I Maccabees 7

¹In the hundred and one and fiftieth year Demetrius the son of Seleucus departed from Rome, and came up with a few men unto a city of the sea coast, and reigned there.

²And as he entered into the palace of his ancestors, so it was, that his forces had taken Antiochus and Lysias, to bring them unto him.

³Wherefore, when he knew it, he said, Let me not see their faces.

⁴So his host slew them. Now when Demetrius was set upon the throne of his kingdom,

⁵There came unto him all the wicked and ungodly men of Israel, having Alcimus, who was desirous to be high priest, for their captain:

⁶And they accused the people to the king, saying, Judas and his brethren have slain all thy friends, and driven us out of our own land.

⁷Now therefore send some man whom thou trustest, and let him go and see what havock he hath made among us, and in the king’s land, and let him punish them with all them that aid them.

⁸Then the king chose Bacchides, a friend of the king, who ruled beyond the flood, and was a great man in the kingdom, and faithful to the king,

⁹And him he sent with that wicked Alcimus, whom he made high priest, and commanded that he should take vengeance of the children of Israel.

¹⁰So they departed, and came with a great power into the land of Judea, where they sent messengers to Judas and his brethren with peaceable words deceitfully.

¹¹But they gave no heed to their words; for they saw that they were come with a great power.

¹²Then did there assemble unto Alcimus and Bacchides a company of scribes, to require justice.

¹³Now the Assideans were the first among the children of Israel that sought peace of them:

¹⁴For said they, One that is a priest of the seed of Aaron is come with this army, and he will do us no wrong.

¹⁵So he spake unto them, peaceably, and sware unto them, saying, we will procure the harm neither of you nor your friends.

¹⁶Whereupon they believed him: howbeit he took of them threescore men, and slew them in one day, according to the words which he wrote,

¹⁷The flesh of thy saints have they cast out, and their blood have they shed round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them.

¹⁸Wherefore the fear and dread of them fell upon all the people, who said, There is neither truth nor righteousness in them; for they have broken the covenant and oath that they made.

¹⁹After this, removed Bacchides from Jerusalem, and pitched his tents in Bezeth, where he sent and took many of the men that had forsaken him, and certain of the people also, and when he had slain them, he cast them into the great pit.

²⁰Then committed he the country to Alcimus, and left with him a power to aid him: so Bacchides went to the king.

²¹But Alcimus contended for the high priesthood.

²²And unto him resorted all such as troubled the people, who, after they had gotten the land of Juda into their power, did much hurt in Israel.

²³Now when Judas saw all the mischief that Alcimus and his company had done among the Israelites, even above the heathen,

²⁴He went out into all the coasts of Judea round about, and took vengeance of them that had revolted from him, so that they durst no more go forth into the country.

²⁵On the other side, when Alcimus saw that Judas and his company had gotten the upper hand, and knew that he was not able to abide their force, he went again to the king, and said all the worst of them that he could.

²⁶Then the king sent Nicanor, one of his honourable princes, a man that bare deadly hate unto Israel, with commandment to destroy the people.

²⁷So Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a great force; and sent unto Judas and his brethren deceitfully with friendly words, saying,

²⁸Let there be no battle between me and you; I will come with a few men, that I may see you in peace.

²⁹He came therefore to Judas, and they saluted one another peaceably. Howbeit the enemies were prepared to take away Judas by violence.

³⁰Which thing after it was known to Judas, to wit, that he came unto him with deceit, he was sore afraid of him, and would see his face no more.

³¹Nicanor also, when he saw that his counsel was discovered, went out to fight against Judas beside Capharsalama:

³²Where there were slain of Nicanor’s side about five thousand men, and the rest fled into the city of David.

³³After this went Nicanor up to mount Sion, and there came out of the sanctuary certain of the priests and certain of the elders of the people, to salute him peaceably, and to shew him the burnt sacrifice that was offered for the king.

