Moses' War in Cush

I¹n the fifty-fifth year of the reign of Pharaoh king of Egypt, that is in the hundred and fifty-seventh year of the Israelites going down into Egypt, reigned Moses in Cush.

² Moses was twenty-seven years old when he began to reign over Cush, and forty years did he reign. ³ And the Lord granted Moses favor and grace in the eyes of all the children of Cush, and the children of Cush loved him exceedingly, so Moses was favored by the Lord and by men. ⁴ And in the seventh day of his reign, all the children of Cush assembled and came before Moses and bowed down to him to the ground. ⁵ And all the children spoke together in the presence of the king, saying, Give us counsel that we may see what is to be done to this city. ⁶ For it is now nine years that we have been besieging round about the city, and have not seen our children and our wives. ⁷ So the king answered them, saying, If you will hearken to my voice in all that I shall command you, then will the Lord give the city into our hands and we shall subdue it. ⁸ For if we fight with them as in the former battle which we had with them before the death of Kikianus, many of us will fall down wounded as before. ⁹ Now therefore behold here is counsel for you in this matter; if you will hearken to my voice, then will the city be delivered into our hands. ¹⁰ So all the forces answered the king, saying, All that our lord shall command that will we do. ¹¹ And Moses said unto them, Pass through and proclaim a voice in the whole camp unto all the people, saying, ¹² Thus says the king, Go into the forest and bring with you of the young ones of the stork, each man a young one in his hand. ¹³ And any person transgressing the word of the king, who shall not bring his young one, he shall die, and the king will take all belonging to him. ¹⁴ And when you shall bring them they shall be in your keeping, you shall rear them until they grow up, and you shall teach them to dart upon, as is the way of the young ones of the hawk. ¹⁵ So all the children of Cush heard the words of Moses, and they rose up and caused a proclamation to be issued throughout the camp, saying, ¹⁶ Unto you, all the children of Cush, the king's order is, that you go all together to the forest, and catch there the young storks each man his young one in his hand, and you shall bring them home. ¹⁷ And any person violating the order of the king shall die, and the king will take all that belongs to him. ¹⁸ And all the people did so, and they went out to the wood and they climbed the fir trees and caught, each man a young one in his hand, all the young of the storks, and they brought them into the desert and reared them by order of the king, and they taught them to dart upon, similar to the young hawks. ¹⁹ And after the young storks were reared, the king ordered them to be hungered for three days, and all the people did so. ²⁰ And on the third day, the king said unto them, strengthen yourselves and become valiant men, and put on each man his armor and gird on his sword upon him, and ride each man his horse and take each his young stork in his hand.