9 And when he came to Esdraelon by Dotea, which lies against the great gorge of Judah,

10 and he encamped between Hawaii and the city of the Scythians, and remained there for a whole month, in order to assemble the whole baggage of his army.

4

1 And when the children of Israel dwelt in Judah, when they heard all that Holofernes, the captain of the army of Nebuchadnezzar king of Assyria, had done to the nations, and how he had plundered all their sanctuaries, and had given them over to destruction,

2 They were very, very much afraid of him, and trembled for Jerusalem, and for the temple of the Lord their God.

3 For they have recently returned from captivity, and lately all the people of Judah are gathered together, and the vessels, the altar, and the house of the Lord are sanctified from defilement.

4 And they sent into all the borders of Samaria, and Konyah, and Veteron, and Belmen, and Jericho, and into Hovah, and Esorah, and into the plain of Salem,

5 And they occupied all the tops of the high mountains, and enclosed with walls the villages which were therein, and laid aside the stores of corn in case of war, because their fields had lately been compressed,

6 And Jehoiakim the high priest, who was in Jerusalem in those days, wrote to the inhabitants of Bethulia, and of Betomesthem, which lies opposite Esdraelon, on the front side of the plain which is near to Dothaim,

7 that they should occupy the sunrises into the hill country, because through them was the entrance into Judah, and it would be easy for them to hinder those who came, for the passage was narrow even for two men.

8 And the children of Israel did as Jehoiakim the great priest had commanded them, and the elders of all the people of Israel who were in Jerusalem.

9 And all the men of Israel cried out to God with great fervor, and humbled their souls with great earnestness, saying,

10 they and their wives, and their children, and their cattle; And every stranger, and hireling, and bought with money, put sackcloth on their loins.

11 And every man of Israel, and every woman, and children, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, fell down before the temple, and sprinkled ashes on their heads, and spread out their sackcloth before the Lord,