The Koine Bible

And in the eighteenth year, on the twenty-second of the first month, a report came into the house of Nebuchodonosor king of the Assyrians to avenge all the land, just as he had spoken.

And he summoned all his servants and all his grandees and set with them the secret of his plan, and he accomplished all the wickedness of the land from his mouth

and they themselves decided to destroy all flesh who did not follow the word of his mouth

And it came to pass, as he finished his plan, Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians called Holofernes, chief captain of his force, who was second after him, and said to him

Thus says the great king, the lord of all the earth: behold, you shall go out from before me, and you shall take with you men trusting in their strength, of foot soldiers, one hundred twenty thousand, and a multitude of horses with riders, twelve thousand.

and you shall go out to meet all the land toward the west, because they disobeyed the word of my mouth

And you shall announce to them to prepare land and water, because I will go out in my wrath against them, and I will cover the whole face of the land with the feet of my power, and I will give them for plunder to them

And their wounded shall fill up their ravines, and every torrent and river overflowing with their dead shall be filled.

and I will lead their captivity to the uttermost parts of all the earth

But you, having gone out, shall seize beforehand for me all their border, and they shall give themselves over to you, and you shall preserve them for me for the day of their rebuke.

But toward those who are disobeying your eye shall not spare to give them over to slaughter and plunder in all your land

For I live, and the power of my kingdom, I have spoken, and I will do these things by my hand.

And you too shall not transgress any one of the words of your lord, but by accomplishing you shall accomplish according as I have commanded you, and you shall not delay to do them

And Holofernes went out from the presence of his lord and called all the powerful men and the commanders and overseers of the force of Asshur

And he numbered chosen men for battle array, as his lord commanded him, unto twelve myriads, and horsemen, archers, twenty thousand.

And he arranged them in the manner in which a multitude is drawn up for war.

And he took camels and donkeys and mules for their baggage a very great multitude, and sheep and oxen and goats for their provision, of which there was no number.

and provisions for every man in abundance, and gold and silver from the king’s house, very much

And he went out, he and all his force, for a march, to go before King Nebuchadnezzar and to cover the whole face of the land toward the west with their chariots and horsemen and chosen foot soldiers.

And a great mixed multitude, like locusts, went out with them, and like the sand of the earth; for there was no number because of their multitude.

And they departed from Nineveh on the way of three days toward the face of the plain of Bektilet, and they encamped from Bektilet near the mountain on the left of Upper Cilicia

And he took all his force, the foot-soldiers and the horsemen and his chariots, and he went away from there into the hill country

and he cut through Phud and Lud and plundered all the sons of Rassis and the sons of Ishmael who were facing the wilderness toward the south of Cheleon

And he crossed the Euphrates and passed through Mesopotamia and destroyed all the high cities that were on the river Abrona until he came to the sea

And he seized the borders of Cilicia and cut down all those who resisted him, and he came as far as the borders of Japheth, those toward the south opposite Arabia.

And he surrounded all the sons of Midian and burned their tents and plundered their folds.

And he went down into the plain of Damascus in the days of the wheat harvest, and he set all their fields on fire and gave their flocks and their herds to destruction, and he plundered their cities and threshed out their plains, and he struck all their young men with the edge of the sword

And fear and trembling of him fell upon those who dwelt the seacoast, those being in Sidon and in Tyre, and those who dwelt in Sur and Okina and all those who dwelt in Iemnaan, and those who dwelt in Azotus and in Ascalon feared him exceedingly