5 And men came to Holofernes, and told him these words.

6 Then he came into the country of the sea, with his army, and surrounded the high cities with guards, and took of them the choice men to be his companions.

7 And they, and all their neighbourhood, received him with wreaths, faces, and tympanums.

8 And he laid waste all their high places, and cut down their groves: he was commanded to destroy all the gods of the land, that all the nations might serve Nebuchadnezzar alone, and all the tongues and all their families should call upon him as God.

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.

Chapter 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 потому что недавно возвратились они из плена, недавно весь народ Иудейский собрался, и освящены от осквернения сосуды, жертвенник и дом Господень.

4 Они послали во все пределы Самарии и Конии, и Ветерона и Вельмена, и Иерихона, и в Хову и Эсору, и в равнину Салимскую,

5 заняли все вершины высоких гор, оградили стенами находящиеся на них селения и отложили запасы хлеба на случай войны, так как нивы их недавно были сжаты,

6 а великий священник Иоаким, бывший в те дни в Иерусалиме, написал жителям Ветилуи и Ветомесфема, лежащего против Ездрилона, на передней стороне равнины, близкой к Дофаиму,

7 чтобы они заняли восходы в нагорную страну, потому что чрез них был вход в Иудею, и легко было им воспрепятствовать приходящим, так как тесен был проход даже для двух человек.