Bible in 90 Days

^15 (A)At that time I saw people in Judah pressing juice from grapes on the Sabbath. Others were loading grain, wine, grapes, figs, and other things on their donkeys and taking them into Jerusalem; I warned them not to sell anything on the Sabbath. ¹⁶ Some people from the city of Tyre were living in Jerusalem, and they brought fish and all kinds of goods into the city to sell to our people on the Sabbath. ¹⁷ I reprimanded the Jewish leaders and told them, “Look at the evil you're doing! You're making the Sabbath unholy. ¹⁸ This is exactly why God punished your ancestors when he brought destruction on this city. And yet you insist on bringing more of God's anger down on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”

¹⁹ So I gave orders for the city gates to be shut at the beginning of every Sabbath, as soon as evening^[a] began to fall, and not to be opened again until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my men at the gates to make sure that nothing was brought into the city on the Sabbath. ²⁰ Once or twice merchants who sold all kinds of goods spent Friday night outside the city walls. ²¹ I warned them, “It's no use waiting out there for morning to come. If you try this again, I'll use force on you.” From then on they did not come back on the Sabbath. ²² I ordered the Levites to purify themselves and to go and guard the gates to make sure that the Sabbath was kept holy.

Remember me, O God, for this also, and spare me because of your great love.

^23 (B)At that time I also discovered that many of the Jewish men had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. ²⁴ Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or some other language and didn't know how to speak our language. ²⁵ I reprimanded the men, called down curses on them, beat them, and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath in God's name that never again would they or their children intermarry with foreigners. ^26 (C)I told them, “It was foreign women that made King Solomon sin. Here was a man who was greater than any of the kings of other nations. God loved him and made him king over all of Israel, and yet he fell into this sin. ²⁷ Are we then to follow your example and disobey our God by marrying foreign women?”

^28 (D)Joiada was the son of Eliashib the High Priest, but one of Joiada's sons married the daughter of Sanballat, from the town of Beth Horon, so I made Joiada leave Jerusalem.

²⁹ Remember, God, how those people defiled both the office of priest and the covenant you made with the priests and the Levites.

³⁰ I purified the people from everything foreign; I prepared regulations for the priests and the Levites so that all of them would know their duties; ³¹ I arranged for the wood used for burning the offerings to be brought at the proper times, and for the people to bring their offerings of the first grain and the first fruits that ripened.

Remember all this, O God, and give me credit for it.

1 I am Tobit and this is the story of my life. My father was Tobiel, my grandfather was Ananiel, and my great-grandfather was Aduel. Aduel's father was Gabael; his grandfather was Raphael; and his great-grandfather was Raguel, who belonged to the clan of Asiel, a part of the tribe of Naphtali. ^2 (E)During the time that Shalmaneser was emperor of Assyria, I was taken captive in my hometown of Thisbe, located in northern Galilee, south of Kadesh in Naphtali, northwest of Hazor, and north of Phogor.

Tobit's Early Life

³ All my life I have been honest and have tried to do what was right. I often gave money to help needy relatives and other Jews who had been deported with me to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.

⁴ When I was young, I lived in northern Israel. All the tribes in Israel were supposed to offer sacrifices in Jerusalem. It was the one city that God had chosen from among all the Israelite cities as the place where his Temple was to be built for his holy and eternal home. But my entire tribe of Naphtali rejected the city of Jerusalem and the kings descended from David. ^5 (F)Like everyone else in this tribe, my own family used to go to the city of Dan in the mountains of northern Galilee to offer sacrifices to the gold bull-calf which King Jeroboam of Israel had set up there.

Tobit's Faithfulness to His Religion

^6 (G)I was the only one in my family who regularly went to Jerusalem to celebrate the religious festivals, as the Law of Moses commands everyone to do. I would hurry off to Jerusalem with the first part of my harvest, the first-born of my animals, a tenth of my cattle, and the freshly clipped wool from my sheep. Then I would stand before the altar in the Temple, and give these offerings to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. ⁷ I would give a tenth of my grain, wine, olive oil, pomegranates, figs, and other fruits to the Levites who served God in Jerusalem. Every year, except the seventh year when the land was at rest,^[b] I would sell a second tenth of my possessions and spend the money in Jerusalem on the festival meal.

⁸ But every third year, I would give a third tithe^[c] to widows and orphans and to foreigners living among my people, and we would eat the festival meal together. I did this in keeping with the Law of Moses, which Deborah, the mother of my grandfather Ananiel, had taught me to obey. (I had been left an orphan when my father died.)

Tobit's Faithfulness in Exile

⁹ When I grew up, I married Anna, a member of my own tribe. We had a son and named him Tobias. ¹⁰ Later, I was taken captive and deported to Assyria, and that is how I came to live in Nineveh.

While we lived in Nineveh, all my relatives and the other Jews used to eat the same kind of food as the other people who lived there, ¹¹ but I refused to do so. ¹² Since I took seriously the commands of the Most High God, ¹³ he made Emperor Shalmaneser respect me, and I was placed in charge of purchasing all the emperor's supplies.

¹⁴ Before the emperor died, I made regular trips to the land of Media to buy things for him there. Once, when I was in the city of Rages in Media, I left some bags of money there with Gabael, Gabrias' brother, and asked him to keep them for me. There were more than 600 pounds of silver coins in those bags. ¹⁵ When Shalmaneser died, his son Sennacherib succeeded him as emperor. It soon became so dangerous to travel on the roads in Media that I could no longer go there.

Tobit Buries the Dead

¹⁶ While Shalmaneser was still emperor, I took good care of my own people whenever they were in need. ^17 (H)If they were hungry, I shared my food with them; if they needed clothes, I gave them some of my own. Whenever I saw that the dead body of one of my people had been thrown outside the city wall, I gave it a decent burial.

¹⁸ One day Sennacherib cursed God, the King of Heaven; God punished him, and Sennacherib had to retreat from Judah. On his way back to Media he was so furious that he killed many Israelites. But I secretly removed the bodies and buried them; and when Sennacherib later searched for the bodies, he could not find them.

¹⁹ Then someone from Nineveh told the emperor that I was the one who had been burying his victims. As soon as I realized that the emperor knew all about me and that my life was in danger, I became frightened. So I ran away and hid. ²⁰ Everything I owned was seized and put in the royal treasury. My wife Anna and my son Tobias were all I had left.

Tobit's Nephew Rescues Him

²¹ About six weeks later, two of Sennacherib's sons assassinated him and then escaped to the mountains of Ararat. Another son, Esarhaddon, became emperor and put Ahikar, my brother Anael's son, in charge of all the financial affairs of the empire. ²² This was actually the second time Ahikar was appointed to this position, for when Sennacherib was emperor of Assyria, Ahikar had been wine steward, treasurer, and accountant, and had been in charge of the official seal. Since Ahikar was my nephew, he put in a good word for me with the emperor, and I was allowed to return to Nineveh.

A Family Celebration

2 ^(I)When I returned home I was reunited with my wife Anna and my son Tobias. At the Harvest Festival, which is also called the Festival of Weeks, I sat down to a delicious meal. ² When I saw how much food there was on the table, I said to Tobias,

A Murder in Nineveh

⁴ I jumped up and left the table without even touching my food. I removed the body from the street and carried it to a little shed, where I left it until sunset, when I could bury it. ^5 (J)Then I returned home and washed, so as to purify myself. In deep sorrow I ate my dinner. ^6 (K)I was reminded of what the prophet Amos had said to the people of Bethel,

⁷ After sunset I went out, dug a grave, and buried the man. ⁸ My neighbors thought I was crazy.

Tobit Is Blinded

⁹ That night I washed, so as to purify myself, and went out into my courtyard to sleep by the wall. It was a hot night, and I did not pull the cover up over my head. ¹⁰ Sparrows were on the wall right above me, but I did not know it. Their warm droppings fell into my eyes, causing a white film to form on them. I went to one doctor after another, but the more they treated me with their medicines, the worse my eyes became, until finally I was completely blind.

For four years I could see nothing. My relatives were deeply concerned about my condition, and Ahikar supported me for two years before he went to the land of Elam.

A Family Quarrel

¹¹ After Ahikar left, my wife Anna had to go to work, so she took up weaving, like many other women. ¹² The people she worked for would pay her when she delivered the cloth. One spring day, she cut a finished piece of cloth from the loom and took it to the people who had ordered it. They paid her the full price and also gave her a goat.

Tobit's Prayer

3 I was so embarrassed and ashamed that I sighed and began to cry. Then, as I choked back my tears, I prayed:

Sarah's Troubles

⁷ That same day in the city of Ecbatana in Media, it happened that Sarah, the daughter of a man named Raguel, was insulted by one of her father's servant women. ⁸ Sarah had been married seven times, but the evil demon, Asmodeus, killed each husband before the marriage could be consummated. The servant woman said to Sarah,

Sarah's Prayer

¹¹ Then Sarah stood by the window, raised her arms in prayer, and said,

God Hears the Prayers of Tobit and Sarah

¹⁶ As Tobit and Sarah were praying, God in heaven heard their prayers ^17 (L)and sent his angel Raphael to help them. He was sent to remove the white film from Tobit's eyes, so that he could see again, and to arrange a marriage between Sarah and Tobit's son Tobias, who, as her cousin, had the right to marry her. Raphael was also ordered to expel the demon Asmodeus from Sarah. At the very moment that Tobit went back into his house from the courtyard, Sarah, in her house in Ecbatana, was coming downstairs.

Tobit's Advice to Tobias

4 That same day, Tobit remembered the money that he had left with Gabael at Rages in Media. ² He thought to himself,

⁵ Every day of your life, keep the Lord our God in mind. Never sin deliberately or disobey any of his commands. Always do what is right and never get involved in anything evil. ⁶ Be honest, and you will succeed in whatever you do.

^7 (M)Give generously to anyone who faithfully obeys God.^[j] If you are stingy in giving to the poor, God will be stingy in giving to you. ⁸ Give according to what you have. The more you have, the more you should give. Even if you have only a little, be sure to give something. ⁹ This is as good as money saved. You will have your reward in a time of trouble. ^10-11 Taking care of the poor is the kind of offering that pleases God in heaven. Do this, and you will be kept safe from the dark world of the dead.

¹² Son, be on your guard against prostitutes. Above all, marry a woman of our tribe, because we are descendants of the prophets. Do not marry anyone who is not related to us. Remember that Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, our earliest ancestors, all married relatives. God blessed them with children, and so their descendants will inherit the land of Israel. ¹³ Son, be loyal to your own relatives. Don't be too proud to marry one of them. Such pride leads to terrible frustration and ruin, just as laziness brings on severe poverty and causes starvation.

¹⁴ Pay your workers each day; never keep back their wages overnight. Honor God in this way, and he will reward you. Behave properly at all times. ^15 (N)Never do to anyone else anything that you would not want someone to do to you.

Do not drink so much wine that you get drunk, and do not let drinking become a habit.

¹⁶ Give food to the hungry and clothes to people in need. If you are prosperous, give generously, and do it gladly!

^17 (O)When one of God's faithful people has died, prepare food for the family,^[k] but never do this when someone evil dies.

¹⁸ Take the advice of sensible people, and never treat any useful advice lightly.

¹⁹ Take advantage of every opportunity to praise the Lord your God. Ask him to make you prosper in whatever you set out to do. He does not give his wisdom to the people of any other nation. He is the source of all good things, but he can also destroy you and bring you to certain death, if he wishes.

Remember all my instructions. Don't forget them for one minute.

²⁰ Tobias, I want you to know that I once left a large sum of money with Gabrias' son, Gabael, at Rages in Media. ^21 (P)We're poor now, but don't worry. If you obey God and avoid sin, he will be pleased with you and make you prosperous.

Travel Preparations

Tobias Meets Raphael

^4 (Q)Tobias then went out to look for someone who knew the way to Media and would travel with him. Almost as soon as he left the house, he found himself face-to-face with Raphael. Tobias did not know that Raphael was an angel of God, ⁵ so he asked him where he was from.

Tobit Meets Raphael

Tobias Catches a Fish

6 So Tobias and the angel started out toward Media, taking Tobias' dog along with them. They walked on until sunset, then camped by the Tigris River. ² Tobias had gone down to wash his feet in the river, when suddenly a huge fish jumped up out of the water and tried to swallow one of his feet. Tobias let out a yell, ³ and the angel called to him,

Then Tobias grabbed the fish and dragged it up on the bank.

⁵ Tobias did as the angel had told him. Then he cooked the fish, ate part of it, and salted the rest to take along with him.

On the Way to Ecbatana

⁹ When they had reached Media and were approaching the city of Ecbatana, ¹⁰ Raphael said,

At Raguel's House

The Marriage Ceremony

¹⁴ Raguel asked his wife to bring him a blank scroll so that he could write out the marriage contract. Edna brought him the scroll, and Raguel wrote out the agreement, saying that Sarah was given to Tobias according to the teachings in the Law of Moses. ¹⁵ After the ceremony they began the meal.

The Demon Is Expelled

8 When they had finished the meal, and it was time to go to bed, Sarah's parents led young Tobias to the bedroom. ² He remembered Raphael's instructions, so he took the fish's liver and heart out of the bag where he had been keeping them. Then he placed them on the burning incense. ^3 (T)The smell drove the demon away from them, and he fled to Egypt.^[n] Raphael chased after him and caught him there. At once he bound him hand and foot.

The Prayer of Tobias

Anxious Parents

Raguel's Prayer

The Wedding Feast

¹⁹ Raguel told his wife to bake enough bread for a big feast. Then he went out to the herd and brought back two oxen and four rams, which he ordered his servants to slaughter in preparation for the wedding feast. ^20 (W)He called for Tobias and vowed^[p] that he would not let him leave for two weeks.

The Journey to Rages

⁵ So Raphael and the four servants went to Rages in Media, where they stayed at Gabael's house. Raphael gave him the signed document and told him that Tobit's son Tobias had recently married, and that Gabael was invited to the wedding feast. At once Gabael counted out the bags of money, which were still sealed, and they loaded them on the camels.^{[q] 6} Very early the next morning, they set out for the wedding feast. When Raphael and Gabael came to Raguel's house, they found Tobias at dinner. Tobias immediately got up and greeted Gabael. With tears in his eyes Gabael returned the greeting and added,

Tobit and Anna Are Worried

Departure from Ecbatana

¹⁰ So Raguel gave Tobias his bride Sarah without further delay. He also gave Tobias half of everything he owned: slaves, cattle, sheep, donkeys, camels, clothes, money, and furniture. ¹¹ Raguel embraced Tobias and sent them on their way with his blessing,

11 When Tobias left, he was as happy as could be. He praised the Lord of heaven and earth, the King of all the world, because his journey had been so successful, and he promised to honor Raguel and his wife as long as they lived.^[s]

The Homecoming

⁵ Meanwhile, Anna sat looking down the road for her son. ⁶ Suddenly she saw him coming and she shouted out to Tobit,

Tobit's Cure

¹⁰ Tobit got up and stumbled out through the entrance of the courtyard. ¹¹ Tobias went up to him, holding the fish's gall bladder in his hand. He blew on his father's eyes and steadied him.

Sarah's Arrival

¹⁶ Tobit was excited and praised God as he went out to meet his son's bride at the city gate. When the people of Nineveh saw him, they were amazed, because he was walking on his own, with no one leading him by the hand. ¹⁷ Tobit praised God and told everyone how God in his mercy had restored his sight.

It was a day of great joy for all the Jews of Nineveh. ¹⁸ Tobit's nephews Ahikar and Nadab came by to share Tobit's happiness with him.

The Angel Raphael

⁶ Then Raphael called the two men aside and said to them, Praise God and tell everyone about the good things he has done for you, so that they too will honor him and sing his praises. Let everyone know what God has done. Never stop praising him.

⁷ It's a good idea to keep a king's secret, but what God does should be told everywhere, so that he may be praised and honored.

If you do good, no harm will come to you.

^8 (Y)It is better to pray sincerely and to please God by helping the poor than to be rich and dishonest. It is better to give to the poor than to store up gold. ^9 (Z)Such generosity will save you from death and will wash away all your sins. Those who give to the poor will live full lives, ¹⁰ but those who live a life of sin and wickedness are their own worst enemies.

¹¹ I have already told you that a king's secret ought to be kept, but the things God does should be told to everyone. Now I will reveal to you the full truth and keep nothing back. ^12 (AA)Tobit, when you and Sarah prayed to the Lord, I was the one who brought your prayers into his glorious presence. I did the same thing each time you buried the dead. ¹³ On the day you got up from the table without eating your meal in order to bury that corpse, God sent me to test you. ¹⁴ But he also sent me to cure you and to rescue your daughter-in-law, Sarah, from her troubles. ^15 (AB)I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand in the glorious presence of the Lord, ready to serve him.

¹⁶ Tobit and Tobias were terrified and fell to the ground, trembling with fear. ¹⁷ But Raphael said to them,

²¹ Then Raphael disappeared into the sky. Tobit and Tobias stood up, but they could no longer see him. ²² They began to sing hymns of praise, giving thanks for all the mighty deeds God had done while his angel Raphael had been with them.

Tobit's Song of Praise

13 Then Tobit prayed:

Tobit's Final Advice

^1-2 Tobit was 62 years old when he became blind, but after his sight had been restored, he lived a very full life. Once again he gave generously to the poor, and he continued to praise God and tell of his greatness. Tobit died a peaceful death at the age of 112, and was given an honorable burial in Nineveh.

³ But just before Tobit died, he sent for his son Tobias and told him, ^4 (AE)

Those Jews who live in Israel will all be scattered and taken from that good land into exile. All Israel will become a wasteland; Samaria and Jerusalem will be abandoned cities. God's Temple will be burned to the ground and will lie in complete ruin for a while. ⁵ But God will have mercy on his people again, and he will bring them back to the land of Israel. They will rebuild the Temple, but it will not be as splendid as the first Temple, not until the proper time has come. But when that time does come, all the people of Israel will return from exile, and they will rebuild the city of Jerusalem in all its former splendor. They will rebuild God's Temple in Jerusalem, just as Israel's prophets have foretold.

⁶ Then all the nations in the world will come back to God. They will worship him as the only true God and give up the idols that led them into false worship. ⁷ The nations of the world will praise the everlasting God by doing what he demands.

At that time God will save all the people of Israel who have been faithful to him. He will bring them together to Jerusalem, and let them take possession of the land of Abraham, and there they will live securely forever. All who love God with their heart and soul will rejoice, but all sinners and evil people will be wiped off the face of the earth.

⁸ Now, my children, follow my instructions. Worship God sincerely and do what is pleasing to him. ⁹ Bring up your children to do what is right. Teach them that they must give to the poor and must always remember to praise God with all sincerity.

¹⁰ Tobias, my son, leave Nineveh now. Do not stay here. As soon as you bury your mother beside me, leave; do not stay another night within the city limits. It is a wicked city and full of immorality; the people here have no sense of shame. Remember what Nadab did to Ahikar his own uncle who had brought him up. He tried to kill Ahikar and forced him to go into hiding in a tomb. Ahikar came back into the light of day, but God sent Nadab down into everlasting darkness for what he had done. Ahikar escaped the deadly trap which Nadab had set for him, because Ahikar^[v] had given generously to the poor. But Nadab fell into that fatal trap and it destroyed him. ¹¹ So now, my children, you see what happens to those who show their concern for others, and how death awaits those who treat others unjustly. But now I am very weak.

¹⁴ At the ripe old age of 117 Tobias died, ¹⁵ having lived long enough to hear about the destruction of Nineveh and to see King Cyaxares^[w] of Media take the people away as captives. Tobias praised God for the way that he had punished the people of Nineveh and Assyria. As long as he lived he gave thanks for what God had done to Nineveh.

The War between Nebuchadnezzar and Arphaxad

1 While King Nebuchadnezzar was ruling over the Assyrians from his capital city of Nineveh, King Arphaxad ruled over the Medes from his capital city of Ecbatana. ² Around Ecbatana King Arphaxad built a wall 105 feet high and 75 feet thick of cut stones; each stone was 4 1/2 feet thick and 9 feet long. ³ At each gate he built a tower 150 feet high, with a foundation 90 feet thick. ⁴ Each gateway was 105 feet high and 60 feet wide—wide enough for his whole army to march through, with the infantry in formation.

⁵ In the twelfth year of his reign King Nebuchadnezzar went to war against King Arphaxad in the large plain around the city of Rages. ⁶ Many nations joined forces with King Arphaxad—all the people who lived in the mountains, those who lived along the Tigris, Euphrates, and Hydaspes rivers, as well as those who lived in the plain ruled by King Arioch of Elam. Many nations joined this Chelodite alliance.

⁷ Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Assyria sent a message to the Persians and to the people to the west, in the regions of Cilicia, Damascus, Lebanon, Antilebanon, to those along the coast, ⁸ and in the regions of Carmel, Gilead, northern Galilee, and Jezreel Valley. ^9-10 The message also went to the people living in Samaria and the nearby towns, to those in the area west of the Jordan River as far as the cities of Jerusalem, Bethany, Chelous, and Kadesh, and to the district of Goshen. The message was also taken to the Egyptian cities of Tahpanhes, Rameses, Tanis, and Memphis, and the district up the Nile River to the Ethiopian^[x] border. ¹¹ But everyone in this whole region ignored King Nebuchadnezzar's appeal and refused to take part in the war. They thought that he had no chance of winning the war, so they were not afraid of him and sent his messengers back disgraced and empty-handed.

¹² This made Nebuchadnezzar so furious that he vowed he would risk his entire kingdom to take revenge on all those people. He vowed that he would put to death the entire population of Cilicia, Damascus, Syria, Moab, Ammon, Judah, and Egypt—everyone from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.

¹³ In the seventeenth year of his reign King Nebuchadnezzar led his army into battle against King Arphaxad. He defeated all of Arphaxad's forces, including his entire cavalry, and all his charioteers. ¹⁴ Then Nebuchadnezzar occupied all the towns in the land of Media and advanced against the city of Ecbatana. He captured the city's towers, looted its markets, and made that beautiful city a ruin. ¹⁵ He captured King Arphaxad in the mountains around Rages and killed him. After Arphaxad's death, ¹⁶ Nebuchadnezzar and his entire army returned to Nineveh with all the loot taken in battle. There they relaxed and feasted for four months.

The War against the Nations in the West

2 In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, on the twenty-second day of the first month of that year, he and his advisers decided to carry out his threat to take revenge on all those countries that had refused to help him. ^2-3 The king called his general staff and senior officers together and reported in detail how those countries had betrayed him. He and his officers agreed that everyone who had refused to help him in the war should be put to death. Then he described to them his plan of attack.

¹⁰ But you, Holofernes, are ordered to go ahead of me and occupy all their territories in advance. If they surrender to you, hold them for me until I come to punish them. ¹¹ But if they resist, do not spare them. Kill them and loot the entire region under your control. ¹² I have taken a solemn vow, and at the risk of my life and my royal power I am determined to do what I have vowed to do. ¹³ Do not disobey me in any way. I am your king; remember that, and carry out without delay every order that I have given you.

The Campaign of Holofernes

¹⁴ So Holofernes left the king and called together all the commanders, generals, and officers of the Assyrian army. ¹⁵ Just as the king had ordered, he chose 120,000 of the best infantrymen and 12,000 of the best mounted archers ¹⁶ and arranged them in battle formation. ¹⁷ He also took along a very large number of camels, donkeys, and mules to carry the equipment, as well as many sheep, cattle, and goats for food. ¹⁸ Every soldier received plenty of rations and a large payment of gold and silver from the royal treasury.

¹⁹ Then Holofernes and his entire army set out, advancing ahead of King Nebuchadnezzar. The chariots, the cavalry, and the infantry marched out to overrun the entire western region. ^20 (AF)Other troops went with them. There were so many that it was impossible to count them—they were like a swarm of locusts or like grains of sand in the desert.

²¹ Three days after they had left the city of Nineveh, they reached the plains around Bectileth near the mountains north of Cilicia, where they set up camp. ²² From there Holofernes advanced into the hill country with his entire army, his infantry, cavalry, and chariots. ²³ He totally destroyed the countries of Libya and Lydia, then plundered all the people of Rassis and the Ishmaelites who lived on the edge of the desert, south of the land of the Chelleans.

²⁴ Then Holofernes crossed the Euphrates River and marched through the land of Mesopotamia, completely destroying all the walled towns along the Abron River as far as the sea. ²⁵ He seized the territory of Cilicia, killing everyone who resisted him, and went as far as the southern borders of the land of Japheth, near Arabia. ²⁶ He surrounded the Midianites, burned down their tents, and slaughtered their sheep.

²⁷ Holofernes went down into the plains around Damascus during the wheat harvest, burned all the fields, slaughtered the flocks and herds, looted the towns, devastated the entire countryside, and killed all the young men. ²⁸ Panic seized all the people who lived along the Mediterranean Sea, and they shook with fear. Everyone in the towns of Tyre, Sidon, Sur, Ocina, Jamnia, Ashdod, and Ashkelon was terrified.

The Peace Delegation to King Nebuchadnezzar

⁵ After the peace delegation had brought this message, ⁶ Holofernes led Nebuchadnezzar's army down to the Mediterranean coast. He stationed guards in all the walled towns and selected certain local men in each of the towns as reserve troops. ⁷ The people in the towns and in the surrounding countryside welcomed Holofernes by wearing wreaths of flowers and dancing to the beat of drums. ^8 (AG)But Holofernes destroyed all their places of worship^[y] and cut down their sacred trees. He had been ordered to destroy all the gods of the land so that all the nations and tribes would worship only Nebuchadnezzar and pray to him as a god.

⁹ Then Holofernes passed through Jezreel Valley near Dothan, which faces the main ridge of the mountains of Judah, ¹⁰ and set up camp between Geba and Scythopolis. He stayed there for a month in order to get supplies for his army.

The Israelite Plan for Defense

4 The people of Judah heard what Holofernes, the commander of King Nebuchadnezzar's armies, had done to the other nations. They heard how he had looted and destroyed all their temples, ² and they were terrified of him and afraid of what he might do to Jerusalem and to the Temple of the Lord their God. ³ They had only recently returned home to Judah from exile and had just rededicated the Temple and its utensils and its altar after they had been defiled. ⁴ So they sent a warning to the whole region of Samaria and to the towns of Kona, Beth Horon, Belmain, Jericho, Choba, and Aesora, and to Salem Valley. ⁵ They immediately occupied the mountaintops, fortified the villages on the mountains, and stored up food in preparation for war. It was fortunate that they had recently harvested their fields.

⁶ The High Priest Joakim, who was in Jerusalem at that time, wrote to the people in the towns of Bethulia and Betomesthaim, which face Jezreel Valley near Dothan. ⁷ He ordered them to occupy the mountain passes which led into the land of Judah, where it would be easy to withstand an attack, since the approach was only wide enough for two people at a time to pass. ⁸ The Israelites carried out the orders given to them by the High Priest Joakim and the Council which met in Jerusalem.

