 加上:1.(1mc) [瑪加伯上] 1 Machabaeus    [共 十六 章]   [思高聖經]
    
 加上:1.1   馬其頓人。斐理伯的兒子亞歷山大由基廷地出擊，戰勝了波斯和瑪待國王達理阿以後，遂之為王，成為第一位希臘王。
 加上:1.2   他身經百戰，攻克了許多要塞，斬殺了各地的君王，
 加上:1.3   踏遍了大地四極，擄掠了許多的財物，以致大地在他面前都默默無言，因此他心高氣傲，妄自尊大。
 加上:1.4   他招募了精銳的軍隊，征服各地、各族、各王，使他們向他納稅進貢。
 加上:1.5   當他患病在床，自覺將要去世的時候，
 加上:1.6   召集了與他自幼長大成人，身為同僚的貴族，乘自己還活著的時候，把國家分給他們。
 加上:1.7   亞歷山大為王十二年去了世。
 加上:1.8   他的臣相各據一方，
 加上:1.9   他死後，各自加冕稱王，他們和繼續位的子孫以後多年之久，所做的惡事遍佈全國。
 加上:1.10  從他們中產生了一條禍根，就是安提約古的兒子安提約古丕法乃，他曾在羅馬做質，於希臘帝國一二七年登極為王。
 加上:1.11  那時，在以色列人中出現一些歹徒，煸惑民眾說：「我們去和我們四鄰的外方人立約，因為自從與他們絕交以來，就遭遇了許多患難」。
 加上:1.12  這種輿論很受當時人的歡迎；
 加上:1.13  遂有一些人極為興奮，便去覲見國王，國王就批准他們採用外邦人的禮俗。
 加上:1.14  他們便照外邦人的風俗，在耶路撒冷修建了一座體育場，
 加上:1.15  且彌補割損的痕跡，背離聖約，為服從外邦人的規律，自甘墮落。
 加上:1.16  安提約古見的王位業已鞏固，便企圖統治埃及，願作兩國的君王，
 加上:1.17  遂率領大軍、戰車、象隊、騎兵及龐大的艦隊進攻埃及，
 加上:1.18  與埃及王仆托肋米交戰，仆托肋米竟陣而逃，士兵傷亡慘重。
 加上:1.19  於是埃及國設防的各城全部都陷落了，財產搶掠一空。
 加上:1.20  安提約古征服埃及以後，於一四三年回國時，北上以色列，率領大軍直逼耶路撒冷。
 加上:1.21  他不管不顧地進入了聖所，搬走了金祭壇、燈台及所有器皿。
 加上:1.22  供餅的供桌、奠酒器、杯盤、金香爐、帳幔和冠冕，連聖殿正面的金飾，都洗劫得一乾二淨；
 加上:1.23  還拿去了金銀和貴重的器皿，凡尋到的珍藏寶物，都帶走了。
 加上:1.24  而且帶著這些東西回國的時候，肆意屠殺，還說了狂傲的大話；
 加上:1.25  因此在以色列人中，哀聲遍野，
 加上:1.26  首領長老無不哀聲長歎，處女處男全都消瘦，婦女的花容失色，
 加上:1.27  新郎吟出悲調，坐在洞房裏的新娘，飲泣啼哭，
 加上:1.28  大地為其居民的的命運而搖撼，雅各伯的全家都蒙羞受辱。
 加上:1.29  過了兩年，王派遣一位貢物總督走遍猶太各城。他率領大軍，來到耶路撒冷，
 加上:1.30  假意向居民發表一些和平的言論，人都相信了他；但是他乘人不備，攻入城內，大加屠殺，死了很多以色列人；
 加上:1.31  又洗劫全城，放火焚燒，拆毀了民房和四周的垣牆，
 加上:1.32  俘擄了婦女幼童，搶走了牲畜．
 加上:1.33  又在達味城設防，築起高大的垣牆，修築堅固的碉堡，作為他們的堡壘；
 加上:1.34  在那裏派了罪惡淊天的外邦人和無法無天的人為軍人，以加強兵力；
 加上:1.35  又儲畜了武器和給養，把從耶路撒冷掠來的物資，貯藏在裏面；因此這城堡成了極危險的陷阱，
 加上:1.36  為聖殿常是一種威脅，為以色列人民常是一個惡敵。
 加上:1.37  他們常在聖殿的周圍殺害無辜，玷污聖殿。
 加上:1.38  為了他們的緣故，耶路撒冷的居民各處逃亡，聖城成了異民的居所，為本城的子女卻變成了異鄉，城中的子女都離棄了故土。
 加上:1.39  聖殿被棄有如曠野，喜慶節日變為悲痛哀傷，安息日變為譏諷，尊榮成了恥辱。
 加上:1.40  從前有多光榮，今日就有多少恥辱；尊竟轉為愁腸!
 加上:1.41  王隨後論令全國，使各國民族合成一個民族，
 加上:1.42  全放棄本國固有的禮俗。於是各外邦民族都表示服從君王的諭令，
 加上:1.43  也有許多以色列人甘心接受了他的宗教，向偶像獻祭，褻瀆安息日。
 加上:1.44  王又派遣使臣帶著詔書到耶路撒冷及猶太各城去，令人隨從外邦的禮俗，
 加上:1.45  廢止遵守安息日和慶節，
 加上:1.46  污辱聖殿和神職人員，
 加上:1.47  且修築祭壇、殿宇和寺廟，供奉偶像，宰殺豬和不潔的,牲畜作祭獻，
 加上:1.48  不準給孩子行割損，且行各樣不潔和褻瀆軟碟事，自陷罪污，
 加上:1.49  使人忘卻法律，廢除禮規。
 加上:1.50  凡不遵從王命的人，死無赦。
 加上:1.51  王便依照上邊的話向仕國寫了諭文，也給所有百姓派了監察員，走遍猶太各城，督催人民祭獻。
 加上:1.52  百姓中有許多人背教的人附和他們，在國內犯罪作惡，
 加上:1.53  因此迫使一些以色列人逃難，去了避難的隱秘地方。
 加上:1.54  一四五年「基色婁」月十五日，王在祭壇上立了一個可憎惡的邪物，同時在猶太各城修築了祭壇，
 加上:1.55  在各家門前及街市上焚香；
 加上:1.56  凡找到的法律書都拆毀焚燒，
 加上:1.57  凡搜出存有約書或恪守法律者，不論是誰，都應按法律處死。
 加上:1.58  有人在各城內每月搜查，發現違僉的以色列人，就用暴力處置；
 加上:1.59  每月二十五日，在建於全燔祭壇上的祭壇上獻祭；
 加上:1.60  那些給孩子行割損的婦女，她們都按諭令，
 加上:1.61  把孩子懸在她們脖子上，一同處死；甚至她們的家屬，及執行割損者，亦應處死。
 加上:1.62  雖然如此，仍有許多以色列人堅持不變，決不吃不潔之物，
 加上:1.63  寧願捨生，而不願吃禁食而自污，更不願褻瀆聖約，因此，他們被判處死刑。
 加上:1.64  這實在是天主向以色人發的盛怒。
    
 加上:2.1   那時，若望的兒子西默盎的孫子，屬於約阿黎布家的司祭瑪塔提雅起來，離開耶路撒冷，遷居摩丁。
 加上:2.2   他有五個兒子：即若望，又名加狄；
 加上:2.3   息孟，又名塔息；
 加上:2.4   猶大，又名瑪加伯；
 加上:2.5   厄肋阿爾，又名奧郎；約納堂，又名阿弗斯。
 加上:2.6   他看見在猶太和耶路撒冷發生的褻聖的事，
 加上:2.7   便說：「可憐的我呀! 難道我生在世上，是為看著我的民族淪亡，聖城被踐踏，當聖城落在敵人手中，聖殿落在外人手中時，而袖手旁觀嗎﹖
 加上:2.8   聖城好似成了一個被輕賤的人。
 加上:2.9   光榮的器皿被搶掠劫奪，嬰兒在街市上被，青年人身刀下!
 加上:2.10  那一個民族沒有佔領過這國土，沒有來劫分贓﹖
 加上:2.11  城內一切點輟全被洗劫盡淨，昔日的自由城，今日為人所奴役。
 加上:2.12  我們的的聖所，我們的華麗，我們的光榮，都成了一片荒涼，受外族人的污辱!
 加上:2.13  我們還活著作什麼」﹖
 加上:2.14  瑪塔提雅和他的兒子們都撕破了衣裳，穿上苦衣，悲哀非常。
 加上:2.15  君王派來強迫人民背教的官吏，也來到了摩丁城，令人祭神。
 加上:2.16  有些以色列人附和了，但瑪塔提雅和他的兒子卻一致反抗；
 加上:2.17  君王的官吏對瑪塔提雅說：「你是這城的首領，有面子又有勢力，還受兒子兄弟們的擁護。
 加上:2.18  如今，你首先前來遵行王的諭令，如同各國的人，猶太居民以及留居的人所作的一般；這樣，你和你的兒子算是君王的朋友，你和你的兒子違榮獲金銀和各種恩賜」。
 加上:2.19  瑪塔提雅高聲回答說：「即便所有君王國中的人民都聽從他，背棄了自己祖先的教禮，服從王的命令，
 加上:2.20  我和我的兒子以及我的弟兄，仍然照我們祖先的盟約去行，
 加上:2.21  決不背棄法律和教規，
 加上:2.22  決不聽從王的諭令，而背離我們的教規，或偏左或偏右」。
 加上:2.23  他剛說完這些話，正有一個猶太人前來，當眾在摩的祭壇上祭神，合照王的諭令。
 加上:2.24  瑪塔提雅一見，熱情勃發，五內俱焚，要照法律發洩憤怒，於是衝上前去，把那人殺死在祭壇上。
 加上:2.25  同時也把迫令人民的祭獻的王吏殺了，並把祭壇拆毀。
 加上:2.26  他對於法律這樣熱誠，完全像丕乃哈對撒路的齊默黎所作的一樣。
 加上:2.27  於是瑪塔提雅在城內高聲喊說：「凡熱心法律，擁護盟約的，請跟我來! 」
 加上:2.28  接著，他和他的兒子，把所有的家產都留在城裏逃到山中去了。
 加上:2.29  那時有許多擁護正義的人，也都逃到曠野裏去居住，
 加上:2.30  將子女牲畜也一同帶了去，因為大難已臨頭上。
 加上:2.31  其時有人報告王吏駐紮達味城的軍隊說：「背叛論令的那些人，都隱藏到曠野山洞裏去了」。
 加上:2.32  於是大隊人馬前去追捕，到了那裏，擺好陣勢，在安息日那天向他們宣戰，
 加上:2.33  說：「到現在為止，若你們出來遵行王命，還可以活命」。
 加上:2.34  他們回答說：「我們不出去，也不遵從王命，褻瀆安息日! 」
 加上:2.35  敵軍立刻攻擊他們。
 加上:2.36  但他們不向敵人還擊，也不拋石，也不堵塞防身之處，
 加上:2.37  只說：「我們眾人情願無辜而死! 有天地為我們作證：你們殺害我們，極不公平」。
 加上:2.38  王軍於是在安息日那天攻擊了他們，他們和他們的婦孺牲畜都被屠殺了，人數約有一千。
 加上:2.39  瑪塔提雅和朋友一聽說此事，都十分悲痛。
 加上:2.40  彼此商議說：「若大家都像我們兄弟所行的一樣，為保護自己的性命和教規，不還擊外邦人，那麼，人很快就把我們從地面上消滅了」。
 加上:2.41  於是在那那天大家決定：「即便人在安息日來擊我們，我們也應還擊抵抗，免得我們像我們的弟兄都死在洞中」。
 加上:2.42  當時，哈息待黨派的人也與他們會合：這些人都是以色列的勇士，甘心為法律捨命的人。
 加上:2.43  還有逃難流亡的人，都與他們聯合，支持他們。
 加上:2.44  於是他們便組成軍隊，發奮攻打罪人，怒襲叛徒：其餘的人都逃往外邦人那裏，為求安全。
 加上:2.45  瑪塔提雅和他的朋友便到處巡行，拆毀祭壇，
 加上:2.46  凡在以色列境內遇見未割損的孩子，便強迫他們割損；
 加上:2.47  此外，還掃蕩了暴徒，在歷次戰役中都很順利。
 加上:2.48  如此，保障了法律，擺脫了外邦人及國王的控制，不讓惡人得勢。
 加上:2.49  瑪塔提雅臨死時，對他的兒子們說：「現在是傲驕慢暴橫得勢，也是災難和仇恨的時候。
 加上:2.50  孩子們! 現在他們對法律更應熱誠服膺，應為我們祖先的盟約，捨生致命，
 加上:2.51  要懷念祖先當年所創的大業，這樣才可獲得無上的光榮和不杇的芳名。
 加上:2.52  亞巴郎不是在受試探中顯示了忠信，才算他有義德嗎﹖
 加上:2.53  若瑟在患難中遵守了誡命，然後才做了埃及的主人。
 加上:2.54  我們的祖先丕乃哈斯因為熱誠，才獲得永為司祭的盟約。
 加上:2.55  若蘇厄因滿全了天主的命，才作了以色列的民長。
 加上:2.56  加肋布因在會眾前作證，才在此地獲得了產業。
 加上:2.57  達味因慈悲為懷；才承受了永世的王位。
 加上:2.58  厄里亞因熱愛法律，才被接升天。
 加上:2.59  哈納尼雅、阿匝黎雅、米沙耳因著信賴才得拯救，免受火燒。
 加上:2.60  達尼爾因心中純潔，才蒙拯救，免於獅子的口。
 加上:2.61  你們要世世代代這樣存想：凡是仰望祂的，決一無所缺。
 加上:2.62  不要怕惡人的議論，因為他們的光榮要變為糞土蛆蟲，
 加上:2.63  今日飛黃騰達，明日即為黃花；人一歸於灰土，他的計謀也雲消霧散。
 加上:2.64  孩子們! 你們要剛強不屈，遵守法律，法律必使你們蒙受光榮。
 加上:2.65  你們的兄弟息孟，我曉得他是具有超見是人，你們該常聽從他，他該接你們父親之位。
 加上:2.66  猶大瑪加伯自幼奮勇，他該是你們的的將領，作戰攻打異族。
 加上:2.67  你們應召集所有遵行法律的人來跟隨你們，為百姓報仇雪恨。
 加上:2.68  應反抗異族，應堅守法律的規條」。
 加上:2.69  他祝福了他們以後，就歸到他親屬那裏去了。
 加上:2.70  死於一四六年，他的兒子們把他葬在摩丁的祖墳裏，全以色列為他舉喪誌哀。
    
 加上:3.1   他的兒子猶大又名瑪塔提雅的，接了他的位。
 加上:3.2   他的眾弟兄及附和他父親的人，都來輔佐他，大家都奮勇為以色列作戰。
 加上:3.3   他增加了自己百姓的光榮，身披甲胃，狀似英雄，腰佩兵器，領軍作戰，持刀護陣，
 加上:3.4   著手行事，有如壯獅，捕獵怒號好似幼獅。
 加上:3.5   把歹徒搜查追捕，將加害百姓者，以火焚燒。
 加上:3.6   於是違法歹徒，不寒而慄；作惡匪徒，驚惶失措；救國大業，賴其成功。
 加上:3.7   他使許多君王苦惱，彿卻使雅各伯歡樂，因為他集聚合了四散的人。
 加上:3.8   他出巡猶太各城，將城中惡徒剷除，從以色列挽回聖怒。
 加上:3.9   他的聲譽遍傳地極，他的記念永受讚美。
 加上:3.10  阿頗羅尼調集異民，又從撒馬黎雅調來一枝政旅，要進攻以色列。
 加上:3.11  猶大一聽說，就出兵迎擊，將阿頗羅尼殺死，散方傷亡甚重，殘散四散逃命，
 加上:3.12  猶太人奪得了許多物資；猶太取了阿頗羅尼的寶劍，一生用來作戰。
 加上:3.13  敘利亞的軍長巴龍，聽說猶大召集了很多軍民，號召一夥忠誠的猶太人，隨他前往作戰，
 加上:3.14  就說：「我要成名，在國內受光榮，要戰勝猶大和跟隨他而輕視王命的人」。
 加上:3.15  他於是出征，率領一支強大而兇橫的軍隊，來向以色列子民復仇。
 加上:3.16  當他行近貝特曷龍山坡時，猶大帶著一小隊兵，前去迎擊。
 加上:3.17  他們一見大軍迎面而來，便向猶大說：「我們人數少，怎能攻打這麼眾多，強大有力的敵人呢﹖何況我們今天我們還未用飯，疲乏無力呢」!
 加上:3.18  回答說：「多數人困在少數人手裏，是容易的事；用多數或用少數人施救，為上天沒有區別。
 加上:3.19  因為戰爭的勝利，不在乎軍隊的多寡，而在乎由天而來的力量。
 加上:3.20  他們來攻打我們，蠻橫儌慢，無法無天，原為隡我們和我們的妻子兒女，前來洗劫搶掠。
 加上:3.21  但是我們是為保護生命和法律而戰，
 加上:3.22  因此，天主必會親自在我們面前粉碎他們；所以千萬不要害怕」!
 加上:3.23  他一說完這話，便突然出擊，色龍與他的軍隊不支退敗。
 加上:3.24  猶大從貝特克龍山坡，一直追到平原。敵人陣亡的約有八百，餘下的都逃到培肋舍特人的地方去了。
 加上:3.25  從此，眾人對猶大和他的兄弟都害怕起來，四週的異民也都為之震驚。
 加上:3.26  猶大的名聲傳到了君王那裏，異民都稱述他的戰功。
 加上:3.27  安提約古一聽這消息，心中大怒，下令調集全國軍隊，編成強有力的大軍。
 加上:3.28  打開庫房，給軍隊發了一年的軍餉，且囑咐他們準備應變。
 加上:3.29  當時他也發覺國庫銀錢短絀，又因廢棄舊制國內混亂，各地稅受大減。
 加上:3.30  他怕一兩次開支和勞軍之後，再不能像從前那樣闊綽，原來他揮霍無度，超過以前的君王。
 加上:3.31  因此心煩意亂，便決意到波斯去向各地徵收捐稅，大量聚歛銀錢。
 加上:3.32  遂留下出身的貴人里息雅，託他代理從幼發拉的的河直到埃及境界的國政；
 加上:3.33  還託他撫育自己的兒子安提約古，自己回來。
 加上:3.34  又將一半木兵力和象隊交給他，吩咐他執行自己所決定的一切，尤其是關於猶大和耶路撒冷居民的事：
 加上:3.35  即要他派遣軍隊攻打以色列，粉碎他們的力量，掃蕩耶路撒冷剩餘的居民，將他們的記念，由那地上除去；
 加上:3.36  使外方人移居在他們的全境，將他們的土地拈鬮分給那些人為產業。
 加上:3.37  然後王自己帶著其餘一半軍隊，在一四七年，由國都安提約基雅出發，渡過幼發拉的河，向高原進彶。
 加上:3.38  里息雅選派了多黎默的兒子仆托肋米、尼加諾爾和哥爾基雅，他們都是國朋友中最有權勢的人。
 加上:3.39  又特派步兵四萬和騎兵七千，由他們率領出征猶太地，照國王的命令摧毀那地。
 加上:3.40  於是他們便率領軍隊出發，到達靠近厄瑪烏的平原上紮了了營。
 加上:3.41  那一帶的商人聽說他們來了，就帶著許多金銀和腳鐐，來到營幕，準備收買以色列子民為奴；依杜默雅和培肋舍特的軍隊也來參戰。
 加上:3.42  猶大和他的兄弟見情勢危急，散軍已在自己境內扎營；又聽說王已下令，要根除自己的百姓，
 加上:3.43  就彼此說：「我們要挽救百姓免於滅亡，要為百姓及聖所而戰」。
 加上:3.44  於是集合會眾，準備應戰，且舉行祈禱，懇求仁慈和憐憫。
 加上:3.45  這時，耶路撒冷好似無人居住的曠野，城中已沒有一人出入；聖所已被人踐踏，城堡已為外人佔據，成了異民的居所；雅各伯家不再歡樂，琴瑟之聲業已止息，
 加上:3.46  於是以色列人集合起來，只有來到耶路撒冷對面的米責帕；米責帕原是以色列人昔日祈禱的聖地。
 加上:3.47  那天人人禁食，身穿苦衣，頭上撒灰，撕裂衣服，
 加上:3.48  揭開法律書尋問，如同異民詢問他們的偶像一般。
 加上:3.49  他們又帶來司祭的衣服，初熟的果實和什一的獻儀，並叫滿期的「納齊爾」人前來。
 加上:3.50  他們大聲向上天呼號說：「我們對這些人當怎麼辦﹖要把他們帶回何處﹖
 加上:3.51  你的聖所已被踐踏污辱，你的司祭已蒙難而憂傷。
 加上:3.52  異民齊來攻擊，要消滅我們! 你知道他們對我們所想的是什麼。
 加上:3.53  除非你援助我們，我們怎能抵抗他們」﹖
 加上:3.54  他們遂吹號角，大聲呼喊。
 加上:3.55  此後，猶大派定率領軍人的千夫長、百夫長、五十夫長和十夫長；
 加上:3.56  又向修房屋、訂婚、訂婚、種葡萄與膽怯的人說明，按法律他們可以各回本家。
 加上:3.57  於是調動軍隊，在厄瑪烏以南安營。
 加上:3.58  猶大向他們說：「你們應裝備，作勇敢的兵士，應準備停當，明早向前來攻擊我們，毀滅我們和聖所的異民作戰，
 加上:3.59  因為我們在陣上，寧願，死也不願看見我們的民族與聖所遭遇不幸。
 加上:3.60  上天的旨意怎樣，就怎樣行吧! 」
    
