APOCRYPHA

JUDETH, CHAPTER 1

2 Arphaxad doeth fortifie Ecbatane.5 Nabuchodonoſor maketh warre againſt him,7 and craueth aide.12 Hee threatneth thoſe that would not aide him,15 and killeth Arphaxad,16 and returneth to Nineue. 

1, IN the twelfth yeere of? reigne of Nabuchodonoſor, who reigned in Nineue the great citie, (in the dayes of Arphaxad, which reigned ouer the Medes in Ecbatane,

2, And built in Ecbatane walles round about of ſtones hewen, three cubites broad, and ſixe cubites long, and made the height of the wall ſeuenty cubites, and the breadth thereof fiftie cubites:

3, And ſet the towers thereof vpon the gates of it, an hundred cubites high, and the breadth thereof in the foundation threeſcore cubites.

4, And he made the gates thereof, euen gates that were raiſed to the height of ſeuentie cubites, & the breadth of them was fourtie cubites, for the going foorth of his mightie armies, and for the ſetting in aray of his footmen.)

5, Euen in thoſe dayes, king Nabuchodonoſor made warre with king Arphaxad in the great plaine, which is the plaine in the borders of Ragau.

6, And there came vnto him, all they that dwelt in the hill countrey, and all that dwelt by Euphrates, and Tigris, and Hydaſpes, and the plaine of Arioch the king of the Elimeans, and very many nations of the ſonnes of Chelod, aſſembled themſelues to the battell.

7, Then Nabuchodonoſor king of the Aſſyrians, ſent vnto all that dwelt in Perſia, and to all that dwelt Weſtward, and to thoſe that dwelt in Cilicia, and Damaſcus and Libanus, and Antilibanus, and to all that dwelt vpon the Sea coaſt,

8, And to thoſe amongſt the nations that were of Carmel, and Galaad, and the higher Galile, and the great plaine of Eſdrelon,

9, And to all that were in Samaria, and the cities thereof: and beyond Iordan vnto Ieruſalem, and Betane, and Chellus, and Kades, and the riuer of Egypt, and Taphnes, and Rameſſe, and all the land of Geſem,

10, Untill you come beyond Tanis, and Memphis, and to all the inhabitants of Egypt, vntill you come to the borders of Ethiopia.

11, But all the inhabitants of the land made light of the commandement of Nabuchodonoſor king of the Aſſyrians, neither went they with him to the battell: for they were not afraid of him: yea he was before them as one man, and they ſent away his Ambaſſadours from them without effect, and with diſgrace.

12, Therefore Nabuchodonoſor was very angry with all this countrey, and ſware by his throne and kingdome, that hee would ſurely be auenged vpon all thoſe coaſts of Cilicia, and Damaſcus, and Syria, and that he would ſlay with the ſword all the inhabitants of the land of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and all Iudea, and all that were in Egypt, till you come to the borders of the two Seas.

13, Then he marched in battell aray with his power againſt king Arphaxad in the ſeuenteenth yeere, and he preuailed in his battell: for he ouerthrew all the power of Arphaxad, and all his horſemen and all his chariots,

14, And became Lord of his cities, and came vnto Ecbatane, and tooke the towers, and ſpoiled the ſtreetes thereof, and turned the beauty thereof into ſhame.

15, Hee tooke alſo Arphaxad in the mountaines of Ragau, and ſmote him through with his dartes, and deſtroyed him vtterly that day.    

16, So he returned afterward to Nineue, both he and all his company of ſundry nations: being a very great multitude of men of warre, and there he tooke his eaſe and banketted, both he and his armie an hundred and twenty dayes.