The Book of Judith

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- Kapitel 1 -

Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians overcomes Arphaxad king of the Medes.

Now Arphaxad king of the Medes had brought many nations under his dominions, and he built a very strong city, which he called Ecbatana,

Of stones squared and hewed: he made the walls thereof seventy cubits broad, and thirty cubits high, and the towers thereof he made a hundred cubits high. But on the square of them, each side was extended the space of twenty feet.

And he made the gates thereof according to the height of the towers:

And he gloried as a mighty one in the force of his army and in the glory of his chariots.

Now in the twelfth year of his reign, Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians, who reigned in Ninive the great city, fought against Arphaxad and overcame him,

In the great plain which is called Ragua, about the Euphrates, and the Tigris, and the Jadason, in the plain of Erioch the king of the Elicians.

Then was the kingdom of Nabuchodonosor exalted, and his heart was elevated: and he sent to all that dwelt in Cilicia and Damascus, and Libanus,

And to the nations that are in Carmelus, and Cedar, and to the inhabitants of Galilee in the great plain of Asdrelon,

And to all that were in Samaria, and beyond the river Jordan even to Jerusalem, and all the land of Jesse till you come to the borders of Ethiopia.

To all these Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians, sent messengers:

But they all with one mind refused, and sent them back empty, and rejected them without honour.

Then king Nabuchodonosor being angry against all that land, swore by his throne and kingdom that he would revenge himself of all those countries.

Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians overcomes Arphaxad king of the Medes.

In the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who reigned over the Assyrians in Nineveh, the great city, in the days of Arphaxad, who reigned over the Medes in Ecbatana,

and built around Ecbatana walls of hewn stones three cubits broad and six cubits long, and made the height of the wall seventy cubits, and its breadth fifty cubits,

and set its towers at its gates one hundred cubits high, and its breadth in the foundation was sixty cubits,

and made its gates, even gates that were raised to the height of seventy cubits, and their breadth forty cubits, for his mighty army to go out of, and the setting in array of his footmen—

in those days King Nebuchadnezzar made war with King Arphaxad in the great plain. This plain is on the borders of Ragau.

There came to meet him all that lived in the hill country, and all that lived by Euphrates, Tigris, and Hydaspes, and in the plain of Arioch the king of the Elymaeans. Many nations of the sons of Chelod assembled themselves to the battle.

And Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians sent to all who lived in Persia, and to all who lived westward, to those who lived in Cilicia, Damascus, Libanus, Antilibanus, and to all who lived along the sea coast,

and to those among the nations that were of Carmel and Gilead, and to the higher Galilee and the great plain of Esdraelon,

and to all who were in Samaria and its cities, and beyond Jordan to Jerusalem, Betane, Chellus, Kadesh, the river of Egypt, Tahpanhes, Rameses, and all the land of Goshen,

until you come above Tanis and Memphis, and to all that lived in Egypt, until you come to the borders of Ethiopia.

All those who lived in all the land made light of the commandment of Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians, and didn’t go with him to the war; for they were not afraid of him, but he was before them as one man. They turned away his messengers from their presence without effect, and with disgrace.

And Nebuchadnezzar was exceedingly angry with all this land, and he swore by his throne and kingdom that he would surely be avenged upon all the coasts of Cilicia, Damascus, and Syria, that he would kill with his sword all the inhabitants of the land of Moab, the children of Ammon, all Judea, and all who were in Egypt, until you come to the borders of the two seas.

And he set the battle in array with his army against King Arphaxad in the seventeenth year; and he prevailed in his battle, and turned to flight all the army of Arphaxad, with all his horses and all his chariots.

He took possession of his cities. He came to Ecbatana and took the towers, plundered its streets, and turned its beauty into shame.

He took Arphaxad in the mountains of Ragau, struck him through with his darts, and utterly destroyed him to this day.

He returned with them to Nineveh, he and all his company of sundry nations—an exceedingly great multitude of men of war. There he took his ease and banqueted, he and his army, for one hundred twenty days.