 加上:4.1   哥爾基雅率領五千步兵，一千精騎，乘夜進軍，
 加上:4.2   偷襲猶太人的營幕，乘虛突擊；堡壘裏的人給他作響導。
 加上:4.3   猶大一聽這消息，便與軍隊起程，去突擊駐紮厄瑪烏王軍；
 加上:4.4   這時王軍還散在營外。
 加上:4.5   哥爾基雅夜間來到猶大營裏，不見一人，遂在山中搜尋說：「這些人離開我們逃走了」。
 加上:4.6   天已亮時，猶大領著三千士兵，出現在平原之上，但沒有佩帶所需要的甲胃和刀劍。
 加上:4.7   他們看見異軍的軍營防守堅固，又有馬隧巡邏，都是受過軍訓的士兵。
 加上:4.8   猶大便向同人說：「你們不必害怕他們人數眾多，也不要畏懼他們的攻擊。
 加上:4.9   你們要回憶，當我們的祖先被法郎追趕的時候，他們怎樣在紅海裏獲救。
 加上:4.10  現在我們要呼籲上天，希望祂憐憫我們，記憶祂與我們祖先訂立的盟約，今天在我們前粉碎這支軍隊，
 加上:4.11  使萬民知道，有一位解救以色列的」。
 加上:4.12  外方人舉目一望，見猶太人從對面來了，
 加上:4.13  便出營作戰；猶大的同志們於是吹起號角。
 加上:4.14  雙方交鋒，異民不支潰敗，向平原逃去。
 加上:4.15  落後的敵軍，全喪身刀下。猶太人追搫他們，直到革責爾，直到依杜默雅、阿左托及雅木尼雅平原。敵方陣亡的約三千人。
 加上:4.16  猶大笸他的軍隊追趕敵人回來，
 加上:4.17  對軍隊說：「你們不要貪戀戰利品，因為前面還有戰爭；
 加上:4.18  哥爾基雅和他的軍隊還在山中，離我們不遠。現今要在敵人前堅定不移，與他們作戰，然後才可以安心捨取戰品」。
 加上:4.19  猶大還在說話時，發現有一部份敵人從山上窺望，
 加上:4.20  這些人見自己的軍隊已敗退，兵營亦被焚燒，又見煙柱四起，即知發生了事故。
 加上:4.21  他們一見如非常震驚；又見猶大的軍隊在平原擺好作戰的陣勢，
 加上:4.22  於是全部都逃往培肋舍特人的地方去了。
 加上:4.23  猶大回來拾取軍營的戰利品，得了很多金銀、紫紅和尊貴的朱紅色衣服，還是大量的財物。
 加上:4.24  他們回來的時候，唱歌讚美上天，「因為祂是美善是，祂的仁慈永遠常存」。
 加上:4.25  這一天以色列得了大勝利。
 加上:4.26  逃生的外方人來到息里雅那裏，向他報告一切經過。
 加上:4.27  他一聽說這事，惶失措，因為在以色列竟發生這事，大出他意料之外，與國王所囑託的大不相同。
 加上:4.28  次年他調集六萬精兵，五千騎兵，來攻打猶猶太人。
 加上:4.29  大軍來到依杜默雅，在貝特族紮了營。猶大帶一萬人迎戰；
 加上:4.30  他一見散軍強大，便祈禱說：「以色列的救主，你是可讚美的! 從前你藉著你僕人達味的手，粉碎了巨人強力的襲擊，你曾把外方人的軍營，交在撒烏耳之子約納堂，和他執劍的手中；
 加上:4.31  請你這支軍隊，困在你百姓以色列的手中吧! 使他們的兵馬都蒙受恥辱。
 加上:4.32  請你使他們恐怖，消散他們逞強的勇氣，使他們因潰散而顫慄。
 加上:4.33  請你使他們喪身在愛你之人的刀下，使那些認識你的人，用詩歌來讚頌你」。
 加上:4.34  隨後雙方交鋒，里息雅的軍隊，約有五千人為猶太人所殺。
 加上:4.35  里息見自己的陣容已亂，而的士氣正盛，且已準備作生死戰；他一見此事便退回安提約基雅，招募客軍，加強陣容，準備再攻猶太地。
 加上:4.36  猶大和他的弟兄們說：「我們的敵人業已粉碎，我們要上去清潔聖所，再行祝福禮」。
 加上:4.37  於是全體軍隊集合，齊上熙雍山。
 加上:4.38  當他們看見聖所荒蕪，祭壇被玷污，門戶被焚毀，庭院生滿小樹，像在樹林山上生長的一般，廂房都已倒塌，
 加上:4.39  便撕裂了衣服，大聲哀哭，頭上撒灰，
 加上:4.40  俯首在地；號角一響，他們便向天哀號。
 加上:4.41  那時猶大派人去攻打那些住在堡壘裏的人，直到聖所清潔了為止。
 加上:4.42   然後又選定了聖潔和熱愛法律的司祭；
 加上:4.43  這些司祭便清潔聖殿，將被玷污了的石頭，拋到污穢的地方。
 加上:4.44  他們商議，該怎樣處理被玷污的全燔祭壇；
 加上:4.45  終於想出了一個好主意，就是將祭壇毀壞，免得常存為異民玷污的恥辱。於是就將祭壇拆毀了，
 加上:4.46  將那些石頭安放在聖殿山上一個適當的中地方，直到一位先知來到，再另行安排。
 加上:4.47  他們晏法律用整塊石頭，照原先的樣子，另修了一座新祭壇。
 加上:4.48  將聖殿及聖殿內部都修飾好，也祝福了庭院。
 加上:4.49  又製造了新的聖器，將燈台、香壇、供桌，搬進聖殿。
 加上:4.50  在香壇上獻香，又點了燈台上的燈，在殿放光。
 加上:4.51  在供桌上放上餅，將帳幕掛起來，他們應作的一切工作，於是完成。
 加上:4.52  一四八年九月，即「基色婁」月，二十五日清晨，他們起來，
 加上:4.53  依照法律，在新建的全燔祭壇上獻祭。
 加上:4.54   即在異民玷污祭壇的同月同日，於唱歌、彈琴、鼓瑟和鳴鈸中，祝福了祭壇。
 加上:4.55  全體百姓都俯首至地，欽崇讚美那使他們成功了的上天。
 加上:4.56  八日之久，舉行祭壇的祝聖典禮，都歡地獻了全燔祭、和平及感恩祭。
 加上:4.57  他們又用金冠銀牌，裝飾聖殿正面，又重修大門和廂房，安上門戶。
 加上:4.58  民眾皆大喜歡，因為異所加於他們的恥辱，現在全除去了。
 加上:4.59  猶大和他的兄弟們，以及以色列全會眾，規定年年在這節期，慶祝重新祝聖祭壇節，即由「基色婁」月二十五日起，一連八天歡樂慶祝。
 加上:4.60  那時他們也重修熙雍山，在周圍建起高牆和鞏固的碉樓，得免異民再來，像從前一樣蹂躝。
 加上:4.61  猶大又派軍隊在那裏護守；並在貝特族爾設防，使人民對依杜默雅有所保障。
    
 加上:5.1   四鄰的異民聽說猶大重建了祭壇，恢復舊觀，於是大怒，
 加上:5.2   決意要剷自己中間的雅各伯的後裔，就開始屠殺猶太人，加以清除。
 加上:5.3   那時猶大在依杜默雅的阿卡巴特乃，攻打正在包圍以色列人的厄撒烏的後裔，加以痛擊，予以重創；制服他們，獲得了許多財寶。
 加上:5.4   他又想貝紅人的惡行，這些人常作猶太人的羅網和絆腳石，埋伏在路上窺伺陷害。
 加上:5.5   猶大將他們包圍在碉保裏，安營攻打，下了毀壞令，遂放火將碉堡其中所有的人焚燒了。
 加上:5.6   以後去攻打阿孟人民時，遭遇了強悍大軍，軍長是提摩太。
 加上:5.7   兩軍交戰多次，敵軍終為猶大所搫敗，猶大追殺他們，
 加上:5.8   佔據了雅則爾及所屬村鎮，然後回師猶太。
 加上:5.9   基肋阿得的異民聚集起來，攻擊住在他們境內的以色列人，要消除他們；於是以色列人逃到達特瑪堡壘裏，
 加上:5.10  寫信給猶大和他的兄弟們說：「我們四周的異民都聚集起來攻打我們，要剷除我們。
 加上:5.11  他們正準備來奪取我們的堡壘，提摩太是他們的軍長；
 加上:5.12  所以現在，請你來拯救我們，脫離他們的手! 我們已有許多人喪身。
 加上:5.13  住在托布的眾弟兄已全部被殺，妻子兒女被俘擄，財物被劫掠，在那裏被殺的約有一千人」。
 加上:5.14  正在讀這封信時，又有從加里肋亞來的使者，他們的衣服業已撕破，報告報告說：
 加上:5.15  「仆托肋買、提洛、漆東，以及外方人的加里肋亞，都已聚集起來，要消滅我們 」。
 加上:5.16  猶大與百姓一聽見見這些消息，立即召集全體大會，商討怎樣拯救蒙難和被敵人攻打的弟兄們。
 加上:5.17  猶大對哥哥息孟說：「你挑選一部份人，去援救加里肋亞的弟兄；我同弟弟約納堂，往基肋阿得去」。
 加上:5.18  留下匝加利亞的兒子阿匝黎雅，管理軍民，派他們與其餘的軍隊守護猶太。
 加上:5.19  又吩咐他們說：「你們只管理百姓，不要與異民交戰，直到我歸來」。
 加上:5.20  於是撥給息孟三千人，往加里肋亞去，猶大率領八千人，往基肋阿得去。
 加上:5.21  息孟到加里肋亞，與異民打了幾仗，異民終不支潰散；
 加上:5.22  息孟追搫他們直到托肋買城門外，異民陣六的約有三千；他獲得了許多財物。
 加上:5.23  然後將住在加里肋亞和阿爾巴達的猶太人，同妻子兒女，以及所有的事情帶回猶太，大家都很高興。
 加上:5.24  猶大瑪加伯和弟弟約納堂，過了約旦河，在曠野裏在了三天的路；
 加上:5.25  納巴泰人遇著他們，對他們表示歡迎，並將他們的弟兄在基肋阿得地的一切遭遇，報告給他們：
 加上:5.26  「他們中有許多人，怎樣被困在波索辣、波索爾、阿肋瑪、加斯佛、瑪刻得和卡爾納殷，這些城市都很堅固高大。
 加上:5.27  還有被困在基肋阿得其他城市中的，敵人決定明天進軍攻打這些堡壘，計劃在一天之內佔領，並消滅其中所有的人」。
 加上:5.28  猶大領著軍隊，突然轉變方向，經過曠野，到了波索辣，佔據了那城，用刀殺盡所有的男丁，奪取了他們一切的財物，然後放火燒了那城。
 加上:5.29  從那裏夜間起來，來到達特瑪堡壘前，
 加上:5.30  黎明前，舉目一望，看見無數軍兵，帶著雲梯與器械，攻打堡壘，正向堡壘裏行事攻擊。
 加上:5.31  猶大見戰事已起，殺聲連天，角聲喊聲，混成一片，
 加上:5.32  便向兵士說：「今天你們要為弟兄而戰」。
 加上:5.33  遂從敵後分三隊進軍，同時一起吹角，呼喊，祈禱。
 加上:5.34  提摩太的軍隊，一認出是瑪加伯，就望風而逃；瑪加伯追擊他們，予以重創，那一天敵死的約有八千人。
 加上:5.35  隨後瑪加伯轉向阿肋瑪，攻陷了那城，殺了所有的男丁，得了許多財物，然後放火將城燒了。
 加上:5.36  由此再往前進，將加斯佛、瑪刻得、波索爾和基肋阿得的其餘諸城都位領了。
 加上:5.37  這些事以後，提摩太又集合其他軍隊，在辣豐對面，河的那一邊紮營。
 加上:5.38  猶大差人前去偵探敵軍，他們回報說：「我們四週的異民，都與他們聯合，組成一支非常眾多的軍隊，
 加上:5.39  還雇用阿刺人來協助，都在河那邊紮營，準備與你作戰」。猶大就前去迎敵。
 加上:5.40  當猶大和他的軍隊臨近河旁時，提摩太向他的軍官們說：「若猶大先渡到我們這邊，我們就不能抵抗他，他必能制勝我們；
 加上:5.41  如果他畏懼，安營在河那邊，我們就渡河到他那邊去，我們必能制勝他」。
 加上:5.42  猶大一近急流水旁，便將民間經師佈置在河邊，命令他們說：「不准任何人留在營裏，都應上陣作戰」。
 加上:5.43  猶大便先渡河那他們那裏，眾軍人尾隨在後。所有的異民一 見，便立刻潰散，拋下武器，逃往卡爾納殷廟去了。
 加上:5.44  猶太人又攻陷此城，將廟宇和其中眾人，放火燒毀，卡爾納殷遂被征服，從此不敢再反抗猶大。
 加上:5.45  那時猶大將住在基肋阿得的全體以色列人，將他們及他們的妻子兒女，不分老幼，集合起來，結成龐大的一群，帶著他們所有的一切，返回猶太地。
 加上:5.46  當他們臨近厄斐龍時，──這是一座位於要道的大城市，非常鞏固，人只可從中經過，左右不能通行。──
 加上:5.47  城裏的人將城門緊閉，且用石頭堵塞起來。
 加上:5.48  猶大打發人到他們那裏，措辭和氣地向他們說：「請讓我們從你們的地方經過，到我們的地方去；無人騷擾你們，我們只求步行過去 」。但是他們仍不肯給以色列人開門。
 加上:5.49  猶大便傳令軍中：每人紮營在原處。
 加上:5.50  士兵於是進攻，攻打了一日一夜，城便陷落在他們手裏，
 加上:5.51  他們用刀殺盡所有男子，將城徹底毀滅，得了許多財物，踏在死屍上，穿過城市。
 加上:5.52  渡過約旦，到了貝特高商對面的大平原。
 加上:5.53  猶大將那些遲遲在後的人集合起來，一路鼓勵百姓，直至來到了猶太地。
 加上:5.54  大家興高采烈地上了熙雍山，獻了全燔祭；他們中沒有一個喪亡的，都平安回來了。
 加上:5.55  當猶大與基肋阿得，他的哥哥息孟在加里肋亞攻打仆托肋瑪的時日，
 加上:5.56  匝加利亞的若瑟和阿匝黎雅，這兩個軍隊，聽到他們做的大事和武功，
 加上:5.57  就說：「我們自己也要成名，去與我們四周的異民作戰」。
 加上:5.58  於是命令所屬部隊，向雅木尼雅進軍，
 加上:5.59  哥爾基雅及其屬下，便出城迎擊。
 加上:5.60  若瑟便與阿匝黎雅敗退，被追趕到猶太邊境。那一天，以色列人死亡的約有兩千。
 加上:5.61  百姓這次遭受慘敗，是因為這二人自信能成為英雄，沒有聽從猶大及其他弟兄們的話。
 加上:5.62  原來他們二人不屬於解救以色列人的後裔。
 加上:5.63  至於猶大本人和他的兄弟，都大受全以色列及所有聽到他們名聲的異民所讚揚，
 加上:5.64  人人都聚到他們面前呼。
 加上:5.65  猶大同他的兄弟們，又出征住在南方的厄撒烏子民，攻陷了赫貝龍及所屬村鎮，毀壞了城堡，焚燒了城牆四周的碉樓。
 加上:5.66  然後拔營前進，經過瑪黎撒，來到培肋舍特人的地域。
 加上:5.67  那一天，一些司祭陣亡了，因為他們也想成英雄，輕率地出征作戰。
 加上:5.68  猶大又轉向培肋舍特人的地方阿左托，燒毀了他們的祭壇，焚燒了他們的神像，搶掠了各城的財物，然後回了猶太地。
    
