| 1 Ἔτους δωδεκάτου τῆς βασιλείας Ναβουχοδονόσορ, ὃς ἐβασίλευσεν Ἀσσυρίων ἐν Νινευῇ τῇ πόλει τῇ μεγάλῃ, ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Ἀρφαξάδ, ὃς ἐβασίλευσεν Μήδων ἐν Ἐκβατάνοις, 2 καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν ἐπ' Ἐκβατάνων κύκλῳ τείχη ἐκ λίθων λελαξευμένων εἰς πλάτος πηχῶν τριῶν καὶ εἰς μῆκος πηχῶν ἓξ καὶ ἐποίησεν τὸ ὕψος τοῦ τείχους πηχῶν ἑβδομήκοντα καὶ τὸ πλάτος αὐτοῦ πηχῶν πεντήκοντα 3 καὶ τοὺς πύργους αὐτοῦ ἔστησεν ἐπὶ ταῖς πύλαις αὐτῆς πηχῶν ἑκατὸν καὶ τὸ πλάτος αὐτῆς ἐθεμελίωσεν εἰς πήχεις ἑξήκοντα 4 καὶ ἐποίησεν τὰς πύλας αὐτῆς πύλας διεγειρομένας εἰς ὕψος πηχῶν ἑβδομήκοντα καὶ τὸ πλάτος αὐτῆς πήχεις τεσσαράκοντα εἰς ἐξόδους δυνάμεως δυνατῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ διατάξεις τῶν πεζῶν αὐτοῦ. 5 καὶ ἐποίησεν πόλεμον ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ὁ βασιλεὺς Ναβουχοδονόσορ πρὸς βασιλέα Ἀρφαξὰδ ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ τῷ μεγάλῳ, τοῦτό ἐστιν πεδίον ἐν τοῖς ὁρίοις Ῥαγαῦ. 6 καὶ συνήντησαν πρὸς αὐτὸν πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὴν ὀρεινὴν καὶ πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὸν Εὐφράτην καὶ τὸν Τίγριν καὶ τὸν Ὑδάσπην καὶ πεδία Ἀριὼχ βασιλέως Ἐλυμαίων, καὶ συνῆλθον ἔθνη πολλὰ εἰς παράταξιν υἱῶν Χελεούδ. |
1 In the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled over the Assyrians in the great city of Nineveh, in the days of Arphaxad, who ruled over the Medes in Ecbatana— 2 now Arphaxad built walls around Ecbatana made of hewn stones three cubits wide and six cubits long. He made the height of the wall seventy cubits and its width fifty cubits. 3 At its gates, he erected towers one hundred cubits high, and he foundationalized its width at sixty cubits. 4 He made its gates towering structures rising to a height of seventy cubits and forty cubits wide, to allow his mighty armies to march out and his infantry to deploy in formation.
5 In those days, King Nebuchadnezzar waged war against King Arphaxad in the great plain that lies within the borders of Ragau. 6 Joining forces with Nebuchadnezzar were all the inhabitants of the hill country, all who lived along the Euphrates, the Tigris, and the Hydaspes, as well as those on the plains of Arioch, king of the Elymaeans. Thus, many nations gathered to join the battle line of the sons of Cheleoud. |
| 7 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Ναβουχοδονόσορ βασιλεὺς Ἀσσυρίων ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς κατοικοῦντας τὴν Περσίδα καὶ ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς κατοικοῦντας πρὸς δυσμαῖς, τοὺς κατοικοῦντας τὴν Κιλικίαν καὶ Δαμασκὸν καὶ τὸν Λίβανον καὶ Ἀντιλίβανον, καὶ πάντας τοὺς κατοικοῦντας κατὰ πρόσωπον τῆς παραλίας 8 καὶ τοὺς ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι τοῦ Καρμήλου καὶ Γαλαὰδ καὶ τὴν ἄνω Γαλιλαίαν καὶ τὸ μέγα πεδίον Ἐσδρηλὼν 9 καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἐν Σαμαρείᾳ καὶ ταῖς πόλεσιν αὐτῆς καὶ πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου ἕως Ἱερουσαλὴμ καὶ Βατανὴ καὶ Χελοὺς καὶ Κάδης καὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ Αἰγύπτου καὶ Ταφνὰς καὶ Ῥαμεσσῆ καὶ πᾶσαν γῆν Γεσὲμ 10 ἕως τοῦ ἐλθεῖν ἐπάνω Τάνεως καὶ Μέμφεως καὶ πάντας τοὺς κατοικοῦντας τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἕως τοῦ ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τὰ ὅρια τῆς Αἰθιοπίας. 11 καὶ ἐφαύλισαν πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν τὸ ῥῆμα Ναβουχοδονόσορ βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων καὶ οὐ συνῆλθον αὐτῷ εἰς τὸν πόλεμον, ὅτι οὐκ ἐφοβήθησαν αὐτόν, ἀλλ' ἦν ἐναντίον αὐτῶν ὡς ἀνὴρ εἷς, καὶ ἀνέστρεψαν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ κενοὺς ἐν ἀτιμίᾳ προσώπου αὐτῶν. 