Judith, 2

1. La treizième année du roi Nabuchodonosor, le vingt-deuxième jour du premier mois, il fut décidé dans la maison de Nabuchodonosor, roi d'Assyrie, qu'il se vengerait.

1. In the eighteenth year, on the twenty-second day of the first month, there was a discussion in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, about taking revenge on the whole world, as he had threatened.

2. Et il convoqua tous les anciens, tous ses chefs et ses guerriers, et il tint avec eux un conseil secret.

2. He summoned all his ministers and nobles, laid before them his secret plan, and urged the total destruction of those countries.

3. Il leur dit que son dessein était de soumettre toute la terre à son empire.

3. They decided to do away with all those who had refused to comply with the order he had issued.

4. Ce discours ayant été approuvé de tous, le roi Nabuchodonosor fit venir Holoferne, général en chef de son armée,

4. When he had completed his plan, Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, summoned Holofernes, general in chief of his forces, second to himself in command, and said to him:

5. et il lui dit : " Mets-toi en marche contre tous les royaumes d'Occident, et principalement contre ceux qui ont méprisé mon ordre.

5. "Thus says the great king, the lord of all the earth: Go forth from my presence, take with you men of proven valor, a hundred and twenty thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry,

6. Ton ?il n'épargnera aucun royaume, et tu me soumettras toutes les villes fortes.

6. and proceed against all the land of the West, because they did not comply with the order I issued.

7. Alors Holoferne, ayant appelé les chefs et les officiers de l'armée des Assyriens, enrôla des hommes pour l'expédition, selon l'ordre du roi, au nombre de cent vingt mille fantassins et douze mille archers à cheval.

7. Tell them to have earth and water ready, for I will come against them in my wrath; I will cover all the land with the feet of my soldiers, to whom I will deliver them as spoils.

8. Il fit précéder son armée d'une multitude innombrable de chameaux, avec des provisions en abondance pour ses soldats, et d'innombrables troupeaux de b?ufs et de moutons. 9 Il fit préparer sur son passage du blé de toute la Syrie.

8. Their slain shall fill their ravines and wadies, the swelling torrent shall be choked with their dead; 9 and I will deport them as exiles to the very ends of the earth.

10. Il prit de la maison du roi des sommes immenses d'or et d'argent.

10. "You go before me and take possession of all their territories for me. If they surrender to you, guard them for me till the day of their punishment.

11. Et il se mit en marche, lui et toute l'armée, avec les chariots, les cavaliers et les archers, qui couvraient la face de la terre, comme des sauterelles.

11. As for those who resist, show them no quarter, but deliver them up to slaughter and plunder in each country you occupy.

12. Ayant franchi la frontière de l'Assyrie, il arriva aux grandes montagnes d'Angé, qui sont au nord de la Cilicie, et il pénétra dans toutes leurs forteresses et s'empara de tous les retranchements.

12. For as I live, and by the strength of my kingdom, what I have spoken I will accomplish by my power.

13. Il emporta d'assaut la célèbre ville de Métilène, et pilla tous les habitants de Tarse, ainsi que les enfants d'Ismaël qui étaient en face du désert et au sud du pays de Cellon.

13. Do not disobey a single one of the orders of your lord; fulfill them exactly as I have commanded you, and do it without delay."

14. Passant l'Euphrate, il alla en Mésopotamie, et força toutes les places fortes de la contrée, depuis le torrent de Chaboras jusqu'à la mer.

14. So Holofernes left the presence of his lord, and summoned all the princes, and the generals and officers of the Assyrian army.

15. Ensuite il s'empara de tous les pays limitrophes de l'Euphrate depuis la Cilicie jusqu'au territoire de Japheth, qui s'étend vers le sud.

15. He mustered a hundred and twenty thousand picked troops, as his lord had commanded, and twelve thousand mounted archers,

16. Il emmena captifs tous les fils de Madian, pilla toutes leurs richesses et fit périr par le glaive tous ceux qui lui résistèrent.

16. and grouped them into a complete combat force.

17. Il descendit ensuite dans les campagnes de Damas, au temps de la moisson, brûla toutes les récoltes et fit couper tous les arbres et toutes les vignes.

17. He took along a very large number of camels, asses, and mules for their baggage; innumerable sheep, cattle, and goats for their food supply;

18. Et la terreur de ses armes s'empara de tous les habitants de la terre.

18. abundant provisions for each man, and much gold and silver from the royal palace.

19.

19. Then he and his whole army proceeded on their expedition in advance of King Nebuchadnezzar, to cover all the western region with their chariots and cavalry and regular infantry.

20.

20. A huge, irregular force, too many to count, like locusts or the dust of the earth, went along with them.

21.

21. After a three-day march from Nineveh, they reached the plain of Bectileth, and from Bectileth they next encamped near the mountains to the north of Upper Cilicia.

22.

22. From there Holofernes took his whole force, the infantry, cavalry, and chariots, and marched into the mountain region.

23.

23. He devastated Put and Lud, and plundered all the Rassisites and the Ishmaelites on the border of the desert toward the south of Chaldea.

24.

24. Then, following the Euphrates, he went through Mesopotamia, and battered down every fortified city along the Wadi Abron, until he reached the sea.

25.

25. He seized the territory of Cilicia, and cut down everyone who resisted him. Then he proceeded to the southern borders of Japheth, toward Arabia.

26.

26. He surrounded all the Midianites, burned their tents, and plundered their sheepfolds.

27.

27. Descending to the plain of Damascus at the time of the wheat harvest, he set fire to all their fields, destroyed their flocks and herds, despoiled their cities, devastated their plains, and put all their youths to the sword.

28.

28. The fear and dread of him fell upon all the inhabitants of the coastland, upon those in Sidon and Tyre, and those who dwelt in Sur and Ocina, and the inhabitants of Jamnia. Those in Azotus and Ascalon also feared him greatly.