 加上:6.1   安提約古出巡高原時，聽說在波斯有一座城，名叫厄里買，以富有金銀著名；
 加上:6.2   城中的廟宇很富，並且還有金盾鎧甲和武器，都是馬其頓王斐理伯之子希臘首任國王亞歷山大遺留下的。
 加上:6.3   他便來到那裏，想攻位佔那城，因為城裏的人早已知道他的來意，
 加上:6.4   竟起來與他交戰，他臨陣逃走，狼狽地   離開那裏，回到巴比倫。
 加上:6.5   有人來到波斯給他報告說：「那開住猶太地的軍隊已經收退；
 加上:6.6   帶勁旅去前線的里息雅，一見猶太人就退卻了；猶太人卻奪得敗軍的兵器和大批物資，力量大增。
 加上:6.7   他們又拆毀王在耶路撒冷的祭壇上建   立的可憎之物，將聖所及貝特族爾王塞用高牆圍起來，恢復了舊觀」。
 加上:6.8   王聽了這些話，驚慌失措，倒在床上，憂鬱成疾，因為事情沒有符合他的理想。
 加上:6.9   在那裏一連多日，憂鬱日漸加重，知道死期近了，
 加上:6.10  便把他的諸位朋友叫來，對他們說：「睡眠離開了我的眼睛，愁思齊集在我的心頭。
 加上:6.11  我心裏想，從前我得勢的時候，多麼高興，多麼受人愛戴；如今遭受的是什麼   災禍，遇到的是什麼巨浪啊!
 加上:6.12  現在回想起我在耶路撒冷所做的惡事；我掠去城中的一切金器銀器，無緣無故遺人去消滅猶太的居民。
 加上:6.13  如今我明白了，我遭遇這些凶禍，正是為了這個緣故，看，我將在異鄉憂鬱而死! 」
 加上:6.14  他將自己的一個朋友斐理伯叫來，立他為全國的元首；
 加上:6.15  然後將自己的冠冕、長袍和權交給他，叫他輔導自己的兒子安提約古，撫養他繼承王位。
 加上:6.16  安提約古王就死在那裏，時一百四十九年。
 加上:6.17  里息息雅知道王已去世，遂立太子安提約古為王，因為他自幼撫養過他，就給你起名叫歐帕托爾。
 加上:6.18  那時，那些住在堡壘裏的人，常包圍聖所，困擾以色列人，不斷加害以色列百姓，而支持異民。
 加上:6.19  猶大決意剷除他們，便招集全體百姓，向他們圍攻。
 加上:6.20  一百五十年，以色列人齊來圍攻堡壘，同時還造了戰樓與軍械。
 加上:6.21  被包圍的人中，有幾個突圍而出，與一些以色列浪人勾結，
 加上:6.22  去見王說：「你何時才實行正義，為我們的弟兄伸冤呢﹖
 加上:6.23  我們很願意服事你的父親，遵行他的話，順從他的命令，
 加上:6.24  為這個緣故，我們的百姓才包圍堡疊，仇視我們，遇見我們一個，便殺一個，還奪去了我們的產業。
 加上:6.25  他們不但伸手加害我們，而且還加害你的一切領域。
 加上:6.26  他們今天正紮營圍困耶路撒冷的堡壘，想要佔據；且防守聖所及貝特族爾。
 加上:6.27  若不及早加以防範，那你就不能制服他們了。
 加上:6.28  王聽罷大怒，立即召集諸位朋友、軍官和騎兵將領，
 加上:6.29  也把從外國及海島招募來的軍隊，召到他前。
 加上:6.30  軍隊的號目：共計步兵十萬，騎兵兩萬，受過軍訓的象三十二頭。
 加上:6.31  他們由依杜默雅抵達後，便紮營圍困貝特族爾，攻打了多日，同時也造了軍械；但猶太人衝出來，用火燒了那些軍械，都奮勇作戰。
 加上:6.32  那時猶大撤離堡壘，移營到貝特匝黎雅，與王營對峙。
 加上:6.33  王清晨起來，即移營向貝特匝黎雅進軍，軍隊列隊上陣，響起號角。
 加上:6.34  有人在象前，放上葡萄和桑椹汁，引誘牠們上陣作戰，
 加上:6.35  把象分編成隊，每隻象旁站一千人，都身披鎧甲，頭戴鋼盔；又為每隻象派有精騎五百。
 加上:6.36  這些騎兵從前常同這獸在一起，獸往哪裏去，他們也隨著去，總不離開。
 加上:6.37  在每隻獸身上，繫著一座掩護堅固的木樓，裏面有四個作戰勇士，此外還有一個駕馭象的印度人。
 加上:6.38  又將其餘馬隊，分為軍中左右兩翼，為驚擾對方，也為掩護陣線。
 加上:6.39  太陽照在金牌銀牌上，光耀反射在山上，閃爍有如火炬。
 加上:6.40  王的軍隊一部分在高山上，一部分在平原裏，一起穩步前進。
 加上:6.41  眾人的喧嘩聲，進步的步伐聲，軍器的摩擦聲，凡聽了無不戰慄，因為王的軍隊強大。
 加上:6.42  猶大和他的軍隊一臨陣，王的軍隊便陣亡了六百人。
 加上:6.43  號稱奧郎的肋阿匝爾，見一隻獸披著王甲比眾獸都高，便以為在上面的是王，
 加上:6.44  為了拯救，為自己永遠成名，他就決意犧牲自己。
 加上:6.45  於是勇往直前，衝入陣中，左右亂殺，敵軍居然被他隨處衝散；
 加上:6.46  他跑到象下，伏身將它刺殺了，象跌倒在地，壓在他身上，他就死在那裏。
 加上:6.47  猶太王見見王的軍力強盛，軍隊攻擊得又兇猛，就從他們前退卻了。
 加上:6.48  王的軍隊直開往耶路撒冷，攻打他們，王便面對赫特猶太和熙雍山巿營。
 加上:6.49  王與貝特族爾人講了和，他們就出了城，是因為城被包圍已沒有孝糧，又因為那一年正是田地的安息年。
 加上:6.50  王便佔據了貝特族爾，在那裏派軍隊把守。
 加上:6.51  王在聖所對面安營多日，且在那裏建立了戰樓，製造軍械，火箭機、拋石機和蝎子機，為發箭拋石。
 加上:6.52  猶太人為抵抗敵人的武器，自己也製造了利器，雙方酣戰多日。
 加上:6.53  只是倉中沒有糧食，因為這年正是安息年，又因為從外方被救回的猶太地的人民，將存糧都吃光了，
 加上:6.54  所以在聖所裏只下少數的人，因為飢餓逼人，各自四散回本鄉去了。
 加上:6.55  里息雅聽說：當先王還活著的時候，派定撫養自己兒子安提約古，並輔佐他為王的斐理伯，
 加上:6.56  和與王一起出征的軍隊，從波斯及瑪待回來，企圖奪取政權。
 加上:6.57  息里雅一聽說，就決意急速撤兵，便向王與軍官及眾人說：「我們一天比一天衰弱，又缺少食糧，圍困的地方又牢不可破，況且國家的大事都壓在我們身上，
 加上:6.58  所以現在，我們不如先同這些人攜手，與他們及他們的百姓講和，
 加上:6.59  使他們按自己的法律生活，如同先前一樣，原來他們正是為了我們廢棄他們法律的緣故，才大發憤怒，作出這一切事」。
 加上:6.60  王和各將領都滿意這話，便打發使者到猶太人那裏去講和，猶太人也予以接受。
 加上:6.61  王和各將領也對他們發了誓，因此，他們才從堡壘裏出來。
 加上:6.62  可是當王到了熙雍山，見了這地方的堡壘，便立刻背了誓約，命人將四周的圍牆拆毀。
 加上:6.63  然後，急速起程，回到安提約基雅，見斐理伯已在掌權，就與他作戰，用武力將城奪回。
    
 加上:7.1   一百五十一年，色婁苛的兒子德默特琉，逃離羅馬，帶著少數幾個人，在沿海的一座城登陸，在那裏稱王。
 加上:7.2   當他要進入祖先的王宮時，他的軍隊將安提約古和息里雅逮捕了，要給他解來。
 加上:7.3   但他一聽說這事，說：「你們不可讓我見他們的面」。
 加上:7.4   軍隊便將他們殺了，德默特琉於是坐上了本國的王位。
 加上:7.5   那時，一般無法無天的以色列人，以想作大的阿耳基默為首，竟來到王跟前，
 加上:7.6   控告自己的百姓說：「猶大和他的兄弟們，殺害了你所有的7 友，也使我們離開本國。
 加上:7.7   現在，請派遣你信賴的人，去看看他們加於我們及王國的一切破壞情形，然後對他們和他們的助手處以懲罰」。
 加上:7.8   王便從自己的朋友中選了巴基德；他原是河西的總督，國家的一位要人，且忠於君王。
 加上:7.9   王派他與惡棍阿耳基慕同去，且委任阿耳基慕為大司祭，叫他向以色列子民復仇。
 加上:7.10  他們帶了大軍到了猶太地，就打發使者，向猶大其及們和談，欺騙他們，
 加上:7.11  不過他們並不理會那些人的話，因為已看出帶著大軍而來的用意。
 加上:7.12  無如，經師團竟集體去見阿耳基慕和巴基德，要求公正調解。
 加上:7.13  其次，在以色列平民中，首先是哈息待人來向他們求和，
 加上:7.14  因為他們想：「來者是位亞郎後裔的司祭，他雖然帶著軍隊，但決不會加害我們」。
 加上:7.15  阿耳基慕遂向他們說了一些親善的話，還發誓說：「我們決不謀害你們及你們的朋友! 」
 加上:7.16  他們便信了他的話。那科想阿耳基慕竟捕去他們六十人，在一天之內將他們都殺死，應驗了經上這句話：
 加上:7.17  「在耶路撒冷四面，他們分散了你聖者的肉體，傾流了他們的血，無人埋葬」。
 加上:7.18  於是，恐怖戰慄籠罩著整個百姓；遂說：「這些人沒有真理，沒有正義，違反了盟約，背棄了發過的誓言」。
 加上:7.19  那時，巴基德從耶路撒冷出發，在貝特齊特安營，打發人將許多逃來跟隨從他的人，和一些平民拘捕殺害，投在大坑裏。
 加上:7.20  然後把這地委託給阿耳基慕管理，又給他留下軍隊協助；巴基德就回到王那裏去了。
 加上:7.21  阿耳基慕仍為作大司祭而活動；
 加上:7.22  那些擾亂自己百姓的人，都同他聯合，佔據了猶太地，在以色列中釀成了大禍。
 加上:7.23  猶大見阿   耳基慕及跟從他的人，對以色列子民所行的一切，比異民還壞，
 加上:7.24  便出巡猶太四境，對叛背徒採取報復，阻止他們到鄉間去。
 加上:7.25  阿耳基慕一見猶大和他的同伴力量強大，自知不能抵抗，就回到王前，控告他們許多罪行。
 加上:7.26  王的一位名將尼君諾，仇恨以色列人，王就派遣他，命他去殲滅這百姓。
 加上:7.27  尼加諾爾率領大軍，一來到耶路撒冷，便派人去見猶大和他的兄弟們，詐言和談說：
 加上:7.28  「願你我之間，沒有戰爭。我願同少數人，與你們和平會面」。
 加上:7.29  於是尼加諾爾去見猶大，彼此和氣地請了安；可是敵人已準備好要劫持猶大。
 加上:7.30  猶大一知他們來意不善，就非常害怕，不願再見他的面。
 加上:7.31  尼加諾爾知道自己是計劃已被識破，就出去，在法撒拉瑪對面，和猶大交戰。
 加上:7.32  這次尼加諾爾的軍隊死的，約有五百人，其餘的人都逃到達味城裏。
 加上:7.33  這些事過後，尼加諾爾上了熙雍山。有幾位司祭和幾位民間長老，從聖所裏出去，和顏悅色地向他請安，並將為君王所獻的全燔祭，指給他看。
 加上:7.34  他對那些人卻加以輕慢、嘲笑、褻瀆，還說了一些傲慢的話，
 加上:7.35  且又憤怒地發誓說：「猶大和他的軍隊，若不立即交在我手裏，當我和平回來時，必要將這殿宇燒毀」。以後氣憤地出去了。
 加上:7.36  司祭便進去，站在祭壇及聖殿哭泣說：
 加上:7.37  「主啊! 是你選擇了這地方，使它因你的名而得名，作為你祈禱呼籲的殿宇。
 加上:7.38  求你在這人和他的軍隊上復仇，使他們死在刀劍下! 你要記住他們的褻瀆，不容他們存在! 」
 加上:7.39  尼加諾爾出耶路撒冷，在貝特曷龍安營，在那裏有一支敘利亞的軍隊與他會合。
 加上:7.40  猶大率領三千人，在阿達撒安營。猶大祈禱說：
 加上:7.41.「主啊! 當敘利亞君王的兵士說褻瀆的話時，你的天使出發，殺死了他們十八萬五千。
 加上:7.42  今天，你也在我們面前，同樣殲滅這支軍隊吧! 使其餘的人知道，他曾咒罵過你的聖所。請按他的惡行處罰他! 」
 加上:7.43  「阿達爾」月十三日，雙方軍隊交戰，尼加諾爾的軍隊潰散，他自己首先陣亡了。
 加上:7.44  尼加諾爾的軍隊一見他死了，就棄甲逃走。
 加上:7.45  猶太人追趕他們有一天的路程，從阿達撒一直追到革則爾，還在他們後面吹角為號，
 加上:7.46  使四週的猶太人，都從各村鎮出來，包圍他們。於是敵軍互相踐踏，都喪身刀下，一個也沒有留下。
 加上:7.47  猶太人得了戰利品和贓物，砍下尼加諾爾的頭，和他傲慢伸過右手，帶回來，懸在耶路撒冷附近。
 加上:7.48  百姓非常歡喜，慶祝那一天，有如喜慶的節日。
 加上:7.49  於是規定每年「阿達爾 」月十三日為慶祝日。
 加上:7.50  猶太地遂平安了一個時期。
    
 加上:8.1   猶大聽到羅馬人的名聲，聽說他們勢力強大，凡傾向他們的，都加以優待，無論誰來接近他們，就與他們友善；羅馬人因之勢力漸漸強大。
 加上:8.2   有人對他談及羅馬人在高盧作戰和所有英勇的事，怎樣征服高盧人，使他們進貢；
 加上:8.3   又在西班牙地方所行的一切，怎樣佔領那裏的金礦銀礦；
 加上:8.4   怎樣用計謀和毅力，佔領那離他們很遠的全地，又怎樣打敗由地極來攻打他們的國王，怎樣他們遭受創，又怎樣使其餘的國王，年年來進貢；
 加上:8.5   又怎樣戰敗斐理伯和基庭人的國王培爾叟，怎樣征服那些起來反抗他們的的人。
 加上:8.6   亞細亞王大安提約古，雖然帶有一百二十象。馬隊、戰車以及龐大的軍隊，來向他們交戰也被他們打敗，
 加上:8.7   甚至還被活捉了去，給他和將來繼位的加了重稅，還要交出人質，割讓土地：
 加上:8.8   就是將印度、瑪待、里狄雅及數處最好的地方割讓給歐默乃王。
 加上:8.9   又給猶大講及希臘人怎樣企圖殲滅他們，羅馬人一知道這事，就派一員大將去攻打；雙方交鋒，希臘人死亡甚眾，羅馬人就俘擄了他們的妻子兒女，搶掠了財物，佔領了他們的土地，毀壞了他們的堡壘，使他們成為奴隸，直至今日。
 加上:8.10  其餘各國和海島，凡是反抗過他們的，都被消滅，成為他們的奴隸。不過他們對自己的盟國和附庸國，卻保持友誼；
 加上:8.11  他們征服了遠近各國，凡聽到他們名聲的，沒有不畏懼的。
 加上:8.12  他們願意輔佐誰為王，誰就可以為王；願意誰廢棄，誰就被廢棄。他們的勢力實在強盛。
 加上:8.13  雖然如此，但是他們中，沒有一個戴冠冕，穿紫袍，因而自高自大。
 加上:8.14  他們設立了一個議院，天天有三百二十人，常在為人民議事，為人民謀福利。
 加上:8.15  每年委托一人，作自己的領袖管轄全國，眾人都服從他；
 加上:8.16  他們中沒有嫉妒，也沒有競爭。
 加上:8.17  猶大就選了阿科斯的孫子，若望的兒子歐頗竻摩和厄肋阿匝爾的兒子雅松，派遣他們到羅馬去，與羅馬人締結友好盟約，
 加上:8.18  希望羅馬人看出希臘國要使以色列作奴隸，因而協助他們擺脫希臘國的壓迫。
 加上:8.19  於是他們起程，行了很遙遠的路，才到達羅馬。走進議院，就進言說：
 加上:8.20  「猶大瑪加伯同他的兄弟和猶太民眾，打發我們到你們這裏來，為同你們建立同盟，締結和約，將我們列於你們的聯盟和友邦之中」
 加上:8.21  這種請求，大受議員的歡迎。
 加上:8.22  他們便將約文刻在銅板上，送到耶路撒冷，叫猶太人保存，作為和平聯盟的記念。其文如下：
 加上:8.23  「願羅馬人及猶太民族，在海陸上永遠幸福，願他們永無刀兵與敵對之事!
 加上:8.24  若羅馬或其領土上的同盟國先遇到戰事，
 加上:8.25  猶太國應在可能環境內，盡心幫助同盟國作戰；
 加上:8.26  應按羅馬人所決定的，不得給予或供應敵人食糧、武器、銀錢和船隻，且應盡自己的責任毫無所求。
 加上:8.27  同樣，若猶太國先遇到戰爭，羅馬人也應該在可能環境內，盡心幫助同盟國作戰。
 加上:8.28  按羅馬人所決定的，不得給予或供應敵軍食糧、武器、銀錢和船隻，且應盡自己的責任，不可詭詐。
 加上:8.29  根據這些話，羅馬人同猶太民族簽定了盟約。
 加上:8.30  假使日後，雙方願意有何增刪，經雙方同意後，所有增刪皆為有效。
 加上:8.31  關於德默特琉王對以色列人所行的惡事，我們已經向他寫信說：你為什麼壓迫我們的友邦和同盟猶太人呢﹖
 加上:8.32  若再控告你，我們必要為他們主持公道，而與你們海陸交戰。
    