12 καὶ ἐθυμώθη Ναβουχοδονόσορ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ταύτην σφόδρα καὶ ὤμοσε κατὰ τοῦ θρόνου καὶ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ εἰ μὴν ἐκδικήσειν πάντα τὰ ὅρια τῆς Κιλικίας καὶ Δαμασκηνῆς καὶ Συρίας ἀνελεῖν τῇ ῥομφαίᾳ αὐτοῦ καὶ πάντας τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ἐν γῇ Μωὰβ καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἀμμὼν καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν Ἰουδαίαν καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἕως τοῦ ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τὰ ὅρια τῶν δύο θαλασσῶν. |
7 Then Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, sent messengers to all the inhabitants of Persia, and to all who lived to the west: those inhabiting Cilicia, Damascus, Lebanon, and Anti-Lebanon, and to all who lived along the seacoast, 8 as well as the nations of Carmel, Gilead, Upper Galilee, and the great plain of Esdraelon, 9 and all those in Samaria and its towns, and beyond the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, Bethany, Chelous, Kadesh, the river of Egypt, Tahpanhes, Rameses, and the entire land of Goshen, 10 even beyond Tanis and Memphis, and to all the inhabitants of Egypt as far as the borders of Ethiopia.
11 But all the inhabitants of that entire land treated the summons of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, with utter contempt. They refused to join him in the war because they were not afraid of him; to them, he seemed like just one ordinary man. They sent his messengers back empty-handed, disgraced by their blatant rejection. 12 At this, Nebuchadnezzar became absolutely furious with that entire region. He swore an oath by his throne and his kingdom that he would surely take vengeance on all the territories of Cilicia, Damascus, and Syria—that he would slaughter with his sword all the inhabitants of the land of Moab, the Ammonites, the whole of Judea, and everyone in Egypt, as far as the borders of the two seas. |
| THE INSULT | THE VOW OF VENGEANCE |
|---|---|
| Western nations defy the summons. | Swears by his throne and kingdom. |
| Treat the King as "just one ordinary man." | Targets: Judea, Egypt, Moab, Ammon, and Syria |
| Send messengers back empty-handed and disgraced. | Purpose: for total slaughter |
| 13 καὶ παρετάξατο ἐν τῇ δυνάμει αὐτοῦ πρὸς Ἀρφαξὰδ βασιλέα ἐν τῷ ἔτει τῷ ἑπτακαιδεκάτῳ καὶ ἐκραταιώθη ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνέστρεψεν πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν Ἀρφαξὰδ καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ἵππον αὐτοῦ καὶ πάντα τὰ ἅρματα αὐτοῦ 14 καὶ ἐκυρίευσε τῶν πόλεων αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀφίκετο ἕως Ἐκβατάνων καὶ ἐκράτησε τῶν πύργων καὶ ἐπρονόμευσε τὰς πλατείας αὐτῆς καὶ τὸν κόσμον αὐτῆς ἔθηκεν εἰς ὄνειδος αὐτῆς 15 καὶ ἔλαβε τὸν Ἀρφαξὰδ ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσι Ῥαγαῦ καὶ κατηκόντισεν αὐτὸν ἐν ταῖς σιβύναις αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξωλέθρευσεν αὐτὸν ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης. 16 καὶ ἀνέστρεψεν μετ' αὐτῶν αὐτὸς καὶ πᾶς ὁ σύμμικτος αὐτοῦ, πλῆθος ἀνδρῶν πολεμιστῶν πολὺ σφόδρα, καὶ ἦν ἐκεῖ ῥᾳθυμῶν καὶ εὐωχούμενος αὐτὸς καὶ ἡ δύναμις αὐτοῦ ἐφ' ἡμέρας ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι. |
13 In the seventeenth year, he led his army into battle against King Arphaxad and prevailed in his war. He completely routed the entire army of Arphaxad, along with all his cavalry and all his chariots. 14 He took possession of his cities, advanced all the way to Ecbatana, captured its towers, plundered its public squares, and turned its majestic beauty into a matter of public mockery.
