Giuditta 3

LA SACRA BIBBIA	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 Gl'inviarono perciò messaggeri con proposte di pace in questi termini:	1 Then the kings and the princes of all the cities and provinces, of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Syria Sobal, and Libya, and Cilicia sent their ambassadors, who coming to Holofernes, said:
2 "Ecco, noi i servitori del gran re Nabucodònosor, ci mettiamo davanti a te, fa' di noi ciò che è gradito al tuo cospetto.	2 Let thy indignation towards us cease: for it is better for us to live and serve Nabuchodonosor the great king, and be subject to thee, than to die and to perish, or suffer the miseries of slavery.
3 Ecco le nostre abitazioni, ogni nostro podere, tutti i campi di grano, le greggi, gli armenti e tutte le mandrie dei nostri attendamenti sono a tua disposizione, sèrvitene come ti piace.	3 All our cities and our possessions, all mountains and hills, and fields, and herds of oxen, and flocks of cheep, and goats, and horses, and camels, and all our goods, and families are in thy sight:
4 Anche le nostre città e i loro abitanti sono tuoi servitori, vieni e trattali nel modo migliore che credi".	4 Let all we have be subject to thy law.
5 Si presentarono dunque ad Oloferne quegli uomini e gli riferirono tali parole.	5 Both we and our children are thy servants.
6 Allora discese con il suo esercito verso la costa, costituendo presidi nelle città fortificate e prelevando da esse uomini scelti come ausiliari.	6 Come to us a peaceable lord, and use our service as it shall please thee.
7 Gli abitanti di quelle città e di tutta la regione circostante lo accolsero con corone, danze e al suono di timpani.	7 Then he came down from the mountains with horsemen, in great power, and made himself master of every city, and all the inhabitants of the land.
8 Ma egli demolì tutti i templi e tagliò i loro boschi sacri, perché aveva avuto il compito di distruggere tutti gli dèi della terra, in modo che tutti i popoli adorassero solo Nabucodònosor e tutte le lingue e tribù lo invocassero come dio.	8 And from all the cities he took auxiliaries valiant men, and chosen for war.
9 Poi giunse dinanzi a Esdrelon, vicino a Dotain, che si trova di fronte alla grande catena montuosa della Giudea.	9 And so great a fear lay upon all those provinces, that the inhabitants of all the cities, both princes and nobles, as well as the people, went out to meet him at his coming.
10 Si accamparono tra Gebe e Scitopoli e Oloferne rimase là un mese intero per poter raccogliere tutto il vettovagliamento per il suo esercito.	10 And received him with garlands, and lights, and dances, and tumbrels, and flutes.
	11 And though they did these things, they could not for all that mitigate the fierceness of his heart:
	12 For he both destroyed their cities and cut down their groves.
	13 For Nabuchodonosor the king had commanded him to destroy all the gods of the earth, that he only might be called God by those nations which could be brought under him by the power of Holofernes.
	14 And when he had passed through all Syria Sobal, and all Apamea, and all Mesopotamia, he came to the Idumeans into the land of Gabaa,
	15 And he took possession of their cities, and stayed there for thirty days, in which days he commanded all the troops of his army to be united.