Nabuchodonosor sendeth Holofernes to waste the countries of the west.
Nabuchodonosor sendeth Holofernes his General to Waist al countries of the West. 7. With a great armie, and aboundant munition. 11. They subdue manie places, and others are strooken With great feare.
1In the thirteenth year of the reign of Nabuchodonosor, the two and twentieth day of the first month, the word was given out in the house of Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians, that he would revenge himself.L'anno decimo terzo del regno di Nabucodonosor, ai ventidue del mese primo fu tenuto consiglio nella reggia di Nabucodonosor re degli Assiri intorno alla vendetta, ch'ei volea fare.IN the thirtenth yeare of king Nabuchodonosor, the two and twenteth day of the first moneth, the word was geuen out in the house of Nabuchodonosor the king of the Assyrians, that he would reuenge him selfe.Anno tertiodecimo Nabuchodonosor regis, vigesima et secunda die mensis primi, factum est verbum in domo Nabuchodonosor regis Assyriorum ut defenderet se. 2And he called all the ancients, and all the governors, and his officers of war, and communicated to them the secret of his counsel:E convocò tutti i più vecchi, e tutti i capitani suoi, e campioni, e confidò loro il mistero de' suoi disegni:And he called al the ancientes, and al the captaynes, and his men of warre, and communicated with them the secrete of his counsel:Vocavitque omnes majores natu, omnesque duces et bellatores suos, et habuit cum eis mysterium consilii sui: 3And he said that his thoughts were to bring all the earth under his empire.E disse, che era sua intenzione di soggettare al suo impero tutta la terra.and he said that his cogitation was vpon that, to subdew al the earth to his empire.dixitque cogitationem suam in eo esse, ut omnem terram suo subjugaret imperio. 4And when this saying pleased them all, Nabuchodonosor, the king, called Holofernes the general of his armies,E questa proposizione essendo stata approvata da tutti, Nabucodonosor chiamò a se Oloferne, capo delle sue schiere,which saying when it had pleased them al, Nabuchodonosor the king called Holofernes the General of his warres,Quod dictum cum placuisset omnibus, vocavit Nabuchodonosor rex Holofernem principem militiæ suæ, 5And said to him: Go out against all the kingdoms of the west, and against them especially that despised my commandment.E gli disse: Va, porta guerra a tutti i regni, di occidente, e principalmente a quelli, che si son fatti beffe de' miei comandi.and said to him: Goe forth against euerie kingdom of the west, & against them especially, that contemned my commandment.et dixit ei: Egredere adversus omne regnum occidentis, et contra eos præcipue, qui contempserunt imperium eum. 6Thy eye shall not spare any kingdom, and all the strong cities thou shalt bring under my yoke.Tu tratterai senza misericordia qualunque regno, e renderai a me soggette le città forti.Thyne eie shal spare no kingdom, and euerie fensed citie thou shalt subdew to me.Non parcet oculus tuus ulli regno, omnemque urbem munitam subjugabis mihi.
