Judith 7

1On the next day Holofernes ordered all his army and all his people who had come for his alliance to break camp for Bethulia, to seize the passes of the hill country in advance, and to make war against the sons of Israel.

2And on that day every one of their mighty men broke camp; and their fighting force of warrior men was one hundred seventy thousand foot soldiers and twelve thousand horsemen, besides the baggage train of the men who were on foot among them, a very great multitude.

3And they encamped in the valley near Bethulia, by the spring, and they extended in breadth toward Dothaim as far as Belbaim, and in length from Bethulia as far as Cyamon, which is opposite Esdraelon.

4But the sons of Israel, when they saw their great number, were greatly troubled, and each said to his neighbor, “Now these men will lick up the whole face of the land, and neither the high mountains nor the ravines nor the hills will bear their weight.”

5And each of them took up his weapons of war, and after kindling fires on their towers, they remained on guard through that whole night.

6And on the second day Holofernes brought out all his cavalry in front of the sons of Israel who were in Bethulia,

7And he inspected the approaches to their city, and he took control of the springs of water and seized them, and he stationed camps of fighting men by them; and he himself returned to his people.

8And all the rulers of the sons of Esau, and all the leaders of the people of Moab, and the generals of the seacoast came to him and said,

9Let our lord hear a word, so that there may not be a breach in your force.

10For this people, the sons of Israel, do not rely on their spears, but on the heights of their mountains, in which they themselves dwell; for it is not easy to approach the summits of their mountains.

11And now, master, do not fight against them as in a pitched battle, and not one man from your people will fall.

12Remain by your camp, securing every man from your force, and let your servants gain control of the spring of water that comes out from the foot of the mountain,

13for from there all who live in Baithyloua draw water, and thirst will destroy them, and they will surrender their city; and we and our people will go up to the nearby summits of the mountains,

14And we will encamp against them as a guard, so that not one man may go out from the city. And they, and their wives, and their children, will waste away in the famine, and before the sword comes upon them, they will be laid low in the streets of their dwellings.

15And you will repay them with an evil recompense, because they rebelled and did not meet you in peace.

16And their words pleased Holofernes and all his attendants, and he gave orders to do as they had said.

17And the camp of the sons of Ammon moved on, and with them five thousand sons of Asshur, and they encamped in the valley and seized the waters and the springs of water of the sons of Israel.

18And the sons of Esau and the sons of Ammon went up and camped in the hill country opposite Dothaim, and they sent some of their men toward the south and east, opposite Egrebel, which is near Chous, which is on the wadi Mochmour. And the rest of the Assyrian army camped on the plain and covered the whole face of the land, and their tents and their baggage were encamped in a very great multitude, and they were exceedingly numerous.

19And the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord their God, because their spirit had grown faint, because all their enemies had surrounded them and there was no escape from among them.

20And the whole camp of Assyria remained around them—the foot soldiers and chariots and their horsemen—for thirty-four days; and all the water containers of all the inhabitants of Bethulia ran out,

21And the cisterns were being emptied, and they did not have enough water to drink for even one day, because it was given to them to drink by measure.

22And their little children lost heart, and the women and the young men were failing from thirst, and they were falling in the squares of the city and in the passages of the gates, and there was no strength left in them.

23And all the people gathered against Oziah and the rulers of the city—the young men, the women, and the children—and they cried out with a loud voice and spoke against the elders,

24May God judge between you and us, because you have done us great injustice by not speaking peaceably with the sons of Asshur.

25And now there is no one to help us; rather, God has delivered us into their hands, to be laid low before them in thirst and great destruction.

26And now call them, and hand over the whole city as plunder to the people of Holofernes and to all his force.

27For it is better for us to become plunder for them; for we will become servants, and our lives will be spared, and we will not see with our own eyes the death of our little children, and our wives and our children breathing out their lives.

28We call heaven and earth and our God and Lord of our fathers to witness against you, who avenges us according to our sins and according to the sins of our fathers, that he may not act according to these words today.

29And there was great weeping in the midst of the whole assembly, all together, and they cried out to the Lord God with a loud voice.

30And Uzziah said to them, “Take courage, brothers; let us hold out for five more days, within which the Lord our God will turn his mercy toward us, for he will not abandon us forever.”

31But if these days pass and no help comes upon us, I will do according to your words.

32And he dispersed the people to their camp, and they went away to the walls and towers of their city, and he sent the women and children to their houses; and they were in great humiliation in the city.