The Siege of Bethulia

1-2The next day Holofernes gathered his whole army together, as well as his allied forces. It was an immense army, consisting of 170,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry, not counting the support troops who took care of the equipment. He ordered them to march on Bethulia, seize the mountain passes, and attack the Israelites. So they moved out 3and set up camp beside the spring in the valley near Bethulia. The camp was so wide that it spread out towards the town of Dothan as far as Balbaim, and so long that it stretched from Bethulia to Cyamon, which faces the Valley of Jezreel.

4When the Israelites saw the size of the army, they were terrified and said to one another, “Those soldiers are going to eat up everything in sight. There's not enough food in the mountains, valleys, and hills put together to feed an army like that.” 57.5: 1 Macc 12.28–29But in spite of their fear, all the Israelites took up their weapons, lighted signal fires on the towers, and remained on guard duty all night. 6The next day Holofernes led out his entire cavalry so that the Israelites in Bethulia could see them. 7He inspected the approaches to the town and the springs that supplied its water. He seized the springs and stationed guards there, before returning to camp.

8All the leaders of the Edomite and Moabite forces, along with the commanders of the troops from the Mediterranean coast, came to Holofernes and said, 9“Sir, if you listen to our advice, your troops will not suffer heavy losses. 10These Israelites do not rely on their weapons for defence but rather on the height of the mountains where they live, since the mountains are not easy to climb. 11So then, General Holofernes, if you do not make a direct attack on them, your whole army will suffer no casualties. 12Stay in your camp and keep your soldiers in their quarters. Just command your men to blockade the springs at the foot of the mountains, 13because that's where the people of Bethulia come to draw their water. Then, when they are dying of thirst, they will surrender their town to you. Meanwhile, we and our men will go up to the tops of the surrounding mountains, where we will set up camp and keep anyone from leaving the town. 14Everyone will starve to death — men, women, and children. Even before we attack, the streets will be littered with their corpses. 15In this way you can make them pay for their rebellion and for refusing to surrender peacefully to you.”

16Holofernes and his entire staff were pleased with this suggestion, so he gave orders to put the plan into action. 17The Moabites and 5,000 Assyrians moved their camp into the valley to control the source of the town's water. 18The Edomites and the Ammonites went up into the mountains and set up their camp opposite the town of Dothan. They sent some of their men to the south-east in the direction of Acraba, near Chusi, which is beside the River Mochmur. The rest of the Assyrian army set up camp in the valley. Their camp was spread out over the whole countryside, because the number of tents and the amount of equipment needed for such a large army were immense.

19Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord their God for help. They had lost their courage, for with the enemy all round them there was no way to escape. 20The entire Assyrian army — infantry, chariots, and cavalry — blockaded Bethulia for 34 days until the town ran out of water. 21All the reservoirs and cisterns went dry, so that the drinking water had to be rationed, and not a day passed when there was enough water to go round. 22Children were becoming weak; everywhere throughout the town women and young people were collapsing. No one had any strength left.

23All the people of the town — men, women, and children alike — gathered round Uzziah and the town officials and shouted in protest, 24“God will punish you for what you have done to us! You are to blame for what is happening, because you did not make peace with the Assyrians. 25There is no one to help us now! God has put us in their power. We are exhausted and dying of thirst. 26Call the Assyrians now and surrender to them, and let Holofernes and his army take the town and loot it. 27We are better off as prisoners of war. They will make us slaves, but at least we will be alive, and we won't have to watch our wives and children dying before our eyes. 28Heaven and earth are witnesses against you, and so is our God, the Lord of our ancestors, who is punishing us for their sins as well as ours. We can only hope and pray that he will not let these terrible things happen to us today.”7.28 We can… today; some Greek manuscripts and ancient translations have We demand that you surrender, as we have asked you to do today.

29Everyone there began to weep loudly and to pray to the Lord their God. 30Then Uzziah said to them, “Don't give up, my friends! Let's wait five more days to see if the Lord our God will be merciful to us. Surely he will not abandon us completely. 31But if no help comes after five days, then I will do as you say.” 32So Uzziah dismissed the people. All the men returned to their guard posts on the walls and towers, while the women and children went back to their homes. The morale of the entire town was very low.