2 Maccabees 15:20-22

Common English Bible

²⁰ Everyone was waiting for the upcoming conflict, with fighting units already formed, soldiers drawn up in battle order, beasts sent to strategic positions, and cavalry arranged on either side. ²¹ The Maccabee saw the masses that were before him, the diverse sorts of equipped military arms, and the fierceness of the elephants, so he extended his hands to heaven and called on the wonder-working Lord. He knew that it isn’t through arms that God decides to award victory but he gives it to those who deserve it. ²² He prayed like this: “You, my Lord, sent your angel to Hezekiah king of Judah and he killed one hundred eighty-five thousand from Sennacherib’s camp.