Prayer before the War

⁹ The leaders of Israel prayed earnestly to God and fasted. ^10 (AH)They put on sackcloth—they and their wives, their children, their livestock, and every resident foreigner, every slave and hired laborer. ^11-12 They also covered the altar with sackcloth. Then all the men, women, and children in Jerusalem lay face down on the ground in front of the Temple; they lay there in the Lord's presence, all in sackcloth, their heads covered with ashes. They joined together in earnest prayer to the God of Israel, begging him not to let their children be captured, their wives carried off, or their home towns destroyed. They pleaded with him not to give the Gentiles the satisfaction of destroying the Temple and dishonoring it. ^13 [z]The Lord heard their prayers and saw their distress. For many days the people of Judah and Jerusalem continued their fast in front of the Temple of the Lord Almighty. ^14 (AI)The High Priest Joakim, the priests, and all the others who served in the Lord's Temple, wore sackcloth when they offered the daily burnt offering, the freewill offerings of the people, and the offerings made to fulfill a vow. ¹⁵ They put ashes on their turbans and cried out in prayer to the Lord, begging him to have mercy on the whole nation.

The War Council in the Camp of Holofernes

5 When Holofernes, the Assyrian general, heard that the Israelites had prepared for war, blocked the mountain passes, fortified the mountaintops, and set up roadblocks in the plains, ² he boiled over with anger. He called together all the Moabite rulers, all the Ammonite generals, and all the governors of the region along the Mediterranean coast ³ and said to them,

The Speech of Achior

^9 (AJ)Afterward, their god told them to leave Mesopotamia and go to the land of Canaan, where they settled and became very rich in gold, silver, and livestock. ^10 (AK)Later, when a famine struck all the land of Canaan, these Israelites, as they were later called, went down to Egypt and stayed there as long as there was enough food. While they were there, they became a large nation with so many people that they could not be counted. ^11 (AL)So the king of Egypt turned against them. He took advantage of them and put them to work making bricks. He oppressed them and made them slaves. ^12 (AM)But they prayed to their god, and he sent disasters that left the Egyptians helpless. When the Egyptians drove them out of the country, ^13 (AN)their god dried up the Red Sea in front of them, ¹⁴ and then led them along the way to Sinai and Kadesh Barnea.

The Israelites drove out all the people who lived in the southern part of Canaan, ¹⁵ occupied the land of the Amorites, wiped out the people of Heshbon, crossed the Jordan River, and took possession of the entire mountain region. ¹⁶ They drove out the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Shechemites, and all the Girgashites. The Israelites have now lived in these mountains for a long time.

^17 (AO)Their god hates wickedness, and as long as they did not sin against him, they prospered. ¹⁸ But when they disobeyed him, they suffered heavy losses in many wars and were finally taken away as captives to a foreign country. The temple of their god was leveled and their cities were occupied by their enemies. ¹⁹ But now that they have returned to their god, they have come back home from the countries where they had been scattered. They have again taken possession of the city of Jerusalem, where their temple is, and have resettled in the mountains that had remained uninhabited.

²⁰ Sir, if these people are now sinning against their god, even unknowingly, and if we can be sure that they are guilty of some offense, we can successfully attack them. ²¹ But if they have not disobeyed the law of their god, then you should leave them alone, or he will defend them, and we will be disgraced before the whole world.

The Reaction of the Crowd

²² When Achior had finished his speech, all the people standing around the tent began to protest. Holofernes' own senior officers, as well as the Moabites and those from the Mediterranean coast, demanded that Achior be put to death.

The Speech of Holofernes

6 When the noise of the crowd around the council had subsided, Holofernes spoke to Achior in front of the entire group, those from the Mediterranean coast, the Moabites, and the Ammonite mercenaries.^[aa]

⁷ Now my men will take you into the mountains and leave you in one of the Israelite towns, ⁸ and you will die with the people there. ⁹ Why look so worried, Achior? Don't you think the town can stand against me? I will carry out all my threats; you can be sure of that!

Achior Is Brought to Bethulia

¹⁰ Then Holofernes ordered his men, who were waiting in his tent, to seize Achior, take him to Bethulia, and hand him over to the Israelites. ¹¹ So the men seized Achior and took him out of the camp into the valley. From there they led him into the mountains, as far as the spring which was below Bethulia.

¹² When the men of that town saw them approaching, they picked up their weapons and ran to the top of the hill. Every man who used a sling as a weapon rained stones down on Holofernes' soldiers, and this stopped them from coming any farther up the mountain. ¹³ The Assyrians were forced to take cover along the mountainside, where they tied Achior up and left him lying at the foot of the mountain. Then they returned to Holofernes.

¹⁴ Later, when the Israelites came down from Bethulia, they untied Achior, brought him into the town, and took him before the town officials, ¹⁵ who at that time were Uzziah son of Micah, of the tribe of Simeon, Chabris son of Gothoniel, and Charmis son of Melchiel. ¹⁶ The officials called together the town elders, and all the women and the young men also ran to the assembly. Achior was brought before the people, and Uzziah began questioning him. ¹⁷ Achior told them what had been said at Holofernes' war council, what he himself had said to the Assyrian officers, and how Holofernes had boasted about what he would do to the Israelites. ¹⁸ When the people heard this, they fell on their knees and worshiped God. They prayed:

The Siege of Bethulia

^1-2 The next day Holofernes gathered his whole army together, as well as his allied forces. It was an immense army, consisting of 170,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry, not counting the support troops who took care of the equipment. He ordered them to march on Bethulia, seize the mountain passes, and attack the Israelites. So they moved out ³ and set up camp beside the spring in the valley near Bethulia. The camp was so wide that it spread out toward the town of Dothan as far as Balbaim, and so long that it stretched from Bethulia to Cyamon, which faces Jezreel Valley.

¹⁶ Holofernes and his entire staff were pleased with this suggestion, so he gave orders to put the plan into action. ¹⁷ The Moabites and 5,000 Assyrians moved their camp into the valley to control the source of the town's water. ¹⁸ The Edomites and the Ammonites went up into the mountains and set up their camp opposite the town of Dothan. They sent some of their men to the southeast in the direction of Acraba, near Chusi, which is beside the Mochmur River. The rest of the Assyrian army set up camp in the valley. Their camp was spread out over the whole countryside, because the number of tents and the amount of equipment needed for such a large army were immense.

¹⁹ Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord their God for help. They had lost their courage, for with the enemy all around them there was no way to escape. ²⁰ The entire Assyrian army—infantry, chariots, and cavalry—blockaded Bethulia for thirty-four days until the town ran out of water. ²¹ All the reservoirs and cisterns went dry, so that the drinking water had to be rationed, and not a day passed when there was enough water to go around. ²² Children were becoming weak; everywhere throughout the town women and young people were collapsing. No one had any strength left.

²⁹ Everyone there began to weep loudly and to pray to the Lord their God. ³⁰ Then Uzziah said to them,

³² So Uzziah dismissed the people. All the men returned to their guard posts on the walls and towers, while the women and children went back to their homes. The morale of the entire town was very low.

Judith, the Israelite Widow

8 At that time, Judith heard about Uzziah's decision. She was the daughter of Merari, the granddaughter of Ox and the great-granddaughter of Joseph. Joseph's ancestors were Oziel, Elkiah, Ananias, Gideon, Raphaim, Ahitub, Elijah, Hilkiah, Eliab, Nathanael, Salamiel, Sarasadai, and Israel. ² Judith's husband Manasseh, who belonged to the same tribe and clan, had died during the barley harvest. ³ He had suffered a sunstroke while in the fields supervising the farm workers and later died in bed at home in Bethulia. He was buried in the family tomb in the field between Dothan and Balamon.

⁴ For three years and four months, Judith had lived as a widow. ^5 (AQ)In her grief she built a little shelter on the roof of her house and lived there, wearing sackcloth. ⁶ She fasted during that entire period except when fasting was forbidden: the day before the Sabbath and the Sabbath itself, the eve of the New Moon Festival and the Festival itself, and all the festivals and holidays observed by the people of Israel. ⁷ Judith was a very beautiful woman. Her husband had left her gold and silver, servants and slaves, livestock and fields. She continued to supervise the estate, ⁸ and no one ever said anything bad about Judith. She was a very religious woman.

Judith Meets with the Town Officials

⁹ Judith heard how the people were complaining bitterly against Uzziah, now that the water shortage had broken their morale. She learned that in answer to their complaints he had promised to surrender the town to the Assyrians after five days. ¹⁰ Judith sent a slave, the woman who managed her business affairs, to invite Uzziah,^[ad] Chabris, and Charmis, the town officials, to her home.

²¹ If our town is taken by the enemy, the entire region of Judah will then fall, and our Temple in Jerusalem will be looted. And God will make us pay with our lives for allowing the Temple to be defiled. ²² He will hold us responsible for the slaughter and captivity of our people and for the destruction of the land we have inherited. We will be despised and mocked by the people in those nations to which we will be taken as slaves. ²³ We are not going to win the favor of our enemies by surrendering to them now.^[ae] If we do surrender, the Lord our God will see that we are put to shame.

²⁴ No, my friends, we should set an example for our own people. Not only their lives, but the fate of the Temple and the altar depend on us. ²⁵ The Lord our God is putting us to the test, just as he tested our ancestors, and we should be thankful for that. ^26 (AT)Remember how he put Abraham and Isaac to the test, and what happened to Jacob while he was working as a shepherd for his uncle Laban in Mesopotamia. ²⁷ God is not testing our loyalty as severely as he did theirs. God is not sending this punishment on us as revenge, but as a warning to us who worship him.

Judith's Prayer

9 Then Judith put ashes on her head, opened her robe to reveal the sackcloth she was wearing under her clothes, and bowed down with her face to the floor. It was the time that the evening incense was being offered in the Temple in Jerusalem, and Judith prayed in a loud voice: ^2 (AU)

O my God, listen to my prayer, the prayer of a widow. ⁵ Your hand guided all that happened then, and all that happened before and after. You have planned it all—what is happening now, and what is yet to be. Your plans have always been carried out. ⁶ Whatever you want to be done is as good as done. You know in advance all that you will do and what decisions you will make. ⁷ Now the Assyrians are stronger than ever; they take pride in their cavalry and their infantry. They rely on their weapons, but they do not know that you, O Lord, are a warrior who ends war. The Lord is your name. ⁸ In your anger, use your power to shatter their mighty army. They plan to defile your Temple, where you are worshiped, and to hack off the corners of your altar with their swords. ⁹ Look how proud and boastful they are! Pour out your fury upon them! I am only a widow, but give me the strength to carry out my plan. ¹⁰ Use my deceitful words to strike them all dead, master and slave alike. Let a woman's strength break their pride. ¹¹ Your power does not depend on the size and strength of an army. You are a God who cares for the humble and helps the oppressed. You give support and protection to people who are weak and helpless; you save those who have lost hope. ¹² Now hear my prayer, O God of my ancestor Simeon, the God in whom Israel trusts, ruler of heaven and earth, creator of the rivers and the seas, king of all creation. Hear my prayer and ^13 [ah]let my deceitful words wound and kill those who have planned such cruelty against your covenant and your holy Temple, against Mount Zion and the land you have given your people. ¹⁴ Make your whole nation and every tribe recognize that you are God, almighty and all-powerful, and that you alone protect the people of Israel!

Judith Goes to the Camp of Holofernes

10 When Judith had finished her prayer to the God of Israel, ² she stood up, called her slave woman, and went down into the house as she always did on Sabbaths and festival days. ³ She took off the sackcloth and her widow's clothes, took a bath, and put on rich perfumes. She brushed her hair, tied a ribbon around it, and dressed herself in the fine clothes she used to wear on joyful occasions when her husband Manasseh was still alive. ⁴ She put on sandals and all her finest jewelry: rings and earrings, and bracelets on her wrists and ankles. She made herself so beautiful that she was sure to attract the attention of any man who saw her. ⁵ Judith gave her slave woman a leather bag of wine and a jar of oil to carry. She filled a bag with roasted barley, cakes of dried figs, and several loaves of bread baked according to Jewish food laws. She carefully wrapped all the food and dishes and gave them to her slave. ⁶ Then the two women left the house and went to the gates of Bethulia, where they found Uzziah and the town officials, Chabris and Charmis, standing guard. ⁷ When the men saw Judith after she had changed clothes and put on make-up, they were struck by her beauty and said to her,

¹¹ As the two women were walking through the valley, an Assyrian patrol met them. ¹² They arrested Judith and questioned her,

¹⁷ They assigned a hundred men to escort Judith and her slave to the headquarters of Holofernes.

¹⁸ There was great commotion in the Assyrian camp as news of Judith's arrival spread from tent to tent. While she stood outside the tent of Holofernes waiting to be presented to him, many Assyrian soldiers came and stood around her. ¹⁹ They were greatly impressed by her beauty and wondered what kind of people the Israelites were.

²⁰ Then Holofernes' bodyguard and his personal servants came out and led Judith into the tent. ²¹ Holofernes was resting on his bed under a mosquito net woven of purple and gold thread and decorated with emeralds and other precious stones. ²² When the men told him that Judith had arrived, he came to the outer part of the tent. Silver lamps were carried ahead of him. ²³ When Judith came near him and his servants, they were all astonished at her beauty. She bowed down to the ground before Holofernes, but his servants helped her to her feet.

¹¹ But you will not suffer any setbacks, nor will you fail to achieve your goal. When the Israelites sin and make their God angry, they will die. ¹² Their food supply has already run out, and the water shortage has become serious, so they have decided to kill their livestock and eat foods that God's Law clearly forbids them to eat. ^13 (AW)They have decided to eat the wheat set aside from the early harvest and the tithes of wine and oil, which are holy and are reserved for the priests who serve God in Jerusalem. The rest of us are forbidden even to touch this sacred food, ¹⁴ but since the people in Jerusalem have already broken this law, the people of our town have sent messengers to the Council there requesting permission to do the same. ¹⁵ On the day that they receive permission and actually eat the food, you will be able to destroy them. ¹⁶ As soon as I learned about this, I ran away from my people. God has sent me to do something with you that will amaze everyone in the entire world who hears about it. ¹⁷ Sir, I am a religious woman; I worship the God of heaven day and night. I will stay here in your camp, and each night I will go out into the valley to pray to God, and he will tell me when the Israelites have sinned. ¹⁸ As soon as I find out, I will come and tell you, and you can march out with your whole army. The Israelites will not be able to defend themselves against you. ¹⁹ I will guide you through the central part of the land of Judah until we come to Jerusalem, where I will crown you king in the center of the city. You will scatter the people of Jerusalem like sheep without a shepherd. Not even a dog will dare to growl at you. God has revealed these things to me in advance and has sent me to report them to you.

Judith Remains Faithful to Her Religion

12 Holofernes commanded his men to take Judith to the table which was set with his silverware and to serve her some of his own special food and wine. ^2 (AX)But Judith refused.

⁵ Then Holofernes' personal servants led Judith to a tent. She slept there until the time of the morning watch just before dawn, when she got up ⁶ and sent a message to Holofernes requesting permission to go out into the valley to pray. ⁷ Holofernes ordered his guards to let Judith leave the camp. So for three days Judith lived in the camp, and each night she would go out to the valley near Bethulia and bathe at the spring. ⁸ After she had bathed, she would pray to the Lord God to guide her in her plan to bring victory to Israel. ⁹ Then she would return to the camp ritually pure and remain in her tent until after the evening meal.

Holofernes' Banquet

¹⁰ On the fourth day of Judith's stay in the camp, Holofernes gave a banquet for his highest ranking officers, but he did not invite any of the officers who were on duty. ¹¹ He said to Bagoas, the eunuch who was in charge of his personal affairs,

¹⁵ So Judith got up and put on her prettiest clothes. Her slave woman went ahead of her and placed on the ground in front of Holofernes the lamb skins that Bagoas had given Judith to sit on when she ate. ¹⁶ Judith came into the tent and sat down there. Holofernes was aroused when he saw her and had an uncontrollable desire to make love to her. From the first day he had seen her, he had been waiting for a chance to seduce her.

13 Finally, when it got late, the guests excused themselves and left. Bagoas then closed up the tent from the outside and prevented Holofernes' servants from going in. So they all went to bed; everyone was very tired because the banquet had lasted so long. ² Judith was left alone in the tent with Holofernes who was lying drunk on his bed. ³ Judith's slave woman was waiting outside the tent for Judith to go and pray, as she had done each night. Judith had also told Bagoas that she would be going out to pray as usual.

⁶ Judith went to the bedpost by Holofernes' head and took down his sword. ⁷ She came closer, seized Holofernes by the hair of his head, and said,

Judith and Her Slave Return to Bethulia

¹² When the men heard her voice, they hurried down to the gates and called for the town officials. ¹³ Everyone, young and old, ran together to the gate. No one could believe that Judith had come back. They opened the gate for her and her slave and welcomed them. Then, when they had lit a fire to give some light and had gathered around the two women, ¹⁴ Judith shouted,

Judith's Plan

Achior's Conversion

⁶ So they called Achior from Uzziah's house. But when he came and saw the head of Holofernes in the hands of one of the men, Achior fainted and fell to the floor. ⁷ When they had helped him up, Achior bowed at Judith's feet in respect.

Panic in Holofernes' Camp

¹¹ The next morning the Israelites hung the head of Holofernes on the wall of the town. All of them took up their weapons and went out in companies to the slopes in front of the town. ¹² When the Assyrians saw what was happening, they sent word to their officers, and these reported the matter to their superiors. ¹³ These men then went to Holofernes' tent and said to Bagoas,

¹⁴ Bagoas went in and clapped his hands in front of the sleeping quarters of the tent, thinking that Holofernes was in bed with Judith. ¹⁵ When there was no answer, he drew the curtain aside and went in, and there he found the headless body sprawled over a footstool. ¹⁶ Bagoas let out a yell. He screamed, tore his clothes, and started groaning and weeping. ¹⁷ He went into the tent where Judith had stayed, but of course he did not find her. He rushed out and shouted to the officers,

Israel's Victory

15 When the soldiers heard what had happened, they were horrified ² and began to tremble with fear. They all scattered in different directions from the camp, making no effort to stay together as they tried to escape along the paths in the mountains and valleys. ³ The soldiers who had camped in the mountains around Bethulia also began to retreat. Then all the Israelite soldiers came charging down on them.

⁴ Uzziah sent messengers to the towns of Betomesthaim, Bebai, Choba, and Kola, and throughout the land of Israel to tell everyone what had happened and to urge them to join in pursuing and destroying the enemy. ⁵ When they received the message, they all attacked the Assyrians and chased them as far as Choba, slaughtering them as they went. Even the people of Jerusalem and others living in the mountains joined the attack when the messengers told them what had happened in the Assyrian camp. The people of the regions of Gilead and Galilee blocked the path of the retreating Assyrians and inflicted heavy losses on them. They pursued them as far as the region around Damascus.

⁶ The rest of the people in Bethulia went down to the Assyrian camp, plundered it and carried away enough loot to make themselves very rich. ⁷ When the Israelite soldiers returned from the slaughter, they helped themselves to what was left. There was so much of it that the people of the towns and villages in the hill country also shared in the loot.

Israel Celebrates the Victory

⁸ The High Priest Joakim and the Council of Israel came from Jerusalem to see for themselves what great things the Lord had done for his people and to meet Judith and congratulate her. ⁹ When they arrived, they all praised her,

¹¹ It took the people thirty days to finish looting the camp of the Assyrians. Judith was given Holofernes' tent, all his silver, his bowls, his couches, and all his furniture. She took them and loaded as much as she could on her mule; then she brought her wagons and loaded them too. ¹² All the Israelite women came to see her; they sang her praises and danced in her honor. On this joyful occasion Judith and the other women waved ivy-covered branches ¹³ and wore wreaths of olive leaves on their heads. Judith took her place at the head of the procession to lead the women as they danced. All the men of Israel followed, wearing wreaths of flowers on their heads, carrying their weapons, and singing songs of praise.

Judith's Song of Praise

16 Then Judith sang a song of thanksgiving there with all Israel present, and the people joined in this song of praise. ² She sang,

Judith's Fame

¹⁸ When the people arrived in Jerusalem, they purified themselves and worshiped God. They presented their burnt offerings, freewill offerings, and gifts. ¹⁹ Judith dedicated to God all of Holofernes' property, which the people had given to her. And as a special offering in fulfillment of a vow, she presented to the Lord the mosquito net which she had taken from Holofernes' bed. ²⁰ For three months the people continued to celebrate in front of the Temple in Jerusalem, and Judith stayed there with them.

²¹ When the celebrations had ended, everyone returned home, and Judith went back to Bethulia to live on her own estate. For the rest of her life she was famous throughout the land of Israel. ²² Many men wanted to marry her, but she never remarried after the death of her husband Manasseh. ^23-24 Her fame continued to spread, and she lived in the house her husband had left her. Before she died, Judith divided her property among her husband's and her own close relatives and set her slave woman free. When she died in Bethulia at the age of 105, she was buried beside her husband, and the people of Israel mourned her death for seven days. ²⁵ As long as Judith lived, and for many years after her death, no one dared to threaten the people of Israel.

Queen Vashti Defies King Xerxes

1 ^(BB)1-2 From his royal throne in Persia's capital city of Susa, King Xerxes ruled 127 provinces, all the way from India to Ethiopia.^[aj]

³ In the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his officials and administrators. The armies of Persia and Media were present, as well as the governors and noblemen of the provinces. ⁴ For six whole months he made a show of the riches of the imperial court with all its splendor and majesty.

⁵ After that, the king gave a banquet for all the people in the capital city of Susa, rich and poor alike. It lasted a whole week and was held in the gardens of the royal palace. ⁶ The courtyard there was decorated with blue and white cotton curtains, tied by cords of fine purple linen to silver rings on marble columns. Couches made of gold and silver had been placed in the courtyard, which was paved with white marble, red feldspar, shining mother-of-pearl, and blue turquoise. ⁷ Drinks were served in gold cups, no two of them alike, and the king was generous with the royal wine. ⁸ There were no limits on the drinks; the king had given orders to the palace servants that everyone could have as much as they wanted.^[ak]

⁹ Meanwhile, inside the royal palace Queen Vashti was giving a banquet for the women.

¹⁰ On the seventh day of his banquet the king was drinking and feeling happy, so he called in the seven eunuchs who were his personal servants, Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas. ¹¹ He ordered them to bring in Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown. The queen was a beautiful woman, and the king wanted to show off her beauty to the officials and all his guests. ¹² But when the servants told Queen Vashti of the king's command, she refused to come. This made the king furious.

¹³ Now it was the king's custom to ask for expert opinion on questions of law and order, so he called for his advisers, who would know what should be done. ¹⁴ Those he most often turned to for advice were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan—seven officials of Persia and Media who held the highest offices in the kingdom. ¹⁵ He said to these men, “I, King Xerxes, sent my servants to Queen Vashti with a command, and she refused to obey it! What does the law say that we should do with her?”

¹⁶ Then Memucan declared to the king and his officials: “Queen Vashti has insulted not only the king but also his officials—in fact, every man in the empire! ¹⁷ Every woman in the empire will start looking down on her husband as soon as she hears what the queen has done. They'll say, ‘King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to come to him, and she refused.’ ¹⁸ When the wives of the royal officials of Persia and Media hear about the queen's behavior, they will be telling their husbands about it before the day is out. Wives everywhere will have no respect for their husbands, and husbands will be angry with their wives. ¹⁹ If it please Your Majesty, issue a royal proclamation that Vashti may never again appear before the king. Have it written into the laws of Persia and Media, so that it can never be changed. Then give her place as queen to some better woman. ²⁰ When your proclamation is made known all over this huge empire, every woman will treat her husband with proper respect, whether he's rich or poor.”

²¹ The king and his officials liked this idea, and the king did what Memucan suggested. ²² To each of the royal provinces he sent a message in the language and the system of writing of that province, saying^[al] that every husband should be the master of his home and speak with final authority.

Esther Becomes Queen

2 Later, even after the king's anger had cooled down, he kept thinking about what Vashti had done and about his proclamation against her. ² So some of the king's advisers who were close to him suggested, “Why don't you make a search to find some beautiful young virgins? ³ You can appoint officials in every province of the empire and have them bring all these beautiful young women to your harem here in Susa, the capital city. Put them in the care of Hegai, the eunuch who is in charge of your women, and let them be given a beauty treatment. ⁴ Then take the young woman you like best and make her queen in Vashti's place.”

The king thought this was good advice, so he followed it.

⁵ There in Susa lived a Jew named Mordecai son of Jair; he was from the tribe of Benjamin and was a descendant of Kish and Shimei. ^6 (BC)When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took King Jehoiachin of Judah into exile from Jerusalem, along with a group of captives, Mordecai was among them. ⁷ He had a cousin, Esther, whose Hebrew name was Hadassah; she was a beautiful young woman, and had a good figure. At the death of her parents, Mordecai had adopted her and brought her up as his own daughter.

⁸ When the king had issued his new proclamation and many young women were being brought to Susa, Esther was among them. She too was put in the royal palace in the care of Hegai, who had charge of the harem. ⁹ Hegai liked Esther, and she won his favor. He lost no time in beginning her beauty treatment of massage and special diet. He gave her the best place in the harem and assigned seven young women specially chosen from the royal palace to serve her.

¹⁰ Now, on the advice of Mordecai, Esther had kept it secret that she was Jewish. ¹¹ Every day Mordecai would walk back and forth in front of the courtyard of the harem, in order to find out how she was getting along and what was going to happen to her.

¹² The regular beauty treatment for the women lasted a year—massages with oil of myrrh for six months and with oil of balsam for six more. After that, each woman would be taken in turn to King Xerxes. ¹³ When she went from the harem to the palace, she could wear whatever she wanted. ¹⁴ She would go there in the evening, and the next morning she would be taken to another harem and put in the care of Shaashgaz, the eunuch in charge of the king's concubines. She would not go to the king again unless he liked her enough to ask for her by name.

¹⁵ The time came for Esther to go to the king. Esther—the daughter of Abihail and the cousin of Mordecai, who had adopted her as his daughter; Esther—admired by everyone who saw her. When her turn came, she wore just what Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem, advised her to wear. ¹⁶ So in Xerxes' seventh year as king, in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, Esther was brought to King Xerxes in the royal palace. ¹⁷ The king liked her more than any of the other women, and more than any of the others she won his favor and affection. He placed the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti. ¹⁸ Then the king gave a great banquet in Esther's honor and invited all his officials and administrators. He proclaimed a holiday^[am] for the whole empire and distributed gifts worthy of a king.

Mordecai Saves the King's Life

¹⁹ Meanwhile Mordecai had been appointed by the king to an administrative position. ²⁰ As for Esther, she had still not let it be known that she was Jewish. Mordecai had told her not to tell anyone, and she obeyed him in this, just as she had obeyed him when she was a little girl under his care.

