1 Then was it declared to Holofernes, the chief captain of the army of Assur, that the children of Israel had prepared for war, and had shut up the passages of the hill country, and had fortified all the tops of the high hills, and had laid impediments in the champaign countries:

1 Nuntiatumque est Holoferni principi militiæ Assyriorum, quod filii Israël præpararent se ad resistendum, ac montium itinera conclusissent:

2 Wherewith he was very angry, and called all the princes of Moab, and the captains of Ammon, and all the governors of the sea coast,

2 et furore nimio exarsit in iracundia magna, vocavitque omnes principes Moab et duces Ammon,

3 And he said unto them, Tell me now, ye sons of Chanaan, who this people is, that dwelleth in the hill country, and what are the cities that they inhabit, and what is the multitude of their army, and wherein is their power and strength, and what king is set over them, or captain of their army;

3 et dixit eis: Dicite mihi quis sit populus iste, qui montana obsidet: aut quæ, et quales, et quantæ sint civitates eorum: quæ etiam sit virtus eorum, aut quæ sit multitudo eorum, vel quis rex militiæ illorum:

4 And why have they determined not to come and meet me, more than all the inhabitants of the west?

4 et quare præ omnibus qui habitant in oriente, isti contempserunt nos, et non exierunt obviam nobis ut susciperent nos cum pace?

5 Then said Achior, the captain of all the sons of Ammon, Let my lord now hear a word from the mouth of thy servant, and I will declare unto thee the truth concerning this people, which dwelleth near thee, and inhabiteth the hill countries: and there shall no lie come out of the mouth of thy servant.

5 ¶ Tunc Achior dux omnium filiorum Ammon respondens, ait: Si digneris audire, domine mi, dicam veritatem in conspectu tuo de populo isto qui in montanis habitat, et non egredietur verbum falsum ex ore meo.

6 This people are descended of the Chaldeans:

6 Populus iste ex progenie Chaldæorum est.

7 And they sojourned heretofore in Mesopotamia, because they would not follow the gods of their fathers, which were in the land of Chaldea.

7 Hic primum in Mesopotamia habitavit, quoniam noluerunt sequi deos patrum suorum, qui erant in terra Chaldæorum.

8 For they left the way of their ancestors, and worshipped the God of heaven, the God whom they knew: so they cast them out from the face of their gods, and they fled into Mesopotamia, and sojourned there many days.

8 Deserentes itaque cæremonias patrum suorum, quæ in multitudine deorum erant,

9 Then their God commanded them to depart from the place where they sojourned, and to go into the land of Chanaan: where they dwelt, and were increased with gold and silver, and with very much cattle.

9 unum Deum cæli coluerunt, qui et præcepit eis ut exirent inde et habitarent in Charan. Cumque operuisset omnem terram fames, descenderunt in Ægyptum, illicque per quadringentos annos sic multiplicati sunt, ut dinumerari eorum non posset exercitus.

10 But when a famine covered all the land of Chanaan, they went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, while they were nourished, and became there a great multitude, so that one could not number their nation.

10 Cumque gravaret eos rex Ægypti, atque in ædificationibus urbium suarum in luto et latere subjugasset eos, clamaverunt ad Dominum suum, et percussit totam terram Ægypti plagis variis.

11 Therefore the king of Egypt rose up against them, and dealt subtilly with them, and brought them low with labouring in brick, and made them slaves.

11 Cumque ejecissent eos Ægyptii a se, et cessasset plaga ab eis, et iterum eos vellent capere, et ad suum servitium revocare,

12 Then they cried unto their God, and he smote all the land of Egypt with incurable plagues: so the Egyptians cast them out of their sight.

12 fugientibus his, Deus cæli mare aperuit, ita ut hinc inde aquæ quasi murus solidarentur, et isti pede sicco fundum maris perambulando transirent.

13 And God dried the Red sea before them,

13 In quo loco dum innumerabilis exercitus Ægyptiorum eos persequeretur, ita aquis coopertus est, ut non remaneret vel unus, qui factum posteris nuntiaret.

