1And it was reported to Holofernes, the commander-in-chief of the army of Asshur, that the sons of Israel had prepared for war, had closed the passes of the hill country, had fortified every high mountain peak, and had placed obstacles in the plains.
2And he became greatly enraged, and he summoned all the rulers of Moab, the commanders of Ammon, and all the satraps of the coastal region,
3and he said to them, “Tell me now, you sons of Canaan, who is this people that lives in the hill country? What are the cities they inhabit, and what is the size of their army? In what does their power and their strength lie, and who has been set over them as king, leading their army?
4And why have they disdained to come out to meet me, unlike all the other inhabitants of the west?”
5And Achior, the leader of all the sons of Ammon, said to him, “Let my lord now hear a word from the mouth of your servant, and I will tell you the truth about the people who inhabit this hill country near you. No lie will come from the mouth of your servant.
6This people are descendants of the Chaldeans.
7They formerly lived as sojourners in Mesopotamia, because they were not willing to follow the gods of their fathers who were in the land of the Chaldeans.
8They turned from the way of their ancestors and worshiped the God of heaven, a God whom they had come to know. So the Chaldeans cast them out from the presence of their gods, and they fled to Mesopotamia and lived there as sojourners for many days.
9Then their God told them to leave their place of sojourning and go to the land of Canaan. And they settled there and became very rich in gold, silver, and a great abundance of livestock.
10Then they went down to Egypt, for a famine had covered the face of the land of Canaan, and they lived there as sojourners until they found sustenance. And there they became a great multitude, and their nation was without number.
11And the king of Egypt rose up against them and dealt shrewdly with them in labor and brickmaking; they humbled them and made them slaves.
12And they cried out to their God, and he struck the land of Egypt with incurable plagues. And the Egyptians cast them out from their presence.
13And God dried up the Red Sea before them,
14and he led them on the way to Sinai and Kadesh-barnea. And they drove out all the inhabitants of the wilderness,
15and they settled in the land of the Amorites. By their strength they destroyed all the inhabitants of Heshbon, and after crossing the Jordan they took possession of all the hill country.
16And they drove out from before them the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, the Shechemite, and all the Girgashites, and they lived in the land for many days.
17And as long as they did not sin before their God, prosperity was with them, for a God who hates iniquity is with them.
18But when they turned aside from the way which he had appointed for them, they were utterly destroyed in many wars and were taken captive to a land that was not their own. The temple of their God was razed to the ground, and their cities were seized by their adversaries.
19But now, having returned to their God, they have come up from the dispersion where they were scattered. They have taken possession of Jerusalem, where their sanctuary is, and have settled in the hill country, because it was desolate.
20And now, my lord and master, if there is any error in this people and they are sinning against their God, let us determine if this cause of offense is among them, and then we will go up and wage war against them.
21But if there is no lawlessness in their nation, let my lord now pass by, lest their Lord and their God defend them, and we become a reproach before all the earth.”
22When Achior finished speaking these words, all the people surrounding the tent began to murmur. And the great men of Holofernes and all the inhabitants of the coastal region and of Moab said to cut him to pieces,
23“For we will not be afraid of the sons of Israel. Look, they are a people with no power or might for a strong battle line.
24Therefore, let us go up, and they will be devoured by your whole army, my lord Holofernes!”
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