²¹ During the time that Mordecai held office in the palace, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the palace eunuchs who guarded the entrance to the king's rooms, became hostile to King Xerxes and plotted to assassinate him. ²² Mordecai learned about it and told Queen Esther, who then told the king what Mordecai had found out. ²³ There was an investigation, and it was discovered that the report was true, so both men were hanged on the gallows. The king ordered an account of this to be written down in the official records of the empire.

Haman Plots to Destroy the Jews

3 Some time later King Xerxes promoted a man named Haman to the position of prime minister. Haman was the son of Hammedatha, a descendant of Agag.^{[an] 2} The king ordered all the officials in his service to show their respect for Haman by kneeling and bowing to him. They all did so, except for Mordecai, who refused to do it. ³ The other officials in the royal service asked him why he was disobeying the king's command; ⁴ day after day they urged him to give in, but he would not listen to them. “I am a Jew,” he explained, “and I cannot bow to Haman.” So they told Haman about this, wondering if he would tolerate Mordecai's conduct. ⁵ Haman was furious when he realized that Mordecai was not going to kneel and bow to him, ⁶ and when he learned that Mordecai was a Jew, he decided to do more than punish Mordecai alone. He made plans to kill every Jew in the whole Persian Empire.

⁷ In the twelfth year of King Xerxes' rule, in the first month, the month of Nisan, Haman ordered the lots to be cast (“purim,” they were called) to find out the right day and month to carry out his plot. The thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, was decided on.

^8 (BD)So Haman told the king, “There is a certain race of people scattered all over your empire and found in every province. They observe customs that are not like those of any other people. Moreover, they do not obey the laws of the empire, so it is not in your best interests to tolerate them. ⁹ If it please Your Majesty, issue a decree that they are to be put to death. If you do, I guarantee that I will be able to put 375 tons of silver into the royal treasury for the administration of the empire.”

¹⁰ The king took off his ring, which was used to stamp proclamations and make them official, and gave it to the enemy of the Jewish people, Haman son of Hammedatha, the descendant of Agag. ¹¹ The king told him, “The people and their money are yours; do as you like with them.”

¹² So on the thirteenth day of the first month Haman called the king's secretaries and dictated a proclamation to be translated into every language and system of writing used in the empire and to be sent to all the rulers, governors, and officials. It was issued in the name of King Xerxes and stamped with his ring. ¹³ Runners took this proclamation to every province of the empire. It contained the instructions that on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, all Jews—young and old, women and children—were to be killed. They were to be slaughtered without mercy and their belongings were to be taken. ¹⁴ The contents of the proclamation were to be made public in every province, so that everyone would be prepared when that day came.

¹⁵ At the king's command the decree was made public in the capital city of Susa, and runners carried the news to the provinces. The king and Haman sat down and had a drink while the city of Susa was being thrown into confusion.

Mordecai Asks for Esther's Help

4 When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes in anguish. Then he dressed in sackcloth, covered his head with ashes, and walked through the city, wailing loudly and bitterly, ² until he came to the entrance of the palace. He did not go in because no one wearing sackcloth was allowed inside. ³ Throughout all the provinces, wherever the king's proclamation was made known, there was loud mourning among the Jews. They fasted, wept, wailed, and most of them put on sackcloth and lay in ashes.

⁴ When Esther's servant women and eunuchs told her what Mordecai was doing, she was deeply disturbed. She sent Mordecai some clothes to put on instead of the sackcloth, but he would not accept them. ⁵ Then she called Hathach, one of the palace eunuchs appointed as her servant by the king, and told him to go to Mordecai and find out what was happening and why. ⁶ Hathach went to Mordecai in the city square at the entrance of the palace. ⁷ Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him and just how much money Haman had promised to put into the royal treasury if all the Jews were killed. ⁸ He gave Hathach a copy of the proclamation that had been issued in Susa, ordering the destruction of the Jews. Mordecai asked him to take it to Esther, explain the situation to her, and have her go and plead with the king and beg him to have mercy on her people. ⁹ Hathach did this, ¹⁰ and Esther gave him this message to take back to Mordecai: ¹¹ “If anyone, man or woman, goes to the inner courtyard and sees the king without being summoned, that person must die. That is the law; everyone, from the king's advisers to the people in the provinces, knows that. There is only one way to get around this law: if the king holds out his gold scepter to someone, then that person's life is spared. But it has been a month since the king sent for me.”

¹² When Mordecai received Esther's message, ¹³ he sent her this warning: “Don't imagine that you are safer than any other Jew just because you are in the royal palace. ¹⁴ If you keep quiet at a time like this, help will come from heaven to the Jews, and they will be saved, but you will die and your father's family will come to an end. Yet who knows—maybe it was for a time like this that you were made queen!”

¹⁵ Esther sent Mordecai this reply: ¹⁶ “Go and get all the Jews in Susa together; hold a fast and pray for me. Don't eat or drink anything for three days and nights. My servant women and I will be doing the same. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. If I must die for doing it, I will die.”

¹⁷ Mordecai then left and did everything that Esther had told him to do.

Esther Invites the King and Haman to a Banquet

5 On the third day of her fast Esther put on her royal robes and went and stood in the inner courtyard of the palace, facing the throne room. The king was inside, seated on the royal throne, facing the entrance. ² When the king saw Queen Esther standing outside, she won his favor, and he held out to her the gold scepter. She then came up and touched the tip of it. ³ “What is it, Queen Esther?” the king asked. “Tell me what you want, and you shall have it—even if it is half my empire.”

⁴ Esther replied, “If it please Your Majesty, I would like you and Haman to be my guests tonight at a banquet I am preparing for you.”

⁵ The king then ordered Haman to come quickly, so that they could be Esther's guests. So the king and Haman went to Esther's banquet. ⁶ Over the wine the king asked her, “Tell me what you want, and you shall have it. I will grant your request, even if you ask for half my empire.”

⁷ Esther replied, ⁸ “If Your Majesty is kind enough to grant my request, I would like you and Haman to be my guests tomorrow at another banquet that I will prepare for you. At that time I will tell you what I want.”

Haman Plots to Kill Mordecai

⁹ When Haman left the banquet he was happy and in a good mood. But then he saw Mordecai at the entrance of the palace, and when Mordecai did not rise or show any sign of respect as he passed, Haman was furious with him. ¹⁰ But he controlled himself and went on home. Then he invited his friends to his house and asked his wife Zeresh to join them. ¹¹ He boasted to them about how rich he was, how many sons he had, how the king had promoted him to high office, and how much more important he was than any of the king's other officials. ¹² “What is more,” Haman went on, “Queen Esther gave a banquet for no one but the king and me, and we are invited back tomorrow. ¹³ But none of this means a thing to me as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the entrance of the palace.”

¹⁴ So his wife and all his friends suggested, “Why don't you have a gallows built, seventy-five feet tall? Tomorrow morning you can ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it, and then you can go to the banquet happy.”

Haman thought this was a good idea, so he had the gallows built.

The King Honors Mordecai

6 That same night the king could not get to sleep, so he had the official records of the empire brought and read to him. ^2 [ao]The part they read included the account of how Mordecai had uncovered a plot to assassinate the king—the plot made by Bigthana and Teresh, the two palace eunuchs who had guarded the king's rooms. ³ The king asked, “How have we honored and rewarded Mordecai for this?”

His servants answered, “Nothing has been done for him.”

⁴ “Are any of my officials in the palace?” the king asked.

Now Haman had just entered the courtyard; he had come to ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on the gallows that was now ready. ⁵ So the servants answered, “Haman is here, waiting to see you.”

“Show him in,” said the king.

⁶ So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “There is someone I wish very much to honor. What should I do for this man?”

Haman thought to himself, “Now who could the king want to honor so much? Me, of course.”

^7-8 So he answered the king, “Have royal robes brought for this man—robes that you yourself wear. Have a royal ornament^[ap] put on your own horse. ⁹ Then have one of your highest noblemen dress the man in these robes and lead him, mounted on the horse, through the city square. Have the nobleman announce as they go: ‘See how the king rewards someone he wishes to honor!’”

¹⁰ Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry and get the robes and the horse, and provide these honors for Mordecai the Jew. Do everything for him that you have suggested. You will find him sitting at the entrance of the palace.”

¹¹ So Haman got the robes and the horse, and he put the robes on Mordecai. Mordecai got on the horse, and Haman led him through the city square, announcing to the people as they went: “See how the king rewards a man he wishes to honor!”

¹² Mordecai then went back to the palace entrance while Haman hurried home, covering his face in embarrassment. ¹³ He told his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then she and those wise friends of his told him, “You are beginning to lose power to Mordecai. He is a Jew, and you cannot overcome him. He will certainly defeat you.”

Haman Is Put to Death

¹⁴ While they were still talking, the palace eunuchs arrived in a hurry to take Haman to Esther's banquet.

7 And so the king and Haman went to eat with Esther ² for a second time. Over the wine the king asked her again, “Now, Queen Esther, what do you want? Tell me and you shall have it. I'll even give you half the empire.”

³ Queen Esther answered, “If it please Your Majesty to grant my humble request, my wish is that I may live and that my people may live. ⁴ My people and I have been sold for slaughter. If it were nothing more serious than being sold into slavery, I would have kept quiet and not bothered you about it;^[aq] but we are about to be destroyed—exterminated!”

⁵ Then King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who dares to do such a thing? Where is this man?”

⁶ Esther answered, “Our enemy, our persecutor, is this evil man Haman!”

Haman faced the king and queen with terror. ⁷ The king got up in a fury, left the room, and went outside to the palace gardens. Haman could see that the king was determined to punish him for this, so he stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life. ⁸ He had just thrown himself down on Esther's couch to beg for mercy, when the king came back into the room from the gardens. Seeing this, the king cried out, “Is this man going to rape the queen right here in front of me, in my own palace?”

The king had no sooner said this than the eunuchs covered Haman's head. ⁹ Then one of them, who was named Harbonah, said, “Haman even went so far as to build a gallows at his house so that he could hang Mordecai, who saved Your Majesty's life. And it's seventy-five feet tall!”

“Hang Haman on it!” the king commanded.

¹⁰ So Haman was hanged on the gallows that he had built for Mordecai. Then the king's anger cooled down.

The Jews Are Told to Fight Back

8 That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther all the property of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. Esther told the king that Mordecai was related to her, and from then on Mordecai was allowed to enter the king's presence. ² The king took off his ring with his seal on it (which he had taken back from Haman) and gave it to Mordecai. Esther put Mordecai in charge of Haman's property.

³ Then Esther spoke to the king again, throwing herself at his feet and crying. She begged him to do something to stop the evil plot that Haman, the descendant of Agag,^[ar] had made against the Jews. ⁴ The king held out the gold scepter to her, so she stood up and said, ⁵ “If it please Your Majesty, and if you care about me and if it seems right to you, please issue a proclamation to keep Haman's orders from being carried out—those orders that the son of Hammedatha the descendant of Agag gave for the destruction of all the Jews in the empire. ⁶ How can I endure it if this disaster comes on my people, and my own relatives are killed?”

⁷ King Xerxes then said to Queen Esther and Mordecai, the Jew, “Look, I have hanged Haman for his plot against the Jews, and I have given Esther his property. ⁸ But a proclamation issued in the king's name and stamped with the royal seal cannot be revoked. You may, however, write to the Jews whatever you like; and you may write it in my name and stamp it with the royal seal.”

⁹ This happened on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. Mordecai called the king's secretaries and dictated letters to the Jews and to the governors, administrators, and officials of all the 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia.^[as] The letters were written to each province in its own language and system of writing and to the Jews in their language and system of writing. ¹⁰ Mordecai had the letters written in the name of King Xerxes, and he stamped them with the royal seal. They were delivered by riders mounted on fast horses from the royal stables.

¹¹ These letters explained that the king would allow the Jews in every city to organize for self-defense. If armed men of any nationality in any province attacked the Jewish men, their children, or their women, the Jews could fight back and destroy the attackers; they could slaughter them to the last man and take their possessions. ¹² This decree was to take effect throughout the Persian Empire on the day set for the slaughter of the Jews, the thirteenth of Adar, the twelfth month. ¹³ It was to be proclaimed as law and made known to everyone in every province, so that the Jews would be ready to take revenge on their enemies when that day came. ¹⁴ At the king's command the riders mounted royal horses and rode off at top speed. The decree was also made public in Susa, the capital city.

¹⁵ Mordecai left the palace, wearing royal robes of blue and white, a cloak of fine purple linen, and a magnificent gold crown. Then the streets of Susa rang with cheers and joyful shouts. ¹⁶ For the Jews there was joy and relief, happiness and a sense of victory. ¹⁷ In every city and province, wherever the king's proclamation was read, the Jews held a joyful holiday with feasting and happiness. In fact, many other people became Jews, because they were afraid of them now.

The Jews Destroy Their Enemies

9 The thirteenth day of Adar came, the day on which the royal proclamation was to take effect, the day when the enemies of the Jews were hoping to get them in their power. But instead, the Jews triumphed over them. ² In the Jewish quarter of every city^[at] in the empire the Jews organized to attack anyone who tried to harm them. People everywhere were afraid of them, and no one could stand against them. ³ In fact, all the provincial officials—governors, administrators, and royal representatives—helped the Jews because they were all afraid of Mordecai. ⁴ It was well-known throughout the empire that Mordecai was now a powerful man in the palace and was growing more powerful. ⁵ So the Jews could do what they wanted with their enemies. They attacked them with swords and slaughtered them.

⁶ In Susa, the capital city itself, the Jews killed five hundred people. ^7-10 Among them were the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews: Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha. However, there was no looting.

¹¹ That same day the number of people killed in Susa was reported to the king. ¹² He then said to Queen Esther, “In Susa alone the Jews have killed five hundred people, including Haman's ten sons. What must they have done out in the provinces! What do you want now? You shall have it. Tell me what else you want, and you shall have it.”

¹³ Esther answered, “If it please Your Majesty, let the Jews in Susa do again tomorrow what they were allowed to do today. And have the bodies of Haman's ten sons hung from the gallows.” ¹⁴ The king ordered this to be done, and the proclamation was issued in Susa. The bodies of Haman's ten sons were publicly displayed. ¹⁵ On the fourteenth day of Adar the Jews of Susa got together again and killed three hundred more people in the city. But again, they did no looting.

¹⁶ The Jews in the provinces also organized and defended themselves. They rid themselves of their enemies by killing seventy-five thousand people who hated them. But they did no looting. ¹⁷ This was on the thirteenth day of Adar. On the next day, the fourteenth, there was no more killing, and they made it a joyful day of feasting. ¹⁸ The Jews of Susa, however, made the fifteenth a holiday, since they had slaughtered their enemies on the thirteenth and fourteenth and then stopped on the fifteenth. ¹⁹ This is why Jews who live in small towns observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a joyous holiday, a time for feasting and giving gifts of food to one another.

The Festival of Purim

²⁰ Mordecai had these events written down and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, throughout the Persian Empire, ²¹ telling them to observe the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar as holidays every year. ²² These were the days on which the Jews had rid themselves of their enemies; this was a month that had been turned from a time of grief and despair into a time of joy and happiness. They were told to observe these days with feasts and parties, giving gifts of food to one another and to the poor. ²³ So the Jews followed Mordecai's instructions, and the celebration became an annual custom.

^24 [au]Haman son of Hammedatha—the descendant of Agag and the enemy of the Jewish people—had cast lots (“purim,” they were called) to determine the day for destroying the Jews; he had planned to wipe them out. ²⁵ But Esther went to the king, and the king issued written orders with the result that Haman suffered the fate he had planned for the Jews—he and his sons were hanged from the gallows. ²⁶ That is why the holidays are called Purim. Because of Mordecai's letter and because of all that had happened to them, ²⁷ the Jews made it a rule for themselves, their descendants, and anyone who might become a Jew, that at the proper time each year these two days would be regularly observed according to Mordecai's instructions. ²⁸ It was resolved that every Jewish family of every future generation in every province and every city should remember and observe the days of Purim for all time to come.

²⁹ Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai, also wrote a letter, putting her full authority behind the letter about Purim, which Mordecai had written earlier. ³⁰ The letter was addressed to all the Jews, and copies were sent to all the 127 provinces of the Persian Empire. It wished the Jews peace and security ³¹ and directed them and their descendants to observe the days of Purim at the proper time, just as they had adopted rules for the observance of fasts and times of mourning. This was commanded by both Mordecai and Queen Esther. ³² Esther's command, confirming the rules for Purim, was written down on a scroll.

The Greatness of Xerxes and Mordecai

10 King Xerxes imposed forced labor on the people of the coastal regions of his empire as well as on those of the interior. ² All the great and wonderful things he did, as well as the whole story of how he promoted Mordecai to high office, are recorded in the official records of the kings of Persia and Media. ³ Mordecai the Jew was second in rank only to King Xerxes himself. He was honored and well-liked by his fellow Jews. He worked for the good of his people and for the security of all their descendants.

Alexander the Great

1 This history begins when Alexander the Great, son of Philip of Macedonia, marched from Macedonia and attacked Darius, king of Persia and Media. Alexander enlarged the Greek Empire by defeating Darius and seizing his throne. ² He fought many battles, captured fortified cities, and put the kings of the region to death. ³ As he advanced to the ends of the earth, he plundered many nations; and when he had conquered the world, he became proud and arrogant. ⁴ By building up a strong army, he dominated whole nations and their rulers, and forced everyone to pay him taxes.

^5-7 When Alexander had been emperor for twelve years, he fell ill and realized that he was about to die. He called together his generals, noblemen who had been brought up with him since his early childhood, and he divided his empire, giving a part to each of them. ⁸ After his death, the generals took control, ⁹ and each had himself crowned king of his own territory. The descendants of these kings ruled for many generations and brought a great deal of misery on the world.

Antiochus Epiphanes and the Renegade Jews^(BE)

^10 (BF)The wicked ruler Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus the Third of Syria, was a descendant of one of Alexander's generals. Antiochus Epiphanes had been a hostage in Rome before he became king of Syria in the year 137.^[av]

Antiochus Attacks Egypt

¹⁶ When Antiochus had firmly established himself as king, he decided to conquer Egypt and rule that country as well as Syria. ¹⁷ He invaded Egypt with a large fleet of ships and a powerful army, including chariots, elephants, and cavalry. ¹⁸ When the attack came, King Ptolemy of Egypt turned and fled, and many of his soldiers were killed. ¹⁹ Antiochus was able to capture the fortified cities of Egypt and plunder the whole land.

Antiochus Persecutes the Jews

²⁰ In the year 143,^[ax] after the conquest of Egypt, Antiochus marched with a great army against the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. ²¹ In his arrogance, he entered the Temple and took away the gold altar, the lampstand with all its equipment, ²² the table for the bread offered to the Lord, the cups and bowls, the gold fire pans, the curtain, and the crowns. He also stripped all the gold from the front of the Temple ²³ and carried off the silver and gold and everything else of value, including all the treasures that he could find stored there. ²⁴ Then he took it all to his own country. He had also murdered many people and boasted arrogantly about it. ²⁵ There was great mourning everywhere in the land of Israel.

²⁹ Two years later Antiochus sent a large army from Mysia^[ay] against the towns of Judea. When the soldiers entered Jerusalem, ³⁰ their commander spoke to the people, offering them terms of peace and completely deceiving them. Then he suddenly launched a fierce attack on the city, dealing it a major blow and killing many of the people. ³¹ He plundered the city, set it on fire, and tore down its buildings and walls. ³² He and his army took the women and children as prisoners and seized the cattle.

³³ Then Antiochus and his forces built high walls and strong towers in the area north of the Temple, turning it into a fort. ³⁴ They brought in a group of traitorous Jews and installed them there. ³⁵ They also brought in arms and supplies and stored in the fort all the loot that they had taken in Jerusalem. This fort became a great threat to the city.

^41-43 Antiochus now issued a decree that all nations in his empire should abandon their own customs and become one people. All the Gentiles and even many of the Israelites submitted to this decree. They adopted the official pagan religion, offered sacrifices to idols, and no longer observed the Sabbath.

⁴⁴ The king also sent messengers with a decree to Jerusalem and all the towns of Judea, ordering the people to follow customs that were foreign to the country. ⁴⁵ He ordered them not to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings, or wine offerings in the Temple, and commanded them to treat Sabbaths and festivals as ordinary work days. ⁴⁶ They were even ordered to defile the Temple and the holy things in it.^{[az] 47} They were commanded to build pagan altars, temples, and shrines, and to sacrifice pigs and other unclean animals there. ⁴⁸ They were forbidden to circumcise their sons and were required to make themselves ritually unclean in every way they could, ⁴⁹ so that they would forget the Law which the Lord had given through Moses and would disobey all its commands. ⁵⁰ The penalty for disobeying the king's decree was death.

⁵¹ The king not only issued the same decree throughout his whole empire, but he also appointed officials to supervise the people and commanded each town in Judea to offer pagan sacrifices. ⁵² Many of the Jews were ready to forsake the Law and to obey these officials. They defiled the land with their evil, ⁵³ and their conduct forced all true Israelites to hide wherever they could.

⁵⁹ On the twenty-fifth of the month, these same evil people offered sacrifices on the pagan altar erected on top of the altar in the Temple. ^60 (BI)Mothers who had allowed their babies to be circumcised were put to death in accordance with the king's decree. ⁶¹ Their babies were hung around their necks, and their families and those who had circumcised them were put to death. ⁶² But many people in Israel firmly resisted the king's decree and refused to eat food that was ritually unclean. ⁶³ They preferred to die rather than break the holy covenant and eat unclean food—and many did die. ⁶⁴ In his anger God made Israel suffer terribly.

The Faithfulness of Mattathias

2 During that time, a priest of the Jehoiarib family named Mattathias, who was the son of John and the grandson of Simeon, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Modein. ² Mattathias had five sons: John (also called Gaddi), ³ Simon (also called Thassi), ⁴ Judas (also called Maccabeus), ⁵ Eleazar (also called Avaran), and Jonathan (also called Apphus).

⁶ When Mattathias saw all the sins that were being committed in Judea and Jerusalem, ⁷ he said:

¹⁴ In their grief, Mattathias and his sons tore their clothes, put on sackcloth, and continued in deep mourning.

¹⁵ Then the king's officials, who were forcing the people to turn from God, came to the town of Modein to force the people there to offer pagan sacrifices. ¹⁶ Many of the Israelites came to meet them, including Mattathias and his sons. ¹⁷ The king's officials said to Mattathias,

²³ Just as he finished speaking, one of the men from Modein decided to obey the king's decree and stepped out in front of everyone to offer a pagan sacrifice on the altar that stood there. ²⁴ When Mattathias saw him, he became angry enough to do what had to be done. Shaking with rage, he ran forward and killed the man right there on the altar. ²⁵ He also killed the royal official who was forcing the people to sacrifice, and then he tore down the altar. ^26 (BJ)In this way Mattathias showed his deep devotion for the Law, just as Phinehas had done when he killed Zimri son of Salu.

The Guerrilla Warfare of Mattathias

^29-30 At that time also many of the Israelites who were seeking to be right with God through obedience to the Law went out to live in the wilderness, taking their children, their wives, and their livestock with them, because of the terrible oppression they were suffering. ³¹ The report soon reached the king's officials and the soldiers in the fort at Jerusalem that some men who had defied the king's command had gone into hiding in the wilderness. ^32 (BK)A large force of soldiers pursued them, caught up with them, set up camp opposite them, and prepared to attack them on the Sabbath.

³⁵ The soldiers attacked them immediately, ³⁶ but the Jews did nothing to resist; they did not even throw stones or block the entrances to the caves where they were hiding. ³⁷ They said,

³⁹ When Mattathias and his friends heard the news about this, they were greatly saddened ⁴⁰ and said to one another,

⁴² Then Mattathias and his friends were joined by a group of devout and patriotic Jews, the strongest and bravest men in Israel, who had all volunteered to defend the Law. ⁴³ In addition, everyone who was fleeing from the persecution joined them and strengthened their forces. ⁴⁴ Now that they had an army, they gave vent to their anger by attacking the renegade Jews. Those who escaped were forced to flee to the Gentiles for safety. ⁴⁵ Mattathias and his friends went everywhere tearing down pagan altars ⁴⁶ and circumcising by force every uncircumcised boy they found within the borders of Israel. ⁴⁷ They were also successful in hunting down the arrogant Gentile officials. ⁴⁸ They rescued the Law of Moses from the Gentiles and their kings and broke the power of the wicked King Antiochus.

The Death of Mattathias

⁶⁵ Your brother Simon is wise, so always listen to him as you would to me. ⁶⁶ Judas Maccabeus has been strong all his life; he will be your commander and will lead you in battle against the enemy. ⁶⁷ Call everyone who obeys God's Law to rally around you; then avenge the wrongs done to your people. ⁶⁸ Pay back the Gentiles for what they have done, and always obey the Law and its commands.

⁶⁹ Then Mattathias gave them his blessing and died. ⁷⁰ He was buried in the family tomb at Modein, and all the people of Israel went into deep mourning for him. This happened in the year 146.^[bb]

The Early Victories of Judas^(BS)

3 Judas Maccabeus took the place of his father Mattathias. ² All his brothers and all the loyal followers of his father gave him their support, and they were happy to carry on Israel's war.

¹⁰ Then Apollonius assembled a Gentile army, including a large force from Samaria, to attack the people of Israel. ¹¹ When Judas learned of this, he marched out to battle, defeated the army, and killed Apollonius. Many Gentiles lost their lives, and the rest fled. ¹² When the spoils of war were collected, Judas took the sword of Apollonius and used it in battle until the day he died.

¹³ Seron, the general of the Syrian forces, learned that Judas had gathered together an army, consisting of a band of loyal men who were ready to fight under his command. ¹⁴ Seron said to himself,

²³ As soon as Judas had finished speaking, he and his men made a sudden attack against Seron and his army and crushed them. ²⁴ They pursued them down the pass at Beth Horon to the plain and killed about 800 men. Those who escaped fled to Philistia. ²⁵ After that, Gentiles everywhere began to be afraid of Judas and his brothers. ²⁶ His fame reached the ears of King Antiochus, and people in every nation talked about Judas and his victories.

The King Appoints Lysias as Governor

²⁷ When Antiochus heard what had happened, he was furious. He ordered all the armies of his empire to assemble in one huge force. ²⁸ From his treasury he paid a full year's wages to his soldiers and ordered them to be prepared for any emergency. ²⁹ But then he found that the funds in his treasury were exhausted. Income from taxes had decreased because of the disorder and the troubles he had brought on the world by doing away with the laws which had been in force from the earliest times. ³⁰ Antiochus had always given presents more lavishly than earlier kings, but now he was worried that he might not be able to continue this, or even to meet expenses—this had happened once or twice before. ³¹ He was very disturbed; but finally he decided to go to Persia, collect the taxes from the provinces there, and bring together a large sum of ready cash.

The Victories of Judas^(BT)

⁴² Judas and his brothers saw that their situation was getting more and more difficult, with foreign armies camped within their own borders. They also learned that the king had commanded the complete destruction of the people. ⁴³ So they determined to rebuild their ruined nation and fight for their country and the Temple. ⁴⁴ Then the whole community came together to prepare for war and to pray for God's mercy.