15 He captured Arphaxad in the mountains of Ragau, transfixed him with his hunting spears, and utterly destroyed him to this very day. 16 Then Nebuchadnezzar returned with his troops—he and his whole mixed rabble of allies, a massive multitude of warriors. And there he and his army lounged and feasted for one hundred and twenty days. |
1. The Blatant, Intentional Historical Errors
The very first verse of the Book of Judith presents a glaring historical puzzle: it places Nebuchadnezzar as king of the Assyrians ruling from Nineveh.
Historically, Nebuchadnezzar II was the famous ruler of the Neo-Babylonian Empire ruling from Babylon. It was actually his father, Nabopolassar (in alliance with the Medes), who utterly destroyed Nineveh and brought down the Assyrian Empire in 612 BCE.
Rather than assuming the ancient author was simply uneducated, most modern biblical scholars view this as a deliberate literary signal. By fusing Israel's two greatest historical oppressors (Assyria and Babylon) into one single mega-villain, the author alerts the reader that this book is not intended to be a strict historical documentary. Instead, it is a historical parable or theological historical fiction designed to represent the ultimate archetype of worldly tyrannical pride challenging the Sovereignty of God.
2. A War of Hubris and High Walls (v. 2–4)
Before the battle even begins, the author spends several verses detailing the absurdly massive measurements of King Arphaxad’s fortified city, Ecbatana. The walls are seventy cubits high and fifty cubits wide (v. 2).
This is a classic motif in biblical literature: emphasizing the scale of human engineering right before its total collapse. Arphaxad relies completely on his stones, towers, and structural fortresses to project security.
Nebuchadnezzar’s casual destruction of this engineered marvel in verse 14 highlights a foundational theme of Judith: human military fortifications are entirely useless when the true Lord of History decides a kingdom's time is up.
3. The Psychology of Tyranny: "Just One Ordinary Man" (v. 11–12)
The turning point of the chapter’s plot hinges on a profound insult to Nebuchadnezzar's ego. The western nations refuse to join his war effort because “he was before them as one man” (ὡς ἀνὴρ εἷς)—meaning they viewed him as just an ordinary human being, rather than a living god walking the earth.
For a supreme oriental monarch who demands absolute, total subservience, being treated as merely "one man" triggers an unhinged, psychopathic rage.
Nebuchadnezzar responds not with a measured political calculation, but with a terrifying, sweeping oath of total genocide across the Mediterranean basin (v. 12). This positions him as the ultimate embodiment of pride (hubris), setting the stage for the rest of the book where God will bring him low—not through a rival superpower, but through the hands of a single, devout widow (Judith).
4. The Feast of False Security (v. 16)
The chapter closes with Nebuchadnezzar and his massive, multi-ethnic coalition lounging around and feasting for a staggering 120 days (four full months).
This long luxury party serves as a brilliant literary foreshadowing tool. It mirrors the exact same 120-day feast held by King Ahasuerus in the opening of the Book of Esther (Esther 1:4).
In Jewish wisdom literature, when a pagan tyrant throws an absurdly prolonged feast to celebrate his own military triumph, it is a sure sign to the reader that his pride has peaked, his spiritual blindness is absolute, and his downfall is imminent.