1 Maccabees 3:38–4:35

³⁸Then Lysias chose Ptolemee, the son of Dorymenus, and Nicanor, and Gorgias, mighty men of the king’s friends.

³⁹And he sent with them forty thousand men, and seven thousand horsemen: to go into the land of Juda, and to destroy it, according to the king’s orders.

⁴⁰So they went forth with all their power, and came, and pitched near Emmaus, in the plain country.

⁴¹And the merchants of the countries heard the fame of them: and they took silver and gold in abundance, and servants: and they came into the camp, to buy the children of Israel for slaves: and there were joined to them the forces of Syria, and of the land of the strangers.

⁴²And Judas, and his brethren, saw that evils were multiplied, and that the armies approached to their borders: and they knew the orders the king had given to destroy the people, and utterly abolish them.

⁴³And they said, every man to his neighbour: Let us raise up the low condition of our people, and let us fight for our people, and our sanctuary.

⁴⁴And the assembly was gathered, that they might be ready for battle, and that they might pray, and ask mercy and compassion.

⁴⁵Now Jerusalem was not inhabited, but was like a desert: there was none of her children that went in or out: and the sanctuary was trodden down: and the children of strangers were in the castle, there was the habitation of the Gentiles: and joy was taken away from Jacob, and the pipe and harp ceased there.

⁴⁶And they assembled together, and came to Maspha, over against Jerusalem: for in Maspha was a place of prayer heretofore in Israel.

⁴⁷And they fasted that day, and put on haircloth, and put ashes upon their heads: and they rent their garments:

⁴⁸And they laid open the books of the law, in which the Gentiles searched for the likeness of their idols:

⁴⁹And they brought the priestly ornaments, and the first fruits and tithes, and stirred up the Nazarites that had fulfilled their days:

⁵⁰And they cried with a loud voice toward heaven, saying: What shall we do with these, and whither shall we carry them?

⁵¹For thy holies are trodden down, and are profaned, and thy priests are in mourning, and are brought low.

⁵²And behold the nations are come together against us, to destroy us: thou knowest what they intend against us.

⁵³How shall we be able to stand before their face, unless thou, O God, help us?

⁵⁴Then they sounded with trumpets, and cried out with a loud voice.

⁵⁵And after this, Judas appointed captains over the people, over thousands, and over hundreds, and over fifties, and over tens.

⁵⁶And he said to them that were building houses, or had betrothed wives, or were planting vineyards, or were fearful, that they should return every man to his house, according to the law.

⁵⁷So they removed the camp, and pitched on the south side of Emmaus.

⁵⁸And Judas said: Gird yourselves, and be valiant men, and be ready against the morning, that you may fight with these nations that are assembled against us to destroy us and our sanctuary.

⁵⁹For it is better for us to die in battle, than to see the evils of our nation, and of the holies:

⁶⁰Nevertheless, as it shall be the will of God in heaven, so be it done.

Chapter 4

Then Gorgias took five thousand men, and a thousand of the best horsemen; and they removed out of the camp by night.

²That they might come upon the camp of the Jews and strike them suddenly: and the men that were of the castle were their guides.

³And Judas heard of it, and rose up, he and the valiant men, to attack the king’s forces that were in Emmaus.

⁴For as yet the army was dispersed from the camp

⁵And Gorgias came by night into the camp of Judas, and found no man; and he sought them in the mountains: for he said: These men flee from us.

⁶And when it was day, Judas shewed himself in the plain with three thousand men only, who neither had armour nor swords:

⁷And they saw the camp of the Gentiles that it was strong, and the men in breastplates, and the horsemen round about them, and these were trained up to war.

⁸And Judas said to the men that were with him: Fear ye not their multitude, neither be ye afraid of their assault.

⁹Remember in what manner our fathers were saved in the Red Sea, when Pharaoh pursued them with a great army.

¹⁰And now let us cry to heaven, and the Lord will have mercy on us, and will remember the covenant of our fathers, and will destroy this army before our face this day:

¹¹And all nations shall know that there is one that redeemeth and delivereth Israel.

¹²And the strangers lifted up their eyes, and saw them coming against them.

¹³And they went out of the camp to battle, and they that were with Judas sounded the trumpet.

¹⁴And they joined battle: and the Gentiles were routed, and fled into the plain.

¹⁵But all the hindmost of them fell by the sword and they pursued them as far as Gezeron, and even to the plains of Idumea, and of Azotus, and of Jamnia: and there fell of them to the number of three thousand men.

¹⁶And Judas returned again with his army that followed him.

¹⁷And he said to the people: Be not greedy of the spoils; for there is war before us:

¹⁸And Gorgias and his army are near us in the mountain: but stand ye now against our enemies, and overthrow them, and you shall take the spoils afterwards with safety.

¹⁹And as Judas was speaking these words, behold part of them appeared, looking forth from the mountain.

²⁰And Gorgias saw that his men were put to flight, and that they had set fire to the camp: for the smoke that was seen declared what was done.

²¹And when they had seen this, they were seized with great fear, seeing at the same time Judas and his army in the plain ready to fight.

²²So they all fled away into the land of the strangers.

²³And Judas returned to take the spoils of the camp, and they got much gold, and silver, and blue silk, and purple of the sea, and great riches.

²⁴And returning home, they sung a hymn, and blessed God in heaven, because he is good, because his mercy endureth for ever.

²⁵So Israel had a great deliverance that day.

²⁶And such of the strangers as escaped, went and told Lysias all that had happened.

²⁷And when he heard these things, he was amazed and discouraged: because things had not succeeded in Israel according to his mind, and as the king had commanded.

²⁸So the year following, Lysias gathered together threescore thousand chosen men, and five thousand horsemen, that he might subdue them.

²⁹And they came into Judea, and pitched their tents in Bethoron, and Judas met them with ten thousand men.

³⁰And they saw that the army was strong, and he prayed and said: Blessed art thou, O Saviour of Israel, who didst break the violence of the mighty by the hand of thy servant David, and didst deliver up the camp of the strangers into the hands of Jonathan the son of Saul, and of his armour bearer.

³¹Shut up this army in the hands of thy people Israel, and let them be confounded in their host and their horsemen.

³²Strike them with fear, and cause the boldness of their strength to languish, and let them quake at their own destruction.

³³Cast them down with the sword of them that love thee: and let all that know thy name praise thee with hymns.

³⁴And they joined battle: and there fell of the army of Lysias five thousand men.

³⁵And when Lysias saw that his men were put to flight, and how bold the Jews were, and that they were ready either to live, or to die manfully, he went to Antioch, and chose soldiers, that they might come again into Judea with greater numbers.