⁴⁶ Then Judas and his men assembled and marched to Mizpah, opposite Jerusalem, because the people of Israel had previously had a place of worship there. ⁴⁷ In deep mourning, they fasted all that day, put on sackcloth, threw ashes on their heads, and tore their clothes. ⁴⁸ The Gentiles would have consulted their idols in such a situation, but the Israelites unrolled the book of the Law to search for God's guidance.⁴⁹ They brought the priests' robes, the offerings of the first grain, and the tithes, and then they brought in some Nazirites who had completed their vows. ⁵⁰ The whole community prayed,

⁵⁴ Then they blew trumpets and shouted loudly.

⁵⁵ After that, Judas divided his men into groups of ten, fifty, a hundred, and a thousand, placing officers in charge of each group. ^56 (BU)Then, in obedience to the Law, he sent home everyone who had recently been married, built a house, or planted a vineyard, as well as anyone who was afraid. ⁵⁷ Finally, the army marched out and took up positions south of Emmaus, ⁵⁸ where Judas said to them:

4 Gorgias took 5,000 infantry and 1,000 of his most experienced cavalry and left camp by night, ² with men from the fort in Jerusalem as his guides. He had planned to make a surprise attack on the Jewish army, ³ but Judas learned of the plan and moved out with his men to attack the king's army at Emmaus ⁴ while Gorgias and his troops were still away from the camp. ⁵ When Gorgias and his army reached Judas' camp that night, they found no one there. They thought Judas and his men were trying to escape, so they started looking for them in the mountains.

⁶ At dawn Judas appeared in the plain with 3,000 men, not all of them as well armed as they would have liked. ⁷ They saw the huge Gentile army of experienced troops wearing armor and protected by cavalry. ⁸ But Judas said to his men,

¹² When the Gentiles saw Judas and his men preparing for battle, ¹³ they moved out of their camp to fight. Then Judas and his men sounded their trumpets ¹⁴ and attacked. The Gentiles broke ranks and fled to the plain, ¹⁵ but all the stragglers were killed. The Israelites pursued the enemy as far as Gezer, the plains of Idumea, and the towns of Azotus and Jamnia. Altogether they killed about 3,000 of the enemy.

¹⁶ When Judas and his army came back from the pursuit, ^17-18 he said to his men,

Victory over Lysias^(BV)

²⁶ The Gentile troops that escaped went to Lysias and reported all that had happened. ²⁷ When Lysias heard that his troops had lost the battle, he was shocked and disappointed that Israel had not been defeated as the king had commanded.

²⁸ In the following year Lysias gathered an army of 60,000 well-trained infantry and 5,000 cavalry, intending to conquer the Jews. ²⁹ They marched into Idumea and camped at Bethzur. Judas came to meet them with 10,000 men. ^30 (BW)When Judas saw how strong the enemy's army was, he prayed,

³⁴ The battle began, and in the hand-to-hand fighting about 5,000 of Lysias' men were killed. ³⁵ When Lysias saw that his army was being defeated and when he saw the reckless courage of Judas and his men, who showed that they were ready to live or die with honor, he returned to Antioch. There he recruited some mercenaries and planned to return to Judea later with a much larger army.

The Purification of the Temple^(BX)

⁴¹ Then Judas ordered some of his soldiers to attack the men in the fort, while he purified the Temple. ⁴² He chose some priests who were qualified and who were devoted to the Law. ⁴³ They purified the Temple and took the stones that had been defiled and put them in an unclean place. ⁴⁴ They discussed what should be done with the altar of burnt offerings, which had been desecrated ⁴⁵ by the Gentiles, and decided to tear it down, so that it would not stand there as a monument to their shame. So they tore down the altar ⁴⁶ and put the stones in a suitable place on the Temple hill, where they were to be kept until a prophet should appear and decide what to do with them. ^47 (BY)Then they took uncut stones, as the Law of Moses required, and built a new altar like the old one. ⁴⁸ They repaired the Temple, inside and out, and dedicated its courtyards. ⁴⁹ They made new utensils for worship and brought the lampstand, the altar of incense, and the table for the bread into the Temple. ⁵⁰ They burned incense on the altar and lit the lamps on the lampstand, and there was light in the Temple! ⁵¹ They placed the loaves of bread on the table, hung the curtains, and completed all the work.

^52-54 (BZ)The twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev, in the year 148^[bf] was the anniversary of the day the Gentiles had desecrated the altar. On that day a sacrifice was offered on the new altar in accordance with the Law of Moses. The new altar was dedicated and hymns were sung to the accompaniment of harps, lutes, and cymbals. ⁵⁵ All the people bowed down with their faces to the ground and worshiped and praised the Lord for giving them victory.

⁵⁶ For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the altar. With great joy they brought burnt offerings and offered fellowship offerings and thank offerings. ⁵⁷ They decorated the front of the Temple with gold crowns and shields, rebuilt the gates and the priests' rooms and put doors on them. ⁵⁸ Now that the Jews had removed the shame which the Gentiles had brought, they held a great celebration. ⁵⁹ Then Judas, his brothers, and the entire community of Israel decreed that the rededication of the altar should be celebrated with a festival of joy and gladness at the same time each year, beginning on the twenty-fifth of the month of Kislev and lasting for eight days.

⁶⁰ Then they built high walls and strong towers around Mount Zion, so that the Gentiles could not come in and trample and defile it again. ⁶¹ Judas placed a detachment of soldiers there to guard the Temple. He also fortified the town of Bethzur, so that the people of Israel would have a fortress facing Idumea.

Wars with Neighboring Nations^(CA)

5 When the neighboring nations heard that the Jews had built the altar and restored the Temple as it had been before, they were so furious ² that they made up their minds to destroy all the Jews who were living among them. So they began to murder and kill our people.

³ The Idumeans were blockading the Israelites, so Judas went to war against them at Akrabattene, crushed them, and looted them. ⁴ He also dealt with the people of Baean, who were a constant threat to the people of Israel, because they would lie in ambush waiting to trap Israelite travelers. ⁵ He shut the Baeanites up in their forts, took a solemn oath that he would destroy them, and burned their forts with everyone in them. ⁶ Then he marched against the land of Ammon, where he met a large and powerful army under the command of a man named Timothy. ⁷ Judas won many battles against them and finally defeated them. ⁸ He captured Jazer and its surrounding villages and then returned to Judea.

⁹ The Gentiles in Gilead assembled to attack and destroy the Israelites living in their territory. But the Israelites fled to the fortress of Dathema ^10-11 and sent the following letter to Judas and his brothers:

¹⁴ This letter was still being read when other messengers, who had torn their clothes in sorrow, arrived with a report from Galilee. ¹⁵ They said,

¹⁶ When Judas and the people heard all this, a great assembly was held to decide what should be done to help these countrymen, who were in such difficulty under enemy attack. ¹⁷ Judas said to his brother Simon,

²¹ Simon went into Galilee and fought many battles with the Gentiles. He defeated them ²² and pursued them all the way to the city of Ptolemais, killing about 3,000 of them, and taking the loot. ²³ Then he took the Jews who were in Galilee and Arbatta, with their wives, their children, and all they owned, and brought them back to Judea with him. There was great rejoicing.

²⁴ During this time, Judas Maccabeus and his brother Jonathan had crossed the Jordan River and had marched for three days through the desert. ²⁵ They met some friendly Nabateans who told them all that had happened to the Jews in Gilead. ²⁶ They reported that many Jews were imprisoned in the fortified cities of Bozrah, Bosor, Alema, Chaspho, Maked, and Karnaim, ²⁷ while others were imprisoned in the smaller towns of Gilead. They also reported that the enemy was drawn up to make an attack the next day on the Jewish fortresses, hoping to destroy all the Jews in a single day.

²⁸ So Judas and his army suddenly turned and attacked Bozrah by the desert road, captured the town, and killed every man in it. They looted the town and set it on fire. ²⁹ They left there and marched all night to the fortress at Dathema. ³⁰ At dawn Judas and his men saw a vast army attacking the fortress; they were bringing up ladders, siege platforms, and battering rams in an effort to capture it. ³¹ When Judas heard the noise, the shouts, and the sound of trumpets coming from the city, he realized that the battle had begun, ³² so he said to his men,

³³ He ordered his men to march in three columns and attack the enemy from the rear. As they moved forward, they blew trumpets and shouted prayers. ³⁴ When the army under Timothy's command saw that it was Judas Maccabeus, the soldiers turned and fled. Judas crushed them and killed about 8,000 men that day.

³⁵ Then Judas turned aside to attack the town of Alema;^[bh] he captured it and killed all the men in it. He looted the town and set fire to it. ³⁶ From there he went on and captured Chaspho, Maked, Bosor, and the other towns of Gilead.

³⁷ After this, Timothy gathered another army and camped opposite Raphon, on the other side of a river. ³⁸ Judas sent some men to spy on the camp, and they reported back to him that all the Gentiles in the region had joined Timothy and had formed a large army. ³⁹ Timothy had also hired Arab mercenaries to help him, and these were camped on the other side of the river ready to attack Judas. So Judas went out to meet them in battle.

⁴² When Judas reached the bank of the river, he gave orders to his officers to let no one stop but to push everyone forward into battle. ⁴³ Judas was the first to cross the river against the enemy, and all his men followed him. The Gentiles broke ranks before them, threw away their arms, and fled to the pagan temple at Karnaim. ⁴⁴ But Judas and his men took the city and burned down the temple with all who were in it. With Karnaim overthrown, the Gentiles could no longer offer any resistance to Judas.

⁴⁵ Then Judas gathered together all the Jews in Gilead to take them back to Judea with him. It was a large group of all kinds of people, together with their wives and children and all that they owned. ⁴⁶ They went as far as Ephron, a large, well-fortified town. It was impossible to go around it on either side, and the road passed directly through the town. ⁴⁷ But the people there would not let them pass and blocked the town gates with stones. ⁴⁸ Then Judas sent a friendly message to them:

⁴⁹ So Judas told everyone in the group, except the fighting men, to camp where they were. ⁵⁰ The fighting men were ordered to take up their positions and attack the town. They fought all day and all night, until they had taken it. ⁵¹ Judas had all the men of Ephron put to death, plundered the town, and leveled it. Then he and his army marched through the town over the dead bodies. ⁵² They crossed the Jordan into the wide plain opposite Beth Shan. ⁵³ Throughout the whole march Judas kept gathering up the stragglers and encouraging the people until they reached the land of Judea. ⁵⁴ With thanksgiving and rejoicing, they went up to Mount Zion and sacrificed burnt offerings because they had returned safely without a single loss.

⁵⁵ While Judas and Jonathan were in Gilead and their brother Simon was attacking Ptolemais in Galilee, ⁵⁶ Joseph and Azariah, the commanders of the army in Judea, heard about their brave deeds and victories. ⁵⁷ They said to one another,

⁶³ But Judas Maccabeus and his brothers won great respect among all the Israelites and all the Gentiles. When people heard of their fame, ⁶⁴ large crowds gathered to praise them.

⁶⁵ Then Judas and his brothers went to war against the Edomites to the south. He attacked Hebron and its surrounding towns, destroyed its fortifications, and burned down the towers around it. ⁶⁶ Then he marched into the land of the Philistines and passed through Marisa.^{[bi] 67} That day a number of priests were killed in battle because they wanted to be heroes and foolishly went out to fight. ⁶⁸ Judas turned aside to Azotus in Philistia. He pulled down the altars, burned the images of their gods, plundered their towns, and then returned to Judea.

The Death of Antiochus the Fourth^(CB)

6 As King Antiochus the Fourth was passing through Mesopotamia, he heard of a city in Persia, named Elymais, which was famous for its riches in silver and gold. ² The temple was very rich, containing gold shields, armor, and weapons left there by Alexander, son of King Philip of Macedonia, who was the first to rule the Greek Empire. ³ Antiochus came and tried to take the city and loot it, but he didn't succeed, because the citizens had learned what he was planning to do, ⁴ and they drew up their troops to resist him. In great frustration he withdrew to return to Babylonia.

⁵ In Persia a messenger reached him with the news that the armies he had sent into Judea had been defeated. ⁶ Lysias and his strong army had been forced to flee from the Jews, who were now reinforced by the additional weapons, supplies, and loot they had taken from the defeated armies. ^7 (CC)The Jews had pulled down the thing they called

⁸ When the king heard this report, he was so dumbfounded and terribly shaken that he went to bed in a fit of deep depression because things had not turned out as he had hoped. ⁹ He remained ill for a long time, as waves of despair swept over him, until he finally realized that he was going to die. ¹⁰ He called together all those to whom he had given the title

¹⁴ Then he called Philip, one of his most trusted advisers, and put him in charge of his whole empire. ¹⁵ He gave him his crown, robe, and official ring, and authorized him to educate his son Antiochus the Fifth and bring him up to be king. ¹⁶ King Antiochus died there in the year 149.^[bj]

¹⁷ When Lysias learned that the king had died, he made the young Antiochus king in place of his father. He had brought up Antiochus from childhood and now gave him the name Eupator.

The Campaign of Antiochus the Fifth and Lysias^(CD)

¹⁸ Meanwhile, the enemies in the fort at Jerusalem had been blockading the people of Israel in the area around the Temple, constantly causing them trouble and giving support to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ So Judas decided to get rid of them and called all the people together to besiege the fort. ²⁰ The people assembled and laid siege to the fort in the year 150.^[bk] They built siege platforms and battering rams.

²⁸ When the king heard this, he was furious. He brought together all the army commanders, the cavalry officers, and his most trusted advisers. ²⁹ He also hired mercenary soldiers from other countries and from the Greek islands. ³⁰ His forces numbered 100,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, and 32 elephants trained for war. ³¹ The king and his army passed through Idumea and laid siege to Bethzur, where they fought for a long time. They built battering rams and siege platforms, but the defenders fought bravely and came out of the town and burned down the platforms.

³² Then Judas withdrew his troops from the fort in Jerusalem and set up his camp at Beth Zechariah, blocking the advance of the king's army. ³³ Early the next morning, the king rapidly moved his army along the road to Beth Zechariah, where his troops took up battle positions and blew trumpets. ³⁴ They got the elephants ready for battle by showing them grape juice and mulberry juice. ³⁵ The huge animals were distributed among the infantry units. A thousand men, protected by chain armor and bronze helmets, were stationed with each elephant. Each animal was also accompanied by a special force of 500 cavalry, ³⁶ which always remained with the elephant. ³⁷ A strong, protected wooden platform was securely fastened by a special harness to the back of each elephant. Three^[bm] soldiers rode on each animal, in addition to the elephant driver. ³⁸ Lysias placed the rest of the cavalry on the two flanks of the army where they could be protected by the infantry while harassing the enemy. ³⁹ The sunlight, reflected off the bronze and gold shields, shone on the mountains and flashed like burning torches. ⁴⁰ Part of the king's army was spread out over the higher ground of the mountain slopes and part over the lower land, but they all moved forward steadily and in good order. ⁴¹ All the people were terrified when they heard the noise made by the clashing of weapons and the marching of that great and powerful army.

⁴² Judas and his army advanced into battle, and immediately killed 600 of the king's army. ⁴³ When Eleazar Avaran saw that one of the elephants was larger than the others and that it was covered with royal armor, he thought that the king was riding on it. ⁴⁴ Eleazar sacrificed his life to save his people and to gain eternal fame. ⁴⁵ He ran boldly toward the elephant, which was in the middle of a battalion of infantry. He rushed forward killing men to the right and left, so that the enemy soldiers fell back before him on both sides. ⁴⁶ He slipped in under the elephant and stabbed it to death, and it fell on him and killed him. ⁴⁷ But when the Jews realized how strong the royal army was and how determined it was to fight, they retreated.

⁴⁸ The king and his army advanced to fight the Jews at Jerusalem and laid siege to the whole of Judea and Jerusalem. ⁴⁹ He made peace with the Jews of Bethzur, who then left the town. There had not been enough food in the town for them to withstand the siege because it was the sabbatical year, when no crops were planted. ⁵⁰ The king occupied Bethzur and stationed a body of troops there to guard it. ⁵¹ Then he surrounded the Temple and besieged it for a long time. He set up siege platforms, battering rams, catapults for throwing fire and stones, and other weapons to throw spears and rocks. ⁵² The defenders also made war machines to oppose those of the enemy, and so the battle went on for a long time. ⁵³ But there was no food left in the Temple storage bins because it was the sabbatical year, and the people who had fled from the Gentiles and taken refuge in Judea had eaten all the food that had been stored there. ⁵⁴ The shortage of food had been so severe that many people had scattered to their homes, and only a few men were left in the Temple.

⁵⁵ Meanwhile, Philip, who had been appointed by King Antiochus before his death to educate his son to be king, ⁵⁶ returned from Persia and Media. He had come back with the royal army and planned to take control of the government. When Lysias heard this news, ⁵⁷ he made rapid preparations to depart. He said to the young king, to his officers, and to his men,

⁶⁰ This recommendation was well received by the king and the officers, so Lysias proposed peace terms to the Jews, and they accepted them. ⁶¹ When the king and his officers solemnly agreed to abide by these terms, the Jews came out of their fortress. ⁶² But when the king entered the Temple area on Mount Zion and saw the strong fortifications, he broke his word and ordered the walls surrounding the Temple to be torn down. ⁶³ Then he hurriedly left and returned to Antioch, where he found Philip in control of the city. The king attacked the city and took it by force.

The High Priest Alcimus and the Campaign of Nicanor^(CE)

7 In the year 151,^[bn] Demetrius son of Seleucus left Rome and with a few men landed at a town on the Mediterranean coast, where he proclaimed himself king. ² As he was making his way to the royal palace of his ancestors, the soldiers arrested Antiochus the Fifth and Lysias, planning to take them to Demetrius. ³ When Demetrius heard about it, he said,

⁵ Then all the godless traitorous Jews led by Alcimus, who wanted to be High Priest, went to Demetrius. ⁶ They brought accusations against the other Jews and said,

⁸ King Demetrius chose one of his advisers, a man by the name of Bacchides, who was the governor of Greater Syria. He was an important man in the empire and loyal to the king. ⁹ He was sent along with the godless Alcimus, whom the king had appointed High Priest; Alcimus had orders to take revenge on the Jews. ¹⁰ They left Antioch and arrived in Judea with a large army. Bacchides tried to trick Judas and his brothers by sending to them messengers with offers of peace. ¹¹ But when Judas and his brothers saw what a large army they had brought, they did not believe what the messengers said.

¹² A group of teachers of the Law came to Alcimus and Bacchides, asking for justice. ¹³ These devout and patriotic men were the first of the Jews to try to make peace with Alcimus and Bacchides. ¹⁴ They trusted Alcimus, who was a priest descended from Aaron, and they thought he would not cause them any harm. ¹⁵ Alcimus assured them of his peaceful intentions and solemnly promised that no harm would come to them or their friends. ¹⁶ But as soon as they began to trust him, he arrested 60 of them and put them all to death on the same day. As the scripture says,

²¹ Alcimus then began his struggle to establish himself as High Priest. ²² Every troublemaker in the country joined him. They gained control of the land of Judea and caused great difficulties for the Jews. ²³ Judas saw that the trouble Alcimus and his men had caused was even worse than the damage done by the Gentiles. ²⁴ So he went around the whole country of Judea taking revenge on all the men who had willingly joined Alcimus and preventing them from leaving the towns and going into the country. ²⁵ When Alcimus saw that Judas and his men were growing more powerful and when he realized that he would not be able to stand against them, he returned to the king and accused them of great crimes.

²⁶ Then the king sent Nicanor, one of his most honored officers, who hated the Jews, with orders to exterminate them. ²⁷ Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a big army. He tried to trick Judas and his brothers by sending peace offers. He said,

³³ Some time later Nicanor went to Mount Zion. Some of the priests left the Temple and, along with some of the leaders of the people, went to welcome him with words of peace and to show him the burnt offering that was being sacrificed on behalf of the king. ³⁴ But he ridiculed them and made them ceremonially unclean by spitting on them. He spoke proudly ³⁵ and angrily threatened them with an oath,

³⁹ Nicanor left Jerusalem and set up his headquarters at Beth Horon, where the Syrian army joined him. ⁴⁰ Meanwhile, Judas set up camp at Adasa with 3,000 men. There Judas prayed, ^41 (CG)

⁴³ The armies met in battle on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and Nicanor's army was defeated. Nicanor himself was the first to be killed in the battle, ⁴⁴ and when his soldiers saw that he was dead, they threw down their weapons and fled. ⁴⁵ The Jews pursued them all day long from Adasa to Gezer. As they followed, they kept sounding the call to battle on the trumpets, ⁴⁶ and from all the surrounding villages of Judea people came out and attacked the fleeing enemy from the sides. This forced them back toward the Jews who were chasing them, and all of the enemy were killed in the fight. Not one of them survived.

⁴⁷ The Jews took the loot and then cut off Nicanor's head and his right arm, which he had extended so arrogantly. They brought his head and his arm to be put on display outside Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ There was great rejoicing among the Jews. They set that day aside as a special day of celebration, ⁴⁹ and decreed that the thirteenth day of Adar should be observed as an annual day of celebration. ⁵⁰ There was peace in the land of Judea for a little while.

The Treaty with the Romans

8 Judas had heard about the Romans and their reputation as a military power. He knew that they welcomed all those who joined them as allies and that those who came to them could be sure of the friendship of Rome. ² People had told him about the wars the Romans had fought and their heroic acts among the Gauls, whom they had conquered and forced to pay taxes. ³ He had been told what they had done in Spain when they captured the silver mines and the gold mines there. ⁴ By careful planning and persistence, they had conquered the whole country, even though it was far from Rome. They had overcome the kings from distant lands who had fought against them; they had defeated them so badly that the survivors had to pay annual taxes. ⁵ They had fought and conquered Philip and Perseus, kings of Macedonia, and all who had joined them against Rome. ⁶ They had even defeated Antiochus the Great, king of Syria, who had attacked them with 120 elephants, cavalry, chariots, and a powerful army. ⁷ They took him alive and forced him and his successors to pay heavy taxes, to give hostages, and to surrender ⁸ India, Media, Lydia, and some of their best lands. They took these and gave them to King Eumenes.^[bo]

⁹ When the Greeks made plans to attack and destroy them, ¹⁰ the Romans learned of the plans and sent a general to fight against them. The Romans killed many of the Greeks, took their wives and children captive, plundered their possessions, occupied their land, tore down their fortresses, and made them slaves, as they are today. ¹¹ They also destroyed or made slaves of other kingdoms, the islands, and everyone who had ever fought against them. ¹² But they maintained their friendship with their allies and those who relied on them for protection. They conquered kings near and far, and everyone who heard of their reputation was afraid of them. ¹³ They helped some men to become kings, while they deposed others; they had become a world power. ¹⁴ In spite of all this, no Roman ever tried to advance his own position by wearing a crown or putting on royal robes. ¹⁵ They created a senate, and each day 320 senators came together to deliberate about the affairs of the people and their well-being. ¹⁶ Each year they entrusted to one man the responsibility of governing them and controlling their whole territory. Everyone obeyed this one man, and there was no envy or jealousy among them.

^17 (CH)Judas chose Eupolemus, the son of John and grandson of Accos, and Jason son of Eleazar and sent them to Rome to make a treaty of friendship and alliance with the Romans. ¹⁸ He did this to eliminate Syrian oppression, since the Jews clearly saw that they were being reduced to slavery. ¹⁹ After a long and difficult journey, Eupolemus and Jason reached Rome and entered the Senate. They addressed the assembly in these terms:

²¹ The Romans accepted the proposal, ^22 (CI)and what follows is a copy of the letter which was engraved on bronze tablets and sent to Jerusalem to remain there as a record of the treaty:

²⁷ In the same way, if war is declared first against the Jewish nation, the Romans will come to their aid with hearty support, as the situation may require. ²⁸ And to their enemies there shall not be given or supplied food, arms, money, or ships, as was agreed in Rome. The Romans must carry out their obligations without deception.

²⁹ These are the terms of the treaty that the Romans have made with the Jewish people. ³⁰ But if, in the future, both parties shall agree to add or remove anything, they shall act on their decision, and whatever they add or remove shall be valid.

The Death of Judas

9 When Demetrius heard that Nicanor and his army had been annihilated, he again sent Bacchides and Alcimus to the land of Judea, this time with the Syrian wing of the army. ² They moved along Gilgal Road, laid siege to Mesaloth in Arbela, captured it, and killed many people. ³ In the first month of the year 152,^[bp] they set up camp opposite Jerusalem. ⁴ From there they marched to Berea with 20,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry.

⁵ Judas had camped at Elasa, with 3,000 experienced soldiers. ⁶ But when they saw the enormous size of the enemy army, they were terrified. So many men deserted that only 800 Jewish soldiers were left. ⁷ When Judas saw that his army was dwindling away and that the battle was about to begin, he was worried because there was not enough time to bring his army together. ⁸ He was discouraged, but he said to those who were still with him,

¹¹ The Syrian army came out of the camp and took up battle positions against the Jews. The cavalry was divided into two parts. The shock troops were in the front lines, but the archers and those who used slings went ahead of the main formation. ¹² Bacchides took his position on the right. The infantry advanced, protected on both sides by the cavalry, and the war trumpets were blown. The soldiers of Judas also sounded their trumpets. ¹³ The ground shook from the noise when the two armies met, and they fought from morning until evening.

¹⁴ When Judas saw that Bacchides and the main force of the Syrian army was on the right, all his bravest men joined him, ¹⁵ and they crushed the Syrians' right wing. They pursued them as far as the foothills.^{[bq] 16} But when the Syrians on the left wing saw that their right wing had been crushed, they turned to attack Judas and his men from the rear. ¹⁷ The fighting became very fierce, and many on both sides were killed. ¹⁸ Finally Judas himself was killed. Then all his men fled. ¹⁹ Jonathan and Simon took their brother's body and buried it in the family tomb at Modein, ²⁰ and there at the tomb they wept for him. All Israel mourned for him in great sorrow for many days. They said,

²² The other deeds of Judas, his battles, his courageous deeds, and his great accomplishments, were too many to write down.

Jonathan Succeeds Judas

²³ After the death of Judas, the lawless traitors began to reappear everywhere in Judea, and all the wicked people returned. ²⁴ Also at that time there was a severe famine, and the whole country went over to the side of the renegades. ²⁵ Bacchides deliberately appointed some renegade Jews as rulers over the country. ²⁶ These men hunted down the friends of Judas and brought them all before Bacchides, and he subjected them to torture and humiliation. ²⁷ It was a time of great trouble for Israel, worse than anything that had happened to them since the time prophets ceased to appear among them.

³¹ Jonathan accepted the leadership that day and took the place of his brother Judas.

