1So they sent messengers to Holofernes to say: 2"We are servants of the great King Nebuchadnezzar. We surrender to you, General Holofernes. Do to us whatever you want. 3Our buildings, our land, our wheat fields, our livestock, and our tents are yours. 4Every town belongs to you. Treat us as you please, because we are your slaves."

5After Holofernes had listened to their message, 6he led his army to the Mediterranean coast, where he stationed guards in every walled city and took the best men from these cities as soldiers.

7The people in these cities and in the surrounding countryside welcomed Holofernes by wearing flowers around their necks and playing tambourines and dancing. 8 But when Holofernes arrived, he tore down all their places of worship and cut down their sacred poles. He did this because he had been ordered to get rid of their idols, so that every nation and tribe would worship only Nebuchadnezzar and pray to him as if he were a god.

9Holofernes then marched into Jezreel Valley, not far from the city of Dothan, which is in sight of the hills in Judea. 10He set up camp between the cities of Geba and Scythopolis, and stayed there a month while he gathered the supplies his army needed.