Judith, 1

1. Arphaxad, roi des Mèdes, après avoir soumis à son empire beaucoup de nations, bâtit de pierres de taille équarries une ville très forte, qu'il appela Ecbatane.

1. It was the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyriansin the great city of Nineveh. At that time Arphaxad ruled over the Medes in Ecbatana.

2. Il l'entoura de murailles hautes de soixante-dix coudées, sur trente coudées de largeur, et il y construisit des tours hautes de cent coudées,

2. Around this city he built a wall of blocks of stone, each three cubits inheight and six in length. He made the wall seventy cubits high and fifty thick.

3. de forme carrée, chaque côté ayant vingt pieds de largeur, et il fit les portes en proportion de la hauteur des tours.

3. At the gates he raised towers of a hundred cubits, with a thickness of sixty cubits at the base.

4. Il se glorifiait comme étant invincible par la puissance de son armée et par la multitude de ses chars.

4. The gateway he built to a height of seventy cubits, with an opening forty cubits wide for the passage of his chariot forces and the marshaling of his infantry.

5. Or, la douzième année de son règne, Nabuchodonosor, roi des Assyriens, qui régnait à Ninive, la grande ville, fit la guerre à Arphaxad et le vainquit

5. Then King Nebuchadnezzar waged war against King Arphaxad in the vast plain, in the district of Ragae.

6. dans la grande plaine appelée Ragau, avec l'aide de ceux qui habitent près de l'Euphrate, du Tigre et du Jadason, dans la plaine d'Erioch, le roi des Eliciens.

6. To him there rallied all the inhabitants of the mountain region, all who dwelt along the Euphrates, the Tigris, and the Hydaspes, and King Arioch of the Elamites, in the plain. Thus many nations came together to resist the people of Cheleoud.

7. Alors fut agrandie la domination de Nabuchodonosor, et son c?ur s'éleva, et il envoya des messagers à tous ceux qui habitaient en Cilicie, à Damas et sur le mont Liban,

7. Now Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, sent messengers to all the inhabitants of Persia, and to all those who dwelt in the West: to the inhabitants of Cilicia and Damascus, Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, to all who dwelt along the seacoast,

8. aux peuples du Carmel, de Cédar, aux habitants de la Galilée, dans la grande plaine d'Esdrelon, 9 à tous ceux qui étaient dans la Samarie, au-delà du fleuve du Jourdain, jusqu'à Jérusalem, et dans tout le pays de Gessen jusqu'aux frontières de l'Ethiopie :

8. to the peoples of Carmel, Gilead, Upper Galilee, and the vast plain of Esdraelon,

9.

9. to all those in Samaria and its cities, and west of the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, Bethany, Chelous, Kadesh, and the River of Egypt; to Tahpanhes, Raamses, all the land of Goshen,

10. à tous ces peuples, Nabuchodonosor, roi d'Assyrie, envoya des messagers.

10. Tanis, Memphis and beyond, and to all the inhabitants of Egypt as far as the borders of Ethiopia.

11. Et tous, d'un commun accord, refusèrent; ils les renvoyèrent sans présents et n'eurent pour eux que du mépris.

11. But the inhabitants of all that land disregarded the summons of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, and would not go with him to the war. They were not afraid of him but regarded him as a lone individual opposed to them, and turned away his envoys empty-handed, in disgrace.

12. Alors le roi Nabuchodonosor entra en fureur contre tous ces pays, et jura par son trône et par son royaume de tirer vengeance de toutes ces contrées.

12. Then Nebuchadnezzar fell into a violent rage against all that land, and swore by his throne and his kingdom that he would avenge himself on all the territories of Cilicia and Damascus and Syria, and also destroy with his sword all the inhabitants of Moab, Ammon, the whole of Judea, and those living anywhere in Egypt as far as the borders of the two seas.

13.

13. In the seventeenth year he proceeded with his army against King Arphaxad, and was victorious in his campaign. He routed the whole force of Arphaxad, his entire cavalry and all his chariots,

14.

14. and took possession of his cities. He pressed on to Ecbatana and took its towers, sacked its marketplaces, and turned its glory into shame.

15.

15. Arphaxad himself he overtook in the mountains of Ragae, ran him through with spears, and utterly destroyed him.

16.

16. Then he returned home with all his numerous, motley horde of warriors; and there he and his army relaxed and feasted for a hundred and twenty days.