Judith 7

¹But Holofernes on the next day gave orders to his army, to go up against Bethulia.

²Now there were in his troops a hundred and twenty thousand footmen, and two and twenty thousand horsemen, besides the preparations of those men who had been taken, and who had been brought away out of the provinces and cities of all the youth.

³All these prepared themselves together to fight against the children of Israel, and they came by the hillside to the top, which looketh toward Dothain, from the place which is called Belma, unto Chelmon, which is over against Esdrelon.

⁴But the children of Israel, when they saw the multitude of them, prostrated themselves upon the ground, putting ashes upon their heads, praying with one accord, that the God of Israel would shew his mercy upon his people.

⁵And taking their arms of war, they posted themselves at the places, which by a narrow pathway lead directly between the mountains, and they guarded them all day and night.

⁶Now Holofernes, in going round about, found that the fountain which supplied them with water, ran through an aqueduct without the city on the south side: and he commanded their aqueduct to be cut off.

⁷Nevertheless there were springs not far from the walls, out of which they were seen secretly to draw water, to refresh themselves a little rather than to drink their fill.

⁸But the children of Ammon and Moab came to Holofernes, saying: The children of Israel trust not in their spears, nor in their arrows, but the mountains are their defence, and the steep hills and precipices guard them.

⁹Wherefore that thou mayst overcome them without joining battle, set guards at the springs that they may not draw water out of them, and thou shalt destroy them without sword, or at least being wearied out they will yield up their city, which they suppose, because it is situate in the mountains, to be impregnable.

¹⁰And these words pleased Holofernes, and his officers, and he placed all round about a hundred men at every spring.

¹¹And when they had kept this watch for full twenty days, the cisterns, and the reserve of waters failed among all the inhabitants of Bethulia, so that there was not within the city, enough to satisfy them, no not for one day, for water was daily given out to the people by measure.

¹²Then all the men and women, young men, and children, gathering themselves together to Ozias, all together with one voice,

¹³Said: God be judge between us and thee, for thou hast done evil against us, in that thou wouldst not speak peaceably with the Assyrians, and for this cause God hath sold us into their hands.

¹⁴And therefore there is no one to help us, while we are cast down before their eyes in thirst, and sad destruction.

¹⁵And now assemble ye all that are in the city, that we may of our own accord yield ourselves all up to the people of Holofernes.

¹⁶For it is better, that being captives we should live and bless the Lord, than that we should die, and be a reproach to all flesh, after we have seen our wives and our infants die before our eyes.

¹⁷We call to witness this day heaven and earth, and the God of our fathers, who taketh vengeance upon us according to our sins, conjuring you to deliver now the city into the hand of the army of Holofernes, that our end may be short by the edge of the sword, which is made longer by the drought of thirst.

¹⁸And when they had said these things, there was great weeping and lamentation of all in the assembly, and for many hours with one voice they cried to God, saying:

¹⁹We have sinned with our fathers, we have done unjustly, we have committed iniquity:

²⁰Have thou mercy on us, because thou art good, or punish our iniquities by chastising us thyself, and deliver not them that trust in thee to a people that knoweth not thee,

²¹That they may not say among the Gentiles: Where is their God?

²²And when being wearied with these cries, and tired with these weepings, they held their peace,

²³Ozias rising up all in tears, said: Be of good courage, my brethren, and let us wait these five days for mercy from the Lord.

²⁴For perhaps he will put a stop to his indignation, and will give glory to his own name.

²⁵But if after five days be past there come no aid, we will do the things which you have spoken.

Judith 7

¹The next day Holofernes commanded all his army, and all his people which were come to take his part, that they should remove their camp against Bethulia, to take aforehand the ascents of the hill country, and to make war against the children of Israel.

²Then their strong men removed their camps in that day, and the army of the men of war was an hundred and seventy thousand footmen, and twelve thousand horsemen, beside the baggage, and other men that were afoot among them, a very great multitude.

³And they camped in the valley near unto Bethulia, by the fountain, and they spread themselves in breadth over Dothaim even to Belmaim, and in length from Bethulia unto Cynamon, which is over against Esdraelon.