 加上:9.1   德默特琉聽說，尼加諾爾已經陣亡，軍隊已覆沒，便再派巴基德和阿慕，率領右翼軍，到猶太地去。
 加上:9.2   他們沿著通往加里肋亞的大道前行，包圍了阿爾貝拉的買撒羅特，攻陷那地方，殺死很多人。
 加上:9.3   一百五十二年月，面對耶路撒冷安營。
 加上:9.4   但以後又拔營，領著步兵兩萬，騎兵兩千，前往貝爾則特。
 加上:9.5   同時猶大帶著精兵三千，在厄拉撒駐紮。
 加上:9.6   猶太人見敵人數眾多，的都很害怕，於是有許多人離營潛逃，剩下的慬八百人。
 加上:9.7   猶大見自己的軍隊潛逃，戢事又迫於眉睫，心中焦急，已來不及集合兵馬；
 加上:9.8   遂失意地對剩下的人說：「起來，去攻打敵人，也許能與他們對抗! 」
 加上:9.9   他們勸阻他說：「我們不能去! 現在只可逃命! 不如回去聯合我們的弟兄，再與他們決戰，因為我們人數太少! 」
 加上:9.10  說：「逃走! 我決不逃。若時機到來，我們要為我的們勇敢犧牲，決不可失掉我們的光榮」。
 加上:9.11  敵軍從營裏衝出，猶太人便去迎戰。這時敵騎分成兩翼，投石手與弓箭手行在軍隊前面，前鋒都是勇士，巴基德坐在右翼。
 加上:9.12  敵軍兩翼進攻時，吹起號角，猶大方面的人也吹起號角。
 加上:9.13  於是兩軍喊聲震地，從早到晚，在混戰中。
 加上:9.14  猶大見巴基德和軍隊主力都在右翼，就集合所有勇敢的人，專攻右翼；
 加上:9.15  右翼便他們擊潰，他們將敵人追到阿左托山。
 加上:9.16  敵軍左翼見右翼敗退，便轉身從背後追擊猶大及其軍隊。
 加上:9.17  戰事十分激烈，雙方死傷甚重。
 加上:9.18  猶大也陣亡了，其餘的人也都逃散。
 加上:9.19  約納堂便和息孟，將他們的兄弟猶大抬回，埋葬在摩丁城的祖塋裏。
 加上:9.20  全以色列都痛哭他，非常悲哀，一連多日哀悼他說：
 加上:9.21   「拯救以色列的英雄，怎會陣亡﹖」
 加上:9.22  猶大其餘的言行，所立戰功，英的事蹟，和他的偉大，都沒有記載出來，因為實在太多了。
 加上:9.23  猶大死後，以色列各地的歹徒，都蜂擁而起，作惡人也乘機而興，
 加上:9.24  因為那時正逢大荒年，當地的人都起而附和。
 加上:9.25  巴基德便選出一些歹徒，派定他們主管 那地方；
 加上:9.26  他們便搜查猶大的朋友，逮捕後，解到巴基德前，讓他報仇，虐待他們。
 加上:9.27  以色列從此遭受大難，這大難是他們沒有先知的那天起，從未遭遇過的。
 加上:9.28  於是猶大的眾朋友聚集起來，向約納堂說：
 加上:9.29  「自從你的兄弟猶大死後，沒有一個像他的人出來，抵抗我們的仇敵巴基德以及仇視我們民族的人。
 加上:9.30  所以我們今天推選你來代替他，作我們的首領，領導我們作戰」。
 加上:9.31  約納堂那時便接受了領袖的職位，起來代替他哥哥猶大。
 加上:9.32  巴基德一聽說事，便企圖殺害他。
 加上:9.33  約納堂和哥哥息孟以及他的眾同志，知道這個消息後，便逃到特科亞曠野，駐紮在阿斯法爾水池旁。
 加上:9.34  [巴德基在安息日知道了這事，便率領他的全軍，來到約旦河的彼岸]。
 加上:9.35  約納堂打發作軍長的哥哥若望，去求他的朋友納巴泰人，管理他們大批的裝備。
 加上:9.36  不料楊布黎人從默達巴出來，捉住若望，且搶去他的一切所有，帶著走了。
 加上:9.37  事後，有人報告約納堂及他的兄弟息孟說：「楊布黎人現在正要舉行隆重的婚禮，場面偉大，由紇達巴特迎取新娘，她是客納罕一個族長的女兒」。
 加上:9.38  那時他們便想起他們兄弟若望的血債，遂上去藏在山中隱密處。
 加上:9.39  舉目一望，看見一群喧嚷的人和大批的妝奩，新郎和他的眾朋友及兄弟，都出來迎接，其中有的敲鼓，有的奏樂，很多人還拿著武器。
 加上:9.40  猶太人便從埋伏的地方起來向他們衝去擊殺，他們傷亡的很多，其餘的都逃到山裏去了，猶太人便搶了所有的一切。
 加上:9.41  如此，婚事變成了喪事，樂聲變成了哀聲。
 加上:9.42  他們為自己的弟兄報了血仇以後，就回到約旦河的沼澤地方。
 加上:9.43  巴基德一聽說這事，在安息日率領大軍，來到約旦河畔。
 加上:9.44  那時約納堂向部下說：「現在應當起來，應為保全生命而戰，今天決不像昨天和前天一樣。
 加上:9.45  戰爭就在我們前後進行，這邊有約旦河水，那邊有沼澤和叢林，決沒有退卻的地方。
 加上:9.46  所以現在應向上天呼籲，援救你們脫離仇敵的手」。
 加上:9.47  雙方於是交戰，約納堂伸手要殺巴基德，巴基德卻脫身逃了。
 加上:9.48  約納堂便同他的部下，跳進約旦河，游到對岸，敵人並未過約旦河追擊。
 加上:9.49   那一天，巴基德方面死亡的約一千人。
 加上:9.50  巴基德回到耶路撒冷，在猶太各城修築防禦工程，又修建高樓，安上大門和閂，鞏居了耶利哥、厄瑪烏、貝特曷龍、提摩納達、法拉通、特豐等地所有的堡壘；
 加上:9.51  在那裏駐紮了守衛隊，與以色列為敵；
 加上:9.52  且鞏固了貝特族爾城，革則爾和耶路撒冷的堡壘，派軍隊駐紮在那裏，並貯存了食糧，
 加上:9.53  又把當地首領的孩子，帶去作質，囚禁在耶路撒冷的堡壘裏。
 加上:9.54  一百五十三年二月，阿爾基慕下令拆毀聖所內院的牆，就是拆毀先知們所修建的工程，但他只能開始拆牆，
 加上:9.55  因為那時候，阿爾基慕忽然得了病，他的工作因此被迫停止；他的口閉著，身子癱瘓，不能說話，也不能料理家事。
 加上:9.56  阿爾基慕就這些十分悽慘地死了。
 加上:9.57  阿爾基德見阿爾基慕已死，就回到國王那裏，猶太人地方因此兩年得享平安。
 加上:9.58  那時，猶太人中的一般歹徒又商議說：「看，約納堂和他的部下，已安心生活，一無所懼，所以現在我們要引巴基德來，一夜之間，把他們一網打盡」。
 加上:9.59  於是他們去向他建議。
 加上:9.60  巴基德起身，帶領大軍前來，同時暗中給他在猶太的一切同僚去信，叫他們逮捕約納堂和他的部下；但是他們沒有辦到，因為計劃已被洩漏。
 加上:9.61  約納堂的部下，反而從當地人中，逮捕了這事的罪魁五十名，盡行殺死。
 加上:9.62  約納堂和息孟及他的部下，隨後退入曠野，到了貝特巴息，將那裏已毀壞的地方，重加修建及鞏固。
 加上:9.63  巴基德知道了這事，就集合他的大軍，又通知猶太地的黨羽，
 加上:7.64  便來製造軍械，攻打了多日。
 加上:9.65  約納堂留下哥哥息孟在城裏把守，自己帶著一批人去了鄉下，
 加上:9.66  襲擊住在帳幕中的敖多默辣，和他的兄弟們，以及法息龍的後裔。這些人也隨他作戰，部隊也隨著擴大。
 加上:9.67  這些，息孟也率領部下，突出城外，焚毀了敵方的軍械。
 加上:9.68  於是雙方夾攻，巴基德大敗，因此十分懊喪，因為他的計劃與戰略都落了空，
 加上:9.69  便對那些給他獻計，勸他來此地的歹徒洩怒，將中許多人殺死，然後決意回國。
 加上:9.70  約納堂一知道了這事，就打發使者到他那裏，與他和談，要求交還俘擄。
 加上:9.71  巴基德接受了，也按他所說的話行了，還向他發誓，有生之日，不再謀害他。
 加上:9.72  遂把從前在猶太地擄去的俘擄，交還給約納堂，然後回本國去了；此後再不打算來犯猶太國境。
 加上:9.73  以色列地於是止息，約納堂住在米革瑪斯，開始治理百姓，且將歹徒由以色列中除盡。
    
 加上:10.1  一百六十年，安提約古的兒子亞歷山大厄丕法乃上去，佔領了仆托肋買，人民歡迎他在那裏為王。
 加上:10.2  德摩特琉王聽說這事，就集合大軍，去與他 交戰。
 加上:10.3  同時德摩特琉致書約納堂，言辭溫和，且提高他的權位，
 加上:10.4  因為德摩特琉說：「我們要趕快與他締結和好，免得他先與亞歷山大聯合，反抗我們，
 加上:10.5  又恐怕他還記念我們對他的兄弟及他的百姓所行的惡事」。
 加上:10.6  於是，便將調集軍隊及準備軍械的權柄交給約納堂，將他看作自己的同盟，又下令將堡壘裏的人質，交還給他。
 加上:10.7  約納堂來到耶路撒冷，當著百姓及住在堡壘裏的人面前，宣讀了這封書信。
 加上:10.8  堡壘裏的人一聽王給了他調集軍隊的權柄，都很害怕。
 加上:10.9  他們便將人質交還給約納堂，約納堂再轉交給各人的父母。
 加上:10.10 以後約納堂住在耶路撒冷，開始重修京城，使恢復舊觀。
 加上:10.11 他命令工人用方石修築垣牆和熙雍的四周，以作防禦；他們就這些作了。
 加上:10.12 住在巴基德所修建的堡壘裏的外方人，都已逃走，
 加上:10.13 各人都離開崗位，回到本國，
 加上:10.14 只在貝特族爾，還留下幾個背棄法律，不守誡命的人，因為那裏是避難藏身的地方。
 加上:10.15 那時，亞歷山大王聽到德摩允許給約納堂的事，同時還有人將約納堂及他弟兄們的作戰，英勇事跡和遭遇的打擊等，給他述說了，就說：
 加上:10.16 「難道我們還能找到這樣的一個人嗎﹖我們要使他成為我們的朋友，作我們的同盟! 」
 加上:10.17 遂寫信給約納堂，信上說：
 加上:10.18 「亞歷山大祝約納堂兄安好!
 加上:10.19 聽說你是英勇有為之士，適作我們的朋友。
 加上:10.20 現在我委任你作你的大司祭，並稱你是君王的朋友，──同時給他送來紫袍和金冠 ──願你關心我們的事，與我們保持友誼」。
 加上:10.21 一百六十年七月帳柵節，約納堂乃穿上聖服，調集軍隊，並準備大批武器。
 加上:10.22 德摩特琉一聽說這事，便憂悶地說：
 加上:10.23 「我們怎麼竟讓亞歷山大在我們之先與猶太人結為友好，作為後盾﹖
 加上:10.24 我也要用委婉的言辭，許以地位和禮品，給他們寫信，誘導他們也作我的助手」。
 加上:10.25 於是給猶太人寫了以下的信說：「德摩特琉祝猶太人民安好!
 加上:10.26 由於你們持守以前與我們訂立的條約，保持了我們之間的友誼，沒有與我們的仇敵聯合，我們聽了很是高興。
 加上:10.27 現在，若是你們繼續忠於我們，你們為我們作的一切，我們必破格還報：
 加上:10.28 給你們種種豁免，贈與你們各種禮品。
 加上:10.29 現在豁你們全猶太人的丁稅、鹽稅和王冠金。
 加上:10.30 由猶太本地，及劃歸猶太的撒馬黎雅和加里肋亞的三個地區，我所得出產的三分之一和樹上果子的一半，今日都一概豁免，由今日起直到永遠。
 加上:10.31 耶路撒冷應是聖的，所以這城及其四郊，免交什一和賦稅。
 加上:10.32 關於耶路撒冷堡壘的權利，我也放棄，讓與大司祭，他可任意委派自己選擇的人，駐在那裏護守。
 加上:10.33 凡自猶太地擄至我國的猶太人，我都恢復他們的自由，毫無代價，而且還豁免他們的賦稅和牲畜稅。
 加上:10.34 凡一切的節日、安息日、朔日、指定的慶日，以及各種慶節前後三日，為住在國內的一切猶太人，都成為享有特權與免稅的日子：
 加上:10.35 為一切事件，誰也無權干涉及騷擾他們中任何一人。
 加上:10.36 可招募三萬猶太人加入王家軍隊，所給軍餉，與一切王家軍隊同。
 加上:10.37 從這些人中，抽調一部份，分駐在國王的主要堡壘裏；再由這些人中，選拔一部份，出任國家信任的職位；還可將自己的人派作他們的官員和將領，按照自己的法律行事，正如王從前在猶太地命令過的一樣。
 加上:10.38 由撒馬黎雅境內，劃歸的三區，應與猶太合併為一，全受一人的統治，除大司祭外，不應聽從別人。
 加上:10.39 我將仆托肋買及其所屬，贈與耶路撒冷的聖所，其收入作為聖所所需的經費。
 加上:10.40 我每年由豐富之地納入王庫的銀錢，撥出一萬五千「協刻耳」。
 加上:10.41 凡前幾年，官員們所沒有繳納的銀錢，從現在起，他們都得交還，以作聖殿的經費。
 加上:10.42 此外，每年由聖所的收入內，徵收的五千銀錢也一概豁免，因為筆錢，應歸那些盡聖職務的司祭所有。
 加上:10.43 凡到耶路撒冷聖殿，或殿院內逃避債與私債的，都一律赦免；至於他在我國內的一切所有，仍歸他所有。
 加上:10.44 建築及修理聖所的工程，化費也由王支庫付。
 加上:10.45 凡為修建耶路撒冷的城牆，及其四周的堡壘，以及猶太各地的城牆，所用的經費，都由王庫支付」。
 加上:10.46 約納堂與百姓聽了這些話，既不相信，也不接受，因為都還記得：他加給以色列的一切災難，及怎樣虐待了他們。
 加上:10.47 何況亞歷山大首先與他們和談，於是他們擁護他，與他永結同盟。
 加上:10.48  那時亞歷山大王集合大軍，出發攻打德摩特琉。
 加上:10.49 兩王互相交鋒，亞歷山大的軍隊敗退，德摩特琉追趕，大獲勝利。
 加上:10.50 但亞歷山大仍繼續苦戰，直到日落，德摩特琉竟在這天陣亡。
 加上:10.51 亞歷山大於是派遣使者，到埃及王仆托肋米前，這這樣說：
 加上:10.52 「自從我回到祖國，便坐上了我祖先的寶座，因為我戰勝德摩特琉，得掌握主權，且佔領我們的土地。
 加上:10.53 原來我與他宣戰，打敗他和他的軍隊，就坐上他的王位；──
 加上:10.54 現在，讓我們彼此結好，請將你女兒嫁給我為妻，我做你的女婿，且將相稱你的禮物，送給你和她」。
 加上:10.55 仆托肋米王回答說：「你回歸祖國，登上你祖先王位的那一天，真是個好日子!
 加上:10.56 如今我要按你所寫的實行，可是靖你親到仆托肋買，我們好彼此會面，我要按你所說的，使你作我的女婿」。
 加上:10.57 一百六十二年，仆托肋米和他的女兒克婁帕達，離開埃及，來到仆托肋買。
 加上:10.58 亞歷山大王來歡迎他，他就把女兒克婁帕達給亞歷山大為妻，並在仆托肋買，按王禮隆重的舉行了婚禮。
 加上:10.59 那時，亞歷山大王也給約納堂寫信，請他來自己會面。
 加上:10.60 約納堂便堂堂正正地來到了仆托肋買，與二王會面，也給他們和他們的朋友，送來金銀和許多禮品，深得他們的歡心。
 加上:10.61 那時以色列有些歹徒，即違背法律的人，聚集起來控告他，無如國王置之不理，
 加上:10.62 王反命人脫去約納堂的衣服，給他穿上紫袍。人就照樣做了。
 加上:10.63 王又叫他坐在自己身邊，坰官員說：「你們陪著他往城裏去，宣佈說：無論因為什麼事，不得控告他；在一切事上，不得干擾他」。
 加上:10.64 那時，控告他的人，一見他身穿紫袍，享受的光榮如所宣佈的一樣，就都逃走了。
 加上:10.65 國王為光榮他，又將他列入一等朋友中，並且封他為統帥，為總督。
 加上:10.66 約納堂然後平安回到耶路撒冷，非常喜歡。
 加上:10.67 一百六十五年，德摩特琉的兒子德摩特琉，由克里特回到祖國。
 加上:10.68 亞歷山大王聽說這消息，很是憂愁，就回到安提約基雅去。
 加上:10.69  德摩特琉立阿頗羅尼為切肋敘利亞的總督。阿頗羅尼遂集合大軍，在雅摩尼雅紮營，且派人去見約納堂說：
 加上:10.70 「只有你起來攻擊我們，因為你的緣故，我為人恥笑，受人非難，你為什麼在山上向我們示威呢﹖
 加上:10.71 所以現在，如果你仗恃兵力，就請下到平原，到我們這裏，彼此交量一下，因為我有許多城池可倚恃。
 加上:10.72 你要查詢一下我是誰，其他作我們後盾的又是誰。人都說，你們決不能抵擋我們，因為你們的祖先，曾在自己的土地上，逃跑過兩次。
 加上:10.73 現在這平原裏沒有石頭，也沒有磐石，更沒有逃避的地方，你決不能抵擋騎兵，和這麼多的軍隊。
 加上:10.74 約納堂一聽使徒尼的這些話，勃大怒，挑選了二萬人，從耶路撒冷出發，他哥哥息孟也與他會合，給他助戰。
 加上:10.75 他便在約納堂對面紮了營。城裏的人關了城門，因為約培城內有阿頗羅尼的軍隊。猶太人於是攻城，
 加上:10.76 城中人心裏害怕，就開了門，約納堂遂佔領了約培。
 加上:10.77 阿頗羅尼聽說了這事，遂動員三千騎兵，一隊龐大的步兵，假作過路的樣式，向阿左托進發，卻突然開往平原，因為那裏有他所依仗的一大隊騎兵。
 加上:10.78 那時約納堂尾隨阿頗羅尼，也趕到阿左托，雙方軍隊於是交鋒，
 加上:10.79 阿頗羅尼曾留下一千騎兵，在他們背後埋伏。
 加上:10.80 約納堂也知道自己背後有埋伏；軍隊遂被包圍，從早到晚，受敵箭射擊。
 加上:10.81 但軍人受約納堂的命令，堅時不動，敵人的戰馬終於疲乏。
 加上:10.82 息孟於是引軍隊出擊，加入陣線，敵軍終因騎兵都已疲憊，大敗逃走。
 加上:10.83 騎兵在平原裏四散奔逃，逃到阿左托，進入他們的達貢廟逃命。
 加上:10.84 但是，約納堂焚毀了阿左托及其四周村鎮，得了其中的戰品，又將達廟和逃到裏面的人，都放火燒了。
 加上:10.85 這次死在刀下和燒死的，約有八千人。
 加上:10.86 約納堂離開那裏，又在阿市刻隆紮營，城裏的人都出來熱烈地歡迎他。
 加上:10.87 約納堂然後率領部下，帶著許多戰利品，回了耶路撒冷，。
 加上:10.88 亞歷山大王一聽說這事，就更加光榮約納堂；
 加上:10.89 就是將習慣應賜給君王貴戚的金釦，送給他；並且還將厄刻龍及其屬地，賜給他作為產業。
    