³⁴But he mocked them, and laughed at them, and abused them shamefully, and spake proudly,

³⁵And sware in his wrath, saying, Unless Judas and his host be now delivered into my hands, if ever I come again in safety, I will burn up this house: and with that he went out in a great rage.

³⁶Then the priests entered in, and stood before the altar and the temple, weeping, and saying,

³⁷Thou, O Lord, didst choose this house to be called by thy name, and to be a house of prayer and petition for thy people:

³⁸Be avenged of this man and his host, and let them fall by the sword: remember their blasphemies, and suffer them not to continue any longer.

³⁹So Nicanor went out of Jerusalem, and pitched his tents in Bethhoron, where an host out of Syria met him.

⁴⁰But Judas pitched in Adasa with three thousand men, and there he prayed, saying,

⁴¹O Lord, when they that were sent from the king of the Assyrians blasphemed, thine angel went out, and smote an hundred fourscore and five thousand of them.

⁴²Even so destroy thou this host before us this day, that the rest may know that he hath spoken blasphemously against thy sanctuary, and judge thou him according to his wickedness.

⁴³So the thirteenth day of the month Adar the hosts joined battle: but Nicanor’s host was discomfited, and he himself was first slain in the battle.

⁴⁴Now when Nicanor’s host saw that he was slain, they cast away their weapons, and fled.

⁴⁵Then they pursued after them a day’s journey, from Adasa unto Gazera, sounding an alarm after them with their trumpets.

⁴⁶Whereupon they came forth out of all the towns of Judea round about, and closed them in; so that they, turning back upon them that pursued them, were all slain with the sword, and not one of them was left.

⁴⁷Afterwards they took the spoils, and the prey, and smote off Nicanors head, and his right hand, which he stretched out so proudly, and brought them away, and hanged them up toward Jerusalem.

⁴⁸For this cause the people rejoiced greatly, and they kept that day a day of great gladness.

⁴⁹Moreover they ordained to keep yearly this day, being the thirteenth of Adar.

⁵⁰Thus the land of Juda was in rest a little while.

I Maccabees 7

¹In the hundred and fifty-first year, Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, departed from the city of Rome, and came up with few men into a city of the sea coast, and reigned there.

²And it came to pass as he entered into the house of the kingdom of his fathers, that the army seized upon Antiochus, and Lysias, to bring them unto him.

³And when he knew it, he said: Let me not see their face.

⁴So the army slew them. And Demetrius sat upon the throne of his kingdom:

⁵And there came to him the wicked and ungodly men of Israel: and Alcimus was at the head of them, who desired to be made high priest.

⁶And they accused the people to the king, saying: Judas and his brethren have destroyed all thy friends, and he hath driven us out of our land.

⁷Now, therefore, send some men whom thou trustest, and let him go, and see all the havoc he hath made amongst us, and in the king's lands: and let him punish all his friends and their helpers.

⁸Then the king chose Bacchides, one of his friends, that ruled beyond the great river in the kingdom, and was faithful to the king: and he sent him,

⁹To see the havoc that Judas had made: and the wicked Alcimus he made high priest, and commanded him to take revenge upon the children of Israel.

¹⁰And they arose, and came with a great army into the land of Juda: and they sent messengers, and spoke to Judas and his brethren with peaceable words, deceitfully.

¹¹But they gave no heed to their words: for they saw that they were come with a great army.

¹²Then there assembled to Alcimus and Bacchides a company of the scribes, to require things that are just:

¹³And first the Assideans, that were among the children of Israel, and they sought peace of them.

¹⁴For they said: One that is a priest of the seed of Aaron is come, he will not deceive us.

¹⁵And he spoke to them peaceably: and he swore to them, saying: We will do you no harm, nor your friends.

¹⁶And they believed him. And he took threescore of them, and slew them in one day, according to the word that is written:

¹⁷The flesh of thy saints, and the blood of them they have shed round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them.

