[Instrumental] [Verse] So they sent messengers to him to sue for peace in these words: We, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar the great king, lie prostrate before you; do with us as you will. See, our dwellings and all our land and every wheat field, our flocks and herds, and all our encampments are at your disposal; [Verse] make use of them as you please. Our cities and their inhabitants are also at your service; come and deal with them as you see fit. After the spokesmen had reached Holofernes and given him this message, he went down with his forces to the seacoast, [Verse] stationed garrisons in the fortified cities, and took selected men from them as auxiliaries. The people of these cities and all the inhabitants of the countryside received him [Pre-Chorus] with garlands and dancing to the sound of timbrels. But he devastated their whole territory and cut down their sacred groves, [Chorus] for he was allowed to destroy all the gods of the land, so that every nation might worship only Nebuchadnezzar, and all their tongues and tribes should invoke him as a god. [Instrumental] [Verse] At length Holofernes reached Esdraelon in the neighborhood of Dothan, the approach to the main ridge of the Judean mountains; [Chorus] for he was allowed to destroy all the gods of the land, so that every nation might worship only Nebuchadnezzar, and all their tongues and tribes should invoke him as a god. [Instrumental] [Verse] he set up his camp between Geba and Scythopolis, and stayed there a whole month to replenish all the supplies of his forces. [Chorus] for he was allowed to destroy all the gods of the land, so that every nation might worship only Nebuchadnezzar, and all their tongues and tribes should invoke him as a god. [Instrumental] [End]