The Campaigns of Jonathan

³² When Bacchides learned of this, he made up his mind to kill Jonathan. ³³ But when this news reached Jonathan, he fled, with his brother Simon and their men, to the wilderness of Tekoa and set up camp at the pool of Asphar. ( ³⁴ Bacchides learned about this on the Sabbath and crossed the Jordan with his whole army.^[br]) ³⁵ Jonathan sent his brother John, who was responsible for the soldiers' families, to ask the Nabateans, with whom he was on friendly terms, for permission to store with them the large amount of baggage they had. ³⁶ But the Jambrites of Medeba attacked John, took him captive, and carried off all the baggage. ³⁷ Some time later Jonathan and his brother Simon learned that the Jambrites were about to celebrate an important wedding and that there would be a bridal procession from the town of Nadabath. The bride was the daughter of one of the great princes of Canaan. ³⁸ Jonathan and Simon had wanted revenge for the death of their brother John, so they and their men went up on one of the mountains and hid. ³⁹ They kept watch and saw a noisy crowd loaded down with baggage. The bridegroom, his friends, and his relatives were on their way to meet the bride's party. They were heavily armed and were playing musical instruments and drums. ⁴⁰ The Jews attacked from their ambush and killed many of them; the rest escaped into the mountains, while the Jews carried off all their possessions. ⁴¹ So the wedding was turned into a time of mourning and their joyful music into funeral songs. ⁴² Jonathan and Simon had taken full revenge for the death of their brother, and they returned to the marshes along the Jordan.

⁴³ Bacchides heard about this and arrived on the Sabbath at the banks of the Jordan with a large army. ⁴⁴ Jonathan said to his men,

⁴⁷ The battle began and Jonathan and his men were just about to kill Bacchides, when he escaped to the rear of the army. ⁴⁸ So Jonathan and his men jumped into the Jordan and swam to the other side to escape, and the Syrian army did not cross the river to follow them. ⁴⁹ That day Bacchides lost about 1,000 men.

⁵⁰ After Bacchides returned to Jerusalem, the Syrians built fortifications with high walls and barred gates for a number of towns in Judea: Emmaus, Beth Horon, Bethel, Timnath, Pirathon, Tephon, and the fortress in Jericho. ⁵¹ In all of these he placed troops to harass the Jews. ⁵² He also strengthened the fortifications of the towns of Bethzur and Gezer and of the fort in Jerusalem. He placed army units in them and stored up supplies there. ⁵³ Then he took the sons of the leading men of the country as hostages and imprisoned them in the fort.

⁵⁴ In the second month of the year 153,^[bs] the High Priest Alcimus ordered that the wall of the inner court of the Temple be torn down. This would have destroyed what the prophets had accomplished; but just as the work began, ⁵⁵ he had a stroke, and work was stopped. Paralyzed and unable to open his mouth, he could not speak or even make a will for his family. ⁵⁶ He died in great torment. ⁵⁷ When Bacchides learned that Alcimus was dead, he returned to King Demetrius, and the land of Judea had peace for two years.

Then Bacchides decided to return to his own country, ⁷⁰ but when Jonathan learned of this, he sent ambassadors to Bacchides to arrange for peace terms and the return of Jewish prisoners. ⁷¹ Bacchides agreed to do as Jonathan asked and gave him his solemn promise that he would let him live in peace the rest of his life. ⁷² Bacchides handed over the prisoners and returned to his own country. Never again did he come into Jewish territory. ⁷³ War came to an end in Israel. Jonathan settled in Michmash and began to govern the people and to eliminate the renegade Jews from Israel.

Alexander Epiphanes Makes Jonathan High Priest

10 In the year 160,^[bt] Alexander Epiphanes,^[bu] son of Antiochus the Fourth, landed at Ptolemais and captured it. The people welcomed him as their king. ² When King Demetrius heard of it, he gathered a large army and went out to meet him in battle. ³ At that time Demetrius sent Jonathan a friendly letter full of flattery, ⁴ in the hope of winning Jonathan over to his side and making peace with the Jews before Alexander made a treaty with them against him. ⁵ Demetrius thought that Jonathan would certainly remember all the wrongs he had done to him, his brothers, and the entire Jewish nation. ⁶ And so Demetrius made Jonathan his ally and gave him authority to raise an army and equip it. He also ordered that the hostages held in the fort at Jerusalem should be handed over to Jonathan. ⁷ So Jonathan went to Jerusalem and read the letter to all the people and to the men in the fort. ⁸ These men were terrified when they learned that the king had given Jonathan authority to raise an army. ⁹ They handed the hostages over to him, and he returned them to their parents.

¹⁰ Jonathan set up headquarters in Jerusalem and began to rebuild and restore the city. ¹¹ He ordered the builders to use squared stones for the city walls and for the protecting wall around Mount Zion. This was done. ¹² The foreigners deserted the fortresses that Bacchides had built; ¹³ each man left his post and returned to his own country. ¹⁴ But some of the Jews who had abandoned the Law of Moses and its commands were still left in Bethzur, which served as their last place of refuge.

¹⁵ King Alexander learned of the promises Demetrius had made to Jonathan and he also learned about Jonathan himself, about the battles he had fought, his courageous deeds, and the troubles he and his brothers had endured. ¹⁶ He was certain that he would never find another man like Jonathan and so decided to make him his friend and ally. ¹⁷ He wrote Jonathan a letter:

¹⁸ King Alexander to his friend Jonathan, greetings. ¹⁹ I have heard that you are a brave man who has earned the right to be a friend of the king. ²⁰ I have this day appointed you as High Priest of your nation and conferred upon you the title of

Jonathan Supports Alexander Epiphanes

²⁵ He wrote:

³⁶ Jews may be enlisted in the royal army up to a total of 30,000 men, and they will receive the same pay as other royal troops. ³⁷ Some of them may be stationed in the great royal fortresses, and others assigned to responsible positions in the government. They shall have Jews as their leaders and officers, and they shall be allowed to follow their own laws and customs, just as the king has permitted for the people of Judea.

³⁸ The three districts added to Judea from the territory of Samaria will be completely incorporated into Judea and placed under the authority of the High Priest alone. ³⁹ I give to the Temple in Jerusalem for its operating expenses the revenues from the city of Ptolemais and the lands belonging to it. ⁴⁰ I also promise to make an annual gift of 15,000 silver coins from appropriate accounts within the royal treasury. ⁴¹ The total accumulated state subsidy, which we have failed to pay in recent years, shall be paid, and the payments continued from now on for the work of the Temple. ⁴² In addition to this, we will no longer require the 5,000 silver coins annually from the Temple income. This money belongs to the priests serving in the Temple. ⁴³ Whoever owes a debt to the king or any other debt and takes refuge in the Temple in Jerusalem or in any area that belongs to it may not be arrested nor may his property anywhere in my kingdom be confiscated. ⁴⁴ The expenses for rebuilding and renovating the Temple shall be provided from the royal treasury. ⁴⁵ Likewise, the expenses for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and its surrounding fortifications, as well as the walls of designated towns in Judea, shall be provided from the royal treasury.

⁴⁶ When Jonathan and the people heard the proposals made by King Demetrius, they refused to believe them or accept them, because they remembered how harshly he had treated them and what terrible troubles he had caused them. ⁴⁷ They preferred to give their allegiance to Alexander because he had been the first to open peace negotiations, and they remained his allies as long as he lived.

⁴⁸ King Alexander raised a large army and took up battle positions facing Demetrius. ⁴⁹ But when the armies of the two kings met in battle, the army of Alexander^[bx] turned and ran. Demetrius^[by] pursued them and won the battle. ⁵⁰ Alexander^[bz] fought bitterly until sundown, but Demetrius was killed that day.

⁵¹ Then Alexander sent ambassadors to King Ptolemy the Sixth of Egypt with this message:

⁵⁷ So in the year 162^[ca] Ptolemy and his daughter Cleopatra^[cb] left Egypt and arrived at Ptolemais. ⁵⁸ King Alexander met them, and Ptolemy gave him his daughter in marriage. The wedding was celebrated there in Ptolemais with royal splendor.

⁵⁹ King Alexander wrote asking Jonathan to come to meet him. ⁶⁰ So Jonathan, in a show of splendor, went to Ptolemais and met the two kings. He presented them with gifts of silver and gold, and he also gave many gifts to the high officials who had accompanied them. Everyone was favorably impressed with him. ⁶¹ At the same time some traitorous Jews who wanted to make trouble for Jonathan made accusations against him, but King Alexander paid no attention to them. ⁶² He gave orders that Jonathan should be given royal robes to wear, ⁶³ and he honored him by letting him sit at his side. Alexander told his officers to take Jonathan into the center of the city and to announce that no one was to bring charges against him for any reason and no one was to cause him any kind of trouble. ⁶⁴ When his accusers saw the honors given to him, heard the announcement, and saw him clothed in royal robes, they all fled. ⁶⁵ The king further honored Jonathan by enrolling him in the First Order of the

Jonathan's Victory over Apollonius

⁶⁷ In the year 165^[cc] Demetrius the Second, the son of Demetrius the First, left Crete and arrived in Syria, the land of his ancestors. ⁶⁸ When King Alexander heard about this, he was worried and returned to Antioch, the capital of Syria. ⁶⁹ Demetrius reappointed Apollonius governor of Greater Syria. Apollonius raised a large army, set up camp near Jamnia, and sent the following message to Jonathan the High Priest:

⁷⁴ When Jonathan received this message from Apollonius, he became angry. He took 10,000 elite troops from Jerusalem; his brother Simon also brought troops, and their two forces ⁷⁵ set up camp outside of Joppa. The men of the city refused to let them in because there was a detachment of Apollonius' troops there, but Jonathan attacked, ⁷⁶ and the men in the city became so frightened that they opened the gates, allowing Jonathan to capture Joppa. ⁷⁷ When Apollonius heard what had happened, he took 3,000 cavalry and a large army of infantry and pretended to retreat south toward Azotus. However, relying upon the strength of his cavalry, he marched into the plain with his main force, ^78-79 positioning 1,000 cavalry where they could attack Jonathan's forces from the rear. Jonathan continued his pursuit as far as Azotus, where the two armies met in battle. ⁸⁰ Not until then did Jonathan realize that he was caught in an ambush. His army was surrounded, and enemy arrows rained down on them from morning until evening. ⁸¹ But Jonathan's men stood firm, as he had ordered, and the attacking cavalry grew tired. ⁸² Then, when the cavalry was exhausted, Simon appeared on the scene with his forces and attacked and overwhelmed the enemy infantry, who broke ranks and fled. ⁸³ The cavalry, which by now was scattered all over the battlefield, fled to Azotus, where they took refuge in the temple of Dagon, their god. ⁸⁴ But Jonathan set fire to the city and to the temple of Dagon, burning to death all those who had taken refuge there. Then he set fire to the surrounding towns and looted them. ⁸⁵ That day about 8,000 were either killed in the battle or burned to death. ⁸⁶ Jonathan left and set up camp at Ascalon, where the people of the city came out to welcome him with great honors. ⁸⁷ Jonathan and his men returned to Jerusalem with large quantities of loot.

⁸⁸ When King Alexander heard what Jonathan had done, he gave him even greater honors. ⁸⁹ He sent him a gold shoulder buckle, which is given only to those honored with the title

The Fall of Alexander Epiphanes

11 King Ptolemy the Sixth of Egypt assembled an army of soldiers more numerous than the grains of sand along the seashore, and he also gathered a great fleet of ships. He intended to trap Alexander, take his kingdom, and add it to his own, ² so he went to Syria with promises of peace, and the citizens opened their gates to him and welcomed him. King Alexander had ordered them to do this because Ptolemy was his father-in-law. ³ But as Ptolemy moved north, he stationed a detachment of troops in each town. ⁴ When he reached Azotus, the people there showed him the burned ruins of the temple of Dagon and all the destruction in the city and the surrounding towns. There were corpses everywhere. The bodies of the men Jonathan had burned to death during the battle were now stacked up along Ptolemy's route. ⁵ The people told him what Jonathan had done, hoping that he would hold him responsible, but Ptolemy said nothing. ⁶ Jonathan, with all the proper ceremony, went to Joppa to meet him. They exchanged greetings and spent the night there. ⁷ Jonathan accompanied him as far as the Eleutherus River before returning to Jerusalem. ⁸ In this way King Ptolemy, in his plot against Alexander, took control of the towns along the coast as far north as Seleucia-by-the-sea.

¹¹ Ptolemy made this accusation against Alexander because he wanted to take over his kingdom. ¹² So he took his daughter away from Alexander and gave her to Demetrius; he broke off all relations with Alexander, and they became open enemies. ¹³ Then Ptolemy entered Antioch and assumed the crown of Syria; so he wore both the crown of Egypt and the crown of Syria.

¹⁴ King Alexander was in Cilicia at the time because the people of that region were in a state of rebellion. ¹⁵ But when he heard what Ptolemy had done, he moved to attack him. Ptolemy met him with a large force and won a decisive victory. ¹⁶ While Ptolemy reached the peak of his power, Alexander fled to Arabia to find protection, ¹⁷ but an Arab named Zabdiel cut off his head and sent it to Ptolemy. ¹⁸ Two days later Ptolemy himself died, and the troops he had left in the fortresses were then killed by the local citizens. ¹⁹ So in the year 167^[cd] Demetrius the Second became king.

Jonathan Wins the Favor of Demetrius the Second

²⁰ About that time Jonathan gathered the men of Judea to attack the fort in Jerusalem. They built many siege platforms to use in the attack. ²¹ But some traitorous Jews who hated their own nation went to King Demetrius the Second and told him that Jonathan was laying siege to the fort in Jerusalem. ²² When Demetrius heard this, he was furious and immediately moved his headquarters to Ptolemais. He wrote to Jonathan and ordered him to lift the siege and to meet him for a conference in Ptolemais without a moment's delay.

²³ When Jonathan got the message, he gave orders for the siege to continue, and then chose some Jewish leaders and some priests to go with him. At the risk of his life, ²⁴ he went to the king in Ptolemais, taking along robes, silver and gold, and many other gifts. He made a good impression on the king. ²⁵ Although some lawless traitors of his own nation had made accusations against Jonathan, ²⁶ the king still treated him just as his predecessors had done. He honored him in the presence of all his advisers, ²⁷ and confirmed him as High Priest, restoring all his former honors and appointing him to the highest rank among the

²⁸ Jonathan asked the king to release the territory of Judea and the three regions of Samaria^[ce] from the payment of taxes, promising that if Demetrius would do that, he would pay him a lump sum of 22,000 pounds of silver. ²⁹ The king agreed and wrote a letter to Jonathan to confirm all this:

³¹ For your information I am sending a copy of the letter I have written to the Honorable Lasthenes about you:

Jonathan Helps Demetrius the Second

³⁸ When King Demetrius saw that the land was peaceful under his rule and there was no further resistance, he disbanded his whole army and sent everyone home, except the soldiers he had hired from the Greek islands. This made all the soldiers who had served under his predecessors hate him because they had lost their source of income. ³⁹ One of Alexander's former supporters, Trypho, saw that all the soldiers were complaining about Demetrius, so he went to Imalkue, the Arab who was responsible for bringing up Alexander's young son Antiochus. ⁴⁰ Trypho stayed there for a long time and kept urging Imalkue to hand the boy over to him, so that he could make him king in place of his father. He also told Imalkue about the decrees of Demetrius and how the soldiers hated him.

⁴¹ Jonathan sent a message to King Demetrius asking him to remove his troops from the fort in Jerusalem and from the fortresses in Judea, since they kept harassing the Jews. ⁴² Demetrius replied: I will do what you request, and when the opportunity presents itself, I will bestow upon you and your nation the highest honors. ⁴³ But now you can help me by sending soldiers to fight for me, because all of my troops have revolted.

⁴⁴ So Jonathan sent 3,000 trained soldiers to Antioch. The king was delighted when they arrived, ⁴⁵ because a mob of 120,000 had gathered in the city determined to kill him. ⁴⁶ But he escaped to the palace while the mob took control of the streets and began to riot. ⁴⁷ Then the king called on the Jewish soldiers for help, and they all rushed to his aid. They went through the whole city and killed at least 100,000 people. ⁴⁸ They saved the king's life, but they plundered and burned the city. ⁴⁹ When the people saw that the Jews had complete control of the city, they lost courage and appealed to the king, requesting ⁵⁰ him to arrange a truce and stop the Jewish attack. ⁵¹ The rebels threw down their arms and surrendered. The king and everyone in his kingdom now had great respect for the Jews, who returned to Jerusalem with a great deal of loot. ⁵² Demetrius was firmly established as king, and the country was at peace under his rule, ⁵³ but he broke all his promises and turned against Jonathan. He did not reward him for his loyal service, but instead continued to harass him.

Jonathan Supports Antiochus the Sixth

⁵⁴ Some time later, Trypho returned with the young boy Antiochus and crowned him king. ⁵⁵ All the soldiers that Demetrius had dismissed then came to the support of the young king. They defeated Demetrius, and he fled. ⁵⁶ Trypho captured the elephants and took control of Antioch. ⁵⁷ The young King Antiochus wrote to Jonathan and confirmed him as High Priest and as ruler over the four regions and gave him the title

⁶⁰ Jonathan then marched with his army through the towns of Greater Syria, and all the Syrian forces joined him as allies. He went to Ascalon, where the people welcomed him with great honors. ⁶¹ Then he went to Gaza, but the people there barred their gates against him. So he laid siege to the city and burned and looted the surrounding area. ⁶² The people of Gaza then asked for peace, and Jonathan arranged a truce. He took the sons of the leaders and sent them to Jerusalem as hostages. After that he marched on as far as Damascus.

⁶³ Jonathan learned that the officers of Demetrius had come to Kedesh in Galilee with a large army, intending to keep him from carrying out his plan. ⁶⁴ So he left his brother Simon in Judea and set out to meet them in battle. ⁶⁵ Then Simon laid siege to Bethzur and fought against it for a long time. ⁶⁶ The people asked for peace terms, and Simon agreed. He then took over the town, drove the people out, and stationed a detachment of troops there.

⁶⁷ Jonathan and his army set up camp by Lake Galilee. Early the next morning he marched his troops to the plain of Hazor, ⁶⁸ where the main force of the foreign army was advancing to meet him. Unknown to Jonathan, they had left a detachment of troops in ambush in the mountains, ⁶⁹ and when the men in ambush came out and attacked, ⁷⁰ Jonathan's entire army turned and ran. No one was left, except two officers, Mattathias son of Absalom and Judas son of Chalphi. ⁷¹ Jonathan was humiliated, so he tore his clothes, threw dust on his head, and prayed. ⁷² Then he turned back to the battle, crushed the enemy, and put them to flight. ⁷³ When his own fleeing soldiers saw this, they turned back and joined him in pursuit. They chased the enemy all the way back to their camp at Kedesh and then took over the camp. ⁷⁴ At least 3,000 enemy soldiers were killed that day. Jonathan then returned to Jerusalem.

Alliances with Rome and Sparta

12 When Jonathan saw that things were working out to his advantage, he chose ambassadors and sent them to Rome to confirm and renew friendship with the Romans. ² He also sent letters with a similar message to Sparta and other places. ³ The ambassadors went to Rome, where they were admitted to the Senate chamber, and reported that the High Priest Jonathan and the Jewish nation had sent them to renew the earlier ties of friendship and alliance with Rome. ⁴ The Romans provided them with letters to the authorities in each country through which they would pass, guaranteeing them safe conduct in their return to the land of Judea.

⁵ Here is a copy of the letter Jonathan wrote to the Spartans:

¹⁹ The following is a copy of the earlier letter:

²⁰ King Arius of Sparta to Onias the High Priest, greetings. ²¹ We have found a document about the Spartans and the Jews indicating that we are related and that both of our nations are descended from Abraham. ²² Now that we have discovered this, please send us a report about your situation. ²³ In reply, we will send you a letter indicating that we are willing to share our possessions, including cattle and property, if you will do the same. We have given orders to our ambassadors to give you a full report about these matters.

Campaigns of Jonathan and Simon

²⁴ Jonathan learned that the officers of Demetrius had returned to attack him with an even larger army than before. ²⁵ Jonathan did not want to give them an opportunity to penetrate his own territory, so he left Jerusalem and went to meet them in the region of Hamath. ²⁶ Jonathan sent spies into the enemy camp, who reported to him that the enemy forces were making plans to attack the Jews by night. ²⁷ At sunset Jonathan ordered all his soldiers to be on the alert and to have their weapons ready for a surprise attack any time during the night. He also stationed guards all around the camp. ²⁸ When the enemy soldiers learned that Jonathan and his men were ready for battle, they were panic-stricken and fled, leaving their campfires burning. ²⁹ Jonathan and his men saw the campfires but did not realize what had happened until the next morning. ³⁰ Jonathan then set out after them, but he could not overtake them because they had already crossed the Eleutherus River. ³¹ Then Jonathan turned aside and attacked a tribe of Arabs called Zabadeans. He defeated them and plundered their possessions. ³² Then he broke camp and went to Damascus, inspecting the entire area along the way.

³³ Meanwhile, Simon had also set out on a campaign and had advanced as far as Ascalon and the neighboring fortresses. Then he turned aside to Joppa ³⁴ and stationed a detachment of soldiers there because he had heard that the people were planning to hand over the fortress of Joppa to the soldiers of Demetrius.

³⁵ When Jonathan returned, he called the council of the leaders together and made plans with them to build fortresses in Judea, ³⁶ to increase the height of the walls of Jerusalem, and to build a high wall to separate the fort from the city. This would isolate the fort, making it impossible for the enemy to buy or sell anything. ³⁷ The people worked together to strengthen the city's defenses because a part of the east wall along the Kidron Valley had collapsed and the Chaphenatha section was in need of repair. ³⁸ Simon also rebuilt the town of Adida in the foothills. He fortified it and constructed barred gates for it.

Trypho Captures Jonathan

³⁹ Then Trypho plotted a rebellion against King Antiochus so that he could make himself king of Syria. ⁴⁰ He was afraid, however, that Jonathan would not agree to this and would go to war against him to prevent it. So Trypho got his army ready and went to Beth Shan in the hope of capturing Jonathan and putting him to death. ⁴¹ But Jonathan also came to Beth Shan with 40,000 well-trained soldiers. ⁴² When Trypho saw how large an army Jonathan had brought with him, he was afraid to take action. ⁴³ So he received Jonathan with all honors, presented him to all his advisers, gave him gifts, and ordered his advisers and soldiers to obey Jonathan as they would him. ⁴⁴ He asked Jonathan,

⁴⁶ Jonathan believed him, and following his advice, sent his soldiers back to Judea. ⁴⁷ He took 3,000 men with him, but left 2,000 of them in Galilee, while only 1,000 accompanied him the rest of the way. ⁴⁸ But when Jonathan entered Ptolemais, the people of the city locked the gates, arrested him, and killed everyone who had come with him.

⁴⁹ Trypho sent infantry and cavalry units to Galilee and Jezreel Valley to kill the rest of Jonathan's soldiers. ⁵⁰ The Jewish troops thought that Jonathan had been captured and killed, along with all those who had accompanied him, so they encouraged one another and marched out in battle formation. ⁵¹ When the approaching enemy forces saw that the Jews were ready to fight for their lives, they turned back. ⁵² Then the Jewish soldiers returned to Judea safely, but terribly afraid. The whole nation was in deep mourning, assuming that Jonathan and all his men had been killed. ⁵³ All the surrounding nations now tried to destroy them. They thought that the Jews had no leaders or allies and that the time was ripe to annihilate them and put an end to their history.

Simon Leads the Jews

13 Simon learned that Trypho had assembled a large army and that he had plans to invade Judea and devastate it. ² He realized that this news had brought panic and fear to the people, so he went to Jerusalem, called the people together, ³ and tried to encourage them by saying,

⁷ These words immediately revived the morale of the people, ⁸ and they answered with a loud shout,

¹⁰ So Simon gathered together all the soldiers and hurried to complete the walls of Jerusalem and to strengthen all its defenses. ¹¹ He sent Jonathan son of Absalom to Joppa with a large army. This Jonathan drove out the people who were there and occupied the town.

¹² Trypho left Ptolemais with a large army to invade Judea, taking Simon's brother Jonathan along with him as a prisoner. ¹³ Simon set up camp at Adida at the edge of the plain. ¹⁴ When Trypho learned that Simon had succeeded his brother Jonathan and that he was ready to meet him in battle, he sent this message to him:

¹⁷ Although Simon knew that they were deceiving him, he sent for the money and the two sons because he did not want to arouse the hostility of the Jews. ¹⁸ He was afraid that they might later say that Jonathan was put to death because Simon would not send the money and the boys. ¹⁹ So he did as Trypho had demanded, but Trypho broke his promise and did not release Jonathan.

²⁰ Then Trypho made his move to invade the land and destroy it, circling around by the road to Adora. But Simon and his army moved along facing him wherever he went. ²¹ The enemy soldiers in the fort in Jerusalem kept sending messengers to Trypho urging him to come to them quickly by way of the desert and to send them supplies. ²² Trypho got all his cavalry ready for the invasion, but that night there was a heavy snowstorm, and he was not able to move up into the hills. So he withdrew and went into Gilead. ²³ When he was near Baskama, he had Jonathan put to death and his body buried there. ²⁴ Then Trypho turned and went back to his own country.

²⁵ Simon had the body of his brother Jonathan brought to Modein, to be buried in the town of their ancestors. ²⁶ Everyone in Israel was in deep sorrow at the loss of Jonathan, and they mourned for him a long time. ²⁷ Over the tomb of his father and his brothers Simon built a high monument that could be seen from a great distance. It was covered front and back with polished stone. ²⁸ He constructed seven pyramids side by side for his father, his mother, and his four brothers. ²⁹ For the pyramids he created a setting of tall columns on which there were carvings. Some of these carvings were of suits of armor and some were of ships. It was a monument to their victories, which travelers from overseas could visit.^{[cf] 30} The tomb which he built in Modein is still there today.

³¹ Meanwhile, Trypho assassinated the young king, Antiochus the Sixth, ³² and took over his kingdom in Syria. He brought that country great troubles.

³³ Simon rebuilt the fortresses of Judea with high towers, strong walls, and barred gates; then he placed stores of supplies there. ³⁴ He sent ambassadors to King Demetrius the Second to ask for tax relief for the land, since Trypho was doing nothing but robbing them. ³⁵ King Demetrius sent the following letter in reply:

⁴¹ So in the year 170^[cg] the yoke of the Gentile oppressors was removed from the Jews. ⁴² People began to date their documents and contracts with these words:

^43 (CL)At that time Simon laid siege to Gezer and surrounded it with his army. He built a movable siege platform, brought it up to the town wall, attacked one of the towers, and captured it. ⁴⁴ The men who had been on the siege platform then moved rapidly into the town, and this created great confusion. ⁴⁵ The men of the town, their wives, and their children tore their clothes in distress and climbed up on the top of the town wall. They pleaded loudly with Simon for a truce.