⁴Now the children of Israel, when they saw the multitude of them, were greatly troubled, and said every one to his neighbour, Now will these men lick up the face of the earth; for neither the high mountains, nor the valleys, nor the hills, are able to bear their weight.

⁵Then every man took up his weapons of war, and when they had kindled fires upon their towers, they remained and watched all that night.

⁶But in the second day Holofernes brought forth all his horsemen in the sight of the children of Israel which were in Bethulia,

⁷And viewed the passages up to the city, and came to the fountains of their waters, and took them, and set garrisons of men of war over them, and he himself removed toward his people.

⁸Then came unto him all the chief of the children of Esau, and all the governors of the people of Moab, and the captains of the sea coast, and said,

⁹Let our lord now hear a word, that there be not an overthrow in thine army.

¹⁰For this people of the children of Israel do not trust in their spears, but in the height of the mountains wherein they dwell, because it is not easy to come up to the tops of their mountains.

¹¹Now therefore, my lord, fight not against them in battle array, and there shall not so much as one man of thy people perish.

¹²Remain in thy camp, and keep all the men of thine army, and let thy servants get into their hands the fountain of water, which issueth forth of the foot of the mountain:

¹³For all the inhabitants of Bethulia have their water thence; so shall thirst kill them, and they shall give up their city, and we and our people shall go up to the tops of the mountains that are near, and will camp upon them, to watch that none go out of the city.

¹⁴So they and their wives and their children shall be consumed with fire, and before the sword come against them, they shall be overthrown in the streets where they dwell.

¹⁵Thus shalt thou render them an evil reward; because they rebelled, and met not thy person peaceably.

¹⁶And these words pleased Holofernes and all his servants, and he appointed to do as they had spoken.

¹⁷So the camp of the children of Ammon departed, and with them five thousand of the Assyrians, and they pitched in the valley, and took the waters, and the fountains of the waters of the children of Israel.

¹⁸Then the children of Esau went up with the children of Ammon, and camped in the hill country over against Dothaim: and they sent some of them toward the south, and toward the east over against Ekrebel, which is near unto Chusi, that is upon the brook Mochmur; and the rest of the army of the Assyrians camped in the plain, and covered the face of the whole land; and their tents and carriages were pitched to a very great multitude.

¹⁹Then the children of Israel cried unto the Lord their God, because their heart failed, for all their enemies had compassed them round about, and there was no way to escape out from among them.

²⁰Thus all the company of Assur remained about them, both their footmen, chariots, and horsemen, four and thirty days, so that all their vessels of water failed all the inhabitants of Bethulia.

²¹And the cisterns were emptied, and they had not water to drink their fill for one day; for they gave them drink by measure.

²²Therefore their young children were out of heart, and their women and young men fainted for thirst, and fell down in the streets of the city, and by the passages of the gates, and there was no longer any strength in them.

²³Then all the people assembled to Ozias, and to the chief of the city, both young men, and women, and children, and cried with a loud voice, and said before all the elders,

²⁴God be judge between us and you: for ye have done us great injury, in that ye have not required peace of the children of Assur.

²⁵For now we have no helper: but God hath sold us into their hands, that we should be thrown down before them with thirst and great destruction.

²⁶Now therefore call them unto you, and deliver the whole city for a spoil to the people of Holofernes, and to all his army.

²⁷For it is better for us to be made a spoil unto them, than to die for thirst: for we will be his servants, that our souls may live, and not see the death of our infants before our eyes, nor our wives nor our children to die.

²⁸We take to witness against you the heaven and the earth, and our God and Lord of our fathers, which punisheth us according to our sins and the sins of our fathers, that he do not according as we have said this day.

²⁹Then there was great weeping with one consent in the midst of the assembly; and they cried unto the Lord God with a loud voice.

³⁰Then said Ozias to them, Brethren, be of good courage, let us yet endure five days, in the which space the Lord our God may turn his mercy toward us; for he will not forsake us utterly.

³¹And if these days pass, and there come no help unto us, I will do according to your word.

³²And he dispersed the people, every one to their own charge; and they went unto the walls and towers of their city, and sent the women and children into their houses: and they were very low brought in the city.