In the thirteenth year of the reign of Nabuchodonosor, the two and twentieth day of the first month, the word was given out in the house of Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians, that he would revenge himself.

Anno tertiodecimo Nabuchodonosor regis, vigesima et secunda die mensis primi, factum est verbum in domo Nabuchodonosor regis Assyriorum ut defenderet se.

It was on the twenty-second day of the first month, in the thirteenth year of his reign, that this resolve was taken at Nabuchodonosor’s court.

And he called all the ancients, and all the governors, and his officers of war, and communicated to them the secret of his counsel:

Vocavitque omnes majores natu, omnesque duces et bellatores suos, et habuit cum eis mysterium consilii sui:

He summoned all his councillors, chieftains and commanders, and put before them his secret design;

And he said that his thoughts were to bring all the earth under his empire.

dixitque cogitationem suam in eo esse, ut omnem terram suo subjugaret imperio.

his thought, he told them, was to bring the whole world under his allegiance.

And when this saying pleased them all, Nabuchodonosor, the king, called Holofernes the general of his armies,

Quod dictum cum placuisset omnibus, vocavit Nabuchodonosor rex Holofernem principem militiæ suæ,

With this, all agreed; whereupon he summoned Holofernes, that commanded his forces,

And said to him: Go out against all the kingdoms of the west, and against them especially that despised my commandment.

et dixit ei: Egredere adversus omne regnum occidentis, et contra eos præcipue, qui contempserunt imperium meum.

and said, March out and make war on the western kingdoms, those especially that made light of my summons.

Thy eye shall not spare any kingdom, and all the strong cities thou shalt bring under my yoke.

Non parcet oculus tuus ulli regno, omnemque urbem munitam subjugabis mihi.

Nowhere let pity melt thy eye; no fortified town but must be brought under my dominion.

Then Holofernes called the captains, and officers of the power of the Assyrians: and he mustered men for the expedition, as the king commanded him, a hundred and twenty thousand fighting men on foot, and twelve thousand archers, horsemen.

Tunc Holofernes vocavit duces et magistratus virtutis Assyriorum, et dinumeravit viros in expeditionem sicut præcepit ei rex, centum viginti millia peditum pugnatorum, et equitum sagittariorum duodecim millia.

Thereupon Holofernes summoned all the chieftains and commanders of the Assyrian army, and mustered a force to march out and do the king’s bidding, a hundred and twenty thousand that went on foot, and twelve thousand mounted archers.

And he made all his warlike preparations to go before with a multitude of innumerable camels, with all provisions sufficient for the armies in abundance, and herds of oxen, and flocks of sheep, without number.

Omnemque expeditionem suam fecit præire in multitudine innumerabilium camelorum, cum his quæ exercitibus sufficerent copiose, boum quoque armenta, gregesque ovium, quorum non erat numerus.

And his baggage-train he sent on beforehand, a long array of camels, well laden with all his army needed, herds of oxen, too, and flocks of sheep, past all counting.

He appointed corn to be prepared out of all Syria in his passage.

Frumentum ex omni Syria in transitu suo parari constituit.

A supply of corn from the whole of Syria was to meet him as he passed,

But gold and silver he took out of the king’s house in great abundance.

Aurum vero et argentum de domo regis assumpsit multum nimis.

and he had great store of gold and silver from the royal treasury.

And he went forth he and all the army, with the chariots, and horsemen, and archers, who covered the face of the earth, like locusts.

Et profectus est ipse, et omnis exercitus cum quadrigis, et equitibus, et sagittariis: qui cooperuerunt faciem terræ sicut locustæ.

Then he himself set out at the head of his forces, chariots and horsemen and archers and the rest, that swarmed like locusts on the ground.

And when he had passed through the borders of the Assyrians, he came to the great mountains of Ange, which are on the left of Cilicia: and he went up to all their castles, and took all the strong places.

Cumque pertransisset fines Assyriorum, venit ad magnos montes Ange, qui sunt a sinistro Ciliciæ: ascenditque omnia castella eorum, et obtinuit omnem munitionem.

Leaving Assyria, he first reached the high mountains of Ange, on the left-hand side of Cilicia, scaling all their fastnesses and reducing all their garrisons.

And he took by assault the renowned city of Melothus, and pillaged all the children of Tharsis, and the children of Ismahel, who were over against the face of the desert, and on the south of the land of Cellon.

Effregit autem civitatem opinatissimam Melothi, prædavitque omnes filios Tharsis et filios Ismaël qui erant contra faciem deserti, et ad austrum terræ Cellon.

Then he broke into the city of Melothi, that resisted him stubbornly, and ravaged all the country which belonged to the sons of Tharsis, and to the Ismaelites, facing the desert, to the south of Cellon.

And he passed over the Euphrates, and came into Mesopotamia: and he forced all the stately cities that were there, from the torrent of Mambre, till one comes to the sea:

Et transivit Euphraten, et venit in Mesopotamiam: et fregit omnes civitates excelsas quæ erant ibi, a torrente Mambre usquequo perveniatur ad mare:

Then he crossed Euphrates into Mesopotamia, and stormed every stronghold between the river Mambre and the sea.

And he took the borders thereof, from Cilicia to the coasts of Japheth, which are towards the south.

et occupavit terminos ejus, a Cilicia usque ad fines Japheth qui sunt ad austrum.

All the land of Mesopotamia he overran, from Cilicia on the north to the frontier of Japheth on the south,

And he carried away all the children of Madian, and stripped them of all their riches, and all that resisted him he slew with the edge of the sword.

Abduxitque omnes filios Madian, et prædavit omnem locupletationem eorum, omnesque resistentes sibi occidit in ore gladii.

drove the Madianites from their homes and plundered their goods, putting all who resisted him to the sword.

And after these things he went down into the plains of Damascus in the days of the harvest, and he set all the corn on fire, and he caused all the trees and vineyards to be cut down.

Et post hæc descendit in campos Damasci in diebus messis, et succendit omnia sata, omnesque arbores, et vineas fecit incidi:

And at last he came down on to the plain of Damascus, in harvest time, burnt all the crops there and had all the trees and vineyards cut down.

And the fear of them fell upon all the inhabitants of the land.

et cecidit timor illius super omnes inhabitantes terram.

And a great dread of him fell upon the whole country-side.