Liber Iudith, 2

1. Et in anno octavo decimo, secundo et vicesimo die mensis primi factum est verbum Nabuchodonosor regis Assyriorum, ut vindicaret omnem terram, sicut locutus est.

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.

2. Et convocavit omnes famulos suos et omnes magnates suos et posuit cum eis secretum consilii sui et consummavit omne malum terrae ex ore suo;

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;

3. et ipsi iudicaverunt exterminare omnem carnem eorum, qui non sunt obsecuti verbo oris eius.

3. and it was decided that every one who had not obeyed his command should be destroyed.

4. Et factum est, cum consummasset consilium suum, vocavit Nabuchodonosor rex Assyriorum Holofernen principem militiae virtutis suae, qui erat secundus post se,

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,

5. et dixit ad eum: “Haec dicit rex magnus, universae terrae dominus. Ecce tu exies a facie mea et accipies tecum viros fidentes in virtute sua: in centum viginti milia peditum et multitudinem equorum cum ascensoribus duodecim milia;

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.

6. et exies in obviam universae terrae ad occasum, quia non crediderunt verbo oris mei.

6. Go and attack the whole west country, because they disobeyed my orders.

7. Et denuntiabis eis, ut praeparent mihi terram et aquam, quoniam ego exeam in ira mea ad eos et cooperiam omnem faciem terrae in pedibus virtutis meae et dabo eos in rapinam,

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,

8. et vulnerati illorum replebunt valles eorum, et omnis torrens et flumen inundans mortuis eorum replebuntur.

8. till their wounded shall fill their valleys, and every brook and river shall be filled with their dead, and overflow;

9. Et adducam captivitatem eorum ad extrema universae terrae.

9. and I will lead them away captive to the ends of the whole earth.

10. Tu autem exiens praeoccupabis mihi omnem finem eorum, et tradent se tibi, et reservabis mihi in diem redargutionis eorum.

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.

11. Super eos autem, qui non oboediunt, non parcet oculus tuus, ut des eos in occisionem et rapinam in tota terra tua,

11. But if they refuse, your eye shall not spare and you shall hand them over to slaughter and plunder throughout your whole region.

12. quoniam vivo ego et potestas regni mei; locutus sum et faciam omnia haec in manu mea.

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

13. Et tu non praeteries unum verbum domini tui, sed consummans consummabis, sicut praecepi tibi, et non prolongabis, ut facias ea”.

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."

14. Et exiit Holofernes a facie domini sui et vocavit omnes praefectos et duces et magistratus virtutis Assyriae

14. So Holofernes left the presence of his master, and called together all the commanders, generals, and officers of the Assyrian army,

15. et numeravit electos viros in expeditionem, quemadmodum praeceperat ei dominus suus, in centum viginti milia et equitum sagittariorum duodecim milia.

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,

16. Et disposuit eos, quemadmodum belli multitudo constituitur.

16. and he organized them as a great army is marshaled for a campaign.

17. Et accepit camelos et asinos et mulos ad utensilia eorum, multitudinem magnam valde, et oves et boves et capras in praeparationem eorum, quorum non erat numerus,

17. He collected a vast number of camels and asses and mules for transport, and innumerable sheep and oxen and goats for provision;

18. et epimenia omni viro in multitudinem; et aurum et argentum de domo regis multum valde.

18. also plenty of food for every man, and a huge amount of gold and silver from the royal palace.

19. Et exiit a Nineve ipse et omnis virtus eius in profectionem, ut praecederet regem Nabuchodonosor et cooperiret omnem faciem terrae, quae est ad occasum, in quadrigis et equitibus et peditibus electis suis.

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. Et multa mixtura sicut locusta convenerunt cum eis et sicut arena terrae; non enim erat numerus prae multitudine eorum.

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. Et exierunt ex Nineve viam dierum trium super faciem campi Bectileth et posuerunt tabernacula sua a Bectileth iuxta montem, qui est in sinistra superioris Ciliciae.

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. Et accepit omnem virtutem suam, pedites et equites et quadrigas suas et abiit inde in montanam

22. From there Holofernes took his whole army, his infantry, cavalry, and chariots, and went up into the hill country

23. et concidit Phut et Lud et praedaverunt omnes filios Rassis et filios Ismael, qui erant contra faciem deserti ad austrum Chelaeorum.

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. Et transgressus est Euphraten et transiit Mesopotamiam et diruit omnes civitates excelsas, quae erant ad torrentem Abronam, usquequo veniatur ad mare.

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. Et occupavit terminos Ciliciae et concidit omnes adversantes sibi et venit usque ad terminos Iapheth, qui sunt ad austrum contra faciem Arabiae.

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. Et circuivit omnes filios Madian et succendit tabernacula eorum et praedavit stabula eorum.

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

27. Et descendit in campum Damasci in diebus messis frumenti et succendit omnes agros eorum; greges et armenta dedit in exterminium et civitates eorum spoliavit et campos eorum ventilavit et percussit omnes iuvenes eorum in ore gladii.

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. Et incidit timor et tremor eius super inhabitantes maritimam, qui erant in Sidone et Tyro, et inhabitantes Sur et Ochina et omnes, qui incolebant Iamniam; et habitantes in Azoto et Ascalone et Gaza timuerunt eum valde.

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.