¹⁸Then fear and trembling fell upon all the people: for they said: There is no truth, nor justice among them: for they have broken the covenant, and the oath which they made.

¹⁹And Bacchides removed the camp from Jerusalem, and pitched in Bethzecha: and he sent, and took many of them that were fled away from him, and some of the people he killed, and threw them into a great pit.

²⁰Then he committed the country to Alcimus, and left with him troops to help him. So Bacchides went away to the king.

²¹But Alcimus did what he could to maintain his chief priesthood.

²²And they that disturbed the people resorted to him, and they got the land of Juda into their power, and did much hurt in Israel.

²³And Judas saw all the evils that Alcimus, and they that were with him, did to the children of Israel, much more than the Gentiles.

²⁴And he went out into all the coasts of Judea round about, and took vengeance upon the men that had revolted, and they ceased to go forth any more into the country.

²⁵And Alcimus saw that Judas and they that were with him, prevailed: and he knew that he could not stand against them, and he went back to the king, and accused them of many crimes.

²⁶And the king sent Nicanor, one of his principal lords, who was a great enemy to Israel: and he commanded him to destroy the people.

²⁷And Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a great army, and he sent to Judas and to his brethren deceitfully, with friendly words,

²⁸Saying: Let there be no fighting between me and you: I will come with a few men, to see your faces with peace.

²⁹And he came to Judas, and they saluted one another peaceably: and the enemies were prepared to take away Judas by force.

³⁰And the thing was known to Judas that he was come to him with deceit: and he was much afraid of him, and would not see his face any more.

³¹And Nicanor knew that his counsel was discovered: and he went out to fight against Judas, near Capharsalama.

³²And there fell of Nicanor's army almost five thousand men, and they fled into the city of David.

³³And after this Nicanor went up into mount Sion: and some of the priests and the people came out to salute him peaceably, and to shew him the holocausts that were offered for the king.

³⁴But he mocked and despised them, and abused them: and he spoke proudly,

³⁵And swore in anger, saying: Unless Judas and his army be delivered into my hands, as soon as ever I return in peace, I will burn this house. And he went out in a great rage.

³⁶And the priests went in, and stood before the face of the altar and the temple: and weeping, they said:

³⁷Thou, O Lord, hast chosen this house for thy name to be called upon therein, that it might be a house of prayer and supplication for thy people.

³⁸Be avenged of this man, and his army, and let them fall by the sword: remember their blasphemies, and suffer them not to continue any longer.

³⁹Then Nicanor went out from Jerusalem, and encamped near to Bethoron: and an army of Syria joined him.

⁴⁰But Judas pitched in Adarsa with three thousand men: and Judas prayed, and said:

⁴¹O Lord, when they that were sent by king Sennacherib blasphemed thee, an angel went out, and slew of them a hundred and eighty-five thousand:

⁴²Even so destroy this army in our sight today and let the rest know that he hath spoken ill against thy sanctuary: and judge thou him according to his wickedness.

⁴³And the armies joined battle on the thirteenth day of the month, Adar: and the army of Nicanor was defeated, and he himself was first slain in the battle.

⁴⁴And when his army saw that Nicanor was slain they threw away their weapons, and fled:

⁴⁵And they pursued after them one day's journey from Adazer, even till ye come to Gazara, and they sounded the trumpets after them with signals.

⁴⁶And they went forth out of all the towns of Judea round about, and they pushed them with the horns, and they turned again to them, and they were all slain with the sword, and there was not left of them so much as one.

⁴⁷And they took the spoils of them for a booty, and they cut off Nicanor's head, and his right hand, which he had proudly stretched out, and they brought it, and hung it up over against Jerusalem.

⁴⁸And the people rejoiced exceedingly, and they spent that day with great joy.

⁴⁹And he ordained that this day should be kept every year, being the thirteenth of the month of Adar

⁵⁰And the land of Juda was quiet for a short time.