 加上:11.1  埃及王聚集了多海沙的大軍，和許多船隻，圖謀用詭計奪取亞歷山大的國土，歸屬自己的版圖；
 加上:11.2  他便一路揚言和平，往敘利亞進發，各城的居民都給他開門，迎接他，因為亞歷山大曾下令，要人歡迎他，因為是自己的岳父。
 加上:11.3  但是，每當仆托肋進入一城，就在那城內派上自己的軍隊駐守；
 加上:11.4  及至來到阿左托時，人便將焚毀了的達貢廟、阿左托和其周圍的廢壚，以及橫躺豎臥的屍體，和戰時被焚燒的遺骸，堆積在他要經過的路旁，指給他看；
 加上:11.5  並將約納堂行的事，陳述給王，意思要王懲罰他，王卻默然不語。
 加上:11.6  那時，約納堂又堂堂正正地來到了約培，與王會面；彼此請安，一起在那裏過宿。
 加上:11.7  約納堂陪伴君王，來到稱為厄婁特洛的河那裏，才返回耶路撒冷。
 加上:11.8  仆托肋米既佔領了沿海各城，直到臨海的色婁基雅，就對亞歷山大起了惡意，
 加上:11.9  於是派遣使者見德摩特琉王說：「請你來，我們彼此結為同盟，我要將嫁與亞歷山大的女兒給你為妻，你在你的祖國將要為王。
 加上:11.10 我後悔將我的女兒嫁給了他，因為他竟然謀害我」。
 加上:11.11 他誣枉亞歷山大，是因為他垂涎他的國土。
 加上:11.12 於是將自己的女兒搶去，嫁給德摩特琉，而與亞歷山大絕交；他們之間的仇恨就此公開了。
 加上:11.13 仆托肋米進了安提約基雅，戴上了亞細亞的王冠：這樣在他的頭上戴著埃及和亞西亞的兩頂王冠。
 加上:11.14 那時，亞歷山大正在基里正在基雅，因為那地方的人民發生了變亂。
 加上:11.15 但亞歷山大一聽說這事，就來與他交戰；仆托肋米也率領大軍來猛攻亞歷山大，將他擊敗。
 加上:11.16 亞歷山大便逃到阿刺伯，在那裏避難，仆托肋米於是勝利了。
 加上:11.17 阿刺伯人匝貝狄耳便砍了亞歷山大的頭，送給了仆托肋米。
 加上:11.18 三天後，仆托肋米也死了，他留在堡壘裏的埃及人，也被堡壘裏的本地人殺死。
 加上:11.19 德摩特琉遂登上王位，時在一百六十七年。
 加上:11.20 那時，約納堂召集猶太人，攻打耶路撒冷的堡壘；為攻打堡壘，製造了許多軍械。
 加上:11.21 有些懷恨自己百姓的歹徒，竟來到王前，將約納堂圍攻堡壘的事，向他報告了。
 加上:11.22 王聽了大怒，立刻動身，到了仆托肋買，給約納堂寫信，要他停止圍攻，且叫他趕快來仆托肋買，與他會面商談。
 加上:11.23 約納堂聽說後，仍下令繼續圍攻，選了以色列中的幾位長老和司祭，與他同去冒險，
 加上:11.24 且帶著金銀、衣服和許多別的禮品，前往仆托肋買，來會見君王，甚得君王的歡心。
 加上:11.25 這時，在百姓中有幾個歹徒，仍來控告他；
 加上:11.26 但是君王對他，仍如前王對他一樣，在自己的眾位朋友前讚揚他；
 加上:11.27 並且保證他仍作大司祭，仍享有從前所有的各種特殊榮譽，還將他列入王的一等朋友之中。
 加上:11.28 約納堂便要求王豁免猶太及撒馬黎雅三區的賦稅，而許給王三百「塔冷通」」
 加上:11.29 王應允了，並且關於這一切事，還給約納堂寫了以下的信說：
 加上:11.30 「德摩特琉王祝福約納堂和猶太民族安好!
 加上:11.31 關於你們的事，我們已給我們的親貴拉斯特乃去了信，如今我們將原文錄下，送給你們，使你們知道它的內容：
 加上:11.32 「德摩特琉王祝亞父拉斯托乃安好!
 加上:11.33 我們決意要善待猶太民族，因為他們是我們的朋友對我們保時了正義，且懷有善意。
 加上:11.34 因此，我們也將猶太地，及由撒馬黎雅劃歸猶太的阿斐賴瑪、里達和辣瑪塔因三區，以及一切屬鎮，歸於他們。凡到耶路撒冷祭獻的人，他們從前應向王繳納地產和樹上的果實等稅，現在我一律豁免。
 加上:11.35 其他凡歸於我們的什一之物、經常稅、鹽井稅、以及應歸於我們的王冠金等，從今日起，一概轄免。
 加上:11.36 凡此種種，由今日起，直到無限期，一概不得廢除』。
 加上:11.37 所以現在請你們費心，再將這件公文騰抄一份，送給約納堂，叫他放在聖山的顯明處」。
 加上:11.38 此後，德摩特琉見自己治理的國泰民安，無人造反，便將所有的軍隊遺散，各回本鄉，只有由異民海島招募來的外方軍隊例外，因而他父親的舊部隊都惱恨他。
 加上:11.39 那時，原先曾作亞歷山大同黨的特黎豐，見眾軍隊抱怨德摩特琉，遂去見教養亞歷山大幼子安提約古的阿刺伯人依瑪谷。
 加上:11.40 他摧逼孩子交給自己，使他繼承父親的王位；也將德摩特琉的一切作為，以及眾軍隊憤恨他的事，都給依瑪谷述說了。以後他在那裏也住了多日。
 加上:11.41 那時，約納堂遺人到德摩特琉王前，要求他將耶路撒冷堡壘裏及各營寨裏的人撤回，因為他們常攻擊以色列人。
 加上:11.42 德摩特琉遂差遺人到約納堂那裏槷說：「我不但對你和你的民族要作這些事，幾時我有好機會，我還要極力光榮你和你的民族。
 加上:11.43 現在更好請你派遣一些人，來幫助我出征，因為我的一切軍隊都已離去」。
 加上:11.44 約納堂便給他往安提約基雅調去三千勇兵；他們來到王前，王因為他們的來臨感到喜樂。
 加上:11.45 那時，約有十二萬市民，在城中心集合，想要殺死國王，
 加上:11.46 國王便躲到宮殿裏去。市民一佔據城中要道，即開始進攻。
 加上:11.47 國王遂請猶太人幫助，他們便一齊聚集到他跟前，然後分散到城裏，在那一天殺了約十萬人
 加上:11.48 也把城燒了，同時獲得了許多戰利品，且營救了國王。
 加上:11.49 城裏的人見猶太人佔據了城池，任意行事，都膽戰心驚，遂呼求國王說：
 加上:11.50 「請向我們伸出右手，叫猶太人停止攻擊我們和城池! 」
 加上:11.51 他們遂放下武器講和。這樣猶太人在國王及其民眾前受到然後帶著許多戰利品，回了耶路撒冷。
 加上:11.52 德摩特琉王於是又坐上王位，國家在他的統治下又安定了。
 加上:11.53 但是，他竟背棄了他所應許的一切，對約納堂也疏遠了，不但沒有對約納堂他所施的恩惠還報，反而處處為難。
 加上:11.54 此後，特黎豐便領著幼兒安提約古回來；安提約古於是稱王，戴上王冠。
 加上:11.55 此時德摩特琉所遺散的軍隊，都聚集起來，攻擊德摩特琉，德摩特琉只得轉身逃走。
 加上:11.56 特黎豐因而獲得了象隊，位據了安提約基雅。
 加上:11.57 那時，小安提約古給約納堂寫信說：「我立你為大司祭，派你管四區，將你
 加上:11.58 他給他送上一套金器和一套餐具，准他以金枉飲酒，穿紫袍，帶金釦；
 加上:11.59 又任命他哥哥息孟為總督，由提洛梯山直到埃及邊界，都由他管轄。
 加上:11.60 那時，約納堂出巡大河以西的各城各地，敘利亞的軍隊都聚集到他跟前，助他作戰，他來到阿市刻隆時，城裏的居民都熱烈地歡迎他。
 加上:11.61 他由此往迦薩去，迦薩的居民卻關閉城門；他就圍攻那城，放火燒了郊區，洗劫一空。
 加上:11.62 迦薩的居民遂要求約納堂，約納堂就同他們講和，只得將他們首領的孩子帶去，送到耶路撒冷作質。他走遍全境，直到大馬士革。
 加上:11.63 那時，約納堂聽說，德摩特琉的將領們，帶著大軍，來到加里肋亞的卡德士，迫他放棄自己的職務；
 加上:11.64 他就將他的哥哥孟留在那裏，自己迎敵去了。
 加上:11.65 息孟在貝特族爾對面紮營，攻打了多日，將那地封鎖。
 加上:11.66 貝特族爾人向他求和，息孟便同他們講和，將他們從那裏趕走，佔據了那城，並在城裏駐紮了軍隊。
 加上:11.67 同時約納堂和他的軍隊，在革乃撒爾湖畔紮營，第二天清早，抵達哈祚爾平原。
 加上:11.68 有一支外方人的軍隊到平原與他交戰，且在山下設下埋伏。當這支軍隊向猶太人衝來時，
 加上:11.69 埋伏的人忽然從埋伏的地方出來，與他們交戰。
 加上:11.70 約納堂的部下都逃散了，除軍長阿貝沙隆的兒子瑪塔提雅，和哈耳非的兒子猶大外，沒有剩下一個。
 加上:11.71 約納堂便撕破衣服，頭上撒土，且行祈禱。
 加上:11.72 然後轉過身來，向敵人進攻，使他們潰散而逃。
 加上:11.73 他逃散的部下一見，又回到他跟前，同他一起將敵人追趕到卡德士敵營，遂在那裏安了營。
 加上:11.74 那天外方軍隊死亡的，約有三千人。約納堂以後回了耶路撒冷。
    
 加上:12.1  約納堂見時局為自己有利，就挑選幾個人，打發他們到羅馬去，與羅馬人重修舊好。
 加上:12.2  為了這事，也給斯巴達人及
 加上:12.3  其他地方寫了信。
 加上:12.4  使者到了羅馬，進了元老院，說道：「大司祭約納堂和猶太人民，打發我們來，請你們與他們重修友好的盟約，如同從前一樣」
 加上:12.5  元老們就交給他們一封給各地官吏的公函，以便護送他們平安回到猶太地方。
 加上:12.6  約納堂寫給斯巴達人的信，原文如下：
 加上:12.7  「大司祭約納堂、民間長老、司祭及猶太其餘民眾，祝福斯巴達!
 加上:12.8  從前管轄你們的君王阿勒烏，致書大司祭敖尼雅時，曾稱你們是我們的弟兄，正如所附副本的一樣。
 加上:12.9  敖尼雅曾優待了被打發來的使者，也接受了談及聯盟友好的信件。
 加上:12.10 我們雖然不需要這些，因為我們手中的聖經作安慰；
 加上:12.11 但是，我們仍 願試驗一下，遺發使者到你們那裏去，為你們重建弟兄和朋友之誼，不致與你們疏遠，因為自從收到你們的來信後，到現在時間已經過了很久。
 加上:12.12 所以我們在節日，及其他法定日子，當獻祭和祈禱時，時常不斷記念你們；原來記念自己的弟兄，本是理所當然的。
 加上:12.13 我們也為了你們的榮耀而喜樂。
 加上:12.14 至於我們，當種種困難、連年戰爭、四面楚歌、鄰國攻打我們的時候，
 加上:12.15 在這些戰爭中，我們不願意麻煩你們和我們其他的同盟及友邦，
 加上:12.16 因為我們有上天的助佑，來協助我們，拯救我們脫離敵人的手，使敵人屈服。
 加上:12.17 所以我們才選派安提約古的兒子奴默尼，和雅松的兒子安提帕特，打發他們到羅馬人那裏去，跟他們重立昔日的友好同盟。
 加上:12.18 我們也吩咐他們，到你們那裏去，向你們致敬，並且也把關於重建我們之間弟兄友誼的書信，呈給你們，也請你們對這事給我們一個答覆 」。
 加上:12.19 這是從前寄給敖尼雅的信的副本：
 加上:12.20 「斯巴達王阿勒烏祝大司祭敖尼雅安好!
 加上:12.21 在論及斯巴達人和猶太人一文獻上發現：這兩個民族原來是弟兄，因為他們都是亞巴郎的後裔。
 加上:12.22 現在我們既然知道這事，就請你們更好將你們的昇平情況，寫給我們，
 加上:12.23 我們也寫給你們：凡你們的牲畜和財產，都是我們的，也都是你們的；所以我們吩咐了使者，將這些事呈報給你們」。
 加上:12.24 約納堂聽說：德摩特琉的將領，帶著比以前更多的軍隊回來，要與他作戰，
 加上:12.25 就離開耶路撒冷，往哈瑪特地方去迎，因為他不肯讓他們有侵入自己邊境的時候。
 加上:12.26 並且打發偵探到敵方軍營裏去，他們回來給他報告說：敵人決意要在夜間進擊。
 加上:12.27 太陽西落時，約納堂吩咐部下戒備，整攜帶武器，準備作戰，在軍營四周，上哨兵。
 加上:12.28 敵人聽說約納堂和部下都準備作戰，怕得膽戰心驚，便在自己營中點起火，逃走了。
 加上:12.29 約納堂和他的部下，先只沝火光，直到早晨才知道敵人已經逃走。
 加上:12.30 約納堂就去追趕他們，但沒有追上，因為他們早已渡過厄婁特洛河
 加上:12.31 約納堂轉而攻擊稱為匝巴泰的阿刺伯人，將他們打敗，搶掠了他們的財物。
 加上:12.32 之後，便又出發，來到大馬士革，走遍全境。
 加上:12.33 同時息孟也出征，直到阿市刻隆和臨近的堡壘，然後轉向約培，佔據了那城。
 加上:12.34 因為聽說，有人願將此堡壘交給德摩特琉的羽黨，遂在那裏派軍隊把守。
 加上:12.35 約納堂回來之後，召集民間長老，與他們議決，要在猶太修建一些堡壘，
 加上:12.36 加高耶路撒冷的圍牆，在堡壘與城之間，修築一堵高牆，將堡壘與城分開，使堡壘孤立，叫其的人不能買賣。
 加上:12.37 猶太人便修城，因為溪旁的東牆已經倒塌；也把稱加斐納達的地區加以重修。
 加上:12.38 那時，息孟在舍斐拉也重修了哈狄得，加以設防，還安上門和閂。
 加上:12.39 那時，特黎豐企圖作亞西亞王，自戴王冠，而同時向安提約古下手，
 加上:12.40 卻怕約納堂不容許他如此作，反而來攻打他，便設計擒拿約納堂，將他殺死；遂起程來到貝特商，與他交戰。
 加上:12.41 特黎豐見約納堂帶著大軍前來，不敢向他下手；
 加上:12.42 便以禮接待他，將他推荐給自己的眾朋友，送他禮物，還命自己的朋友和自己的軍隊，都要服從他，如同服從自己一樣，
 加上:12.43 然後對約納堂說：「我們之間，既無戰事，你為什麼煩勞這麼多的人呢﹖
 加上:12.44 現在你打發他們各回本家吧! 為你自己只選少數的人跟隨你，同我一起往傳給我去，我要將這座城，及其他堡壘、軍隊和一切官吏，都交給你；然後我回去，因為我原是為這事而來的」。
 加上:12.45 約納堂相信了他，就按他的話作了，遺散了軍隊，讓他們回到猶太地，
 加上:12.46 只為自己留下三千人，其中兩千人留在加里肋亞，與他同行的只有一千人。
 加上:12.47 一進傳給我城，傳給我人便關了城門，將他捉住，用刀將與他同來的眾人都殺了。
 加上:12.48 同時，特黎豐又派步兵和騎兵，前往加里肋亞和大平原，去消滅約納堂的一黨羽。
 加上:12.49 這些人雖已知道約納堂和跟送他的人，都被殺死，但仍然彼此鼓勵，整隊而出，準備決一死戰。
 加上:12.50 追趕他們的敵人，一見猶太人為要保全性命而決一死戰，就折回去了。
 加上:12.51 這些人因此才平安回到猶太地，他們都哀悼約納堂和跟從他的人，同時也非常恐懼；全以色列也都表示哀痛。
 加上:12.52 那時，他們四鄰所有的異民，都想滅絕猶太人說：「他們既沒有領袖，又沒有人幫助，現在我們應該去攻打他們，將他們的遺蹟由人間除去」。
    
 加上:13.1  息孟聽說特黎豐集合大軍，要來掃蕩猶太地，
 加上:13.2  又見百姓戰兢害怕，就上了耶路撒冷，召集民眾，
 加上:13.3  勸他們說：「你們都知道，我與我的兄弟及我父全家，為法律，為聖所所作的事，所經的戰爭和艱難。
 加上:13.4  為這個緣故，我所有的弟兄，都為以色列而殉難，只剩下我一人。
 加上:13.5  現在，在整個災難期中，我決不顧惜我的生命，雖然我並不比我的兄弟們強，
 加上:13.6  但是，我要為我的民族，為聖所，並為你們的妻子兒女報仇，因為一切的異民，都為了仇恨我們，而聚集起來，要消滅我們」。
 加上:13.7  民眾聽了這些話，精神都振作起來，
 加上:13.8  大聲回答說：「你要代替你的兄弟猶大和約納堂，作我們的領袖，
 加上:13.9  為我們作戰。凡你吩咐的，我們都要照辦」。
 加上:13.10 息孟於是召集眾戰士，又摧促人們趕快完成耶路撒冷的城牆，並在四周設防。
 加上:13.11 他又打發阿貝沙隆的兒子約納堂，帶著足夠的軍隊，到約培去，將城中的人趕走，然後駐紮在那裏。
 加上:13.12 特黎豐離開仆托肋買，帶著大軍，要侵入猶太地，且押著約納堂與他同去。
 加上:13.13 那時，息孟在 平原 對面的哈狄得紮營。
 加上:13.14 特黎豐知道息孟起來，承繼了弟弟約納堂的職位，準備與自己決戰，就發使者到他那裏說：
 加上:13.15 「我們逮捕了你弟弟約納堂，是因為他在所盡的職務上，欠了國王的銀子。
 加上:13.16 現在你若送來一百「塔冷通」銀子，並將他的兩個孩子送來作質，我們就釋放他，免得他被釋放後，再背叛我們」。
 加上:13.17 息孟明知使者對他們說的，都是欺詐的話，但仍派人去取銀錢，並將孩子帶走，免得惹得民眾的怨恨說：
 加上:13.18 「約納堂死了 ，是因為息孟沒有將銀錢和孩子送去」。
 加上:13.19  所以他便將孩子和一百「塔冷通」銀子送去；可是特黎豐這騙子，並沒有釋放約納堂。
 加上:13.20 此後，特黎豐仍要進侵猶太疆域，加以掃蕩，便在通往阿多辣去的路上，繞道而行；但是，不論哪裏去，息孟和他的軍隊總是追蹤而至。
 加上:13.21 那時，堡壘裏的人打發使者到特黎豐那裏，摧他趕快經過曠野，來到他們那裏，並將食糧給他們送來。
 加上:13.22 特黎豐就準備了他的全部馬隊前往。但是那一夜，大雪紛飛，因此不能前進，遂起程往基肋阿得去了。
 加上:13.23 當他臨近巴斯加瑪時，將約納堂殺死，就埋葬在那裏。
 加上:13.24 特黎豐就回國去了。
 加上:13.25 息孟遺人去運回他弟兄骨骸，將他埋葬在他祖先的摩丁城裏。
 加上:13.26 全以色列舉哀痛弔他，哀哭多日。
 加上:13.27 之後息孟在他父親與他兄弟們的墳墓上，用前後光檡的石頭，修了一座想當大的記念碑，從遠處可以望見。
 加上:13.28 他為父母和四個兄弟，遇立了七座金字塔，彼此相對；
 加上:13.29 且為塔作了一些裝飾品，就是在四周，立了一些大石柱，石柱上刻了武器，作為永久的記念；又在武器旁，彫刻了船像，使航海的人都可以看到。
 加上:13.30 息孟在摩丁修建的這座墳墓，至今猶存。
 加上:13.31 特黎豐用詭計對待幼主安提約古，終於將幼王殺害，
 加上:13.32 篡了王位，戴上亞西亞的王冠，使當地遭受到大害。
 加上:13.33 息孟修建猶太各處的堡壘，全用高樓巨牆圍起，安上門和閂，又在堡壘內諸藏了食糧。
 加上:13.34 息孟然後選派幾個人，去見德摩特琉王，要求他豁免本地的賦稅，因為特黎豐的一切所為，無異劫掠。
 加上:13.35 德摩特琉王便按照他的要求，給他寫了下面的信，答覆他說：
 加上:13.36 「德摩特琉王祝列王的朋友──息孟大司祭，長老及猶太民族安好!
 加上:13.37 你們送的金冠和金棕櫚枝我們已經收到。我們業已準備好，要同你們盡力和好，要以書面通知官吏，豁免你們的賦稅。
 加上:13.38  凡從前給你們規定的，仍為有效；你們修建的堡壘，仍歸你們所有。
 加上:13.39  截至今日止，你們無知的錯誤與罪過，我們都一律赦免，也給你們所應繳的王冠金；假如在耶路撒冷還有其他的雜稅，也一概不再徵收。
 加上:13.40 如果你們中間，有適於作我們侍衛的人，都可錄用；希望我們之間，常有和平」。
 加上:13.41 一百七十年，異民的重軛，由以色列身上解除了。
 加上:13.42 民眾於是在文書及扙約上，開始寫：猶太人的大司祭、大元帥、領袖息孟元年。
 加上:13.43 那時，息孟安營攻打革則爾，派軍隊將城包圍，也造了戰樓，豎在城前，攻破了一座碉，而將城佔領。
 加上:13.44 戢樓裏的士兵，於是躍入城中，城中一時大亂。
 加上:13.45 城裏的居民，撕破了衣服，帶著妻子兒女上了城，大聲呼喊，祈求息孟同他們講和，
 加上:13.46 說：「請不要照我們的惡行，對我們，而照你的仁慈對待我們吧! 」
 加上:13.47 息孟便他們講和，停止攻擊，只把他們從城裏趕走，將有偶像的房屋，都洗滌潔淨；以後，唱著讚美詩與祝福詞，進了城。
 加上:13.48 先清除城內一切不潔之物，然後使一些守法的人住在裏面，並加強防禦工事，也在裏面為自己修了一座房屋。
 加上:13.49 耶路撒冷堡壘裏的人，因不能在那地區出入買賣，非常飢餓，甚至有許多人餓死了。
 加上:13.50 他們於是呼求息孟講和，息孟就同他們講和；將他們由堡壘趕出，掃除了穢物，清潔了堡壘。
 加上:13.51 一百七十一年二月二十三日，猶太人興高采烈地，拿著棕櫚枝，彈著琴瑟，敲著鐃鈸，拉著提琴，唱著詩歌，進入堡壘，因為大仇敵已從以色列肅清。
 加上:13.52 息孟規定每年要歡樂地舉行這一天。他又加強靠近堡壘的聖殿山，便部下住在那裏。
 加上:13.53 息孟見自己的兒子若望已經成人，於是派他作全軍統帥，叫他駐紮在革則爾。
    
