Greek Herodotus set text (lines 1-28): The capture of Babylon

ὁ Κῦρος ἤλαυνεν ἐπὶ τὴν Βαβυλῶνα. οἱ δὲ Βαβυλώνιοι ἐκστρατευσάµενοι ἔµενον αὐτόν.

Cyrus marched towards Babylon. And the Babylonians, having marched out, awaited him.

ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐγένετο ἐλαύνων ἀγχοῦ τῆς πόλεως, συνέβαλόν τε οἱ Βαβυλώνιοι καὶ ἡττηθέντες τῇ µάχῃ,

And when he, marching forward, was near the city, the Babylonians joined battle, and having been defeated in battle,

κατειλήθησαν ἐς τὸ ἄστυ, ᾗ εἶχον σιτία ἐτῶν κάρτα πολλῶν.

were shut up inside the city, where they had provisions for very many years.

ἐνταῦθα οὗτοι µὲν λόγον εἶχον τῆς πολιορκίας οὐδένα, Κῦρος δὲ ἀπορίαις ἐνείχετο.

When these men [the Babylonians] had no concern about the siege, Cyrus was overcome by perplexity.

τάξας τὴν στρατιὰν ᾗ ὁ ποταµὸς εἰς τὴν πόλιν εἰσβάλλει,

Having placed a portion of his army at the point where the river flowed into the city,

τέλος δὲ ἐποίει δὴ τοιόνδε.

Finally indeed he did the following.

καὶ αὖθις ὄπισθε τῆς πόλεως τάξας ἑτέρους, ᾗ ἐξίησιν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ὁ ποταµός,

and then having placed the rest behind the city, where the river flowed out of the city,

προεῖπε τῷ στρατῷ, ὅταν διαβατὸν τὸ ῥεῖθρον ἴδωσι γενόµενον, εἰσιέναι ταύτῃ εἰς τὴν πόλιν.

he instructed the army, whenever they saw that the stream had become passable, to enter the city at this point.

οὕτω τε δὴ τάξας καὶ παραινέσας ἀπήλαυνεν αὐτὸς σὺν τῷ ἀχρείῳ τοῦ στρατοῦ.

And indeed when he had placed and encouraged them in this way, he himself marched forward with the unwarlike part of his army.

ἀφικόµενος δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν λίµνην, οὖσαν ἕλος, τὸν ποταµὸν διώρυχι εἰσαγαγών,

And when he arrived at the lake, which was a marsh, and when he diverted the river with a canal,

τὸ ἀρχαῖον ῥεῖθρον διαβατὸν εἶναι ἐποίησεν, ὑπονοστήσαντος τοῦ ποταµοῦ.

he made the original stream become passable, with the river having sunk down.

γενοµένου δὲ τούτου τοιούτου, οἱ Πέρσαι οἵπερ τεταγµένοι ἦσαν ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ τούτῳ,

With this having happened in such a way, the Persians who had been placed for this very thing,

ὑπονενοστηκότος τοῦ Εὐφράτου ποταµοῦ, ἀνδρὶ ὡς εἰς µέσον µηρὸν µάλιστα,

when the Euphrates river had sunk down, so as to reach about midway up a man's thigh,

κατὰ τὸ ῥεῖθρον εἰσῇσαν εἰς τὴν Βαβυλῶνα.

they entered via the stream into Babylon.

εἰ µέν νυν προεπύθοντο ἢ ἔµαθον οἱ Βαβυλώνιοι τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Κύρου ποιούµενον,

Had the Babylonians already found out or had they noticed what was being done by Cyrus,

περιιδόντες τοὺς Πέρσας εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν πόλιν διέφθειραν ἂν κάκιστα.

having allowed the Persians to enter the city, they would have destroyed them in the nastiest way.

κατακλείσαντες γὰρ πάσας τὰς πυλίδας τὰς εἰς τὸν ποταµὸν ἀγούσας,

For they would have shut all the gates leading to the river,

καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐπὶ τὰς αἱµασιὰς ἀναβάντες τὰς παρὰ τὰ τοῦ ποταµοῦ χείλη ἐληλαµένας, ἔλαβον ἂν αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐν κύρτῃ.

and themselves having climbed upon the walls that were built alongside the edges of the river, they would have caught them as if in a trap.

νῦν δὲ ἐξ ἀπροσδοκήτου αὐτοῖς παρέστησαν οἱ Πέρσαι.

But, as it was, the Persians attacked them by surprise.

ὑπὸ δὲ µεγέθους τῆς πόλεως, τῶν περὶ τὰ ἔσχατα τῆς πόλεως ἑαλωκότων,

Owing to the size of the city, after the parts around the edges of the city were taken,

οἱ τὸ µέσον οἰκοῦντες τῆς Βαβυλῶνος οὐκ ἐµάνθανον ταῦτα,

those who lived in the middle of Babylon did not learn of these things,

ἀλλά (ἔτυχε γὰρ οὖσα ἑορτή) ἐχόρευόν τε τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον καὶ ἐν εὐπαθείαις ἦσαν,

but (for there happened to be a festival), they continued dancing during this time and were enjoying themselves,

εἰς ὃ δὴ καὶ τὸ ἀληθὲς ἐπύθοντο.

until they also indeed learned the truth.