14 And brought them to mount Sina, and Cades-Barne, and cast forth all that dwelt in the wilderness.

14 Egressi vero mare Rubrum, deserta Sina montis occupaverunt, in quibus numquam homo habitare potuit, vel filius hominis requievit.

15 So they dwelt in the land of the Amorites, and they destroyed by their strength all them of Esebon, and passing over Jordan they possessed all the hill country.

15 Illic fontes amari obdulcati sunt eis ad bibendum, et per annos quadraginta annonam de cælo consecuti sunt.

16 And they cast forth before them the Chanaanite, the Pherezite, the Jebusite, and the Sychemite, and all the Gergesites, and they dwelt in that country many days.

16 Ubicumque ingressi sunt sine arcu et sagitta, et absque scuto et gladio, Deus eorum pugnavit pro eis, et vicit.

17 And whilst they sinned not before their God, they prospered, because the God that hateth iniquity was with them.

17 Et non fuit qui insultaret populo isti, nisi quando recessit a cultu Domini Dei sui.

18 But when they departed from the way which he appointed them, they were destroyed in many battles very sore, and were led captives into a land that was not theirs, and the temple of their God was cast to the ground, and their cities were taken by the enemies.

18 Quotiescumque autem præter ipsum Deum suum, alterum coluerunt, dati sunt in prædam, et in gladium, et in opprobrium.

19 But now are they returned to their God, and are come up from the places where they were scattered, and have possessed Jerusalem, where their sanctuary is, and are seated in the hill country; for it was desolate.

19 Quotiescumque autem pœnituerunt se recessisse a cultura Dei sui, dedit eis Deus cæli virtutem resistendi.

20 Now therefore, my lord and governor, if there be any error in this people, and they sin against their God, let us consider that this shall be their ruin, and let us go up, and we shall overcome them.

20 Denique Chananæum regem, et Jebusæum, et Pherezæum, et Hethæum, et Hevæum, et Amorrhæum, et omnes potentes in Hesebon prostraverunt, et terras eorum et civitates eorum ipsi possederunt:

21 But if there be no iniquity in their nation, let my lord now pass by, lest their Lord defend them, and their God be for them, and we become a reproach before all the world.

21 et usque dum non peccarent in conspectu Dei sui, erant cum illis bona: Deus enim illorum odit iniquitatem.

22 And when Achior had finished these sayings, all the people standing round about the tent murmured, and the chief men of Holofernes, and all that dwelt by the sea side, and in Moab, spake that he should kill him.

22 Nam et ante hos annos cum recessissent a via quam dederat illis Deus ut ambularent in ea, exterminati sunt præliis a multis nationibus, et plurimi eorum captivi abducti sunt in terram non suam.

23 For, say they, we will not be afraid of the face of the children of Israel: for, lo, it is a people that have no strength nor power for a strong battle.

23 Nuper autem reversi ad Dominum Deum suum, ex dispersione qua dispersi fuerant, adunati sunt, et ascenderunt montana hæc omnia, et iterum possident Jerusalem, ubi sunt sancta eorum.

24 Now therefore, lord Holofernes, we will go up, and they shall be a prey to be devoured of all thine army.

24 Nunc ergo mi domine, perquire si est aliqua iniquitas eorum in conspectu Dei eorum: ascendamus ad illos, quoniam tradens tradet illos Deus eorum tibi, et subjugati erunt sub jugo potentiæ tuæ.

25 Si vero non est offensio populi hujus coram Deo suo, non poterimus resistere illis, quoniam Deus eorum defendet illos: et erimus in opprobrium universæ terræ.

26 ¶ Et factum est, cum cessasset loqui Achior verba hæc, irati sunt omnes magnates Holofernis, et cogitabant interficere eum, dicentes ad alterutrum:

27 Quis est iste, qui filios Israël posse dicat resistere regi Nabuchodonosor et exercitibus ejus, homines inermes, et sine virtute, et sine peritia artis pugnæ?

28 Ut ergo agnoscat Achior quoniam fallit nos, ascendamus in montana: et cum capti fuerint potentes eorum, tunc cum eisdem gladio transverberabitur:

29 ut sciat omnis gens quoniam Nabuchodonosor deus terræ est, et præter ipsum alius non est.