 加上:14.1  一百七十年，德摩特琉王調集軍隊，開往瑪待，以求兵源，好與特黎豐決戰。
 加上:14.2  波斯王硬碟瑪待王阿爾撒革聽說德摩特琉已侵入他的邊境，就派遣自己一員大將去捉他。
 加上:14.3  這位大將前往，擊敗了德摩特琉的軍隊，將他捉住，解到阿爾撒革王前，阿爾撒革他囚在監裏。
 加上:14.4  息孟劫政期間，猶太國泰民安，他只謀求自己的福利，因此對他的統治，人心悅誠服，他的榮耀一生常存。
 加上:14.5  除此榮耀外，又佔據了約培，建為海港，闢作通往海島的口岸；
 加上:14.6  他開拓了本國的疆域，全國都在他權下。
 加上:14.7  他安置了大批戰俘，征服了革則爾、貝特族爾和耶路撒冷的堡壘；除去城中的不潔，沒有人能敵抗他。
 加上:14.8  人都平安耕種田地，土地按時出產，平原上的樹木依時結果。
 加上:14.9  老者閒坐街頭，眾人談論公益，少年身穿盛服和軍裝。
 加上:14.10 他為各城儲存食糧，用防禦工事鞏固城池；因此，他的名聲傳遍了天涯地角。
 加上:14.11 他使本國得享平安，以色列人皆大歡喜。
 加上:14.12  每人安坐在自己的葡萄樹及無花果樹下，無人前來驚嚇。
 加上:14.13 那時，國內敵人已經絕跡，列王已被擊退。
 加上:14.14 凡國內低下小民，他都予以扶持；他尋求法律，而隡除一切惡徒敗類；
 加上:14.15 他儘量使聖殿壯觀，增添聖所裏的器皿。
 加上:14.16 羅馬人及斯巴達人聽說約納堂死了，都很哀傷。
 加上:14.17 他們一聽說他哥哥息孟繼任作司祭，掌管國家及各城邑，
 加上:14.18 便用銅給他寫信，重新與他締結友好盟約，就如從前與他弟弟猶大和約納堂所締結的盟約一樣。
 加上:14.19 這信就在耶路撒冷會眾前宣讀了。
 加上:14.20 斯巴達人送來的信；，抄錄如下：「斯巴達人的首領及各城邑，祝大司祭息孟各各位長老司祭及其他猶太人民兄弟們安好!
 加上:14.21 你們派到我國來的使者，將你們的光榮尊威，一一告訴了我們；我們對他們的光臨，都很喜歡。
 加上:14.22 他們所說的話，我們也都這樣記在國會大事錄上：『猶太人的使者，安提約古的兒子奴默尼，與雅松的兒子安提帕特，來到我們這裏，為與我們重訂友好盟約，
 加上:14.23 百姓對他們曾予以隆重熱烈的歡迎，且將他們的話，記載在國會檔案內，為給斯巴達作記念』。我們也將這文伴的副本，給大司祭息孟呈寫一份」。
 加上:14.24 此後，息孟又染1奴默尼赴羅馬，他帶有大金盾一座，價值約一千「米乃」，便與他們訂立同盟。
 加上:14.25 民眾一聽到這些事，就說：「我們要怎樣感謝息孟和他的兒子們呢﹖
 加上:14.26 因為他與他的兄弟們以及他父親的全家，都表現了英勇的行為，打敗了以色列的仇敵，給以色列奠定了自由」。於是他們將這史蹟刻於銅版，嵌在熙雍山的石柱上。
 加上:14.27 其原文如下：「一百七十二年，大司祭息孟三年，在阿撒辣默耳，
 加上:14.28 有人在司祭、百姓、民眾的首領及全國長老盛大集會時，通告我們說：
 加上:14.29 當國內不斷戰爭中，約阿黎布的後裔，瑪塔提雅的兒子息孟，和他的兄弟們，為了支持並維護聖所和法律，冒著性命的危險，抵抗了民族的仇敵，使自己的民族獲得了莫大的光榮。
 加上:14.30 約納堂統一自己的國家，作了他們的大司祭，歸到他親屬那裏之後，
 加上:14.31 猶太人的敵人，便企圖進佔他們的國境，伸手侵犯聖所；
 加上:14.32 那時息孟起來，為自己的民族而戰，花盡了自己的許多財產，裝了自己人民中的勇士，發給他們糧餉。
 加上:14.33 他曾在猶太各城邑，並在猶太邊境上的貝特族爾設防；敵人從前曾在那裏貯藏過武器，所以他便在那裏派了猶太人把守。
 加上:14.34 他又鞏固了靠海的約培，和位於阿左托的革則爾；敵人從前曾盤踞在那裏，所以他就派猶太人固住在那裏，竹戈他們所需要的一切，他都給他們準備了。
 加上:14.35 民眾見到息孟的忠誠，及為自己的民族所獲得的光榮，便擁護他作自己的領袖他大司祭，因為他行了這一切事；因為他對自己的民族，持守正義與忠誠；因為他想盡了一切方法，高自己的百姓。
 加上:14.36 他在世時，凡他所的無不順利；他將異民從國內趕走，又趕走在耶路撒冷達味城內為自己建造堡壘的人，因為他們時常從堡壘裏出來，污辱聖所的四周，侵犯聖所的聖潔。
 加上:14.37 他派猶太士兵在堡壘裏駐守，為了國家與城堡的安全，還鞏固了這座堡壘，更加高耶路撒冷的城垣。
 加上:14.38 德摩特琉王也委任他為大司祭，
 加上:14.39 將他列為朋友之一，加給他很大的光榮；
 加上:14.40 因為君王曾聽說：羅馬人稱猶太人為朋友，為同盟，為兄弟；又聽說他們曾熱烈地歡迎息孟的使者。
 加上:14.41 猶太人和司祭們，都喜歡息孟常作他們的首領和大司祭，直到一位忠誠的先知興起為止。
 加上:14.42 也喜歡息孟作他們的統帥，要他管理聖所，要他委派人員執行政務，管理疆域、軍械與堡壘；
 加上:14.43 喜歡他管理聖所，所有的人都聽從他，都以他的名義，書寫國內一切公文，並且使他穿上紫袍，戴上金飾。
 加上:14.44 無論是平民或司祭，不得廢棄上述任何一項。他出的命令不反對。沒有他的許可，不得擅自在國內召集會議；不得身穿紫袍，頭戴金冠。
 加上:14.45 若有人反對此事，或違反其中任何一項，便是罪犯。
 加上:14.46 全民眾都贊成給予息孟按這些話實行的權柄。
 加上:14.47 息孟接受了，也樂意作大司祭，作猶太人及眾司祭的統帥和元首，主理一切事務」。
 加上:14.48 遂命人將這篇文字，刻於銅板，嵌在所牆壁的顯明處，
 加上:14.49 並將副本放在銀庫裏，由息孟及其子孫保管。
    
 加上:15.1  德摩特琉王的兒子安提約古，從海島上致書給猶太人的首領息孟大司祭，和一切猶太人民，
 加上:15.2  內容如下：「安提約古王祝大司祭兼首領息孟及猶太人安好!
 加上:15.3  昔有些歹徒統治了我們的祖國，我決意要將王國奪回，恢復原狀：為此，我招募許多軍隊，準備許多戢船，
 加上:15.4  決意要登陸，向那些破壞了我國領土，使國內許多城邑變成廢壚的人報仇。
 加上:15.5  所以，凡過去先王對你所轄免的一切賦稅，對你所轄免的任何其他貢品，現在我都加以追認。
 加上:15.6  我還准許你，為你本國製造自己的貨幣。
 加上:15.7  耶路撒冷及聖所是自由區；凡你所製造的武器，所建築的及你現在佔據的堡壘，仍屬於你。
 加上:11.8  凡你所久王的債，以及你將來應給王繳納的，自以後，永遠豁免。
 加上:15.9  幾時我們光復了王國，我還要盛大地光榮你、你的和聖殿，使你們的光榮彰顯於天下」。
 加上:15.10 一百七十四年，安提約古進軍祖國，一切軍隊都來歸順他，以致跟隨特黎豐的人很少。
 加上:15.11 安提約古王追擊他，他只得逃到臨海的多辣去了。
 加上:11.12 因為他見禍患臨頭，軍隊又背離了他。
 加上:11.13 安提約古便面對多辣紮營，跟從他的有步兵十二萬，騎兵八千。
 加上:11.14 他將這城包圍，海中的戢也在迫進，海陸一起夾攻，不准任何人出入。
 加上:15.15 那時，奴默尼和他的同伴，從羅馬回來，帶著邦致君王各邦國的書信，書信上寫道：
 加上:15.16 「羅馬執政路基猶祝仆托肋米王安好!
 加上:15.17 息孟大司祭和猶太人民，派遣猶太使者，如我們的朋友與友邦一樣，來到我們這裏，重訂以前友好的同盟。
 加上:15.18 他們還帶來一座一千「米乃」的金盾。
 加上:15.19 所以我們樂意寫信通告各位君王，各邦國：不可對猶太人圖謀不軌，不可攻打他們、他們的城邑和國家，也不可與敵人締結同盟。
 加上:15.20 我們樂意接受他們的金盾。
 加上:15.21 所以，若有歹徒，從他們國內逃你們那裏，你們應將他們交與息孟大司祭，使他按自己的法律懲治」。
 加上:15.22 執政者也將這事，寫給德摩特琉王、阿塔、阿黎雅辣特和阿爾撒革，
 加上:15.23 也寫給各國，即散仆撒默、斯巴達人、德羅、明多、息基雍、加黎雅、撒摩、旁非雅、里基雅、哈里納索、洛多、法色里、科斯、息德、阿辣、哥爾提納、克尼多、塞浦路斯、基肋乃等。
 加上:15.24 他們還將這信給息孟大司祭抄寫了一份。
 加上:15.25 同時，安提約古在多辣附近紮營，不斷進軍攻城，並且製造軍械，包圍特黎豐，使他不能出入。
 加上:15.26 這時，息孟派精兵兩千來助戰，同時還贈送大批軍隊。
 加上:15.27 無如安提約古不肯接受，反而廢除了以前與息孟訂立的一切盟約，待他如陌生人。
 加上:15.28 安提約古派遣他的朋友阿特諾彼，去見他與他商討說：「你們佔據了我王國的城邑約培、革則爾和在耶路撒冷的堡壘，
 加上:15.29 蹂躝了那些區域，在國內製造了嚴重的災禍，還在王國內佔領了許多地方。
 加上:15.30 所以，你們應該歸還你們所奪去的城邑，並將你們在猶太境外由佔領地區所收到的稅交出。
 加上:15.31 若不然，就得付五百「塔冷通」銀子作代價，再為因你們破壞而遭的損失，及他們由城中所收的稅，另繳五百；再不然，我們就要來攻打你們」。
 加上:15.32 王的朋友阿特諾彼，來到耶路撒冷，一見息孟的尊威、金杯銀爵，以及許多待從，很是驚奇，便向息孟報告了國王的話。
 加上:15.33 息孟回答他們說：「我們從來沒有別人的財物，那都是我們祖先的產業，不過被敵人無理地強佔了一些時候，
 加上:15.34 我們只乘機奪回我們的祖業而已。
 加上:15.35 至於你所要的約培和革則爾，雖然二城嚴重地危害了人民和我國，但我們仍將付出一百「塔冷通」的代價」。
 加上:15.36 使者一句話也沒有回答他，氣憤地回到國王那裏，將這些話，和息孟的尊嚴，以及他所見的一切，向他報告了；王即勃然大怒。
 加上:15.37 以後，特黎豐上船，逃到敖托息雅去了。
 加上:15.38 王便籹派耕德巴為海濱地帶的總司令，將步兵和騎兵都交給他，
 加上:15.39 命令他面對猶太紮營，又命他修築克德龍，鞏固門戶，攻打猶太人民；然後，王親追趕特黎豐去了。
 加上:15.40 耕德巴來到雅木尼雅，開始騷擾百姓，侵入猶太，捕殺人民。
 加上:15.41 他按王吩咐他的修築了克德龍，將騎兵與步兵屯駐在那裏，以便巡邏猶太的通道。
    
 加上:16.1  若望由革則爾上來，將德巴所作的事情，報告給父親息孟；
 加上:16.2  息孟就叫來自己的兩個大兒子猶大和若望，向他們說：「我與我的兄弟和我的全     家，從幼年一直到今天，攻打了以色列的仇人，事在我們手裏很是順利，因     此我們屢次拯救了以色列。
 加上:16.3  現在我老了，因上天的仁慈，你們正在壯年，你們要代替和我的兄弟，出去為我們的民族作戰，願上天的助佑常與你們同 在」。
 加上:16.4  息孟從國中選出兩萬步兵和騎兵，便向耕德巴進軍，當晚在摩丁過宿。
 加上:16.5  清早起來，進軍平原時，看，有一大隧步兵和騎兵與他們相遇，雙方之間，只隔一條小河。
 加上:16.6  若望與部隧面對敵人紮營。他見部隧不敢過河，就自己先過去，眾人見他如此，也就隨著他過去。
 加上:16.7  他把部隧分佈在步兵中間，因為敵人的騎兵非常多。
 加上:16.8  號角一響，一起進攻，耕德巴和他的軍隊敗退，傷亡甚眾，剩下的便逃到堡壘裏。
 加上:16.9  那時，若望因哥哥猶大受了傷，就追趕他們，一直追到耕德巴修建的克德龍。
 加上:16.10 還有些敵人逃到阿左托田野的碉樓裏去，若望放火把它燒了，敵軍大約死了兩千人，然後若望平安回到猶太。
 加上:16.11 阿步波的兒子仆托肋米，受任為耶利哥的總督，他金銀很多，
 加上:16.12 因為他是大司祭的女婿。
 加上:16.13 這人心高氣傲，想作全國之主，企圖用詭計陷害息孟和他的兒子們，將他們除掉。
 加上:16.14 那時息孟正在出巡全國各城，料理各城的事務；一百七十七年十一月，即「舍巴特」月，息孟與他的兒子瑪塔提雅和猶大下去，到了耶利哥。
 加上:16.15 阿步波的兒子，便用詭計將他們接到自己建造而名叫多克的小堡壘裏，給他們大擺盛筳，並在那裏埋伏下一些人。
 加上:16.16 當息孟和他的兒子們都喝醉時，仆托肋米同部下起來，拿著軍隊，進了餐廳，衝向息孟，就將他與他的兩個兒子，以及幾個侍從都殺了。
 加上:16.17 他作這嚴重背信負義的事，實在是以惡報善。
 加上:16.18 於是，仆托肋米寫信將這事報告給國王，以便給他派兵前來助戰，將將國王和井城邑，交給國王。
 加上:16.19 他另派人到革則爾去殺害若望；又給千夫長去信，他們來歸順自己，也送給他們金銀和禮物。
 加上:16.20 又派人去佔領耶路撒冷和聖殿山。
 加上:16.21 但是，早已有人先到了革則爾，把他父親和兄弟被殺的消息，報告給若望，而且還說：「他還派人來殺害你」。
 加上:16.22 人聽後大驚，便捉住來殺害他的人，將他們殺了，因為他已經知道他們圖謀殺害他。
 加上:16.23 若望其餘的言行、戰功、所行的英勇事蹟，修築的城牆垣，以及他的所作所為，
 加上:16.24 都記載在他承繼他父親為大司祭後，任大司祭的年鑑上。 [瑪加伯上完篇]


 1mc:1.       [1 Maccabees]    13 chapters   [瑪加伯上]   [英文版]
   