⁴⁷ So Simon came to terms with them and ended the fighting. He made the people leave the town; then he purified the houses in which there had been idols. When that was done, he and his men entered the town singing hymns and songs of praise. ⁴⁸ He eliminated everything that would make the town ritually unclean and settled it with people who would obey every command contained in the Law of Moses. He strengthened the defenses of the town and built himself a palace there.

⁴⁹ Those in the fort in Jerusalem were now prevented from leaving to buy or sell anything. They were suffering from severe hunger and many of them had died of starvation. ⁵⁰ Finally they appealed to Simon for a truce. He agreed, removed them from the fort, and purified it. ⁵¹ On the twenty-third day of the second month, in the year 171,^[ch] there was a great celebration in the city because this terrible threat to the security of Israel had come to an end. Simon and his men entered the fort singing hymns of praise and thanksgiving, while carrying palm branches and playing harps, cymbals, and lyres. ⁵² Simon issued a decree that the day should be joyfully celebrated every year. He strengthened the defenses of the Temple hill on the side facing the fort, and he and his men made their headquarters there. ⁵³ Simon's son John was now a grown man, so Simon made him commander of the whole army, and John set up headquarters at Gezer.

In Praise of Simon

14 In the year 172^[ci] King Demetrius the Second gathered his army and went to Media to seek additional help for his war against Trypho. ² When King Arsaces the Sixth of Persia and Media heard that Demetrius had entered his territory, he sent one of his commanders with some troops to capture Demetrius alive. ³ They attacked and defeated the army of Demetrius, took him captive, and brought him back to King Arsaces, who threw him in prison.

⁴ The land of Judea was at peace as long as Simon lived. During his entire reign, he used his position of power and influence to do what was good for his people, and they were always pleased with him as their ruler. ⁵ He added to his reputation when he captured the port of Joppa and opened up the route to the Greek islands. ⁶ He not only enlarged the territory of his nation and gained control of the whole country, ⁷ but he brought back many prisoners of war and captured Gezer, Bethzur, and the fort in Jerusalem. He purified the fort, and there was no one to oppose him.

⁸ The Jews farmed their land in peace; the land produced its crops and the trees bore fruit. ⁹ The young men showed off their splendid military uniforms, while the old men sat around the city squares and talked about the great things that had happened. ¹⁰ Simon supplied the cities with food and provided them with weapons of defense. His fame spread everywhere. ¹¹ He brought peace to the country, and Israel's joy knew no bounds. ¹² Everyone lived in peace among his own grapevines and fig trees, and no one made them afraid. ¹³ In those days all the enemy kings had been defeated, and there was no one left in the land to fight the Jews. ¹⁴ Simon provided help for all the poor among his people, and guided by the Law of Moses, he eliminated all wicked and lawless men. ¹⁵ He provided the Temple with splendid furnishings and added a large number of utensils for use in worship.

¹⁶ When the news that Jonathan had died reached Rome and Sparta, it brought great sorrow. ¹⁷ But when the Spartans heard that Simon had succeeded his brother as High Priest and that he was in control of the country and its towns, ^18 (CM)they engraved on bronze tablets a renewal of the treaty of friendship which they had made with his brothers Judas and Jonathan and sent the tablets to him. ¹⁹ These were read to the assembly in Jerusalem. ²⁰ What follows is a copy of the letter sent by the Spartans:

The people of Sparta and their rulers to Simon the High Priest, to the leaders and the priests of the Jews, and to all our Jewish brothers, greetings. ²¹ The delegation that you sent to our people has told us how respected and renowned you are. Their visit has been a source of joy for us, ²² and a report of their visit has been written down in our public records, as follows:

²⁴ Later, Simon sent Numenius to Rome with the gift of a large gold shield weighing half a ton, to confirm the Jews' alliance with the Romans.

³⁶ Under his leadership the Gentiles were driven out of the land. Enemy soldiers were forced out of the area north of the Temple, where they had built the fort, from which the soldiers used to go out and defile the holy Temple. ³⁷ Simon settled Jews in the fort, strengthened it for the security of the country and the city of Jerusalem, and increased the height of the city walls. ³⁸ As a result, King Demetrius confirmed him as High Priest, ³⁹ gave him the title of

⁴¹ Therefore,^[cm] the Jews and their priests are happy to have Simon and his descendants as their leaders and High Priests, until a true prophet appears. ⁴² Simon shall govern their country, have charge of the Temple, and shall be their military commander. He shall be in charge of military supplies, fortifications, and public works. ⁴³ The people must obey him in everything. All government contracts shall be drawn up in his name. He shall have the right to wear royal robes with the gold shoulder buckle.

⁴⁴ No one, priest or people, shall have the legal right to annul any of these decisions, to alter or change any of Simon's orders, to convene any assembly in the country without his permission, or to wear royal robes with the gold shoulder buckle. ⁴⁵ Anyone who disobeys or disregards these regulations shall be subject to punishment.

⁴⁶ The people gave their unanimous approval to grant Simon the right to act in accordance with these regulations. ⁴⁷ Simon consented and agreed to be supreme leader: High Priest, commander of the armies, and governor of the Jews and the priests.

⁴⁸ It was decided that this declaration should be engraved on bronze tablets and set up in a prominent place within the Temple area ⁴⁹ and that copies should be placed in the Temple treasury, where Simon and his sons would have access to them.

Antiochus the Seventh Asks for Simon's Support

15 From the Greek islands Antiochus son of King Demetrius wrote the following letter to Simon the High Priest and governor of the Jews and to the whole nation:

⁵ Now therefore, I confirm all exemptions from taxes and payments granted you by former kings. ⁶ I authorize you to mint your own coins as legal currency in your own country. ⁷ Jerusalem and the Temple shall be free of taxation. All the weapons that you have manufactured and the defenses you have built and now occupy shall remain yours. ⁸ In addition, all debts now owed to the royal treasury, or which may in the future fall due, are permanently canceled. ⁹ As soon as I have regained control of my kingdom, I will confer upon you, your nation, and the Temple such great honors that the glory of your country will be evident to the whole world.

¹⁰ In the year 174^[cn] Antiochus invaded the land of his ancestors. Most of the soldiers came over to his side, so that there were very few left with Trypho. ¹¹ Trypho, pursued by Antiochus, fled to the coastal city of Dor, ¹² realizing that he was in a desperate situation, now that all his troops had deserted him. ¹³ Then Antiochus laid siege to Dor with 120,000 well-trained soldiers and 8,000 cavalry. ¹⁴ With his ships joining the attack, he completely surrounded the town and brought such pressure on it that no one was able to enter or leave.

Rome Supports the Jews

^15 (CN)Meanwhile, Numenius and those with him arrived in Jerusalem from Rome with the following letter addressed to various kings and countries:

²² Lucius wrote the same letter to King Demetrius, to Attalus, Ariarathes, and Arsaces, ²³ and to all the following countries: Sampsames, Sparta, Delos, Myndos, Sicyon, Caria, Samos, Pamphylia, Lycia, Halicarnassus, Rhodes, Phaselis, Cos, Side, Aradus, Gortyna, Cnidus, Cyprus, and Cyrene. ²⁴ A copy of the letter was also sent to Simon the High Priest.

Antiochus the Seventh Breaks with Simon

²⁵ King Antiochus laid siege to Dor for a second time, keeping it under constant attack. He built siege platforms, and his blockade kept Trypho and his men from going in or out. ²⁶ Simon sent 2,000 well-trained soldiers to help Antiochus, as well as silver and gold and a great deal of equipment. ²⁷ But Antiochus refused to accept them, canceled all the previous agreements that he had made with Simon, and became his enemy. ²⁸ Then Antiochus sent his trusted official Athenobius to negotiate with Simon. He told Simon,

³² When Athenobius came to Jerusalem and saw the splendor of Simon's court, the gold and silver tableware in his banquet hall, and the rest of the display of great wealth, he was amazed. He delivered the king's message to Simon, ³³ and Simon answered,

John's Victory over Cendebeus

³⁷ In the meantime, Trypho had boarded a ship and escaped to the town of Orthosia. ³⁸ King Antiochus appointed Cendebeus as commander of the coastal area, provided him with infantry and cavalry, ³⁹ and gave him orders to move against Judea. He also ordered him to rebuild the town of Kedron and fortify its gates, so that he could fight against the Jewish people. The king himself continued to pursue Trypho.

⁴⁰ Cendebeus then came to Jamnia and began to harass the Jews by invading Judea, capturing people, and murdering them. ⁴¹ He rebuilt Kedron and stationed some cavalry and infantry units there, so that they could make attacks and patrol the roads of Judea, as the king had ordered.

16 Simon's son John left Gezer and went to report to his father what Cendebeus had done. ² Simon said to John and Judas, his two oldest sons,

⁴ Then John raised an Israelite army of 20,000 trained soldiers and cavalry and marched out against Cendebeus. They spent the night in Modein, ⁵ and then early the next morning they moved into the plain. There a large army of infantry and cavalry moved to meet them, but there was a river between the two armies. ⁶ John and his army took up battle positions facing the enemy, but when John saw that his soldiers were afraid to cross the river, he crossed ahead of them, and his men saw him and followed. ⁷ John divided his army and placed his cavalry in the middle of the infantry, because there was a large number of enemy cavalry. ⁸ The trumpets sounded the attack, and Cendebeus and his army were defeated, and many of them were killed. The rest ran back to their fortress at Kedron. ⁹ Judas was wounded in the battle, but his brother John continued to pursue the enemy as far as Kedron, which Cendebeus had rebuilt. ¹⁰ The escaping soldiers fled to the towers in the fields at Azotus, and John set fire to the city. On that day, 2,000 enemy soldiers were killed, and John returned safely to Judea.

The Murder of Simon and Two of His Sons

¹¹ Simon the High Priest had appointed Ptolemy son of Abubus commander for the Plain of Jericho. Ptolemy was very rich, ¹² because he was Simon's son-in-law. ¹³ But he became too ambitious and wanted to take over the country. So he devised a plan to assassinate Simon and his sons. ¹⁴ Simon, together with his sons Mattathias and Judas, was visiting the towns in the area, in order to take care of their needs. They arrived in Jericho in the month of Shebat, the eleventh month, in the year 177.^{[co] 15} Ptolemy, still plotting to murder Simon and his two sons, received them in a small fortress called Dok, which he had built. He gave a great banquet for them, but he had men hidden within the fortress. ¹⁶ When Simon and his sons were drunk, Ptolemy and his men came out of hiding and with swords in hand rushed into the banquet hall, where they killed Simon, his two sons, and some of the servants. ¹⁷ With this horrible act of treachery, Ptolemy returned evil for good.

¹⁸ Then Ptolemy wrote a report of what he had done and sent it to the king. In the letter he requested that troops be sent to help him and that the country and the cities be turned over to him. ¹⁹ He wrote a letter to the army officers inviting them to join him and promising them silver, gold, and gifts. Then he sent some of his men to Gezer to kill John, ²⁰ and others to take control of Jerusalem and the Temple hill. ²¹ But someone ran to Gezer ahead of Ptolemy's men and reported to John that his father and his brothers had been killed and that Ptolemy was sending his soldiers to kill him. ²² John was horrified at this news, but, because he had been warned in advance, he was able to capture and put to death the men who had been sent to kill him.

²³ Now the rest of what John did from the time he succeeded his father: his wars, his deeds of courage, his rebuilding of walls, and his other accomplishments, ²⁴ are all written in the chronicles of his reign as High Priest.

A Letter to the Jews in Egypt

² May God be good to you and keep the covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, his faithful servants. ³ May he fill each of you with the desire to worship him and to do his will eagerly with all your heart and soul. ⁴ May he enable you to understand his Law and his commands. May he give you peace, ⁵ answer your prayers, forgive your sins, and never abandon you in times of trouble. ⁶ Here in Judah we are now praying for you.

⁷ In the year 169,^[cp] when Demetrius the Second was king of Syria, we wrote to tell you about the persecution and the hard times that came upon us in the years after Jason revolted against authority in the Holy Land. ⁸ Jason and his men set fire to the Temple gates and slaughtered innocent people. Then we prayed to the Lord and he answered our prayers. So we sacrificed animals, gave offerings of grain, lit the lamps in the Temple, and set out the sacred loaves. ⁹ This is why we urge you to celebrate in the month of Kislev a festival similar to the Festival of Shelters. Written in the year 188.^[cq]

A LETTER TO ARISTOBULUS

The Death of King Antiochus

¹¹ We thank God because he saved us from great danger. We were like men ready to fight against a king, ¹² but God drove the enemy from our holy city. ^13 (CO)When King Antiochus arrived in Persia, his army seemed impossible to defeat, but they were cut to pieces in the temple of the goddess Nanea by an act of treachery on the part of her priests. ¹⁴ King Antiochus had gone to the temple with some of his most trusted advisers, so that he might marry the goddess and then take away most of the temple treasures as a wedding gift. ¹⁵ After the priests had laid out the treasure, he and a few of his men went into the temple to collect it. But the priests closed the doors behind him ¹⁶ and stoned him and his men from trap doors hidden in the ceiling. Then they cut up the bodies and threw the heads to the people outside. ¹⁷ Praise God for punishing those evil men! Praise him for everything!

Fire Consumes Nehemiah's Sacrifice

¹⁸ On the twenty-fifth day of the month of Kislev we will celebrate the Festival of Rededication just as we celebrate the Festival of Shelters. We thought it important to remind you of this, so that you too may celebrate this festival. In this way you will remember how fire appeared when Nehemiah offered sacrifices after he had rebuilt the Temple and the altar. ¹⁹ At the time when our ancestors were being taken to exile in Persia, a few devout priests took some fire from the altar and secretly hid it in the bottom of a dry cistern. They hid the fire so well that no one ever discovered it. ²⁰ Years later, when it pleased God, the Persian emperor sent Nehemiah back to Jerusalem, and Nehemiah told the descendants of those priests to find the fire. They reported to us that they had found no fire but only some oily liquid. Nehemiah then told them to scoop some up and bring it to him. ²¹ When everything for the sacrifice had been placed on the altar, he told the priests to pour the liquid over both the wood and the sacrifice. ²² After this was done and some time had passed, the sun appeared from behind the clouds, and suddenly everything on the altar burst into flames. Everyone looked on in amazement. ²³ Then, while the fire was consuming the sacrifice, Jonathan the High Priest led the people in prayer, and Nehemiah and all the people responded.

Nehemiah's Prayer

The Persian Emperor Hears about the Fire

³⁰ Then the priests sang hymns. ³¹ After the sacrifices had been consumed, Nehemiah gave orders for the rest of the liquid to be poured over some large stones. ³² Immediately a fire blazed up, but it was extinguished by a flame from the fire on the altar.

³³ News of what had happened spread everywhere. The Persian emperor heard that a liquid had been found in the place where the priests had hidden the altar fire, just before they were taken into exile. He also heard that Nehemiah and his friends had used this liquid to burn the sacrifice on the altar. ³⁴ When the emperor investigated the matter and found out that this was true, he had the area fenced off and made into a shrine. ³⁵ It became a substantial source of income for him, and he used the money for gifts to anyone who was in his good favor. ³⁶ Nehemiah and his friends called the liquid nephthar which means purification, but most people call it naphtha.

Jeremiah Hides the Tent of the Lord's Presence

2 We know from the records that Jeremiah the prophet instructed the people who were being taken into exile to hide some of the fire from the altar, as we have just mentioned. ² We also know that he taught them God's Law and warned them not to be deceived by the ornamented gold and silver idols which they would see in the land of their exile. ³ And then he urged them never to abandon the Law.

⁴ These same records also tell us that Jeremiah, acting under divine guidance, commanded the Tent of the Lord's Presence and the Covenant Box to follow him to the mountain where Moses had looked down on the land which God had promised our people. ⁵ When Jeremiah got to the mountain, he found a huge cave and there he hid the Tent of the Lord's Presence, the Covenant Box, and the altar of incense. Then he sealed up the entrance.

⁶ Some of Jeremiah's friends tried to follow him and mark the way, but they could not find the cave. ⁷ When Jeremiah learned what they had done, he reprimanded them, saying,

How Solomon Celebrated the Festival

⁹ We are also told how the wise King Solomon offered a sacrifice of dedication at the completion of the Temple, ¹⁰ and that when he prayed, fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifices, just as it had done earlier when Moses prayed. ¹¹ Moses had explained that the sin offering was consumed by fire because it was not eaten. ¹² Solomon celebrated the festival for eight days.

Nehemiah's Library

¹³ These same facts are found in the royal records and in the memoirs of Nehemiah, who established a library and collected the writings of David, letters of the kings concerning offerings, and books about the kings and prophets. ¹⁴ Judas also collected the books that had been scattered because of the war, and we still have them. ¹⁵ If you ever need any of these books, let us know, and we will send them.

An Invitation to Celebrate the Festival

^16 (CQ)Since we are about to celebrate the Festival of Rededication, we are writing to you, advising you to celebrate it as well. ¹⁷ God has saved all his people and has restored to all of us our holy land, the kingship, the priesthood, and the Temple services, ¹⁸ just as he promised in his Law. He has rescued us from terrible evils and has purified the Temple, and we are confident that in his mercy he will soon gather us to his holy Temple from every nation under the sun.

Author's Preface

¹⁹ Jason of Cyrene has recorded in five volumes the story of Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, the purification of the great Temple, and the dedication of its altar. ²⁰ He has described the battles with Antiochus Epiphanes and with his son Eupator, ²¹ and he has told of the heavenly visions that appeared to those who fought bravely and enthusiastically to defend Judaism. Our forces were few in number, but they plundered the entire country and routed the heathen forces. ²² They recaptured the Temple famous throughout the world, liberated Jerusalem, and restored the laws that were in danger of being abolished. They were able to do all these things because the Lord was merciful and kind to them.

²³ I will now try to summarize in a single book the five volumes written by Jason. ²⁴ The number of details and the bulk of material can be overwhelming for anyone who wants to read an account of the events. ²⁵ But I have attempted to simplify it for all readers; those who read for sheer pleasure will find enjoyment and those who want to memorize the facts will not find it difficult. ²⁶ Writing such a summary is a difficult task, demanding hard work and sleepless nights. ²⁷ It is as difficult as preparing a banquet that people of different tastes will enjoy. But I am happy to undergo this hardship in order to please my readers. ²⁸ I will leave the matter of details to the original author and attempt to give only a summary of the events. ²⁹ I am not the builder of a new house who is concerned with every detail of the structure, but simply a painter whose only concern is to make the house look attractive. ³⁰ The historian must master his subject, examine every detail, and then explain it carefully, ³¹ but whoever is merely writing a summary should be permitted to give a brief account without going into a detailed discussion. ³² So then, without any further comment, I will begin my story. It would be foolish to write such a long introduction that the story itself would have to be cut short.

The Argument between Onias and Simon

3 When Onias^[cr] was High Priest in Jerusalem, the holy city enjoyed peace and prosperity, and its laws were strictly obeyed, because he was devout and hated evil. ² The kings of Syria and Egypt honored the Temple and presented it with expensive gifts, ³ and King Seleucus,^[cs] ruler of all Asia, even used to pay the costs of the Temple sacrifices from the revenues he collected.

⁴ But a man by the name of Simon, of the tribe of Bilgah,^[ct] the chief administrative official of the Temple, lost an argument he had with Onias over the regulations governing the city market. ⁵ At this time Apollonius son of Thraseus was the governor of Greater Syria. Simon went to him ⁶ and said that there was so much money in the Temple treasury that it could not be counted, and since the money was not needed for sacrifices, it might as well be placed under the king's control.

Heliodorus Is Sent to Jerusalem

⁷ When Apollonius met with the king, he told him about the money, and the king ordered Heliodorus, his chief minister, to get it for him. ⁸ Heliodorus set out at once on his mission, but he claimed that he was only making a tour of inspection of the cities of Greater Syria. ⁹ After he had arrived in Jerusalem and had been warmly received by the High Priest, he explained the real reason for his visit and asked if what he had been told was true. ^10-11 The High Priest then stated that Simon, that devil of a man, had not been telling the truth. There was indeed some money in the Temple treasury, but part of it was set aside for widows and orphans and part of it belonged to Hyrcanus son of Tobias, a very important man. He also pointed out that the total amount was only 30,000 pounds of silver and 15,000 pounds of gold. ¹² He added that it was absolutely impossible that anyone should be permitted to take the money of those people who had placed their trust in the sanctity and safety of this world-famous Temple.

Heliodorus Plans to Enter the Temple

¹³ But Heliodorus insisted that the money should be taken for the royal treasury, as the king had ordered. ¹⁴ So he set a day and went into the Temple to supervise the counting of the money. This caused an uproar throughout the entire city. ¹⁵ Priests, wearing their priestly robes, threw themselves face downward before the altar and begged God to keep the money safe, since he had given the laws designed to protect the money that people deposited in the Temple. ¹⁶ It was heartbreaking to see the High Priest. His face turned pale, revealing the agony of his soul, ¹⁷ and his body was trembling with fear, reflecting the pain in his heart. ¹⁸ People ran from their houses to join together in prayer that the Temple might not be defiled. ¹⁹ Women, wearing nothing but skirts of sackcloth, crowded the streets. Young girls whose parents had never allowed them to be seen in public ran to the gates or to the walls of the city, or just stared out of their windows. ²⁰ But wherever they went, they lifted their hands to God in prayer. ²¹ What a pitiful sight it was to see the High Priest in such great agony and frustration and to see everyone in the city confused and lying face down on the ground.

The Lord Protects His Temple

²² While everyone was begging the Lord Almighty to protect the money that had been entrusted to his care, ²³ Heliodorus went on with his plan. ²⁴ But at the very moment that he and his bodyguards arrived at the treasury, the Lord of all supernatural powers caused such a vision to appear that everyone who had dared to enter with Heliodorus was panic-stricken and weak with fear at this display of the Lord's power. ²⁵ In the vision they saw a horse and a rider. The horse had a richly decorated bridle, and its rider, dressed in gold armor, was frightening. Suddenly the horse rushed at Heliodorus, then reared up and struck at him with its hoofs. ²⁶ Heliodorus also saw two unusually strong and handsome young men, wearing very fine clothes. They stood on either side of him and beat him unmercifully. ²⁷ He immediately fell to the ground unconscious, and his men put him on a stretcher ²⁸ and carried him out. Only a moment earlier this man had entered the treasury with a large group of men, including all his bodyguards, but now he was being carried away helpless. So they all^[cu] openly acknowledged the mighty power of God.

Onias Prays for Heliodorus' Recovery

²⁹ Heliodorus lay there unable to speak and without hope of recovery from this demonstration of God's power. ³⁰ But the Jews praised Almighty God because he had miraculously protected his Temple and had brought great happiness where only minutes before there had been fear and confusion. ³¹ Some of Heliodorus' friends quickly asked Onias the High Priest to pray that the Most High would spare the life of this man who was at the point of death. ³² So the High Priest offered a sacrifice in the hope that God would save Heliodorus, for he did not want the king to think that the Jews had done this to the man he had sent. ³³ While Onias was offering the sacrifice, the two young men, wearing the same clothes as before, again appeared to Heliodorus and said,

Heliodorus Praises God

³⁵ So Heliodorus offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made many promises, because the Lord had spared his life. Then he said good-bye to Onias and returned with his army to the king. ³⁶ There he told everyone what the Lord, the most powerful of all gods, had done.

⁴⁰ That is the story of how the Temple treasury was protected from Heliodorus.

Simon Accuses Onias

4 But Simon (mentioned earlier as the one who informed Apollonius about the money and brought trouble on the nation) also lied about Onias, claiming that he was responsible for the attack on Heliodorus and for the difficulties that followed. ² He dared to accuse Onias of plotting against the government—Onias who not only had made donations to Jerusalem and had protected the Temple, but who was eager to see that all our laws were obeyed. ^3-4 Apollonius son of Menestheus, the governor of Greater Syria, encouraged Simon in every evil thing he did, and Simon's opposition finally grew so strong that one of his trusted followers committed several murders. Onias realized how dangerous the situation had become, ⁵ so he went to the king, not for the purpose of making accusations against his own people, but for the common good of all Jews, both in their private and public lives. ⁶ He realized that without the king's cooperation there was no hope for peace, and Simon would keep on with his foolishness.

Jason Introduces Greek Customs

^7 (CR)Later, when King Seleucus died and Antiochus (known as Epiphanes) became king, Jason the brother of Onias became High Priest by corrupt means. ⁸ He went to see^[cv] the king and offered him 27,000 pounds of silver with 6,000 more pounds to be paid later. ⁹ Jason also offered him an additional 11,250 pounds of silver for the authority to establish a stadium where young men could train and to enroll the people of Jerusalem as citizens of Antioch.^[cw]

¹⁰ The king gave his approval, and just as soon as Jason took over the office of High Priest, he made the people of Jerusalem change to the Greek way of life. ^11 (CS)He began by abolishing the favors that John had secured for the Jews from previous Syrian kings. (John was the father of the Eupolemus who later went to Rome to make an alliance and to establish ties of friendship.) Jason also did away with our Jewish customs and introduced new customs that were contrary to our Law. ¹² With great enthusiasm he built a stadium near the Temple hill and led our finest young men to adopt the Greek custom of participating in athletic events. ¹³ Because of the unrivaled wickedness of Jason, that ungodly and illegitimate High Priest, the craze for the Greek way of life and for foreign customs reached such a point ¹⁴ that even the priests lost all interest in their sacred duties. They lost interest in the Temple services and neglected the sacrifices. Just as soon as the signal was given, they would rush off to take part in the games that were forbidden by our Law. ¹⁵ They did not care about anything their ancestors had valued; they prized only Greek honors. ¹⁶ And this turned out to be the source of all their troubles, for the very people whose ways they admired and whose customs they tried to imitate became their enemies and oppressed them. ¹⁷ It is a serious thing to disregard God's Law, as you will see from the following events.

Jerusalem under Syrian Influence

¹⁸ Once when the king was present for the athletic games that were held every five^[cx] years in the city of Tyre, ¹⁹ that worthless Jason sent some men there from Jerusalem, who were also enrolled as citizens of Antioch, to take 22,500 pounds of silver to pay for a sacrifice to the god Hercules. But even these men did not think it was fitting to use such a large sum of money for a sacrifice, and ²⁰ so the money originally intended as a sacrifice to Hercules was used for the construction of warships.

²¹ When Apollonius son of Menestheus was sent to Egypt to attend the crowning of Philometor as king, Antiochus learned that Philometor was opposed to his policies. Antiochus became concerned about the security of his own kingdom, so he went to Joppa and then on to Jerusalem. ²² There he was welcomed with great splendor by Jason and the people of the city who went out to greet him, shouting and carrying torches. From Jerusalem Antiochus led his army to Phoenicia.

