1 Maccabees 5:21–54

²¹So Simon went to Galilee and fought many battles against the nations, and the nations were crushed before him. ²²He pursued them to the gate of Ptolemais; as many as three thousand of the nations fell, and he despoiled them.^{* 23}Then he took the Jews^v of Galilee and Arbatta, with their wives and children, and all they possessed and led them to Judea with great rejoicing.^*

Judas and Jonathan in Gilead

²⁴Judas Maccabeus and his brother Jonathan crossed the Jordan and made three days’ journey into the wilderness.^{* 25}They encountered the Nabateans, who met them peaceably and told them all that had happened to their kindred in Gilead:^{* 26}“Many of them have been shut up in Bozrah and Bosor, in Alema and Chaspho, Maked and Carnaim”—all these towns were strong and large^*—²⁷“and some have been shut up in the other towns of Gilead; the enemy^w are getting ready to attack the strongholds tomorrow and capture and destroy all these people in a single day.”

²⁸Then Judas and his army quickly turned back by the wilderness road to Bozrah, and he took the town and killed every male by the edge of the sword; then he seized all its spoils and burned it with fire.^{* 29}He left the place at night, and they went all the way to the stronghold of Dathema.^{x 30}At dawn they looked out and saw a large company, which could not be counted, carrying ladders and engines of war to capture the stronghold and attacking the Jews within.^{y 31}So Judas saw that the battle had begun and that the cry of the town went up to heaven, with trumpets and loud shouts, ³²and he said to the men of his forces, “Fight today for your kindred!”^{* 33}Then he came up behind them in three companies, who sounded their trumpets and cried aloud in prayer.^{* 34}And when the army of Timothy realized that it was Maccabeus, they fled before him, and he dealt them a heavy blow. As many as eight thousand of them fell that day.

³⁵Next he turned aside to Maapha^z and fought against it and took it, and he killed every male in it, plundered it, and burned it with fire. ³⁶From there he marched on and took Chaspho, Maked, and Bosor and the other towns of Gilead.^*

³⁷After these things Timothy gathered another army and encamped opposite Raphon, on the other side of the stream.^{* 38}Judas sent men to spy out the camp, and they reported to him, “All the nations around us have gathered to him; it is a very large force. ³⁹They also have hired Arabs to help them, and they are encamped across the stream ready to come and fight against you.” And Judas went to meet them.^*

⁴⁰Now as Judas and his army drew near to the stream of water, Timothy said to the officers of his forces, “If he crosses over to us first, we will not be able to resist him, for he will surely defeat us. ⁴¹But if he shows fear and camps on the other side of the river, we will cross over to him and defeat him.” ⁴²When Judas approached the stream of water, he stationed the officers^a of the army at the stream and gave them this command, “Permit no one to encamp, but make them all enter the battle.”^{* 43}Then he crossed over against them first, and the whole army followed him. All the nations were defeated before him, and they threw away their arms and fled into the sacred precincts at Carnaim.^{* 44}But he took the town and burned the sacred precincts with fire, together with all who were in them. Thus Carnaim was conquered; they could stand before Judas no longer.^*

The Return to Jerusalem

⁴⁵Then Judas gathered together all the Israelites in Gilead, the small and the great, with their wives and children and goods, a very large company, to go to the land of Judah. ⁴⁶So they came to Ephron. This was a large and very strong town on the road, and they could not go around it to the right or to the left; they had to go through it.^{* 47}But the people of the town shut them out and blocked up the gates with stones.

⁴⁸Judas sent them this friendly message, “Let us pass through your land to get to our land. No one will do you harm; we will simply pass by on foot.” But they refused to open to him.^{* 49}Then Judas ordered proclamation to be made to the army that all should encamp where they were. ⁵⁰So the men of the forces encamped, and he fought against the town all that day and all the night, and the town was delivered into his hands.^{* 51}He destroyed every male by the edge of the sword and razed and plundered the town. Then he passed through the town over the bodies of the dead.

⁵²Then they crossed the Jordan into the large plain before Beth-shan.^{* 53}Judas kept rallying the laggards and encouraging the people all the way until he came to the land of Judah. ⁵⁴So they went up to Mount Zion with joy and gladness and offered burnt offerings because they had returned in safety; not one of them had fallen.