirono la faccia della terra.
12 For as I live, and by the power of my kingdom, what I have spoken my hand will execute.	12 Passati i confini dell'Assiria, giunse alle grandi montagne d'Ange, che sono a sinistra della Cilicia, e prese tutti i loro castelli, e s'impadronì di tutte le piazze forti.
13 And you--take care not to transgress any of your sovereign's commands, but be sure to carry them out just as I have ordered you; and do not delay about it."	13 Espugnò la famosissima città di Meloti, predò tutti i figli di Tarsis, i figli d'Ismaele ch'orano in faccia al deserto e a mezzogiorno del paese di Cellon.
14 So Holofernes left the presence of his master, and called together all the commanders, generals, and officers of the Assyrian army,	14 Poi passato l'Eufrate, andò nella Mesopotamia, ove forzò tutte le città poste sulle alture, dal torrente Mambre fino al mare.
15 and mustered the picked troops by divisions as his lord had ordered him to do, one hundred and twenty thousand of them, together with twelve thousand archers on horseback,	15 In seguito ne occupò i paesi limitrofi, dalla Cilicia fino al territorio di Iafet che è a mezzogiorno,
16 and he organized them as a great army is marshaled for a campaign.	16 e menò via tutti i figli di Madian, predando tutte le loro ricchezze, e passò a fìl di spada tutti quelli che gli facevano resistenza.
17 He collected a vast number of camels and asses and mules for transport, and innumerable sheep and oxen and goats for provision;	17 Finalmente scese nelle campagne di Damasco, nei giorni della messe, e diede fuoco a tutte le biade, fece tagliare tutti gli alberi e le viti.
18 also plenty of food for every man, and a huge amount of gold and silver from the royal palace.	18 Il terrore di lui invase tutti gli abitanti della terra.
19 So he set out with his whole army, to go ahead of King Nebuchadnezzar and to cover the whole face of the earth to the west with their chariots and horsemen and picked troops of infantry.
20 Along with them went a mixed crowd like a swarm of locusts, like the dust of the earth--a multitude that could not be counted.
21 They marched for three days from Nineveh to the plain of Bectileth, and camped opposite Bectileth near the mountain which is to the north of Upper Cilicia.
22 From there Holofernes took his whole army, his infantry, cavalry, and chariots, and went up into the hill country
23 and ravaged Put and Lud, and plundered all the people of Rassis and the Ishmaelites who lived along the desert, south of the country of the Chelleans.
24 Then he followed the Euphrates and passed through Mesopotamia and destroyed all the hilltop cities along the brook Abron, as far as the sea.
25 He also seized the territory of Cilicia, and killed every one who resisted him, and came to the southern borders of Japheth, fronting toward Arabia.
26 He surrounded all the Midianites, and burned their tents and plundered their sheepfolds.
27 Then he went down into the plain of Damascus during the wheat harvest, and burned all their fields and destroyed their flocks and herds and sacked their cities and ravaged their lands and put to death all their young men with the edge of the sword.
28 So fear and terror of him fell upon all the people who lived along the seacoast, at Sidon and Tyre, and those who lived in Sur and Ocina and all who lived in Jamnia. Those who lived in Azotus and Ascalon feared him exceedingly.