Menelaus Becomes High Priest

²³ Three years later, Jason sent Menelaus (brother of the Simon^[cy] mentioned earlier) to take some money to the king and to get his decision on several important matters. ²⁴ But when he stood before the king, Menelaus impressed him with his show of authority and offered 22,500 pounds of silver more than Jason had offered for his appointment to the office of High Priest. ²⁵ As a result Menelaus returned to Jerusalem with papers from the king, confirming him as High Priest. But he possessed no other qualifications; he had the temper of a cruel tyrant and could be as fierce as a wild animal. ²⁶ So Jason, who had cheated his own brother out of the office of High Priest, was now forced to flee to the land of Ammon. ²⁷ Menelaus continued to be High Priest, but he never paid any of the money he had promised the king. ²⁸ However, Sostratus, the captain of the fort in Jerusalem, kept demanding the money, since it was his responsibility to collect it. So finally, the two men were summoned to appear before the king concerning the matter. ²⁹ Menelaus left his brother Lysimachus as acting High Priest, while Sostratus left the fort under the command of Crates, the commander of the mercenary troops from Cyprus.

The Murder of Onias

³⁰ Meanwhile, there was a revolt in the Cilician cities of Tarsus and Mallus, because the king had given those cities to Antiochis, his mistress. ³¹ So the king left Andronicus, one of his high officials, in command, while he hurried off to Cilicia to restore order. ³² Menelaus took advantage of this opportunity and presented Andronicus with some of the gold objects he had removed from the Temple in Jerusalem. He had already sold some of them to the city of Tyre and to other nearby cities. ³³ When Onias heard about this, he fled for safety to a temple at Daphne near the city of Antioch and openly accused Menelaus. ^34 (CT)Then Menelaus secretly persuaded Andronicus to kill Onias. So Andronicus went to Onias and deceived him with a friendly greeting and with promises of safety. Although Onias was suspicious, Andronicus finally lured him away from the safety of the temple and immediately murdered him in cold blood.

Andronicus Is Punished

³⁵ The Jews and Gentiles were very angry because Onias had been murdered. ³⁶ So when the king returned from the territory of Cilicia, the Jews of Antioch went to him and protested against this senseless killing. Many Gentiles felt the same way about the crime. ³⁷ King Antiochus was deeply grieved and was so filled with sorrow that he was moved to tears when he recalled the wisdom and self-control that Onias had shown throughout his life. ³⁸ Antiochus became so angry that he tore off Andronicus' royal robe, stripped him naked, and marched him around the city to the very spot where Onias had been murdered. Then Antiochus had this bloodthirsty murderer put to death. This was how the Lord gave him the punishment he deserved.

Lysimachus Is Killed

³⁹ Meanwhile, with the support of his brother Menelaus, Lysimachus had on numerous occasions robbed the Jerusalem Temple and had taken many of its gold objects. When word of this spread around, crowds began to gather in protest against Lysimachus. ⁴⁰ Finally, the crowds were becoming dangerous and were beginning to get out of control, so Lysimachus sent 3,000 armed men to attack them. They were led by Auranus, a man as stupid as he was old. ⁴¹ When the Jews in the Temple courtyard realized what was happening, they picked up rocks, pieces of wood, or simply handfuls of ashes from the altar and threw them at Lysimachus and his men in the confusion. ⁴² They killed a few of Lysimachus' men, wounded many of them, and all the rest ran for their lives. Lysimachus himself, that temple robber, was killed near the Temple treasury.

Menelaus Is Brought to Trial

⁴³ Because of this incident Menelaus was brought to trial. ⁴⁴ When the king came to the city of Tyre, the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem sent three men to bring charges against Menelaus. ⁴⁵ When Menelaus saw that he was losing the case, he offered Ptolemy son of Dorymenes a large bribe to persuade the king to decide in his favor. ⁴⁶ Ptolemy then asked the king to go outside the courtroom with him, as though to get some fresh air, and there he persuaded him to change his mind ⁴⁷ and declare Menelaus innocent of the charges against him. So Menelaus was set free, although he had caused the trouble; but the three men, whom even the cruel Scythians would have declared innocent, were sentenced to death. ⁴⁸ The three men had spoken in defense of Jerusalem, its people,^[cz] and the sacred objects stolen from the Temple, but they were quickly and unjustly executed. ⁴⁹ Some of the people of Tyre, however, showed their disgust with this crime and their respect for these men by giving them a splendid funeral. ⁵⁰ Menelaus stayed on in his position because of the greed of those in power. He grew more evil every day and became the worst enemy of his own people.

Visions of a Battle

5 About this time Antiochus the Fourth made a second attack against Egypt. ² For nearly forty days people all over Jerusalem saw visions of cavalry troops in gold armor charging across the sky. The riders were armed with spears and their swords were drawn. ³ They were lined up in battle against one another, attacking and counterattacking. Shields were clashing, there was a rain of spears, and arrows flew through the air. All the different kinds of armor and the gold bridles on the horses flashed in the sunlight. ⁴ Everyone in the city prayed that these visions might be a good sign.

Jason Attacks Jerusalem

⁵ When a false report began to spread that Antiochus had died, Jason took more than a thousand men and suddenly attacked Jerusalem. They drove back those stationed on the city walls and finally captured the city. Menelaus fled for safety to the fort, near the Temple hill, ⁶ while Jason and his men went on slaughtering their fellow Jews without mercy. Jason did not realize that success against one's own people is the worst kind of failure. He even considered his success a victory over enemies, rather than a defeat of his own people. ⁷ But Jason did not take over the government. Instead he was forced to flee once again to the territory of the Ammonites, and in the end his evil plot brought him nothing but shame and disgrace, ⁸ and he died in misery. Aretas, the ruler of the Arabs, imprisoned him; he was looked upon as a criminal and despised because he had betrayed his own people; everyone was hunting for him, and he had to run from town to town. He fled to Egypt for safety, ⁹ then to Greece, hoping to find refuge among the Spartans, who were related to the Jews. Finally, this man, who had forced so many others to flee from their own country, died as a fugitive in a foreign land. ¹⁰ Jason had killed many people and left their bodies unburied, but now his own death was unmourned. He was not given a funeral or even buried with his ancestors.

Antiochus Attacks Jerusalem^(CU)

¹¹ When the news of what had happened in Jerusalem reached Antiochus, he thought the whole country of Judea was in revolt, and he became as furious as a wild animal. So he left Egypt and took Jerusalem by storm, ¹² giving his men orders to cut down without mercy everyone they met and to slaughter anyone they found hiding in the houses. ¹³ They murdered everyone—men and women, boys and girls; even babies were butchered. ¹⁴ Three days later Jerusalem had lost 80,000 people: 40,000 killed in the attack and at least that many taken away to be sold as slaves.

¹⁵ But Antiochus was still not satisfied. He even dared to enter the holiest Temple in all the world, guided by Menelaus, who had become a traitor both to his religion and to his people. ¹⁶ With his filthy and unholy hands, Antiochus swept away the sacred objects of worship and the gifts which other kings had given to increase the glory and honor of the Temple. ¹⁷ He was so thrilled with his conquest that he did not realize that the Lord had let his holy Temple be defiled because the sin of the people of Jerusalem had made him angry for a while. ¹⁸ If the people of Jerusalem had not been involved in so many sins, Antiochus would have been punished immediately and prevented from taking such a foolish action. He would have suffered the same fate as Heliodorus, who was sent by King Seleucus to inspect the treasury. ¹⁹ But the Lord did not choose his people for the sake of his Temple; he established his Temple for the sake of his people. ²⁰ So the Temple shared in the people's suffering but also later shared in their prosperity. The Lord abandoned it when he became angry, but restored it when his anger had cooled down.

Another Attack against Jerusalem

²¹ Antiochus took 135,000 pounds of silver from the Temple and hurried off to Antioch. Such was his arrogance that he felt he could make ships sail across dry land or troops march across the sea. ²² He appointed governors to cause trouble for the people. In Jerusalem he placed Philip, a man from Phrygia who was more evil than Antiochus himself. ²³ At Mount Gerizim he placed Andronicus. In addition to these, there was Menelaus, who mistreated his fellow Jews far worse than the governors did. Antiochus hated the Jews so much ²⁴ that he sent an army of 22,000 mercenary troops from Mysia to Jerusalem under the command of a man named Apollonius, with orders to kill every man in the city and to sell the women and boys as slaves. ²⁵ Apollonius arrived in Jerusalem, pretending to be on a peace mission. Then on a Sabbath, when all the Jews were observing the day of rest, he led his troops, who were fully armed, in a parade outside the city. ²⁶ Suddenly he commanded his men to kill everyone who had come out to see them. They rushed into the city and murdered a great many people.

²⁷ But Judas Maccabeus and about nine others escaped into the barren mountains, where they lived like wild animals. In order not to defile themselves, they ate only plants which they found growing there.

The Jews Are Persecuted Because of Their Faith

6 Not long after that, the king sent an elderly Athenian^[da] to force the Jews to abandon their religion and the customs of their ancestors. ² He was also to defile their Temple by dedicating it to the Olympian god Zeus.^[db] The temple on Mount Gerizim was to be officially named

³ The oppression was harsh and almost intolerable. ⁴ Gentiles filled the Temple with drinking parties and all sorts of immorality. They even had intercourse with prostitutes there. Forbidden objects were brought into the Temple, ⁵ and the altar was covered with detestable sacrifices prohibited by our Law. ⁶ It was impossible to observe the Sabbath, to celebrate any of the traditional festivals, or even so much as to admit to being a Jew. ⁷ Each month when the king's birthday was celebrated, the Jews were compelled by brute force to eat the intestines of sacrificial animals. Then, during the festival in honor of the wine god Dionysus, they were required to wear ivy wreaths on their heads and march in procession. ⁸ On the advice of Ptolemy,^[dc] the neighboring Greek cities were also instructed to require Jews to eat the sacrifices; ⁹ they were told to put to death every Jew who refused to adopt the Greek way of life. It was easy to see that hard times were ahead. ^10 (CV)For example, two women were arrested for having their babies circumcised. They were paraded around the city with their babies hung from their breasts; then they were thrown down from the city wall. ^11 (CW)On another occasion, Philip was told that some Jews had gathered in a nearby cave to observe the Sabbath in secret. Philip attacked and burned them all alive. They had such respect for the Sabbath that they would not fight to defend themselves.

The Lord Punishes and Shows Mercy

¹² I beg you not to become discouraged as you read about the terrible things that happened. Consider that this was the Lord's way of punishing his people, not of destroying them. ¹³ In fact, it is a sign of kindness to punish a person immediately for his sins, rather than to wait a long time. ¹⁴ The Lord does not treat us as he does other nations: he waits patiently until they have become deeply involved in sin before he punishes them, ¹⁵ but he punishes us before we have sinned too much. ¹⁶ So the Lord is always merciful to us, his own people. Although he punishes us with disasters, he never abandons us. ¹⁷ I have made these few observations by way of reminder. We will now get on with the story.

Eleazar Dies for His Faith

^18 (CX)There was an elderly and highly respected teacher of the Law by the name of Eleazar, whose mouth was being forced open to make him eat pork. ^19-20 But he preferred an honorable death rather than a life of disgrace. So he spit out the meat and went willingly to the place of torture, showing how people should have courage to refuse unclean food, even if it costs them their lives. ^21-22 Those in charge of the sacrifice had been friends of Eleazar for a long time, and because of this friendship they told him privately to bring meat that was lawful for him to eat. He need only pretend to eat the pork, they said, and in this way he would not be put to death.

As soon as he said these things, he went^[dd] off to be tortured, ²⁹ and the very people who had treated him kindly a few minutes before, now turned against him, because they thought he had spoken like a madman. ³⁰ When they had beaten him almost to the point of death, he groaned and said,

³¹ So Eleazar died. But his courageous death was remembered as a glorious example, not only by young people, but by the entire nation as well.

A Mother and Her Sons Die for Their Faith

7 ^(CY)On another occasion a Jewish mother and her seven sons were arrested. The king was having them beaten to force them to eat pork. ² Then one of the young men said,

³ This made the king so furious that he gave orders for huge pans and kettles to be heated red hot, ⁴ and it was done immediately. Then he told his men to cut off the tongue of the one who had spoken and to scalp him and chop off his hands and feet, while his mother and six brothers looked on. ⁵ After the young man had been reduced to a helpless mass of breathing flesh, the king gave orders for him to be carried over and thrown into one of the pans. As a cloud of smoke streamed up from the pan, the brothers and their mother encouraged one another to die bravely, saying, ^6 (CZ)

¹⁰ The soldiers began entertaining themselves with the third brother. When he was ordered to stick out his tongue, he quickly did so. Then he bravely held out his hands ¹¹ and courageously said,

¹³ After he had died, the soldiers tortured the fourth one in the same cruel way, ¹⁴ but his final words were,

¹⁵ When the soldiers took the fifth boy and began torturing him, ¹⁶ he looked the king squarely in the eye and said,

²⁰ The mother was the most amazing one of them all, and she deserves a special place in our memory. Although she saw her seven sons die in a single day, she endured it with great courage because she trusted in the Lord. ²¹ She combined womanly emotion with manly courage and spoke words of encouragement to each of her sons in their native language.

³⁹ These words of ridicule made Antiochus so furious that he had the boy tortured even more cruelly than his brothers. ⁴⁰ And so the boy died, with absolute trust in the Lord, never unfaithful for a minute.

⁴¹ Last of all, the mother was put to death.

⁴² But I have said enough about the Jews being tortured and being forced to eat the intestines of sacrificial animals.

Judas Maccabeus Revolts^(DA)

8 Judas Maccabeus and his friends went secretly from village to village until they had gathered a force of about 6,000 Jewish men who had remained faithful to their religion. ² They begged the Lord to help his people, now trampled under foot by all nations, to take pity on the Temple, now defiled by pagans, ³ and to have mercy on Jerusalem, now destroyed and almost leveled to the ground. ⁴ They also asked the Lord to show his hatred of evil by taking revenge on those who were murdering his people, mercilessly slaughtering innocent children, and saying evil things against the Lord.

⁵ When Judas had finally organized his forces, the Gentiles were unable to stand against him, because the Lord's anger against Israel had now turned to mercy. ^6-7 Judas would make sudden attacks on towns and villages and burn them. He captured strategic positions and routed many enemy troops, finding that he was most successful at night. People everywhere spoke of his bravery.

Ptolemy Sends Nicanor to Attack Judas^(DB)

⁸ When Philip, governor of Jerusalem, realized that Judas was gaining ground little by little and that his victories were becoming more and more frequent, he wrote a letter to Ptolemy, governor of Greater Syria, requesting his help in defending the royal interests. ⁹ Ptolemy immediately appointed Nicanor son of Patroclus, who was also in the closest circle of the King's Friends, and sent him with more than 20,000 troops of various nationalities to wipe out the entire Jewish race. Ptolemy also appointed Gorgias, a general of wide military experience, to go with him. ¹⁰ King Antiochus owed the Romans 150,000 pounds of silver; Nicanor planned to pay off the debt by selling Jewish prisoners of war as slaves.

¹¹ So he at once sent word to the towns along the coast, informing them that he would be selling Jews for less than a pound of silver each. But he did not know of the judgment that Almighty God had in store for him.

Judas Learns of Nicanor's Plans^(DC)

¹² Judas learned that Nicanor was advancing with his army toward Judea, so he informed his men. ¹³ Some were cowardly and did not believe in the justice of God, and they ran away as fast as they could. ¹⁴ But others sold all their remaining possessions so that the Lord would consider them worthy to be saved from the godless Nicanor, who had sold them as slaves even before the battle had taken place. ¹⁵ They prayed that if God was not willing to do this for their sake alone, he might be willing to rescue them because of the covenants he had made with their ancestors, and because he, the great and wonderful God, had called them to be his people. ¹⁶ Judas brought together all 6,000 of his men and encouraged them not to be frightened or to flee in panic at the sight of the large number of Gentile troops who were marching against them without cause. Instead they should fight bravely, ¹⁷ never forgetting the crimes the Gentiles had committed against the Temple and how they had made Jerusalem suffer terribly and had done away with Jewish traditions.

¹⁹ Then Judas went on to remind them of the ways God had helped their ancestors: during the time of Sennacherib 185,000 of the enemy had been destroyed; ²⁰ and once in Babylonia 8,000 Jews came to the aid of 4,000 Macedonians, defeating 120,000 Galatians and taking a great deal of loot, all because of God's help.

Judas Defeats Nicanor^(DD)

²¹ Judas' words encouraged his men and made them willing to die for their religion and their country. He then divided his army into four divisions ²² of about 1,500 men each, with himself and his brothers Simon, Joseph, and Jonathan each in charge of a division. ^23 (DE)After ordering Eleazar to read aloud^[df] from the holy book, he gave his men the battle cry:

²⁴ Almighty God fought on their side, and they killed more than 9,000 of the enemy. They wounded many others and put the entire enemy army to flight. ²⁵ They seized the money from the people who had come to buy them as slaves. Then they pursued the enemy a long way, until they had to return, ²⁶ because it was almost time for the Sabbath to begin. ²⁷ When they had collected the enemy's weapons and looted the dead, they celebrated the Sabbath, praising the Lord and giving thanks to him, because he had brought them safely to that day and had given them the first sign of his mercy. ²⁸ When the Sabbath was over, they gave some of the loot to the victims of persecution and to the widows and orphans; then they divided the rest among their own families. ²⁹ Afterward they joined together in prayer to the merciful Lord, asking him to look favorably upon his servants.

Judas Defeats Timothy and Bacchides

³⁰ The Jews later fought against the forces of Timothy and Bacchides and killed more than 20,000 of them. They captured some very high fortresses and took a lot of loot, which they divided equally among themselves and the widows, orphans, old men, and the victims of persecution. ³¹ They carefully collected all the enemy's weapons and stored them in strategic places, but the rest of the loot was taken to Jerusalem. ³² They executed the commanding officer of Timothy's forces, a godless man who had caused the Jews much suffering. ³³ While celebrating their victory in the city of their ancestors, they burned alive those men who had set fire to the Temple gates. The dead included Callisthenes, who had hidden in a small house; and so he received the punishment he deserved for his evil deeds.

³⁴ In this way, the evil Nicanor, who had brought a thousand merchants to buy the Jews, ³⁵ was defeated with the help of the Lord by the very people he despised so much. He threw off his splendid uniform and fled all alone like a runaway slave, until he reached Antioch. He had succeeded only in destroying his entire army. ³⁶ This man, who had tried to pay a debt to Rome by selling the people of Jerusalem, showed that the Jews could not be defeated. God was their mighty Defender, because they obeyed the laws he had given them.

The Lord Punishes Antiochus^(DF)

9 About this time Antiochus was retreating in disorder from Persia, ² where he had entered the city of Persepolis and had attempted to rob a temple and take control of the city. The people took up arms and attacked Antiochus, forcing his army to retreat in disgrace. ³ When he reached Ecbatana, he was told what had happened to the forces of Nicanor and Timothy. ⁴ He became furious and decided to make the Jews pay for the defeat he had suffered. So he ordered his chariot driver not to stop until they reached Jerusalem. With great arrogance he said,

But he did not know that he was heading straight for God's judgment. ⁵ In fact, as soon as he had said these words, the all-seeing Lord, the God of Israel, struck him down with an invisible but fatal blow. He was seized with sharp intestinal pains for which there was no relief— ⁶ a fitting punishment for the man who had tortured others in so many terrible ways! ⁷ But this in no way caused him to give up his pride. Instead he became more arrogant than ever, and breathing out fiery threats against the Jews, he gave orders to drive even faster. As a result he fell out of his chariot with such a thud that it made every bone in his body ache. ⁸ His arrogant pride made him think he had the superhuman strength to make ocean waves obey him and to weigh high mountains on a pair of scales. But suddenly he fell flat on the ground and had to be carried off on a stretcher, a clear sign to everyone of God's power. ⁹ Even the eyes of this godless man were crawling with worms and he lived in terrible pain and agony. The stink was so bad that his entire army was sickened, ¹⁰ and no one was able to come close enough to carry him around. Yet only a short while before, he thought he could take hold of the stars.

Antiochus Makes a Promise to God^(DG)

¹¹ Antiochus was deeply depressed and suffered constant pain because of the punishment that God had brought on him, so he finally came to his senses and gave up his arrogant pride. ¹² Then, when he could no longer endure his own stink, he said,

Antiochus' Letter to the Jews

¹⁸ Antiochus was in despair and could find no relief from his pain, because God was punishing him as he deserved, so he wrote the following letter to the Jews:

²⁰ I hope that you and your families are in good health and that all goes well with you. My hope is in God, ²¹ and I remember with a deep sense of joy the respect and kindness that you have shown me.

On my way home from Persia I fell violently ill, and so I thought it best to begin making plans for the general welfare of the people. ²² I have not given up hopes of getting well; in fact I am fully confident that I will recover. ²³ But I recall that my father used to appoint a successor whenever he went on a military campaign east of the Euphrates. ²⁴ He did this so that if something unexpected happened, or if some bad news came back, then his subjects would not be afraid, for they knew who had been left in command. ²⁵ Also, I know how the rulers along the frontiers of my kingdom are constantly on the lookout for any opportunity that may come along. That is why I have appointed my son Antiochus to succeed me as king. I have frequently entrusted him to your care and recommended him to you when I went on my regular visits to the provinces east of the Euphrates. (He is receiving a copy of the letter which follows.) ²⁶ Now I strongly urge each of you to keep in mind the good things that I have done for you, both individually and as a nation, and to continue in your good will toward me and my son. ²⁷ I am confident that he will treat you with fairness and kindness, just as I have always done.

²⁸ And so, this murderer, who had cursed God, suffered the same terrible agonies he had brought on others, and then died a miserable death in the mountains of a foreign land. ²⁹ One of his close friends, Philip, took his body home; but, because he was afraid of Antiochus' son, he went on to King Ptolemy Philometor of Egypt.

The Rededication of the Temple^(DH)

10 Judas Maccabeus and his followers, under the leadership of the Lord, recaptured the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. ² They tore down the altars which foreigners had set up in the marketplace and destroyed the other places of worship that had been built. ³ They purified the Temple and built a new altar. Then, with new fire started by striking flint, they offered sacrifice for the first time in two years, burned incense, lighted the lamps, and set out the sacred loaves. ⁴ After they had done all this, they lay face down on the ground and prayed that the Lord would never again let such disasters strike them. They begged him to be merciful when he punished them for future sins and not hand them over any more to barbaric, pagan Gentiles. ⁵ They rededicated the Temple on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Kislev, the same day of the same month on which the Temple had been desecrated by the Gentiles. ⁶ The happy celebration lasted eight days, like the Festival of Shelters, and the people remembered how only a short time before, they had spent the Festival of Shelters wandering like wild animals in the mountains and living in caves. ⁷ But now, carrying green palm branches and sticks decorated with ivy, they paraded around, singing grateful praises to him who had brought about the purification of his own Temple. ⁸ Everyone agreed that the entire Jewish nation should celebrate this festival each year.

Ptolemy Macron Commits Suicide

⁹ The days of Antiochus Epiphanes had come to an end. ^10 (DI)Now we will tell about Antiochus Eupator, the son of this godless man, and give a summary of the evil effects of his wars. ¹¹ When he became king he appointed a man by the name of Lysias to be in charge of the affairs of state and to be chief governor of Greater Syria, ¹² replacing Ptolemy Macron, who had been the first governor to treat the Jews fairly. Macron had established peaceful relations with them in an attempt to make up for the wrongs they had suffered. ¹³ As a result the King's Friends went to Eupator and accused Macron of treachery, because he had abandoned the island of Cyprus, which King Philometor of Egypt had placed under his command, and had gone over to Antiochus Epiphanes. In fact, everyone called Macron a traitor. No longer able to maintain the respect that his office demanded, he committed suicide by taking poison.

Judas Maccabeus Defeats the Idumeans^(DJ)

¹⁴ When Gorgias became governor of Idumea, he kept a force of mercenaries and attacked the Jews at every opportunity. ¹⁵ Not only this, but the Idumeans themselves controlled certain strategic fortresses and were constantly harassing the Jews. They welcomed those who fled from Jerusalem and did everything they could to keep the country in a perpetual state of war. ¹⁶ So Judas Maccabeus and his men, after offering prayers for God's help, rushed out and made a vigorous attack against the Idumean fortresses. ¹⁷ They beat back those who were defending the walls and captured the fortresses, killing everyone they found, a total of about 20,000 people.

¹⁸ About 9,000 of the enemy, however, managed to take refuge in two easily defended forts, with everything they needed to withstand a siege. ¹⁹ Judas had to go on to some other places in the country, where he was more urgently needed, but he left behind Simon and Joseph, together with Zacchaeus and his men. This force was large enough to continue the siege, ²⁰ but some of Simon's men were greedy, and when they were offered 140 pounds of silver, they let some of the enemy escape from the forts. ²¹ When Judas heard what had happened, he called together the leaders of his troops and accused those men of selling their brothers by setting their enemies free to fight against them. ²² Then he executed the traitors and immediately captured the two forts. ²³ Judas was always successful in battle, and in his assault on those two forts he killed more than 20,000 men.

Judas Defeats Timothy

²⁴ Timothy, who had been defeated by the Jews once before, had gathered a large number of cavalry from Asia and a tremendous force of mercenary troops and was now advancing to take Judea by armed attack. ²⁵ But as the enemy forces were approaching, Judas and his men prayed to God. They put on sackcloth, threw dirt on their heads, ²⁶ and lay face downward on the steps of the altar, begging God to help them by fighting against their enemies, as he had promised in his Law.

²⁷ When they had finished praying, they took up their weapons, went out a good distance from Jerusalem, and stopped for the night not far from the enemy. ²⁸ At daybreak the two armies joined in battle. The Jewish forces depended upon both their bravery and their trust in the Lord for victory, while the enemy relied only on their ability to fight fiercely. ²⁹ When the fighting was at its worst, the enemy saw five handsome men riding on horses with gold bridles and leading the Jewish forces. ³⁰ These five men surrounded Judas, protecting him with their own armor and showering the enemy with arrows and thunderbolts. The enemy forces then became so confused and bewildered that they broke ranks, and the Jews cut them to pieces, ³¹ slaughtering 20,500 infantry and 600 cavalry.

³² Timothy himself escaped to the strongly defended fort of Gezer, where his brother Chaereas was in command. ³³ Judas and his men besieged the fort for four days with great enthusiasm, ³⁴ but those inside trusted to the security of their positions and shouted all sorts of terrible insults against the Jews and their God. ³⁵ At dawn on the fifth day, twenty of Judas' men, burning with anger at these insults, bravely climbed the wall and with savage fury chopped down everyone they met. ³⁶ At the same time, others climbed the walls on the other side of the fort and set the towers on fire. Many of the enemy were burned to death as the flames spread. A third force broke down the gates and let in the rest of Judas' men to capture the city. ³⁷ Timothy had hidden in a cistern, but they killed him, as well as his brother Chaereas and Apollophanes.

³⁸ When it was over, the Jews celebrated by singing hymns and songs of thanksgiving to the Lord, who had shown them great kindness and had given them victory.

