3 They decided to destroy all who had refused to obey the order he had issued.
4 When he had fully recounted his plan, Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, summoned Holofernes, the ranking general of his forces, second only to himself in command, and said to him:
5 “Thus says the great king, the lord of all the earth: Go forth from my presence, take with you men of proven valor, one hundred and twenty thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry,
6 and proceed against all the land of the west, because they disobeyed the order I issued.
7 Tell them to have earth and water ready, for I will come against them in my wrath; I will cover all the land with the feet of my soldiers, to whom I will deliver them as spoils.
8 Their wounded will fill their ravines and wadies, the swelling river will be choked with their dead;
9 and I will deport them as exiles to the very ends of the earth.