Judith 7 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition (NRSVACE)

The Campaign against Bethulia

7 The next day Holofernes ordered his whole army, and all the allies who had joined him, to break camp and move against Bethulia, and to seize the passes up into the hill country and make war on the Israelites. 2 So all their warriors marched off that day; their fighting forces numbered one hundred and seventy thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry, not counting the baggage and the foot-soldiers handling it, a very great multitude. 3 They encamped in the valley near Bethulia, beside the spring, and they spread out in breadth over Dothan as far as Balbaim and in length from Bethulia to Cyamon, which faces Esdraelon.

4 When the Israelites saw their vast numbers, they were greatly terrified and said to one another, ‘They will now strip clean the whole land; neither the high mountains nor the valleys nor the hills will bear their weight.’ 5 Yet they all seized their weapons, and when they had kindled fires on their towers, they remained on guard all that night.

6 On the second day Holofernes led out all his cavalry in full view of the Israelites in Bethulia. 7 He reconnoitred the approaches to their town, and visited the springs that supplied their water; he seized them and set guards of soldiers over them, and then returned to his army.

8 Then all the chieftains of the Edomites and all the leaders of the Moabites and the commanders of the coastland came to him and said, 9 ‘Listen to what we have to say, my lord, and your army will suffer no losses. 10 This people, the Israelites, do not rely on their spears but on the height of the mountains where they live, for it is not easy to reach the tops of their mountains. 11 Therefore, my lord, do not fight against them in regular formation, and not a man of your army will fall. 12 Remain in your camp, and keep all the men in your forces with you; let your servants take possession of the spring of water that flows from the foot of the mountain, 13 for this is where all the people of Bethulia get their water. So thirst will destroy them, and they will surrender their town. Meanwhile, we and our people will go up to the tops of the nearby mountains and camp there to keep watch to see that no one gets out of the town. 14 They and their wives and children will waste away with famine, and before the sword reaches them they will be strewn about in the streets where they live. 15 Thus you will pay them back with evil, because they rebelled and did not receive you peaceably.’

16 These words pleased Holofernes and all his attendants, and he gave orders to do as they had said. 17 So the army of the Ammonites moved forward, together with five thousand Assyrians, and they encamped in the valley and seized the water supply and the springs of the Israelites. 18 And the Edomites and Ammonites went up and encamped in the hill country opposite Dothan; and they sent some of their men towards the south and the east, towards Egrebeh, which is near Chusi beside the Wadi Mochmur. The rest of the Assyrian army encamped in the plain, and covered the whole face of the land. Their tents and supply trains spread out in great number, and they formed a vast multitude.

The Distress of the Israelites

19 The Israelites then cried out to the Lord their God, for their courage failed, because all their enemies had surrounded them, and there was no way of escape from them. 20 The whole Assyrian army, their infantry, chariots, and cavalry, surrounded them for thirty-four days, until all the water containers of every inhabitant of Bethulia were empty; 21 their cisterns were going dry, and on no day did they have enough water to drink, for their drinking water was rationed. 22 Their children were listless, and the women and young men fainted from thirst and were collapsing in the streets of the town and in the gateways; they no longer had any strength.

23 Then all the people, the young men, the women, and the children, gathered around Uzziah and the rulers of the town and cried out with a loud voice, and said before all the elders, 24 ‘Let God judge between you and us! You have done us a great injury in not making peace with the Assyrians. 25 For now we have no one to help us; God has sold us into their hands, to be strewn before them in thirst and exhaustion. 26 Now summon them and surrender the whole town as booty to the army of Holofernes and to all his forces. 27 For it would be better for us to be captured by them.[a] We shall indeed become slaves, but our lives will be spared, and we shall not witness our little ones dying before our eyes, and our wives and children drawing their last breath. 28 We call to witness against you heaven and earth and our God, the Lord of our ancestors, who punishes us for our sins and the sins of our ancestors; do today the things that we have described!’

29 Then great and general lamentation arose throughout the assembly, and they cried out to the Lord God with a loud voice. 30 But Uzziah said to them, ‘Courage, my brothers and sisters![b] Let us hold out for five days more; by that time the Lord our God will turn his mercy to us again, for he will not forsake us utterly. 31 But if these days pass by, and no help comes for us, I will do as you say.’

32 Then he dismissed the people to their various posts, and they went up on the walls and towers of their town. The women and children he sent home. In the town they were in great misery.

Footnotes

  1. Judith 7:27 Other ancient authorities add than to die of thirst
  2. Judith 7:30 Gk Courage, brothers

You Might Also Like:

Judith 7 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

7 Forsooth in the tother day (or on the next day) Holofernes commanded his hosts to go up against Bethulia. 2 And there were with them sixscore thousand of footmen fighters, and twelve thousand knights, without those men, that were there ready, which the captivity had occupied, and were brought from...
Read More

Judith 7 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

The Campaign against Bethulia7 The next day Holofer′nes ordered his whole army, and all the allies who had joined him, to break camp and move against Bethu′lia, and to seize the passes up into the hill country and make war on the Israelites. 2 So all their warriors moved their camp that day; their ...
Read More

Judith 7 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

The Campaign against Bethulia7 The next day Holofer′nes ordered his whole army, and all the allies who had joined him, to break camp and move against Bethu′lia, and to seize the passes up into the hill country and make war on the Israelites. 2 So all their warriors moved their camp that day; their ...
Read More

Judith 7 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

The Campaign against Bethulia7 The next day Holofernes ordered his whole army, and all the allies who had joined him, to break camp and move against Bethulia, and to seize the passes up into the hill country and make war on the Israelites. 2 So all their warriors marched off that day; their fightin...
Read More

Judith 7 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

The Campaign against Bethulia7 The next day Holofernes ordered his whole army, and all the allies who had joined him, to break camp and move against Bethulia, and to seize the passes up into the hill country and make war on the Israelites. 2 So all their warriors marched off that day; their fightin...
Read More

Judith 7 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Campaign against Bethulia7 The next day Holofernes ordered his whole army and all the allies who had joined him to break camp and move against Bethulia and seize the passes up into the hill country and make war on the Israelites.(A)2 So all their warriors marched off that day; their fighting for...
Read More

Judith 7 - New Catholic Bible (NCB)

Siege of BethuliaChapter 7Holofernes’s Maneuvers To Blockade Bethulia. 1 The following day Holofernes issued orders to his whole army and all the allies who had joined him to initiate action against Bethulia, seize the passes up into the hill country, and engage the Israelites in battle. 2 That same...
Read More

Judith 7 - New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Chapter 7The Campaign Against Israel.[a] 1 The following day Holofernes ordered his whole army, and all the troops who had come to join him, to break camp and move against Bethulia, seize the passes into the hills, and make war on the Israelites. 2 That same day all their fighting men went into act...
Read More

Judith 7 - Good News Translation (GNT)

The Siege of Bethulia1-2 The next day Holofernes gathered his whole army together, as well as his allied forces. It was an immense army, consisting of 170,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry, not counting the support troops who took care of the equipment. He ordered them to march on Bethulia, seize the ...
Read More

Judith 7 - Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)

7 But Holofernes on the next day gave orders to his army, to go up against Bethulia. 2 Now 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 province...
Read More

Judith 7 - Common English Bible (CEB)

Holofernes lays siege to Bethulia7 The next day Holofernes ordered his entire army and all his allies to break camp and move out against Bethulia, occupy the mountain passes, and engage the Israelites in battle. 2 So the entire force broke camp that day. The strength of their forces was one hundred ...
Read More