Judas Maccabeus Defeats Lysias^(DK)

11 Not long after Timothy was defeated, Lysias, the King's guardian and relative, and head of the government, heard what had happened. He became angry ² and led 80,000 infantry and all his cavalry against the Jews with the intention of turning Jerusalem into a Greek city. ³ The Temple would be taxed, as were all Gentile places of worship, and the office of High Priest would be up for sale each year. ⁴ Lysias was so pleased with his tens of thousands of infantry, his thousands of cavalry, and his eighty elephants that he failed to take into account the power of God. ⁵ He invaded Judea and attacked the fort of Bethzur, about twenty miles south of Jerusalem.

⁶ When Judas and his men heard that Lysias was laying siege to their forts, they and all the people cried and wept, begging the Lord to send a good angel to save them. ⁷ Judas was the first to take up his weapons, and he urged the others to join him in risking their lives to help the other Jews. So with great eagerness they all set out together. ⁸ But they had not gone far from Jerusalem, when suddenly they noticed they were being led by a horseman dressed in white and carrying gold weapons. ⁹ Immediately all of them together thanked God for his mercy; he had made them brave enough to attack not only men, but even the most savage animals or even walls of iron. ¹⁰ So they marched in battle formation, and with them went the one whom the Lord in his mercy had sent to fight on their side. ¹¹ Then they charged into the enemy like lions, killing 11,000 infantry and 1,600 cavalry, and forcing the rest to run for their lives. ¹² Most of those who ran were wounded and had lost their weapons, and Lysias himself managed to escape only because he ran away like a coward.

Lysias Makes Peace with the Jews^(DL)

¹³ Lysias was no fool. As he thought about the defeat he had suffered, he realized it was because the mighty God had fought for the Jews, making it impossible for them to be defeated. So he sent a message to the Jews, ¹⁴ trying to persuade them to agree to a just settlement and promising to do all he could to make the king friendly toward them.^{[dg] 15} Judas Maccabeus considered what would be best for the people, and so he agreed to all the proposals Lysias had made, since the king had granted every written request that Judas had presented to Lysias.^[dh]

The Letter of Lysias to the Jews

¹⁶ Here is a copy of the letter which Lysias wrote to the Jews:

Lysias to the Jewish people, greetings. ¹⁷ Your representatives John and Absalom have delivered to me the official document you sent with them, and they have asked me to agree to what is contained in it. ¹⁸ I have informed the king of the matters that needed to be brought to his attention, and he has agreed to do whatever is possible. ¹⁹ If you continue to be loyal to the government, I will do everything I can in the future to benefit your nation. ²⁰ I have instructed your representatives and mine to meet with you to discuss the details of these matters. ²¹ May all go well with you. Dated the twenty-fourth day of the month of Dioscorinthius in the year 148.^[di]

The King's Letter to Lysias

²² Here is a copy of the King's letter:

²⁷ Here is a copy of the king's letter to the Jewish people:

King Antiochus to the Jewish leaders and all the Jews, greetings. ²⁸ I hope that all is going well for you. I am in good health. ²⁹ Menelaus has informed me of your desire to return home and attend to your own affairs. ³⁰ So then, those of you who return home by the thirtieth of the month of Xanthicus may rest assured that you have nothing to fear. ³¹ You may continue to observe your food laws and other laws, as you used to do, and no Jew will be punished for any crime done in ignorance. ³² I am sending Menelaus to set your minds at ease. ³³ May all go well with you. Dated the fifteenth day of the month of Xanthicus in the year 148.^[dj]

The Letter of the Romans to the Jews

³⁴ The Romans also sent the Jews the following letter:

The Jews of Joppa Are Murdered

12 When the peace agreement between the Jews and the Syrians was completed, Lysias returned to the king, and the Jews went back to their farming. ² But some of the local governors, Timothy and Apollonius son of Gennaeus, as well as Hieronymus and Demophon, would not let them live in peace; and neither would Nicanor, the commander of the mercenaries from Cyprus.

³ About this time, the people of Joppa did a cruel thing to the Jews of their city. They pretended to be friendly to the Jews and invited them and their families to go sailing with them on ships they had provided. ⁴ Since all the people of the town had decided to do this, the Jews suspected nothing and accepted the invitation out of a feeling of good will. But when they were out at sea, the people of Joppa drowned all two hundred of them.

⁵ As soon as Judas heard of this inhuman thing that had been done to those Jews, he informed his men. ⁶ After they had prayed to God, the just judge, they attacked the murderers. Under cover of darkness they set fire to the harbor, burning all the ships, and killing everyone they found hiding there. ⁷ The gates of the city were locked, so Judas withdrew; but he was determined to return at some other time and wipe out everyone living there.

⁸ Judas heard that the people of Jamnia had plans to kill the Jews of their city also. ⁹ So he attacked Jamnia at night, setting fire to its harbor and the ships there. The flames could be seen as far as Jerusalem, thirty miles away.

Judas' Victories in the Region of Gilead^(DM)

¹⁰ When Judas and his men were about a mile away from Jamnia on their way to meet Timothy in battle, they were attacked by more than 5,000 Arabs, supported by 500 cavalry. ¹¹ It was a hard fight, but with the help of God they defeated these desert tribesmen, who then asked to be on friendly terms with the Jews, promising to give them some livestock and offering to help them in other ways as well. ¹² Judas thought their friendship might prove useful in many ways, so he agreed to make peace with them; after that the Arabs returned to their tents.

¹³ Judas also attacked the heavily fortified walled city of Caspin. The people who lived there were a mixed population of Gentiles ¹⁴ who relied on the strength of their walls and felt confident that they had enough food stored up to last through a siege. So they made fun of Judas and his men, shouting out insults against them and profanities against their God. ¹⁵ But the Jews prayed to the Almighty Lord of the universe, who had torn down the walls of Jericho in the days of Joshua without using battering rams or siege weapons. Then they made a fierce attack against the wall ¹⁶ and because it was God's will, they captured the city. The Jews slaughtered so many people that a nearby lake, which was about a quarter of a mile wide, seemed to be overflowing with blood.

Judas Defeats Timothy's Army^(DN)

¹⁷ From the city of Caspin, Judas and his men marched about 95 miles, until they came to the Jewish settlement of Charax, near the city of Tob. ¹⁸ But they did not find Timothy there, because he had already left the region. He had been able to do nothing there except leave behind a strong garrison in one place. ¹⁹ Two of Judas' generals, Dositheus and Sosipater, attacked the garrison and killed all 10,000 men stationed there. ²⁰ Then Judas divided his army into several divisions, placing Dositheus and Sosipater each in command of a division, and hurried after Timothy, who had a force of 120,000 infantry and 2,500 cavalry. ²¹ When Timothy found out that Judas was coming after him, he sent the women and the children on ahead with the baggage to the city of Karnaim, which was almost impossible to besiege or even to reach, because of the narrow passes that led up to it. ²² But at the moment that Judas' first division came into sight, the enemy forces were thrown into panic by a vision sent by God, who sees everything. In terror they began to run wildly about and many of them were wounded by the swords of their own men. ²³ So Judas and his men pursued them as hard as they could, killing at least 30,000 of the enemy. ²⁴ Timothy himself was captured by the troops of Dositheus and Sosipater. But he was very shrewd and managed to convince them that many of their relatives were his prisoners and would be put to death if anything happened to him. ²⁵ Finally, after he had promised to send their relatives home safely, they let him go free.

Judas Wins Other Victories^(DO)

²⁶ Next, Judas attacked the city of Karnaim and the temple of the goddess Atargatis there, killing 25,000 people ²⁷ and completely destroying both the city and the temple. Then he attacked the fortified city of Ephron where Lysias and^[dk] people of all nationalities were living. Strong young men took up their positions in front of the walls and fought bravely, while inside the city were stored large quantities of military supplies and weapons. ²⁸ But the Jews prayed for help to the Lord, who crushes the power of his enemies. So they captured the city and killed about 25,000 people. ²⁹ From there they hurried on to the city of Beth Shan, seventy-five miles north of Jerusalem. ³⁰ The Jews there told Judas how kindly the people of the city had treated them, especially during hard times. ³¹ So Judas and his men thanked the people and urged them to show the same good will toward the Jews in the future. Then they left for Jerusalem, where they arrived shortly before the Harvest Festival.

Judas Defeats Gorgias

^32 (DP)After Pentecost (as the Harvest Festival is called in Greek) Judas and his men quickly marched out against Gorgias, the governor of Idumea, ³³ who met them with 3,000 infantry and 400 cavalry. ³⁴ In the battle that followed, a few Jews were killed. ³⁵ Then a Jew from the city of Tob,^[dl] a powerful cavalry soldier by the name of Dositheus, grabbed Gorgias by his cloak and started dragging him away by brute force, intending to take the worthless man alive. But suddenly one from the Thracian cavalry rushed at Dositheus and chopped off his arm, allowing Gorgias to escape to the city of Marisa.

³⁶ By now the Jewish men under the command of Esdrias had been fighting for a long time and were exhausted. So Judas prayed that the Lord would show that he was on their side and in command of their troops. ³⁷ Then, while Judas sang a hymn in his native language as a battle cry, the Jews made a surprise attack against Gorgias and his men and put them to flight.

Prayers for Those Killed in Battle

³⁸ After the battle Judas led his men to the town of Adullam. It was the day before the Sabbath, so they purified themselves according to Jewish custom and then observed the holy day. ³⁹ By the following day it was urgent that they gather up the bodies of the men who had been killed in battle and bury them in their family tombs. ^40 (DQ)But on each of the dead, hidden under their clothes, they found small images of the gods worshiped in Jamnia, which the Law forbids Jews to wear. Everyone then knew why these men had been killed. ⁴¹ So they praised the ways of the Lord, the just judge, who reveals what is hidden, ⁴² and they begged him that this sin might be completely blotted out. Then, Judas, that great man, urged the people to keep away from sin, because they had seen for themselves what had happened to those men who had sinned. ⁴³ He also took up a collection from all his men, totaling about four pounds of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. Judas did this noble thing because he believed in the resurrection of the dead. ⁴⁴ If he had not believed that the dead would be raised, it would have been foolish and useless to pray for them. ⁴⁵ In his firm and devout conviction that all of God's faithful people would receive a wonderful reward, Judas made provision for a sin offering to set free from their sin those who had died.

Menelaus Is Put to Death

13 In the year 149^[dm] Judas Maccabeus and his followers found out that Antiochus Eupator was marching against Judea with a large army ² and that Lysias, the young king's guardian and the head of his government, was with him. They^[dn] had a force of Greek troops consisting of 110,000 infantry, 5,300 cavalry, 22 elephants, and 300 chariots with sharp blades attached to their wheels.

³ Menelaus, trying to take advantage of the situation, went over to their side and urged them on, not because he was concerned for the country, but because he hoped to be confirmed as High Priest. ⁴ But God, the King of kings, made Antiochus furious with Menelaus. Lysias proved to Antiochus that this criminal had been the source of all his troubles, so Antiochus ordered him to be taken to the city of Berea and put to death in the way that it was done there. ⁵ In that city there is a tower about 75 feet high. It is filled with ashes, and all around the inside of the tower is a platform sloping down into the ashes. ⁶ People accused of crimes against the gods or of any other serious crime are taken there and thrown down to their death. ⁷ Menelaus was put to death in that way, without even having the privilege of a burial, ⁸ and that was just what he deserved. He had often profaned the sacred ashes of the altar fire in the Temple, and now he met his death in ashes.

A Battle Near the City of Modein

⁹ King Antiochus arrogantly continued his barbaric invasion of Judah, intending to deal with the Jews more harshly than his father had ever done. ¹⁰ When Judas learned of this, he told the people to pray to the Lord day and night, because they were in danger of losing their Law, their country, and their holy Temple. As never before, they needed his help and protection ¹¹ to keep their newly restored country from falling into the hands of godless Gentiles. ¹² For three days the people did nothing but lie face down on the ground, fasting and crying, begging the merciful Lord for his help. Then Judas spoke words of encouragement to the people, urging them to get ready for action.

¹³ Afterward, Judas met privately with the Jewish leaders and decided to march out with God's help to battle against the king, rather than to wait for Antiochus to invade Judea and besiege Jerusalem. ¹⁴ Then, leaving the outcome of the battle to the Creator of the world, Judas encouraged his men to fight bravely and to be willing to die for their laws, the Temple, Jerusalem, their country, and their whole way of life. They set up camp near the city of Modein. ¹⁵ Judas gave his men the battle cry,

Antiochus the Fifth Makes a Treaty with the Jews^(DR)

¹⁸ This taste of Jewish daring was enough to convince King Antiochus that he had to find some better way of capturing the Jewish positions. ¹⁹ He attacked the strong Jewish fort of Bethzur, but was repeatedly beaten back and finally defeated. ²⁰ Judas sent supplies to the men who were defending the fort, ²¹ but a Jewish soldier by the name of Rhodocus gave some secret information to the enemy. He was found out, however, caught, and put to death. ²² The king made a second attempt to come to terms with the people of Bethzur, and when he had reached an agreement with them, he withdrew his forces. Then he went to attack Judas, but again he was defeated. ²³ Meanwhile, Philip had been left at Antioch in charge of the government, but King Antiochus learned that he had revolted. The king did not know what to do, so he initiated peace talks with the Jews, agreed to their terms, and promised to be just in his treatment of them. To put the treaty into effect, he offered a sacrifice, gave a generous gift to show his respect for the Temple, ²⁴ and graciously received Judas Maccabeus. After that, the king appointed Hegemonides to be governor of the territory between the cities of Ptolemais and Gerar, ²⁵ and then he himself went on to Ptolemais. The people there were angry because of the treaty he had made with the Jews—so angry, in fact, that they wanted the treaty canceled. ²⁶ But Lysias made a public speech, defending the treaty as well as he could. After he had calmed the people down and convinced them that he was right, he returned to Antioch.

In this way King Antiochus' invasion was turned into a retreat.

Alcimus Speaks against Judas^(DS)

14 Three years later, Judas and his men learned that Demetrius son of Seleucus had sailed into the port of Tripolis with a powerful army and a fleet. ² It was reported that he had killed King Antiochus and his guardian Lysias and had taken over the country.

³ There was a man by the name of Alcimus, who had formerly been High Priest but who had gladly adopted the Greek way of life during the revolt. Realizing that he could never again be High Priest and fearful of what the Jews might do to him, ⁴ he went to see King Demetrius in the year 151.^[dp] On this occasion he presented the king with a gold crown and a palm branch, together with some olive branches traditionally presented to the Temple, but he said nothing about his plans. ⁵ Later, however, he got the chance to put his foolish plans into effect when Demetrius summoned him to a meeting of his advisers and asked him what the Jews were intending to do.

Demetrius Sends Nicanor to Attack Judas

¹¹ As soon as Alcimus had finished his speech, the other advisers quickly seized this opportunity to arouse Demetrius' anger against Judas, because they also hated him. ¹² So King Demetrius immediately appointed Nicanor, who was the commander of his elephant forces, to be governor of Judea, and sent him there ¹³ with orders to kill Judas, scatter his followers, and make Alcimus High Priest of the greatest Temple in all the world. ¹⁴ All the foreigners in Judea, who had fled from Judas' attacks, now rushed to join forces with Nicanor, because they thought that any defeat or trouble that came to the Jews would be to their own advantage.

^15 (DT)The Jews heard that Nicanor was attacking and that the foreigners in their country were giving him their support. So they threw dirt on themselves and prayed to their God, who had chosen their nation as his possession forever and had never failed to help them in time of need. ¹⁶ Then Judas, their leader, gave the orders, and they immediately marched out to engage the enemy in battle near the village of Adasa.^{[dq] 17} Judas' brother Simon was fighting Nicanor but was gradually losing the battle because of an unexpected move on the part of the enemy. ¹⁸ However, when Nicanor heard how bravely and courageously Judas and his men were fighting for their country, he decided not to settle the matter in battle. ¹⁹ Instead, he sent Posidonius, Theodotus, and Mattathias to make a treaty with the Jews.

²⁰ After the terms of the treaty had been worked out in detail, Nicanor informed his troops, and they unanimously agreed. ²¹ Then a day was set on which the leaders would meet in private. Ceremonial chairs were brought out from each camp and set up. ²² Judas had taken the precaution of placing battle-ready troops in strategic places, in case of sudden treachery on the part of the enemy. But the two leaders had a friendly meeting. ²³ Nicanor stayed on in Jerusalem for some time after that. He did not mistreat the Jews in any way, and even sent away the people who had come over to his side. ²⁴ The two men became the best of friends, and Judas was Nicanor's constant companion. ²⁵ Nicanor urged him to marry and start a family. So Judas did this and settled down to a peaceful life.

Nicanor Turns against Judas

²⁶ When Alcimus noticed how well Nicanor and Judas were getting along, he obtained a copy of the treaty and went to see King Demetrius. He told the king that Nicanor was disloyal to the government, because he had appointed the traitor Judas to be his successor. ²⁷ These false accusations infuriated the king, and in his anger he wrote to Nicanor, informing him that he was dissatisfied with the treaty and ordering him to arrest Judas Maccabeus and send him to Antioch at once.

²⁸ When this message reached Nicanor, he was hurt and didn't know what to do, because he did not like having to break an agreement with a man who had kept his part of the bargain. ²⁹ Yet it was impossible for him to ignore the king's command, so he began looking for a way to trap Judas. ³⁰ Judas, however, noticed that Nicanor was becoming hostile and rude toward him, and he knew that this was a bad sign. So he gathered a large number of his followers and went into hiding.

^31 (DU)When Nicanor realized that Judas had outsmarted him, he went to the great and holy Temple at the time when the priests were offering sacrifice and ordered them to surrender Judas to him. ³² But the priests declared under oath that they had no idea where Judas was hiding. ³³ Then Nicanor raised his right arm in the direction of the Temple and made a solemn threat:

Razis Dies for His Country

⁴³ Under the pressure of the moment, Razis misjudged the thrust of the sword, and it did not kill him. So, while the soldiers were swarming into the room, he rushed to the wall and jumped off like a brave hero into the crowd below. ⁴⁴ The crowd quickly moved back, and he fell in the space they left. ⁴⁵ Still alive, and burning with courage, he got up, and with blood gushing from his wounds, he ran through the crowd and finally climbed a steep rock. ⁴⁶ Now completely drained of blood, he tore out his intestines with both hands and threw them at the crowd, and as he did so, he prayed for the Lord of life and breath to give them back to him. That was how he died.

Nicanor's Cruel Plan

15 Nicanor learned that Judas and his men were in the region of Samaria, and so he decided to attack them on a Sabbath, when he could do so without any danger to himself. ² The Jews who were forced to accompany his army begged him not to do such a cruel and savage thing, but to respect the day that the all-seeing God had honored and made the most holy of all days. ³ Then Nicanor, the lowest creature on earth, asked if there was some sovereign ruler in heaven who had commanded them to honor the Sabbath. ⁴ And the Jews replied,

Judas Prepares His Troops for Battle

⁶ In his arrogance Nicanor had boasted that he would set up a monument in honor of his victory over Judas. ⁷ But Judas was fully confident that the Lord would help him, ⁸ so he urged his men not to be afraid of the enemy. He encouraged them to remember how the Almighty had helped them in times past and to rest assured that he would give them victory this time also. ⁹ He renewed their hope by reading to them from the Law and the Prophets and by reminding them of the battles they had already won. ¹⁰ When his men were ready for battle, he gave them their orders and at the same time pointed out how the Gentiles could not be trusted, because they never kept their treaties. ¹¹ He armed all his men, not by encouraging them to trust in shields and spears, but by inspiring them with courageous words. He also lifted their morale by telling them about his dream, a kind of vision that they could trust in.

¹² He told them that he had seen a vision of Onias, the former High Priest, that great and wonderful man of humble and gentle disposition, who was an outstanding orator and who had been taught from childhood how to live a virtuous life. With outstretched arms Onias was praying for the entire Jewish nation. ¹³ Judas then saw an impressive white-haired man of great dignity and authority. ¹⁴ Onias said:

¹⁷ The eloquent words that Judas spoke encouraged everyone to be brave, and inspired boys to fight like men. Their city, their religion, and their Temple were in danger. So the Jews made up their minds not to waste any time, but to make a daring attack against the enemy and bravely decide their fate in hand-to-hand combat. ¹⁸ They were not so concerned about their own families and relatives as they were about their sacred Temple. ¹⁹ And the people who had to stay in Jerusalem were deeply concerned about how a battle on open ground would turn out.

The Defeat and Death of Nicanor

²⁰ Everyone was waiting to see who would win the battle. The enemy troops were already moving forward, with their cavalry on each side of them, and their elephants placed in strategic positions. ²¹ Judas Maccabeus looked at the huge enemy force, the variety of their weapons, and their fierce elephants. Then he raised his hands toward heaven and prayed to the Lord, who works miracles, because he knew that the Lord gives victory to those who deserve it, not to those who have a strong army. ^22 (DV)Judas said:

^25 (DW)Nicanor and his army moved forward to the sound of trumpets and battle songs, ²⁶ but Judas and his men went into battle calling on God for help. ²⁷ So by fighting with their hands and praying to God in their hearts, the Jews killed more than 35,000 of the enemy. How grateful they were for the help they had received from God! ²⁸ When the battle was over and they were going home celebrating their victory, they noticed Nicanor in full armor lying dead on the battlefield. ²⁹ Then with loud shouts they praised the Lord in their native language.

³⁰ Judas Maccabeus, who had always fought with all his body and soul for his own people, never losing the patriotism of his youth, ordered his men to cut off Nicanor's head and right arm and to take them to Jerusalem. ³¹ When they arrived in the city, he called together all the people, stationed the priests before the altar, and sent for the men in the fort. ³² He showed them the head of the evil Nicanor and the arm which that wicked man had arrogantly stretched out against the sacred Temple of the Almighty God. ³³ Then he cut out the tongue of that godless man, promising to feed it bit by bit to the birds and to hang up his head opposite the Temple, as evidence of what his foolishness did for him. ³⁴ Everyone there looked up to heaven and praised the Lord, who had revealed his power and had kept his Temple from being defiled. ³⁵ Judas hung Nicanor's head from the wall of the fort, as a clear proof to everyone of the Lord's help. ^36 (DX)By unanimous vote it was decided that this day would never be forgotten, but would be celebrated each year on the eve of Mordecai's Day,^[dr] which is the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, called Adar in Aramaic.

Concluding Words

³⁷ That is how things turned out for Nicanor. The city of Jerusalem remained in the possession of the Jewish people from that time on, so I will end my story here. ³⁸ If it is well written and to the point, I am pleased; if it is poorly written and uninteresting, I have still done my best. ³⁹ We know it is unhealthy to drink wine or water alone, whereas wine mixed with water makes a delightfully tasty drink. So also a good story skillfully written gives pleasure to those who read it. With this I conclude.

Satan Tests Job

1 There was a man named Job, living in the land of Uz,^[ds] who worshiped God and was faithful to him. He was a good man, careful not to do anything evil. ² He had seven sons and three daughters, ³ and owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, one thousand head of cattle, and five hundred donkeys. He also had a large number of servants and was the richest man in the East.

⁴ Job's sons used to take turns giving a feast, to which all the others would come, and they always invited their three sisters to join them. ⁵ The morning after each feast, Job would get up early and offer sacrifices for each of his children in order to purify them. He always did this because he thought that one of them might have sinned by insulting God unintentionally.

^6 (DY)When the day came for the heavenly beings^[dt] to appear before the Lord, Satan^[du] was there among them. ⁷ The Lord asked him, “What have you been doing?”

Satan answered, “I have been walking here and there, roaming around the earth.”

⁸ “Did you notice my servant Job?” the Lord asked. “There is no one on earth as faithful and good as he is. He worships me and is careful not to do anything evil.”

^9 (DZ)Satan replied, “Would Job worship you if he got nothing out of it? ¹⁰ You have always protected him and his family and everything he owns. You bless everything he does, and you have given him enough cattle to fill the whole country. ¹¹ But now suppose you take away everything he has—he will curse you to your face!”

¹² “All right,” the Lord said to Satan, “everything he has is in your power, but you must not hurt Job himself.” So Satan left.

Job's Children and Wealth Are Destroyed

¹³ One day when Job's children were having a feast at the home of their oldest brother, ¹⁴ a messenger came running to Job. “We were plowing the fields with the oxen,” he said, “and the donkeys were in a nearby pasture. ¹⁵ Suddenly the Sabeans^[dv] attacked and stole them all. They killed every one of your servants except me. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

¹⁶ Before he had finished speaking, another servant came and said, “Lightning struck the sheep and the shepherds and killed them all. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

¹⁷ Before he had finished speaking, another servant came and said, “Three bands of Chaldean^[dw] raiders attacked us, took away the camels, and killed all your servants except me. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

¹⁸ Before he had finished speaking, another servant came and said, “Your children were having a feast at the home of your oldest son, ¹⁹ when a storm swept in from the desert. It blew the house down and killed them all. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

²⁰ Then Job got up and tore his clothes in grief. He shaved his head and threw himself face downward on the ground. ^21 (EA)He said, “I was born with nothing, and I will die with nothing. The Lord gave, and now he has taken away. May his name be praised!”

²² In spite of everything that had happened, Job did not sin by blaming God.

Satan Tests Job Again

2 When the day came for the heavenly beings to appear before the Lord again, Satan was there among them. ² The Lord asked him, “Where have you been?”

Satan answered, “I have been walking here and there, roaming around the earth.”

³ “Did you notice my servant Job?” the Lord asked. “There is no one on earth as faithful and good as he is. He worships me and is careful not to do anything evil. You persuaded me to let you attack him for no reason at all, but Job is still as faithful as ever.”

⁴ Satan replied, “A person will give up everything in order to stay alive. ⁵ But now suppose you hurt his body—he will curse you to your face!”

⁶ So the Lord said to Satan, “All right, he is in your power, but you are not to kill him.”

⁷ Then Satan left the Lord's presence and made sores break out all over Job's body. ⁸ Job went and sat by the garbage dump and took a piece of broken pottery to scrape his sores. ⁹ His wife said to him, “You are still as faithful as ever, aren't you? Why don't you curse God and die?”

¹⁰ Job answered, “You are talking nonsense! When God sends us something good, we welcome it. How can we complain when he sends us trouble?” Even in all this suffering Job said nothing against God.

Job's Friends Come

¹¹ Three of Job's friends were Eliphaz, from the city of Teman, Bildad, from the land of Shuah, and Zophar, from the land of Naamah. When they heard how much Job had been suffering, they decided to go and comfort him. ¹² While they were still a long way off they saw Job, but did not recognize him. When they did, they began to weep and wail, tearing their clothes in grief and throwing dust into the air and on their heads. ¹³ Then they sat there on the ground with him for seven days and nights without saying a word, because they saw how much he was suffering.

Job's Complaint to God

3 ^(EB)Finally Job broke the silence and cursed the day on which he had been born.

Job

The First Dialogue^(EE)

5 Call out, Job. See if anyone answers.