| 友弟德傳 |
Judith |
| 1他們遂派遣使者同他商談和平說： |
1They therefore sent messengers to him to sue for peace in these words: |
| 2「看，我們是拿步高大王的奴僕，俯伏在你面前，你看怎樣好，就怎樣處置我們罷！ |
2"We, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar the great king, lie prostrate before you; do with us as you will. |
| 3看，我們的住宅、所有的土地和麥田，以及羊群牛群，帳幕旁所有的羊圈，都擺在你面前，你可任意取用。 |
3Our dwellings and all our wheat fields, our flocks and herds, and all our encampments are at your disposal; make use of them as you please. |
| 4看，我們的城與城中的居民，都是你的奴僕，你來，看着怎樣好，就怎樣對待他們罷！」 |
4Our cities and their inhabitants are also at your service; come and deal with them as you see fit." |
| 5使者來到敖羅斐乃前，就向他說了這些話。 |
5After the spokesmen had reached Holofernes and given him this message, |
| 6他便同他的軍隊，下到沿海一帶，派兵據守設防的城，又在他們中選拔壯丁，作後備兵。 |
6he went down with his army to the seacoast, and stationed garrisons in the fortified cities; from them he impressed picked troops as auxiliaries. |
| 7城中的居民，及其附近境內的人民，都帶着花冠，跳着舞，敲着鼓，出來迎接他。 |
7The people of these cities and all the inhabitants of the countryside received him with garlands and dancing to the sound of timbrels. |
| 8但是，他還是要破壞他們的聖地，砍伐他們的神林，因為他曾受命，要剷除地上所有的神祇，使萬國一致崇拜拿步高一人，萬民異口同聲稱他為神。 |
8Nevertheless, he devastated their whole territory and cut down their sacred groves, for he had been commissioned to destroy all the gods of the earth, so that every nation might worship Nebuchadnezzar alone, and every people and tribe invoke him as a god. |
| 9隨後來到厄斯得隆對面，即猶太平原前的多堂附近， |
9At length Holofernes reached Esdraelon in the neighborhood of Dothan, the approach to the main ridge of the Judean mountains; |
| 10安營在革巴與史托頗里之間，在那裏駐紮了一個月，為把自己部隊的輜重集合起來。 |
10 he set up his camp between Geba and Scythopolis, and stayed there a whole month to refurbish all the equipment of his army. |
