CHAP. VII.

1 Holofernes besiegeth Bethulia, 7 and stoppeth the water from them. 22 They faint and murmure against the gouernours, 30 Who promise to yeeld within fiue dayes.

¹ The next day Holofernes commanded all his army, and all his people which were come to take his part, that they should remooue their campe against Bethulia, to take aforehand the ascents of the hill countrey, and to make warre against the children of Israel.

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² Then their strong men remoued their campes in that day, and the armie of the men of warre was, an hundred and seuenty thousand footmen, and twelue thousand horsemen, beside the baggage, & other men that were afoot amongst them, a very great multitude.

³ And they camped in the valley neere vnto Bethulia, by the fountaine, and they spred themselues in breadth ouer Dothaim, euen to Belmaim, and in length from Bethulia vnto Cyamon which is ouer against Esdraelon.³

⁴ Now the children of Israel when they saw the multitude of them, were greatly troubled, and said euery one to his neighbour: Now will these men licke vp the face of the earth; for neither the high mountaines, nor the valleys, nor the hils, are able to beare their waight.

⁵ Then euery man tooke vp his weapons of warre, and when they had kindled fires vpon their towers, they remained and watched all that night.

⁶ But in the second day Holofernes brought foorth all his horsemen, in the sight of the children of Israel which were in Bethulia,

⁷ And viewed the passages vp to the city, and came to the fountaine of their waters, and tooke them, and set garrisons of men of warre ouer them, and he himselfe remooued towards his people.

⁸ Then came vnto him all the chiefe of the children of Esau, and al the gouernours of the people of Moab, and the captaines of the sea coast, and said,

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⁹ Let our lord now heare a word, that there be not an ouerthrow in thine armie.

¹⁰ For this people of the children of Israel do not trust in their speares, but in the height of the mountaines wherein they dwell, because it is not easie to come vp to the tops of their mountains.

¹¹ Now therefore my lord, fight not against them in battell aray, and there shall not so much as one man of thy people perish.

¹² Remaine in thy campe, and keepe all the men of thine army, and let thy seruants get into their hands the fountaine of water which issueth foorth of the foot of the mountaine.

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¹³ For all the inhabitants of Bethulia haue their water thence: so shall thirst kil them, & they shall giue vp their citie, and we and our people shal goe vp to the tops of the mountaines that are neere, and will campe vpon them, to watch that none goe out of the city.

¹⁴ So they and their wiues, and their children shalbe consumed with famine, and before the sword come against them, they shall be ouerthrowen in the streets where they dwel.

¹⁵ Thus shalt thou render them an euil reward: because they rebelled and met not thy person peaceably.

¹⁶ And these words pleased Holofernes, and al his seruants, and he appointed to doe as they had spoken.

¹⁷ So the campe of the children of Ammon departed, and with them fiue thousand of the Assyrians, and they pitched in the valley, and tooke the waters, and the fountaines of the waters of the children of Israel.

¹⁸ Then the children of Esau went vp, with the children of Ammon, and camped in the hil countrey ouer against Dotha-em: and they sent some of them toward the South, & toward the East ouer against Ekrebel, which is neere vnto Chusi, that is vpon the brooke Mochmur, and the rest of the army of the Assyrians camped in the plaine, and couered the face of the whole land, and their tents and cariages were pitched to a very great multitude.

¹⁹ Then the children of Israel cried vnto the Lord their God, because their heart failed, for all their enemies had compassed them round about, & there was no way to escape out from among them.

²⁰ Thus all the company of Assur remained about them, both their footmen, charets and horsemen, foure and thirtie dayes, so that all their vessels of water failed all the inhabitants of Bethulia.

²¹ And the cisternes were emptied, and they had not water to drinke their fill, for one day; for they gaue them drinke by measure.²¹

²² Therefore their young children were out of heart, and their women and yong men fainted for thirst, and fell downe in the streetes of the city, and by the passages of the gates, and there was no longer any strength in them.

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²³ Then all the people assembled to Ozias, and to the chiefe of the city, both young men, and women, and children, and cryed with a loude voice, and saide before all the Elders;

²⁴ God be Iudge betweene vs and you: for you haue done vs great iniury in that you haue not required peace of the children of Assur.²⁴

²⁵ For now we haue no helper: but God hath sold vs into their hands, that wee should be throwen downe before them with thirst, and great destruction.

²⁶ Now therefore call them vnto you, and deliuer the whole citie for a spoile to the people of Olofernes, and to all his armie.

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²⁷ For it is better for vs to be made a spoile vnto them, then to die for thirst: for wee will be his seruants, that our soules may liue, and not see the death of our infants before our eyes, nor our wiues nor our children to die.

²⁸ We take to witnesse against you, the heauen and the earth, and our God, and Lord of our fathers, which punisheth vs according to our sinnes, and the sinnes of our fathers, that hee doe not according as we haue said this day.²⁸

²⁹ Then there was great weeping with one consent in the middest of the assembly, and they cryed vnto the Lord God with a loude voice.

³⁰ Then said Ozias to them, Brethren, be of good courage, let vs yet endure fiue dayes, in the which space the Lord our God may turne his mercy toward vs, for he will not forsake vs vtterly.

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³¹ And if these dayes passe, and there come no helpe vnto vs, I wil doe according to your word.

³² And he dispersed the people euery one to their owne charge, and they went vnto the walles and towres of their citie, and sent the women and children into their houses, and they were very low brought in the city.

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