7Then Holofernes called the captains, and officers of the power of the Assyrians: and he mustered men for the expedition, as the king commanded him, a hundred and twenty thousand fighting men on foot, and twelve thousand archers, horsemen.Allora Oloferne chiamò a se i capitani, e i comandanti delle schiere degli Assiri, e scelse il numero di uomini assegnatoli dal re per questa spedizione, cento venti mila combattenti a piedi, e dodici mila a cavallo armati di arco.Then Holofernes called the captaynes, & magistrates of the powre of the Assyrians: and he mustered men for the expedition, as the king commanded him, an hundred twentie thousand fighting men on foote, and twelue thousand archers horsemen.Tunc Holofernes vocavit duces et magistratus virtutis Assyriorum, et dinumeravit viros in expeditionem sicut præcepit ei rex, centum viginti millia peditum pugnatorum, et equitum sagittariorum duodecim millia. 8And he made all his warlike preparations to go before with a multitude of innumerable camels, with all provisions sufficient for the armies in abundance, and herds of oxen, and flocks of sheep, without number.E fece andare innanzi a tutte le sue milizie una innumerabile moltitudine di cammelli con provvisioni pell'esercito in abbondanza, ed anche degli armenti di bovi, e branchi di pecore infinite.And he made al his expedition to goe before in a multitude of inumerable camels, with those thinges that might suffice the armies abundantly, heardes of oxen also, and flockes of sheepe, which had no number.Omnemque expeditionem suam fecit præire in multitudine innumerabilium camelorum, cum his quæ exercitibus sufficerent copiose, boum quoque armenta, gregesque ovium, quorum non erat numerus. 9He appointed corn to be prepared out of all Syria in his passage.E comandò ancora, che da tutta la Siria si preparasser dei grani pel tuo passaggio.He appoynted corne to be prepared out of al Syria in his passage.Frumentum ex omni Syria in transitu suo parari constituit. 10But gold and silver he took out of the king’s house in great abundance.E dalla casa del re prese dell'oro, e dell'argento in grandissima quantità.But gold and siluer he tooke out of the kings house exceding much.Aurum vero et argentum de domo regis assumpsit multum nimis. 11And he went forth he and all the army, with the chariots, and horsemen, and archers, who covered the face of the earth, like locusts.E si mosse egli, e tutto l'esercito coi cocchi, e coi soldati a cavallo, e cogli arcieri, i quali ingombravano la superficie della terra a guisa di locuste.And he went forth and al the armie with the chariotes, & horsemen, and the archers, which couered the face of the earth, as locustes.Et profectus est ipse, et omnis exercitus cum quadrigis, et equitibus, et sagittariis: qui cooperuerunt faciem terræ sicut locustæ.
12And when he had passed through the borders of the Assyrians, he came to the great mountains of Ange, which are on the left of Cilicia: and he went up to all their castles, and took all the strong places.E passati i confini dell'Assiria, giunse alle grandi montagne di Ange, le quali stanno a sinistra della Cilicia, e diede la scalata a tutti i castelli, e si impadronì di tutti i luoghi forti.And when he had passed through the coastes of the Assyrians, he came to the great mountaines of Ange, which are on the left hand of Cilicia: and he went vp into al theit casteles, and wonne euerie fortresse.Cumque pertransisset fines Assyriorum, venit ad magnos montes Ange, qui sunt a sinistro Ciliciæ: ascenditque omnia castella eorum, et obtinuit omnem munitionem. 13And he took by assault the renowned city of Melothus, and pillaged all the children of Tharsis, and the children of Ismahel, who were over against the face of the desert, and on the south of the land of Cellon.Ed espugnò Melothi rinomatissima città, e saccheggiò i figliuoli di Tharsis, e i figliuoli d'Ismaele, i quali abitavano dirimpetto al deserto, a mezzogiorno del paese di Cellon.And he brake downe the renowmed citie of Melothus, and spoyled al the children of Thersis, and the children of Ismael, which wete against the face of the desert, and on the south of the land of Cellon.Effregit autem civitatem opinatissimam Melothi, prædavitque omnes filios Tharsis et filios Ismaël qui erant contra faciem deserti, et ad austrum terræ Cellon. 14And he passed over the Euphrates and came into Mesopotamia: and he forced all the stately cities that were there, from the torrent of Mambre, till one comes to the sea:E passò l'Eufrate, ed entrò nella Mesopotamia, e sforzò tute le superbe città, che erano colà dal torrente Mambre fino al mare:And he passed ouer Euphrates, and came into Mesopotamia: and he brake al the high cities, that were there, from the torrent of Membre, til ye come to the sea:Et transivit Euphraten, et venit in Mesopotamiam: et fregit omnes civitates excelsas quæ erant ibi, a torrente Mambre usquequo perveniatur ad mare: 15And he took the borders thereof, from Cilicia to the coasts of Japheth, which are towards the south.E la occupò interamente dalla Cilicia sino ai confini di Japhet, che sono a mezzodì.and he tooke the borders therof, from Cilicia vnto the coastes of Iapheth, which are toward the south.et occupavit terminos ejus, a Cilicia usque ad fines Japheth qui sunt ad austrum.