 1mc:1.1     After Alexander the Macedonian, Philip's son, who came from the land of Kittim, had defeated Darius, king of the Persians and Medes, he became king in his place, having first ruled in Greece.
 1mc:1.2     He fought many campaigns, captured fortresses, and put kings to death.
 1mc:1.3     He advanced to the ends of the earth, gathering plunder from many nations; the earth fell silent before him, and his heart became proud and arrogant.
 1mc:1.4     He collected a very strong army and conquered provinces, nations, and rulers, and they became his tributaries.
 1mc:1.5     But after all this he took to his bed, realizing that he was going to die.
 1mc:1.6     He therefore summoned his officers, the nobles, who had been brought up with him from his youth, to divide his kingdom among them while he was still alive.
 1mc:1.7     Alexander had reigned twelve years when he died.
 1mc:1.8     So his officers took over his kingdom, each in his own territory,
 1mc:1.9     and after his death they all put on royal crowns, and so did their sons after them for many years, causing much distress over the earth.
 1mc:1.10    There sprang from these a sinful offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus, once a hostage at Rome. He became king in the year one hundred and thirty-seven of the kingdom of the Greeks.
 1mc:1.11    In those days there appeared in Israel men who were breakers of the law, and they seduced many people, saying: "Let us go and make an alliance with the Gentiles all around us; since we separated from them, many evils have come upon us."
 1mc:1.12    The proposal was agreeable;
 1mc:1.13    some from among the people promptly went to the king, and he authorized them to introduce the way of living of the Gentiles.
 1mc:1.14    Thereupon they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem according to the Gentile custom.
 1mc:1.15    They covered over the mark of their circumcision and abandoned the holy covenant; they allied themselves with the Gentiles and sold themselves to wrongdoing.
 1mc:1.16    When his kingdom seemed secure, Antiochus proposed to become king of Egypt, so as to rule over both kingdoms.
 1mc:1.17    He invaded Egypt with a strong force, with chariots and elephants, and with a large fleet,
 1mc:1.18    to make war on Ptolemy, king of Egypt. Ptolemy was frightened at his presence and fled, leaving many casualties.
 1mc:1.19    The fortified cities in the land of Egypt were captured, and Antiochus plundered the land of Egypt.
 1mc:1.20    After Antiochus had defeated Egypt in the year one hundred and forty-three, he returned and went up to Israel and to Jerusalem with a strong force.
 1mc:1.21    He insolently invaded the sanctuary and took away the golden altar, the lampstand for the light with all its fixtures,
 1mc:1.22    the offering table, the cups and the bowls, the golden censers, the curtain, the crowns, and the golden ornament on the facade of the temple. He stripped off everything,
 1mc:1.23    and took away the gold and silver and the precious vessels; he also took all the hidden treasures he could find.
 1mc:1.24    Taking all this, he went back to his own country, after he had spoken with great arrogance and shed much blood.
 1mc:1.25    And there was great mourning for Israel, in every place where they dwelt,
 1mc:1.26    and the rulers and the elders groaned. Virgins and young men languished, and the beauty of the women was disfigured.
 1mc:1.27    Every bridegroom took up lamentation, she who sat in the bridal chamber mourned,
 1mc:1.28    And the land was shaken on account of its inhabitants, and all the house of Jacob was covered with shame.
 1mc:1.29    Two years later, the king sent the Mysian commander to the cities of Judah, and he came to Jerusalem with a strong force.
 1mc:1.30    He spoke to them deceitfully in peaceful terms, and won their trust. Then he attacked the city suddenly, in a great onslaught, and destroyed many of the people in Israel.
 1mc:1.31    He plundered the city and set fire to it, demolished its houses and its surrounding walls,
 1mc:1.32    took captive the women and children, and seized the cattle.
 1mc:1.33    Then they built up the City of David with a high, massive wall and strong towers, and it became their citadel.
 1mc:1.34    There they installed a sinful race, perverse men, who fortified themselves inside it,
 1mc:1.35    storing up weapons and provisions, and depositing there the plunder they had collected from Jerusalem. And they became a great threat.
 1mc:1.36    The citadel became an ambush against the sanctuary, and a wicked adversary to Israel at all times.
 1mc:1.37    And they shed innocent blood around the sanctuary; they defiled the sanctuary.
 1mc:1.38    Because of them the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled away, and she became the abode of strangers. She became a stranger to her own offspring, and her children forsook her.
 1mc:1.39    Her sanctuary was as desolate as a wilderness; her feasts were turned into mourning, Her sabbaths to shame, her honor to contempt.
 1mc:1.40    Her dishonor was as great as her glory had been, and her exalation was turned into mourning.
 1mc:1.41    Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people,
 1mc:1.42    each abandoning his particular customs. All the Gentiles conformed to the command of the king,
 1mc:1.43    and many Israelites were in favor of his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath.
 1mc:1.44    The king sent messengers with letters to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah, ordering them to follow customs foreign to their land;
 1mc:1.45    to prohibit holocausts, sacrifices, and libations in the sanctuary, to profane the sabbaths and feast days,
 1mc:1.46    to desecrate the sanctuary and the sacred ministers,
 1mc:1.47    to build pagan altars and temples and shrines, to sacrifice swine and unclean animals,
 1mc:1.48    to leave their sons uncircumcised, and to let themselves be defiled with every kind of impurity and abomination,
 1mc:1.49    so that they might forget the law and change all their observances.
 1mc:1.50    Whoever refused to act according to the command of the king should be put to death.
 1mc:1.51    Such were the orders he published throughout his kingdom. He appointed inspectors over all the people, and he ordered the cities of Judah to offer sacrifices, each city in turn.
 1mc:1.52    Many of the people, those who abandoned the law, joined them and committed evil in the land.
 1mc:1.53    Israel was driven into hiding, wherever places of refuge could be found.
 1mc:1.54    On the fifteenth day of the month Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-five, the king erected the horrible abomination upon the altar of holocausts, and in the surrounding cities of Judah they built pagan altars.
 1mc:1.55    They also burnt incense at the doors of houses and in the streets.
 1mc:1.56    Any scrolls of the law which they found they tore up and burnt.
 1mc:1.57    Whoever was found with a scroll of the covenant, and whoever observed the law, was condemned to death by royal decree.
 1mc:1.58    So they used their power against Israel, against those who were caught, each month, in the cities.
 1mc:1.59    On the twenty-fifth day of each month they sacrificed on the altar erected over the altar of holocausts.
 1mc:1.60    Women who had had their children circumcised were put to death, in keeping with the decree,
 1mc:1.61    with the babies hung from their necks; their families also and those who had circumcised them were killed.
 1mc:1.62    But many in Israel were determined and resolved in their hearts not to eat anything unclean;
 1mc:1.63    they preferred to die rather than to be defiled with unclean food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die.
 1mc:1.64    Terrible affliction was upon Israel.
   
 1mc:2.1     In those days Mattathias, son of John, son of Simeon, a priest of the family of Joarib, left Jerusalem and settled in Modein.
 1mc:2.2     He had five sons: John, who was called Gaddi;
 1mc:2.3     Simon, who was called Thassi;
 1mc:2.4     Judas, who was called Maccabeus;
 1mc:2.5     Eleazar, who was called Avaran; and Jonathan, who was called Apphus.
 1mc:2.6     When he saw the sacrileges that were being committed in Judah and in Jerusalem,
 1mc:2.7     he said: "Woe is me! Why was I born to see the ruin of my people and the ruin of the holy city, and to sit idle while it is given into the hands of enemies, and the sanctuary into the hands of strangers?
 1mc:2.8     "Her temple has become like a man disgraced,
 1mc:2.9     her glorious ornaments have been carried off as spoils, Her infants have been murdered in her streets, her young men by the sword of the enemy.
 1mc:2.10    What nation has not taken its share of her realm, and laid its hand on her possessions?
 1mc:2.11    All her adornment has been taken away. From being free, she has become a slave.
 1mc:2.12    We see our sanctuary and our beauty and our glory laid waste, And the Gentiles have defiled them!
 1mc:2.13    Why are we still alive?"
 1mc:2.14    Then Mattathias and his sons tore their garments, put on sackcloth, and mourned bitterly.
 1mc:2.15    The officers of the king in charge of enforcing the apostasy came to the city of Modein to organize the sacrifices.
 1mc:2.16    Many of Israel joined them, but Mattathias and his sons gathered in a group apart.
 1mc:2.17    Then the officers of the king addressed Mattathias: "You are a leader, an honorable and great man in this city, supported by sons and kinsmen.
 1mc:2.18    Come now, be the first to obey the king's command, as all the Gentiles and the men of Judah and those who are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons shall be numbered among the King's Friends, and shall be enriched with silver and gold and many gifts."
 1mc:2.19    But Mattathias answered in a loud voice: "Although all the Gentiles in the king's realm obey him, so that each forsakes the religion of his fathers and consents to the king's orders,
 1mc:2.20    yet I and my sons and my kinsmen will keep to the covenant of our fathers.
 1mc:2.21    God forbid that we should forsake the law and the commandments.
 1mc:2.22    We will not obey the words of the king nor depart from our religion in the slightest degree."
 1mc:2.23    As he finished saying these words, a certain Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice on the altar in Modein according to the king's order.
 1mc:2.24    When Mattathias saw him, he was filled with zeal; his heart was moved and his just fury was aroused; he sprang forward and killed him upon the altar.
 1mc:2.25    At the same time, he also killed the messenger of the king who was forcing them to sacrifice, and he tore down the altar.
 1mc:2.26    Thus he showed his zeal for the law, just as Phinehas did with Zimri, son of Salu.
 1mc:2.27    Then Mattathias went through the city shouting, "Let everyone who is zealous for the law and who stands by the covenant follow after me!"
 1mc:2.28    Thereupon he fled to the mountains with his sons, leaving behind in the city all their possessions.
 1mc:2.29    Many who sought to live according to righteousness and religious custom went out into the desert to settle there,
 1mc:2.30    they and their sons, their wives and their cattle, because misfortunes pressed so hard on them.
 1mc:2.31    It was reported to the officers and soldiers of the king who were in the City of David, in Jerusalem, that certain men who had flouted the king's order had gone out to the hiding places in the desert.
 1mc:2.32    Many hurried out after them, and having caught up with them, camped opposite and prepared to attack them on the sabbath.
 1mc:2.33    "Enough of this!" the pursuers said to them. "Come out and obey the king's command, and your lives will be spared."
 1mc:2.34    But they replied, "We will not come out, nor will we obey the king's command to profane the sabbath."
 1mc:2.35    Then the enemy attacked them at once;
 1mc:2.36    but they did not retaliate; they neither threw stones, nor blocked up their own hiding places.
 1mc:2.37    They said, "Let us all die without reproach; heaven and earth are our witnesses that you destroy us unjustly."
 1mc:2.38    So the officers and soldiers attacked them on the sabbath, and they died with their wives, their children and their cattle, to the number of a thousand persons.
 1mc:2.39    When Mattathias and his friends heard of it, they mourned deeply for them.
 1mc:2.40    "If we all do as our kinsmen have done," they said to one another, "and do not fight against the Gentiles for our lives and our traditions, they will soon destroy us from the earth."
 1mc:2.41    On that day they came to this decision: "Let us fight against anyone who attacks us on the sabbath, so that we may not all die as our kinsmen died in the hiding places."
 1mc:2.42    Then they were joined by a group of Hasideans, valiant Israelites, all of them devout followers of the law.
 1mc:2.43    And all those who were fleeing from the disaster joined them and supported them.
 1mc:2.44    They gathered an army and struck down sinners in their anger and lawbreakers in their wrath, and the survivors fled to the Gentiles for safety.
 1mc:2.45    Mattathias and his friends went about and tore down the pagan altars;
 1mc:2.46    they also enforced circumcision for any uncircumcised boys whom they found in the territory of Israel.
 1mc:2.47    They put to flight the arrogant, and the work prospered in their hands.
 1mc:2.48    They saved the law from the hands of the Gentiles and of the kings and did not let the sinner triumph.
 1mc:2.49    When the time came for Mattathias to die, he said to his sons: "Arrogance and scorn have now grown strong; it is a time of disaster and violent anger.
 1mc:2.50    Therefore, my sons, be zealous for the law and give your lives for the covenant of our fathers.
 1mc:2.51    "Remember the deeds that our fathers did in their times, and you shall win great glory and an everlasting name.
 1mc:2.52    Was not Abraham found faithful in trial, and it was reputed to him as uprightness?
 1mc:2.53    Joseph, when in distress, kept the commandment, and he became master of Egypt.
 1mc:2.54    Phinehas our father, for his burning zeal, received the covenant of an everlasting priesthood.
 1mc:2.55    Joshua, for executing his commission, became a judge in Israel.
 1mc:2.56    Caleb, for bearing witness before the assembly, received an inheritance in the land.
 1mc:2.57    David, for his piety, received as a heritage a throne of everlasting royalty.
 1mc:2.58    Elijah, for his burning zeal for the law, was taken up to heaven.
 1mc:2.59    Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael, for their faith, were saved from the fire.
 1mc:2.60    Daniel, for his innocence, was delivered from the jaws of lions.
 1mc:2.61    And so, consider this from generation to generation, that none who hope in him shall fail in strength.
 1mc:2.62    Do not fear the words of a sinful man, for his glory ends in corruption and worms.
 1mc:2.63    Today he is exalted, and tomorrow he is not to be found, because he has returned to his dust, and his schemes have perished.
 1mc:2.64    Children! be courageous and strong in keeping the law, for by it you shall be glorified.
 1mc:2.65    "Here is your brother Simeon who I know is a wise man; listen to him always, and he will be a father to you.
 1mc:2.66    And Judas Maccabeus, a warrior from his youth, shall be the leader of your army and direct the war against the nations.
 1mc:2.67    You shall also gather about you all who observe the law, and you shall avenge the wrongs of your people.
 1mc:2.68    Pay back the Gentiles what they deserve, and observe the precepts of the law."
 1mc:2.69    Then he blessed them, and he was united with his fathers.
 1mc:2.70    He died in the year one hundred and forty-six, and was buried in the tombs of his fathers in Modein, and all Israel mourned him greatly.
   
 1mc:3.1     Then his son Judas, who was called Maccabeus, took his place.
 1mc:3.2     All his brothers and all who had joined his father supported him, and they carried on Israel's war joyfully.
 1mc:3.3     He spread abroad the glory of his people, and put on his breastplate like a giant. He armed himself with weapons of war; he planned battles and protected the camp with his sword.
 1mc:3.4     In his actions he was like a lion, like a young lion roaring for prey.
 1mc:3.5     He pursued the wicked, hunting them out, and those who troubled his people he destroyed by fire.
 1mc:3.6     The lawbreakers were cowed by fear of him, and all evildoers were dismayed. By his hand redemption was happily achieved,
 1mc:3.7     and he afflicted many kings; He made Jacob glad by his deeds, and his memory is blessed forever.
 1mc:3.8     He went about the cities of Judah destroying the impious there. He turned away wrath from Israel
 1mc:3.9     and was renowned to the ends of the earth; he gathered together those who were perishing.
 1mc:3.10    Then Apollonius gathered the Gentiles, together with a large army from Samaria, to fight against Israel.
 1mc:3.11    When Judas learned of it, he went out to meet him and defeated and killed him. Many fell wounded, and the rest fled.
 1mc:3.12    Their possessions were seized and the sword of Apollonius was taken by Judas, who fought with it the rest of his life.
 1mc:3.13    But Seron, commander of the Syrian army, heard that Judas had gathered many about him, an assembly of faithful men ready for war.
 1mc:3.14    So he said, "I will make a name for myself and win glory in the kingdom by defeating Judas and his followers, who have despised the king's command."
 1mc:3.15    And again a large company of renegades advanced with him to help him take revenge on the Israelites.
 1mc:3.16    When he reached the ascent of Beth-horon, Judas went out to meet him with a few men.
 1mc:3.17    But when they saw the army coming against them, they said to Judas: "How can we, few as we are, fight such a mighty host as this? Besides, we are weak today from fasting."
 1mc:3.18    But Judas said: "It is easy for many to be overcome by a few; in the sight of Heaven there is no difference between deliverance by many or by few;
 1mc:3.19    for victory in war does not depend upon the size of the army, but on strength that comes from Heaven.
 1mc:3.20    With great presumption and lawlessness they come against us to destroy us and our wives and children and to despoil us;
 1mc:3.21    but we are fighting for our lives and our laws.
 1mc:3.22    He himself will crush them before us; so do not be afraid of them."
 1mc:3.23    When he finished speaking, he rushed suddenly upon Seron and his army, who were crushed before him.
 1mc:3.24    He pursued Seron down the descent of Beth-horon into the plain. About eight hundred of their men fell, and the rest fled to the country of the Philistines.
 1mc:3.25    Then Judas and his brothers began to be feared, and dread fell upon the Gentiles about them.
 1mc:3.26    His fame reached the king, and all the Gentiles talked about the battles of Judas.
 1mc:3.27    When Antiochus heard about these events, he was angry; so he ordered a muster of all the forces of his kingdom, a very strong army.
 1mc:3.28    He opened his treasure chests, gave his soldiers a year's pay, and commanded them to be prepared for anything.
 1mc:3.29    He then found that this exhausted the money in his treasury; moreover the income from the province was small, because of the dissension and distress he had brought upon the land by abolishing the laws which had been in effect from of old.
 1mc:3.30    He feared that, as had happened more than once, he would not have enough for his expenses and for the gifts that he had previously given with a more liberal hand than the preceding kings.
 1mc:3.31    Greatly perplexed, he decided to go to Persia and levy tribute on those provinces, and so raise a large sum of money.
 1mc:3.32    He left Lysias, a nobleman of royal blood, in charge of the king's affairs from the Euphrates River to the frontier of Egypt,
 1mc:3.33    and commissioned him to take care of his son Antiochus until his own return.
 1mc:3.34    He entrusted to him half of the army, and the elephants, and gave him instructions concerning everything he wanted done. As for the inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem,
 1mc:3.35    Lysias was to send an army against them to crush and destroy the power of Israel and the remnant of Jerusalem and efface their memory from the land.
 1mc:3.36    He was to settle foreigners in all their territory and distribute their land by lot.
 1mc:3.37    The king took the remaining half of the army and set out from Antioch, his capital, in the year one hundred and forty-seven; he crossed the Euphrates River and advanced inland.
 1mc:3.38    Lysias chose Ptolemy, son of Dorymenes, and Nicanor and Gorgias, capable men among the King's Friends,
 1mc:3.39    and with them he sent forty thousand men and seven thousand cavalry to invade the land of Judah and ravage it according to the king's orders.
 1mc:3.40    Setting out with all their forces, they came and pitched their camp near Emmaus in the plain.
 1mc:3.41    When the merchants of the country heard of their fame, they came to the camp, bringing fetters and a large sum of silver and gold, to buy the Israelites as slaves. A force from Idumea and from Philistia joined with them.
 1mc:3.42    Judas and his brothers saw that the situation had become critical now that armies were encamped within their territory; they knew of the orders which the king had given to destroy and utterly wipe out the people.
 1mc:3.43    So they said to one another, "Let us restore our people from their ruined estate, and fight for our people and our sanctuary!"
 1mc:3.44    The assembly gathered together to prepare for battle and to pray and implore mercy and compassion.
 1mc:3.45    Jerusalem was uninhabited, like a desert; not one of her children entered or came out. The sanctuary was trampled on, and foreigners were in the citadel; it was a habitation of Gentiles. Joy had disappeared from Jacob, and the flute and the harp were silent.
 1mc:3.46    Thus they assembled and went to Mizpah near Jerusalem, because there was formerly at Mizpah a place of prayer for Israel.
 1mc:3.47    That day they fasted and wore sackcloth; they sprinkled ashes on their heads and tore their clothes.
 1mc:3.48    They unrolled the scroll of the law, to learn about the things for which the Gentiles consulted the images of their idols.
 1mc:3.49    They brought with them the priestly vestments, the first fruits, and the tithes; and they brought forward the nazirites who had completed the time of their vows.
 1mc:3.50    And they cried aloud to Heaven: "What shall we do with these men, and where shall we take them?
 1mc:3.51    For your sanctuary has been trampled on and profaned, and your priests are in mourning and humiliation.
 1mc:3.52    Now the Gentiles are gathered together against us to destroy us. You know what they plot against us.
 1mc:3.53    How shall we be able to resist them unless you help us?"
 1mc:3.54    Then they blew the trumpets and cried out loudly.
 1mc:3.55    After this Judas appointed officers among the people, over thousands, over hundreds, over fifties, and over tens.
 1mc:3.56    He proclaimed that those who were building houses, or were just married, or were planting vineyards, and those who were afraid, could each return to his home, according to the law.
 1mc:3.57    Then the army moved off, and they camped to the south of Emmaus.
 1mc:3.58    Judas said: "Arm yourselves and be brave; in the morning be ready to fight these Gentiles who have assembled against us to destroy us and our sanctuary.
 1mc:3.59    It is better for us to die in battle than to witness the ruin of our nation and our sanctuary.
 1mc:3.60    Whatever Heaven wills, he will do."
   
