1In the thirteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar, in the two and twentieth day of the first month, a word was made [or done] in the house of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Assyrians, that he would defend him from his enemies.

2And he called to him all his elder men, and all the dukes, his warriors [or his fighters]; and had with them the private of his counsel.

3And he said, that his thought and intent was set in that thing, to make subject each land to his empire.

4And when this saying had pleased all men, king Nebuchadnezzar called Holofernes, the prince of his chivalry, and said to him,

5Go thou out against each realm of the west, and against them principally, that despised my commandment [or mine empire].

6Thine eye shall not spare any realm, and thou shalt make subject to me each strengthened city.

7Then Holofernes called the dukes and magistrates of the power of Assyrians, and he numbered men into the making ready of battle, as the king commanded to him, sixscore thousand of footmen fighters, and twelve thousand horsemen and archers.

8And he made all his purveyance to go before him in multitude of unnumberable camels, with those things that sufficed plenteously to his hosts, and he sent droves of oxen, and flocks of sheep, of which was none number.

9He ordained wheat to be made ready of all Syria in his passage.

10And he took with him much gold and silver of the king’s house.

11And Holofernes, and all his host, went forth with chariots [or four-horsed carts], and horsemen, and archers, which covered the face of the earth, as locusts.

12And when he had passed the ends [or the coasts] of Assyrians, he came to the great hills called Auge, that be at the left half [or left side] of Cilicia; and he went up into all the castles of them, and he got each strong place [or hold] there.

13And he brake and destroyed the most strong city called Bectileth, and he robbed all the sons of Rasses, and the sons of Ishmael, that were against the face of desert, and at the south coast of the land of Chelleans.

14And he passed [over] Euphrates, and came into Mesopotamia, and he brake, and wasted, all the high cities that were there, from the strand [or the stream] of Abron till that men come to the sea.

15And he occupied the ends or the coasts thereof from Cilicia unto the ends of Japheth, that be at the south.

16And he brought with him all the sons of Midian, and he took from them all their riches; and he killed by the sharpness of sword all men against-standing him.

17And after these things he came down into the fields of Damascus, in the days of ripe corn [or of reaping], that is, in harvest, and he burnt [up] all those corns [or all the sown things], and he made all the trees and vines to be cut down;

18and his dread fell upon all men inhabiting the land or dwelling upon earth [or all the dwellers in the land].