16And he carried away all the children of Madian, and stripped them of all their riches, and all that resisted him he slew with the edge of the sword.E menò via tutta la gente di Madian, e predò tutte le loro ricchezze, e uccise di spada tutti quei, che gli fecero resistenza.And he caried away al the children of Madian, and spoyled al their riches, and al that resisted him he slew in the edge of the sword.Abduxitque omnes filios Madian, et prædavit omnem locupletationem eorum, omnesque resistentes sibi occidit in ore gladii. 17And after these things he went down into the plains of Damascus in the days of the harvest, and he set all the corn on fire, and he caused all the trees and vineyards to be cut down.E dipoi calò nelle campagne di Damasco nel tempo della messe, e diede il fuoco a tutte le biade, e fece troncare tutti gli alberi, e le viti.And after these thinges he went downe into the fieldes of Damascus in the daies of haruest, and he set al the corne on fire, and he made al the trees and vineyardes to be cut downe;Et post hæc descendit in campos Damasci in diebus messis, et succendit omnia sata, omnesque arbores, et vineas fecit incidi: 18And the fear of them fell upon all the inhabitants of the land.Ed ei diventò il terrore di tutti gli abitatori della terra.and the feare of him fel vpon al the inhabitantes of the land.et cecidit timor illius super omnes inhabitantes terram.
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Year of the World 3348.
Thirteenth. Greek, 18th.
Month. Nisan, in spring.
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Tacitus
Abditos principis sensus exquirere illicitum. (Tacitus, An. vi.)
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Sallust. Frag
Empire. "The thirst of empire and riches is an old and deep-rooted cause of making war." (Sallust. Frag.)
Haydock
Greek adds, "and they (counsellors) judged that all flesh must be destroyed of those who had not complied with his order." (Haydock)
Calmet
God laughs at the vain designs of men. (Calmet)
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Menochius
Armies. Greek adds, "and the second after himself," in the kingdom. (Menochius)
Casaubon suspects that this drunkard was the king mentioned in history, as having lost the kingdom of Cappadocia, by attempting to introduce the dissolute feasts of Bacchus. (Polyb. xxxii. ap. Athen. 10:11.)
He made his attack first upon this country, ver. 13.
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Calmet
Syria: part of which, it seems, had submitted. (Calmet)
Menochius
Greek, "and corn for every man, in abundance," (Haydock) for fear it should be carried off in the countries which he invaded. (Menochius)
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Archers. Greek adds, "a mixed multitude," not bearing arms, Exodus 12:38.
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Calmet
When. Greek, "and they proceeded from Ninive, three days' journey, to the plain of Bektileth," or Bagdania, in Cappadocia, between Mount Argee and Taurus. Strabo (xii.) assures us that Argee is the highest mountain in the country, from which the two seas of Cilicia and the Euxine may be seen. (Calmet)
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Melothus, or Melita, built by Semiramis, (Pliny, [Natural History?] 6:3.) in the same country.
Tharsis, or Cilicia, peopled by the son of Javan.
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Calmet
Mambre. Greek, "Abrona, (Calmet) or Arbonai;" (Haydock) that is, from the river Chaboras to the Persian Gulf, or sea. (Calmet)
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Greek, "he cut in pieces all who opposed him; and he came to the borders of Japheth, which are on the south, over-against Arabia."
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Haydock
Carried. Greek, "surrounded....and burnt their tents, and plundered their folds for cattle:" mandras. (Haydock)
Calmet
Madian lay to the east of the Dead Sea. (Calmet)
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Calmet
Harvest. The rapidity of his conquests was astonishing, as all this had been done in six or seven weeks, ver. 1. But Holofernes probably sent his lieutenants into different parts at the same time. (Calmet)
Caused. Greek, "he burnt all their fields, and destroyed their flocks and herds, and plundered their cities, and put to the sword all their young men."
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This cruel cōmandment was as cruelly put in execution by Holofernes, ch. 3. •. 11.
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1. In the thirteenth year of Nabuchodonosor. — The Greek texts have the 18th year. If you wish to reconcile these with each other, say that the 13th year of Nabuchodonosor was the 18th from the beginning of the reign of Arphaxad, his rival and enemy.
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2. HE HELD WITH THEM A MYSTERY (that is, a secret or hidden thing) OF HIS COUNSEL. — For the counsels of kings, especially concerning the subjugation of other kings and nations, are secret and hidden.
