16 Holofernes prepared this army for war.
17 He took enough camels, donkeys, and mules to carry all the equipment, and he also took a large number of sheep, oxen, and goats for food.
18 Each soldier was given plenty food and water and was paid a huge amount of gold and silver from the royal treasury.
19 Holofernes and his army marched out with chariots, cavalry, and foot soldiers to invade the western nations, while King Nebuchadnezzar stayed in Nineveh.
20 Holofernes had more troops than could be counted; they were like a swarm of locusts or like grains of sand on the seashore.
21 They left Nineveh, and after they had marched three days, they reached the valley around the city of Bectileth, where they set up camp across from the city, near the mountains north of Cilicia.
22 From there, Holofernes led his entire army of soldiers and chariots into the foothills.