Judith 1
Arphaxad, the king of the Medes, built a powerful city called Ecbatana with high walls and towers. However, in the twelfth year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Assyrians, defeated Arphaxad in the great plain of Ragae. Nebuchadnezzar then sent messengers to various nations, including those in Cilicia, Damascus, and Jerusalem, but they were rejected and sent back empty. In response, Nebuchadnezzar swore to defend himself against these regions.
1And so Arphaxad, king of the Medes, subjugated many nations under his authority, and he built a very powerful city, which he called Ecbatana2From stones, cut and squared, he made its walls: seventy cubits in height and thirty cubits in breadth. And, in truth, he set its towers one hundred cubits in height3In fact, at its corners, each side was extended for the space of twenty feet. And he set its gates according to the height of the towers4And he glorified it, in its power, with the force of his army and with the glory of his chariots5Thereafter, in the twelfth year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, who reigned in Nineveh the great city, fought against Arphaxad and prevailed over him6in the great plain, which is called Ragae, near the Euphrates, and the Tigris, and the Hydaspes, at the encampment of Arioch, king of the Elymaeans7Then the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar was exalted, and his heart was elevated. And he sent to all who dwelt in Cilicia, and Damascus, and Lebanon8and to the nations that are in Carmel and Kedar, and to the inhabitants of Galilee, in the great plain of Esdrelon9and to all who were in Samaria and across the river Jordan, even to Jerusalem and to all the land of Jesse, until one passes through to the borders of Ethiopia10To all these, Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, sent messengers11whom they all with one mind contradicted, and they sent them back empty, and they rejected them without honor12Then king Nebuchadnezzar, being indignant against all that land, swore by his throne and his kingdom that he would defend himself against all those regions
Share this chapter