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4. HOLOFERNES, PRINCE OF HIS ARMY. — You will ask: Who, what kind of man, and how great was Holofernes? I answer first: Cedrenus says he was a Persian. For the name appears to be Persian, just as Persian names are Tisaphernes, Artaphernes, Intaphernes, although also among the Assyrians, Armenians and Cappadocians, as Serarius testifies in cap. I, Quaest. IV, and in cap. II, Quaest. I, there are found those who were named Holofernes. If he was a Persian, for this reason Nabuchodonosor chose a Persian as commander, so that he might attract to himself the Persians, who had become contemptible through the defeat received from the Greeks by Xerxes, and indeed he did so. Whence in the last chapter, verse 12, it is said: "The Persians feared his constancy, and the Medes his boldness, namely of Judith:" for when Arphaxad was already subdued and the Medes by Nabuchodonosor, many Medes and Persians, neighbors to the Medes, gave their name to his army. Second, Holofernes was the commander of the army of Nabuchodonosor, and therefore second to him, as the Greek texts have it: just as Joseph was second to Pharaoh, Haman to Ahasuerus, Ephestion to Alexander; whence Zonaras calls Holofernes Archisatrap. Tertullian, however, in book I Against Marcion, chapter VII, and St. Augustine, in the Appendix, sermon 66, call him king, because he had the most ample power and riches almost royal. In a similar way Joseph, next to Pharaoh, by Josephus and Philo in Eusebius, book IX of the Preparation for the Gospel, is called σκηπτούχος, that is, scepter-bearer, that is, king: for the scepter is the insignia of a king. Third, Francis Mairones asserts that Holofernes was the son of Ahasuerus and Esther; but all refute this as new and unheard of. Fourth, Pagninus in the Hebrew Names says Holofernes, according to Greek etymology, is called as it were ὅλος δος: for ὅλος is whole, φερνή is dowry; and there are those who think it is composed from Hebrew and Chaldean, and interpret it as strong commander. For parnas to the Chaldeans is prefect, or commander. This is Pagninus. Whence the names of illustrious Persian commanders are Phanaspes, Pharnuches, Pharnabas. Fifth, as to the character of Holofernes, he was similar to Nabuchodonosor in pride and arrogance, equally in dissoluteness and luxury, and therefore he was conquered and slain by Judith, as will be evident from what follows. The Greek texts add that Nabuchodonosor said to Holofernes that he would follow him with all his forces: I will go forth, he says, in my fury against them, and I will cover all the earth with the feet of my strength, etc.
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5. AND HE SAID TO HIM: GO OUT AGAINST EVERY KINGDOM OF THE WEST. — The Greek texts narrate this royal command more fully, and say: "Thus says the great King, Lord of all the earth: Behold thou goest forth from my face, and thou shalt take with thee men who trust in their own strength, foot soldiers to the number of one hundred and twenty thousand, and a multitude of horses with their riders; a multitude, I say, of twelve myriads, or one hundred and twenty thousand, and thou shalt go out to meet, or to battle against all the land which is to the west, because they have not obeyed the word of my mouth, and thou shalt announce to them that they prepare land and water, because I shall go forth in my fury against them, and I shall cover the whole face of the earth with the feet of my army, and I shall give them over to them for plunder, and their wounded valleys and torrents shall be filled with them. The river also overflowing with their dead shall be filled: and finally I shall lead their captivity, or drive them to the ends of all the earth. But thou going forth shalt occupy for me all their borders, and they themselves shall deliver themselves to thee and thou shalt keep them for me unto the day of their reproof. But against those who are rebellious and disobedient, thy eye shall not spare, so that thou givest them over to slaughter and plunder in all thy land; because I live, and by the strength of my kingdom, what I have spoken, I shall also do in my hand. But thou shalt not transgress, not even one word of thy Lord, but perfecting thou shalt perfect as I have commanded thee: and thou shalt not delay to do these things." Note in these words of the King to denuntiabis eis ut mihi terram et aquam praeparent, by which is signified the ancient custom of the Persians, who, wishing to subjugate some nation to themselves, and demanding from it that it surrender itself to the Persians, asked from it land and water, as a symbol of servitude. For these things are