33 And the king rose up, before it was light, and he forced his troops to march toward the way of Bethzechariah. And the armies prepared themselves for battle, and they sounded the trumpets.
34 And they showed the elephants the blood of grapes and mulberries, to provoke them to fight.
35 And they divided the beasts by the legions, and there stood by every elephant a thousand men, with shields joined together and with brass helmets on their heads. And five hundred well-ordered horsemen were chosen for every beast.
36 These were ready beforehand, and wherever the beast was, they were there; and whenever it moved, they moved, and they did not depart from it.
37 Moreover, upon them there were strong wooden turrets, watching over every beast, with machines upon them, and on them were thirty-two valiant men, who fought from above, and an Indian to rule each beast.
38 And the rest of the horsemen, he stationed here and there, in two parts, with trumpets to stir up the army and to urge on those who were slow to move within its legions.
39 And so, when the sun reflected off the shields of gold and of brass, the mountains were resplendent from them, and they glowed like lamps of fire.