Chapter 7

1 And on the morrow Holofernes commanded all his army, and all his people that had come to his assistance, to come up to Bethulia, and to occupy the high places of the hill country, and to make war against the children of Israel.

2 And on the same day all their mighty men arose, and their army consisted of a hundred and seventy thousand men, and men of foot, and twelve thousand horsemen, besides the baggage and the men of foot that were with them, and these also were a great multitude.

3 Stopping in a valley near Bethulia, at the spring, they stretched in breadth from Dothaim to Belthem, and in length from Bethulia to Ciamun, which lies opposite Esdraelon.

4 And the children of Israel, when they saw their multitude, were greatly troubled, and every one said to his neighbor, 'Now they will desolate the whole earth, and neither high mountains, nor valleys, nor hills will be able to bear their weight.'

5 And having taken every man his weapons of war, and having kindled fires upon their towers, they kept watch all that night.

6 And on the morrow Holofernes brought forth all his cavalry before the children of Israel which were in Bethulia,

7 And he inspected the sunrises of their cities, and went round and occupied the fountains of their waters, and having surrounded them with men of war, he returned to his people.

8 And all the captains of the children of Esau, and all the leaders of the people of Moab, and all the captains of the captains of the coast, came to him, and said,

9 Hearken, O our lord, to the word, that there may be no loss in thy army.

10 This people of the children of Israel do not trust in their spears, but in the high places of their mountains in which they live, because it is inconvenient to go up to the tops of their mountains.

11 Therefore, my lord, do not fight with him as an ordinary war is, and not a single man will fall from among your people.

12 Thou shalt remain in thy camp, that thou mayest preserve every man in thy army, and that thy servants shall possess the fountain of water that flows out of the foot of the mountain;

13 for all the inhabitants of Bethulia take water from it, and thirst shall destroy them, and they shall give up their city; And we and our people will go up to the near peaks of the mountains, and encamp ourselves on them to keep watch, so that no man may go out of the city.