necessary to human life. Whence Aristotle, in book II of the Rhetoric: "To give land and water," he says, "is to serve." Hence when Darius Hystaspis demanded land and water from the Spartans as a sign of surrender, the Spartans threw his ambassadors into a well, saying that they should draw from there the land and water which they would carry to Darius, as Herodotus relates, lib. VII. Whence Xerxes, the son of Darius, did not dare to send ambassadors to the Spartans, who would ask from them land and water, says St. Jerome, lib. VIII, and Diodorus, lib. XI. Hence Alexander the Great, in Curtius, lib. III, when about to engage in conflict with Darius Codomannus and the Persians, in his oration to the soldiers charges this arrogance of Darius Hystaspis and Xerxes, so that they might remember that they were fighting with Persians, who were accustomed to demand land and water: and so to those who would submit to them, they would leave neither the drawing of fountains nor the fruits of the earth for food. Again Herodotus, lib. IV, relates that Darius Hystaspis demanded land and water from Indathyrsus, the leader of the Scythians. And when he had sent "a bird, a mouse, a frog, and five arrows," the opinion of Darius was that "the Scythians were surrendering themselves to him, and land and water," because "the mouse" indeed is born in the earth, and lives on the same fruit by which men live; "the frog" moreover is born in waters; "the bird" truly is similar to a horse; but by "giving the arrows" they were surrendering their own strength.
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7. AND TWELVE THOUSAND MOUNTED ARCHERS. — The Greek texts have 120 thousand, as we have already heard: where there appears to be an error in the number, and the cipher 0 should be deleted, so that 12 thousand remain, as our text has. For who led so many thousands of mounted archers into battle? Indeed Darius against Alexander led only 44 thousand mounted archers, two hundred foot soldiers, says Curtius, lib. IV, unless one should say that there were 12 thousand mounted archers here; but the rest of the mounted archers armed with lances, sarissas, battle-axes, etc., were 108 thousand, so that when both were joined together they would make 120 thousand. Perhaps in the Greek texts, subtracting one hundred, 20 should be read, of which 12 thousand were mounted archers, as the Greek text also has; the rest of different armament.
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12. HE CAME TO THE GREAT MOUNTAINS OF ANGE, WHICH ARE ON THE LEFT OF CILICIA. — Ange therefore at that time were called the mountains which were on the left of Cilicia, from which was born Philtes Angaeus, of whom Curtius, in book III, mentions among Herodotus lib. VII, the Rangaeus mountain as great, and among others. 13. And he broke down (conquered) the most renowned city (most famous, and celebrated for wealth and strength) of Melothi ("Melothi" in Hebrew is the same as fullness, namely of riches and men: for such was Melothi) and plundered all the sons of Tharsis. — These are they of whom it is said, lib. II Mach. IV, 30: "It happened that the Tharsians and Mallotians stirred up sedition, because they had been given as a gift to Antiochus the King's concubine." For Tharsis was the grandson of Japhet, Gen. X, from whom the Mediterranean sea, and Cilicia its boundary, and from there any sea was called Tharsis, as I said on Isaiah II, 16. 14. Mambre. — The Greek texts have Arbonai. 15. Even to the borders of Japhet, — Joppe is signified, says Serarius, which is also called today Japha, and by the Turks Zapha: for, as Pliny says, lib. V, cap. XIII: "The village of Joppes, older than the Phoenicians, before the inundation of the lands," as they say.
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16. AND HE LED AWAY. — In Greek ἐκύκλωσε, that is, he surrounded, he encircled.
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17. AND HE SET FIRE TO ALL THE CROPS. — The Greek texts have: He consumed flocks and herds, plundered cities, laid waste the fields, and struck down all their young men with the edge of the sword.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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HOLOFERNES. - Commander-in-chief, the highest personage after the king (Jdt. 2:4; cf. I Chron. 16:5; II Chron. 28:7; Esth. 13:3; 16:11), to whom Nebuchadnezzar (= Artaxerxes III Ochus, 358-338 B.C.; v. JUDITH) entrusts the execution of the plan for the occupation …
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… Iud., IV, 5, 2, 3). It also occurs in Jdt. 2:24 (according to the Pēlīṭā).
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.