2 Maccabees 13

In the hundred forty and ninth year it was told ^aJudas, that ^bAntiochus Eupator was coming with a great power into Judea, ²and with him ^cLysias his protector, and ruler of his affairs, having ^deither of them a Grecian power, of footmen an hundred and ten thousand, and horsemen five thousand and three hundred, and ^eelephants two and twenty, and three hundred chariots armed with hooks. ^3fMenelaus also joined himself with them, and with great dissimulation encouraged Antiochus, not for the safeguard of the country, but because he thought to have been made governor. ⁴But the ^gKing of kings moved Antiochus’ mind against this ^hwicked wretch, and Lysias informed the king that this man was the cause of all mischief, so that the king commanded to bring him unto Berea, and to put him to death, as the manner is in that place. ⁵Now there was in that place a tower of fifty cubits high, full of ashes, and it had a round instrument, which on every side hanged down into the ashes. ⁶And whosoever was condemned of ⁱsacrilege, or had committed any other grievous crime, there did all men thrust him unto death. ⁷Such a death it happened that wicked man to die, not having so much as burial in the earth; ^jand that most justly: ⁸for inasmuch as he had committed many sins about the altar, whose fire and ashes were holy, he received his death in ashes.

⁹Now the king came with a barbarous and haughty mind to do far worse to the Jews, than had been done in his father’s time. ¹⁰Which things when Judas perceived, he commanded the multitude to call upon the Lord night and day, that if ever at any other time, he would now also help them, being at the point to be put from their law, from their country, and from the holy temple: ¹¹and that he would not suffer the people, that had even now been but a little ^krefreshed, to be in subjection to the blasphemous nations. ¹²So when they had all done this together, and besought ^lthe merciful Lord with weeping and fasting, and ^mlying flat upon the ground three days ⁿlong, Judas, having exhorted them, commanded they should be in a readiness. ¹³And Judas, being apart with the elders, determined, before the king’s host should enter into Judea, and get the city, to go forth and try the matter in fight ^oby the help of the Lord. ¹⁴So when he had committed all to the ^pCreator of the world, and exhorted his soldiers to fight manfully, even unto death, for the laws, the temple, the city, the country, and the commonwealth, he camped by ^qModin: ¹⁵and ^rhaving given the watchword to them that were about him, Victory is of God; with the most valiant and choice young men he went in into the king’s tent by night, and slew in the camp about four thousand men, and the chiefest of the ^eelephants, with all that were upon him. ¹⁶And at last they filled the camp with fear and tumult, and departed with good success. ¹⁷This was done in the break of the day, because ^othe protection of the Lord did help him.

¹⁸Now when the king had taken a taste of the manliness of the Jews, he went about to take the ^sholds by policy, ¹⁹and marched towards ^tBethsura, which was a strong hold of the Jews: but ^uhe was put to flight, failed, and lost of his men: ²⁰for Judas had conveyed unto them that were in it such things as were necessary. ²¹But Rhodocus, who was in the Jews’ host, disclosed the secrets to the enemies; therefore he was sought out, and when they had gotten him, they put him in prison. ^22vThe king treated with them in ^tBethsura the second time, ^vgave his hand, took theirs, departed, fought with ^aJudas, was overcome; ^23wheard that Philip, who was left over the affairs in ^xAntioch, was desperately bent, ^y[was] confounded, ^zintreated the Jews, submitted himself, and ^zsware to all equal conditions, agreed with them, and offered sacrifice, honoured the temple, and dealt kindly with the place, ²⁴and ^aaccepted well of Maccabeus, made him principal governor from ^bPtolemais unto the ^cGerrhenians; ²⁵came to ^bPtolemais: the people there were grieved for the covenants; for they stormed, because they would ^dmake their covenants void: ^26eLysias went up to ^fthe judgment seat, said ^gas much as could be in defence of the cause, persuaded, pacified, made them well affected, ^hreturned to ^xAntioch. Thus it went touching the king’s coming and ⁱdeparting.

XIV.