FIRST MACCABEES 3.18—4.18

¹⁸ Judas began to encourage them, saying: "It is an easy thing for God to deliver many into the hands of a few; for there is no difference in the sight of the Heavenly One to save by many or by few. ¹⁹ For victory does not stand in the greatness of an army, but the power of victory comes from heaven. ²⁰ They come against us in the pride of lawlessness to destroy us, and to lead our wives and our children into captivity. ²¹ But we fight for our lives and for our laws. ²² And the Lord will crush them before our faces; as for you, be strengthened and be courageous—do not be afraid of them." ²³ While these words were still in his mouth, he rushed upon the battalion. He broke that wing where Seron Original: "Nren" — likely an OCR error for Seron, the Syrian commander the commander was stationed, and he drove the battalion from its place, and he turned all the forces with him into flight. ²⁴ They pursued them as far as the plains of Beth-horon, and many of the wounded among them were cast down to the ground; about eight hundred of their men fell, and the rest who remained fled into the land of the Philistines. ²⁵ And the fear and dread of Judas and his brothers began to spread; thereafter the heathens who were around them were eager to pay tribute. ²⁶ And his name reached even unto the king, and the heathens spoke of his battles.

Section 6 ²⁷ When King Antiochus heard these words, he was enraged with a bitter anger. He gathered forces from all his lands, a very great army. ²⁸ He opened his treasury and distributed gifts to the soldiers for one year, and he commanded them to be ready for all things. ²⁹ But when he saw that the treasures were exhausted and the tribute of the land had diminished because of the dissension and the blows he had brought upon the earth to abolish the ancestral laws that had existed from the beginning of time, ³⁰ he became terrified that he would not have enough for the gifts and the wages which he used to distribute generously before. ³¹ He was greatly perplexed in his mind and decided to go into the land of the Persians to take tribute from those lands and gather much silver. ³² And he left there Lysias, a nobleman of the royal lineage, over the royal affairs from the regions of the Euphrates to the borders of Egypt, ³³ to take care of his son Antiochus until he should return. ³⁴ And he left with him half of the forces and the elephants, and gave him commands concerning everything he wanted and everything he intended, and concerning the inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem. ³⁵ And he ordered a company against them to crush them, and to destroy the strength of Israel and the remnant of Jerusalem, and to wipe out their memory from that place, ³⁶ and to settle the children of foreigners in all their borders, and to divide all their land by lot. ³⁷ And he himself took the remaining half of the forces and set out from Antioch, his royal city, in the one hundred and forty-seventh year; and he crossed the great river Euphrates and went through the upper provinces.

Section 7 ³⁸ And Lysias chose Ptolemy the son of Dorymenes, and Nicanor, and Gorgias, powerful men who were the king's counselors. ³⁹ And with them he sent a company of forty thousand infantry and seven thousand cavalry to come against the land of Judea, to strike and destroy the land according to the king's command. ⁴⁰ They set out and went with all their forces, and they arrived and camped near Emmaus Original: "Yamnovl" — likely a variant of Emmaus in the plain of the lowlands. ⁴¹ The news reached the merchants of the land that the forces had arrived to take the land of Judea and to lead their sons and daughters into captivity; they took their silver and gold, and as many people as were able to help them, to come and buy the children of Israel for their foreign lands. And they were joined by

the forces of Syria and the land of the foreigners. ⁴² When Judas and his brothers saw that all these evils had come upon them, and that these armies were arriving and besieging their borders, and they knew the king's commands which he had ordered—to destroy the people unto ruin and corruption— ⁴³ they began to speak to one another, saying: "Come, let us comfort our souls and raise up the fallen state of our people; let us do battle for our sanctuaries and for our nation." ⁴⁴ And the assembly gathered for the preparation of war; they stood in prayer and asked for mercy from the Lord. ⁴⁵ And Jerusalem was a desolate ruin; there was no one who entered or exited from among her children. The sanctuary was trodden down by the children of foreigners, and the citadel of the city became a dwelling for the heathens. The joy of Jacob was taken away; the trumpets and harps failed, and all the desirable joys of the craftsmen were silenced. ⁴⁶ They all came and gathered at Mizpah Original: "Masep'a" opposite Jerusalem, because Mizpah was formerly a place of prayer for the Israelites. ⁴⁷ They fasted, put on sackcloth, put ashes on their heads, and tore their clothes. ⁴⁸ They spread out the scroll of the Law, for which the heathens were digging pits Meaning: the heathens sought to find and profane the scrolls. ⁴⁹ And they brought the priestly vestments, and the firstborn, and they brought the tithes; they also brought forward the Nazirites who had completed the days of their vows. ⁵⁰ They cried out to heaven with a loud, unanimous voice, saying: "What shall we do with these, or where shall we take them? ⁵¹ For your sanctuaries have been trodden down, and your priests sit in mourning and suffering. ⁵² And all the heathens are gathered to destroy us; you know what they plot against us. ⁵³ Now, how shall we be able to stand against them unless you help us?" ⁵⁴ They sounded the trumpets and raised a great cry, calling out to heaven with a loud voice. ⁵⁵ After this, Judas began to organize the people, and he appointed over them officers: captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens. ⁵⁶ And they said to those who were building houses, or were betrothed to women, or were planting vineyards—and he gave the order to the faint-hearted—that they should return to their homes according to the Law This refers to the military exemptions found in Deuteronomy 20:5-8. ⁵⁷ And all the forces arrived and camped to the south of Emmaus. ⁵⁸ From there, Judas began to encourage the forces, saying: "Arm yourselves, prepare yourselves, and be strong! Be ready in the morning to do battle with these heathens who are gathered against us to destroy us and our sanctuaries. ⁵⁹ For it is better for us to die in battle than to see the suffering of our nation and our sanctuaries. ⁶⁰ Whatever the will of the Lord in heaven may be, so let it be done."

4 "And He will remember the covenant of the testaments made with our fathers, and He will break this force before our feet. ¹¹ The heathens shall know that there is a God who saves Israel." ¹² And the foreigners lifted up their eyes and saw that they were rushing against them, ¹³ and they came out from the camp to battle. The trumpets were sounded from the side of Judas. ¹⁴ They gathered in one place and rushed upon them; they set to work and turned them into flight. ¹⁵ They slaughtered many on the spot; they made many fugitives across the face of the plain; they fell by the edge of their swords as far as the borders of Gazara, the regions of Idumea, Azotus, and Jamnia. And there fell on that day about three thousand men wounded. ¹⁶ And Judas returned with his forces. When he arrived at the place of the battle, ¹⁷ he began to speak to the troops, saying: "Do not cast your eyes upon the spoil or the plunder of the fallen bodies. ¹⁸ For Gorgias is still nearby, armed and ready against us with his forces. But stay and hold your ground; stand against your enemies. Then afterward..."