 1mc:4.1     Now Gorgias took five thousand infantry and a thousand picked cavalry, and this detachment set out at night
 1mc:4.2     in order to attack the camp of the Jews and take them by surprise. Some men from the citadel were their guides.
 1mc:4.3     Judas heard of it, and himself set out with his soldiers to attack the king's army at Emmaus,
 1mc:4.4     while the latter's forces were still scattered away from the camp.
 1mc:4.5     During the night Gorgias came into the camp of Judas, and found no one there; so he began to hunt for them in the mountains, saying, "They are fleeing from us."
 1mc:4.6     But at daybreak Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men, who lacked such armor and swords as they would have wished.
 1mc:4.7     They saw the army of the Gentiles, strong and breastplated, flanked with cavalry, and made up of expert soldiers.
 1mc:4.8     Judas said to the men with him: "Do not be afraid of their numbers or dread their attack.
 1mc:4.9     Remember how our fathers were saved in the Red Sea, when Pharaoh pursued them with an army.
 1mc:4.10    So now let us cry to Heaven in the hope that he will favor us, remember his covenant with our fathers, and destroy this army before us today.
 1mc:4.11    All the Gentiles shall know that there is One who redeems and delivers Israel."
 1mc:4.12    When the foreigners looked up and saw them marching toward them,
 1mc:4.13    they came out of their camp for battle, and the men with Judas blew the trumpet.
 1mc:4.14    The battle was joined and the Gentiles were defeated and fled toward the plain.
 1mc:4.15    Their whole rearguard fell by the sword, and they were pursued as far as Gazara and the plains of Judea, to Azotus and Jamnia. About three thousand of their men fell.
 1mc:4.16    When Judas and the army returned from the pursuit,
 1mc:4.17    he said to the people: "Do not be greedy for the plunder, for there is a fight ahead of us,
 1mc:4.18    and Gorgias and his army are near us on the mountain. But now stand firm against our enemies and overthrow them. Afterward you can freely take the plunder."
 1mc:4.19    As Judas was finishing this speech, a detachment appeared, looking down from the mountain.
 1mc:4.20    They saw that their army had been put to flight and their camp was being burned. The smoke that could be seen indicated what had happened.
 1mc:4.21    When they realized this, they were terrified; and when they also saw the army of Judas in the plain ready to attack,
 1mc:4.22    they all fled to Philistine territory.
 1mc:4.23    Then Judas went back to plunder the camp, and his men collected much gold and silver, violet and crimson cloth, and great treasure.
 1mc:4.24    As they returned, they were singing hymns and glorifying Heaven, "for he is good, for his mercy endures forever."
 1mc:4.25    Thus Israel had a great deliverance that day.
 1mc:4.26    But those of the foreigners who had escaped went and told Lysias all that had occurred.
 1mc:4.27    When he heard it he was disturbed and discouraged, because things in Israel had not turned out as he intended and as the king had ordered.
 1mc:4.28    So the following year he gathered together sixty thousand picked men and five thousand cavalry, to subdue them.
 1mc:4.29    They came into Idumea and camped at Beth-zur, and Judas met them with ten thousand men.
 1mc:4.30    Seeing that the army was strong, he prayed thus: "Blessed are you, O Savior of Israel, who broke the rush of the mighty one by the hand of your servant David and delivered the camp of the Philistines into the hand of Jonathan, the son of Saul, and his armor-bearer.
 1mc:4.31    Give this army into the hands of your people Israel; make them ashamed of their troops and their cavalry.
 1mc:4.32    Strike them with fear, weaken the boldness of their strength, and let them tremble at their own destruction.
 1mc:4.33    Strike them down by the sword of those who love you, that all who know your name may hymn your praise."
 1mc:4.34    Then they engaged in battle, and about five thousand of Lysias' men fell in hand-to-hand fighting.
 1mc:4.35    When Lysias saw his ranks beginning to give way, and the increased boldness of Judas, whose men were ready either to live or to die bravely, he withdrew to Antioch and began to recruit mercenaries so as to return to Judea with greater numbers.
 1mc:4.36    Then Judas and his brothers said, "Now that our enemies have been crushed, let us go up to purify the sanctuary and rededicate it."
 1mc:4.37    So the whole army assembled, and went up to Mount Zion.
 1mc:4.38    They found the sanctuary desolate, the altar desecrated, the gates burnt, weeds growing in the courts as in a forest or on some mountain, and the priests' chambers demolished.
 1mc:4.39    Then they tore their clothes and made great lamentation; they sprinkled their heads with ashes
 1mc:4.40    and fell with their faces to the ground. And when the signal was given with trumpets, they cried out to Heaven.
 1mc:4.41    Judas appointed men to attack those in the citadel, while he purified the sanctuary.
 1mc:4.42    He chose blameless priests, devoted to the law;
 1mc:4.43    these purified the sanctuary and carried away the stones of the Abomination to an unclean place.
 1mc:4.44    They deliberated what ought to be done with the altar of holocausts that had been desecrated.
 1mc:4.45    The happy thought came to them to tear it down, lest it be a lasting shame to them that the Gentiles had defiled it; so they tore down the altar.
 1mc:4.46    They stored the stones in a suitable place on the temple hill, until a prophet should come and decide what to do with them.
 1mc:4.47    Then they took uncut stones, according to the law, and built a new altar like the former one.
 1mc:4.48    They also repaired the sanctuary and the interior of the temple and purified the courts.
 1mc:4.49    They made new sacred vessels and brought the lampstand, the altar of incense, and the table into the temple.
 1mc:4.50    Then they burned incense on the altar and lighted the lamps on the lampstand, and these illuminated the temple.
 1mc:4.51    They also put loaves on the table and hung up curtains. Thus they finished all the work they had undertaken.
 1mc:4.52    Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, that is, the month of Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-eight,
 1mc:4.53    they arose and offered sacrifice according to the law on the new altar of holocausts that they had made.
 1mc:4.54    On the anniversary of the day on which the Gentiles had defiled it, on that very day it was reconsecrated with songs, harps, flutes, and cymbals.
 1mc:4.55    All the people prostrated themselves and adored and praised Heaven, who had given them success.
 1mc:4.56    For eight days they celebrated the dedication of the altar and joyfully offered holocausts and sacrifices of deliverance and praise.
 1mc:4.57    They ornamented the facade of the temple with gold crowns and shields; they repaired the gates and the priests' chambers and furnished them with doors.
 1mc:4.58    There was great joy among the people now that the disgrace of the Gentiles was removed.
 1mc:4.59    Then Judas and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness on the anniversary every year for eight days, from the twenty-fifth day of the month Chislev.
 1mc:4.60    At that time they built high walls and strong towers around Mount Zion, to prevent the Gentiles from coming and trampling over it as they had done before.
 1mc:4.61    Judas also placed a garrison there to protect it, and likewise fortified Beth-zur, that the people might have a stronghold facing Idumea.
   
 1mc:5.1     When the Gentiles round about heard that the altar had been rebuilt and the sanctuary consecrated as before, they were very angry.
 1mc:5.2     So they decided to destroy the descendants of Jacob who were among them, and they began to massacre and persecute the people.
 1mc:5.3     Then Judas attacked the sons of Esau at Akrabattene in Idumea, because they were blockading Israel; he defeated them heavily, overcame and despoiled them.
 1mc:5.4     He also remembered the malice of the sons of Baean, who had become a snare and a stumbling block to the people by ambushing them along the roads.
 1mc:5.5     He forced them to take refuge in towers, which he besieged; he vowed their annihilation and burned down the towers along with all the persons in them.
 1mc:5.6     Then he crossed over to the Ammonites, where he found a strong army and a large body of people with Timothy as their leader.
 1mc:5.7     He fought many battles with them, routed them, and struck them down.
 1mc:5.8     After seizing Jazer and its villages, he returned to Judea.
 1mc:5.9     The Gentiles in Gilead assembled to attack and destroy the Israelites who were in their territory; these then fled to the stronghold of Dathema.
 1mc:5.10    They sent a letter to Judas and his brothers saying: "The Gentiles around us have combined against us to destroy us,
 1mc:5.11    and they are preparing to come and seize this stronghold to which we have fled. Timothy is the leader of their army.
 1mc:5.12    Come at once and rescue us from them, for many of us have fallen.
 1mc:5.13    All our kinsmen who were among the Tobiads have been killed; the Gentiles have carried away their wives and children and their goods, and they have slain there about a thousand men."
 1mc:5.14    While they were reading this letter, suddenly other messengers, in torn clothes, arrived from Galilee to deliver a similar message:
 1mc:5.15    that the inhabitants of Ptolemais, Tyre, and Sidon, and the whole of Gentile Galilee had joined forces to destroy them.
 1mc:5.16    When Judas and the people heard this, a great assembly convened to consider what they should do for their unfortunate kinsmen who were being attacked by enemies.
 1mc:5.17    Judas said to his brother Simon: "Choose men for yourself, and go, rescue your kinsmen in Galilee; I and my brother Jonathan will go to Gilead."
 1mc:5.18    In Judea he left Joseph, son of Zechariah, and Azariah, leader of the people, with the rest of the army to guard it.
 1mc:5.19    "Take charge of these people," he commanded them, "but do not fight against the Gentiles until we return."
 1mc:5.20    Three thousand men were allotted to Simon, to go into Galilee, and eight thousand men to Judas, for Gilead.
 1mc:5.21    Simon went into Galilee and fought many battles with the Gentiles. They were crushed before him,
 1mc:5.22    and he pursued them to the very gate of Ptolemais. About three thousand men of the Gentiles fell, and he gathered their spoils.
 1mc:5.23    He took with him the Jews who were in Galilee and in Arbatta, with their wives and children and all that they had, and brought them to Judea with great rejoicing.
 1mc:5.24    Judas Maccabeus and his brother Jonathan crossed the Jordan and marched for three days through the desert.
 1mc:5.25    There they met some Nabateans, who received them peacefully and told them all that had happened to the Jews in Gilead:
 1mc:5.26    "Many of them have been imprisoned in Bozrah, in Bosor near Alema, in Chaspho, Maked, and Carnaim"--all of these are large, fortified cities--
 1mc:5.27    "and some have been imprisoned in other cities of Gilead. Tomorrow their enemies plan to attack the strongholds and to seize and destroy all these people in one day."
 1mc:5.28    Thereupon Judas suddenly changed direction with his army, marched across the desert to Bozrah, and captured the city. He slaughtered all the male population, took all their possessions, and set fire to the city.
 1mc:5.29    He led his army from that place by night, and they marched toward the stronghold of Dathema.
 1mc:5.30    When morning came, they looked ahead and saw a countless multitude of people, with ladders and devices for capturing the stronghold, and beginning to attack the people within.
 1mc:5.31    When Judas perceived that the struggle had begun and that the noise of the battle was resounding to heaven with trumpet blasts and loud shouting,
 1mc:5.32    he said to the men of his army, "Fight for our kinsmen today."
 1mc:5.33    He came up behind them with three columns blowing their trumpets and shouting in prayer.
 1mc:5.34    When the army of Timothy realized that it was Maccabeus, they fell back before him, and he inflicted on them a crushing defeat. About eight thousand of their men fell that day.
 1mc:5.35    Then he turned toward Alema and attacked and captured it; he killed all the male population, plundered the place, and burned it down.
 1mc:5.36    From there he moved on and took Chaspho, Maked, Bosor, and the other cities of Gilead.
 1mc:5.37    After these events Timothy assembled another army and camped opposite Raphon, on the other side of the stream.
 1mc:5.38    Judas sent men to spy on the camp, and they reported to him: "All the Gentiles around us have rallied to him, making a very large force;
 1mc:5.39    they have also hired Arabs to help them, and have camped beyond the stream, ready to attack you." So Judas went forward to attack them.
 1mc:5.40    As Judas and his army were approaching the running stream, Timothy said to the officers of his army: "If he crosses over to us first, we shall not be able to resist him; he will certainly defeat us.
 1mc:5.41    But if he is afraid and camps on the other side of the river, we will cross over to him and defeat him."
 1mc:5.42    But when Judas reached the running stream, he stationed the officers of the people beside the stream and gave them this order: "Do not allow any man to pitch a tent; all must go into battle."
 1mc:5.43    He was the first to cross to the attack, with all the people behind him, and the Gentiles were crushed before them; they threw away their arms and fled to the temple enclosure at Carnaim.
 1mc:5.44    The Jews captured that city and burnt the enclosure with all who were in it. So Carnaim was subdued, and Judas met with no more resistance.
 1mc:5.45    Then he assembled all the Israelites, great and small, who were in Gilead, with their wives and children and their goods, a great crowd of people, to go into the land of Judah.
 1mc:5.46    When they reached Ephron, a large and strongly fortified city along the way, they found it impossible to encircle it on either the right or the left; they would have to march right through it.
 1mc:5.47    But the men in the city shut them out and blocked up the gates with stones.
 1mc:5.48    Then Judas sent them this peaceful message: "We wish to cross your territory in order to reach our own; no one will harm you; we will only march through." But they would not open to him.
 1mc:5.49    So Judas ordered a proclamation to be made in the camp that everyone make an attack from the place where he was.
 1mc:5.50    When the men of the army took up their positions, he assaulted the city all that day and night, and it was delivered to him.
 1mc:5.51    He slaughtered every male, razed and plundered the city, and passed through it over the slain.
 1mc:5.52    Then they crossed the Jordan to the great plain in front of Beth-shan;
 1mc:5.53    and Judas kept rounding up the stragglers and encouraging the people the whole way, until he reached the land of Judah.
 1mc:5.54    They ascended Mount Zion in joy and gladness and offered holocausts, because not one of them had fallen; they had returned in safety.
 1mc:5.55    During the time that Judas and Jonathan were in the land of Gilead, and Simon his brother was in Galilee opposite Ptolemais,
 1mc:5.56    Joseph, son of Zechariah, and Azariah, the leaders of the army, heard about the brave deeds and the fighting that they were doing.
 1mc:5.57    They said, "Let us also make a name for ourselves by going out and fighting against the Gentiles around us."
 1mc:5.58    They gave orders to the men of their army who were with them, and marched toward Jamnia.
 1mc:5.59    But Gorgias and his men came out of the city to meet them in battle.
 1mc:5.60    Joseph and Azariah were beaten, and were pursued to the frontiers of Judea, and about two thousand Israelites fell that day.
 1mc:5.61    It was a bad defeat for the people, because they had not obeyed Judas and his brothers, thinking that they would do brave deeds.
 1mc:5.62    But they did not belong to the family of those men to whom it was granted to achieve Israel's salvation.
 1mc:5.63    The valiant Judas and his brothers were greatly renowned in all Israel and among all the Gentiles, wherever their name was heard;
 1mc:5.64    and men gathered about them and praised them.
 1mc:5.65    Then Judas and his brothers went out and attacked the sons of Esau in the country toward the south; he took Hebron and its villages, and he destroyed its strongholds and burned the towers around it.
 1mc:5.66    He then set out for the land of the Philistines and passed through Marisa.
 1mc:5.67    At that time some priests fell in battle who had gone out rashly to fight in their desire to distinguish themselves.
 1mc:5.68    Judas then turned toward Azotus in the land of the Philistines. He destroyed their altars and burned the statues of their gods; and after plundering their cities he returned to the land of Judah.
   
 1mc:6.1     As King Antiochus was traversing the inland provinces, he heard that in Persia there was a city called Elymais, famous for its wealth in silver and gold,
 1mc:6.2     and that its temple was very rich, containing gold helmets, breastplates, and weapons left there by Alexander, son of Philip, king of Macedon, the first king of the Greeks.
 1mc:6.3     He went therefore and tried to capture and pillage the city. But he could not do so, because his plan became known to the people of the city
 1mc:6.4     who rose up in battle against him. So he retreated and in great dismay withdrew from there to return to Babylon.
 1mc:6.5     While he was in Persia, a messenger brought him news that the armies sent into the land of Judah had been put to flight;
 1mc:6.6     that Lysias had gone at first with a strong army and been driven back by the Israelites; that they had grown strong by reason of the arms, men, and abundant possessions taken from the armies they had destroyed;
 1mc:6.7     that they had pulled down the Abomination which he had built upon the altar in Jerusalem; and that they had surrounded with high walls both the sanctuary, as it had been before, and his city of Beth-zur.
 1mc:6.8     When the king heard this news, he was struck with fear and very much shaken. Sick with grief because his designs had failed, he took to his bed.
 1mc:6.9     There he remained many days, overwhelmed with sorrow, for he knew he was going to die.
 1mc:6.10    So he called in all his Friends and said to them: "Sleep has departed from my eyes, for my heart is sinking with anxiety.
 1mc:6.11    I said to myself: 'Into what tribulation have I come, and in what floods of sorrow am I now!
 1mc:6.12    Yet I was kindly and beloved in my rule.' But I now recall the evils I did in Jerusalem, when I carried away all the vessels of gold and silver that were in it, and for no cause gave orders that the inhabitants of Judah be destroyed.
 1mc:6.13    I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me; and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land."
 1mc:6.14    Then he summoned Philip, one of his Friends, and put him in charge of his whole kingdom.
 1mc:6.15    He gave him his crown, his robe, and his signet ring, so that he might guide the king's son Antiochus and bring him up to be king.
 1mc:6.16    King Antiochus died in Persia in the year one hundred and forty-nine.
 1mc:6.17    When Lysias learned that the king was dead, he set up the king's son Antiochus, whom he had reared as a child, to be king in his place; and he gave him the title Eupator.
 1mc:6.18    The men in the citadel were hemming in Israel around the sanctuary, continually trying to harm them and to strengthen the Gentiles.
 1mc:6.19    But Judas planned to destroy them, and called all the people together to besiege them.
 1mc:6.20    So in the year one hundred and fifty they assembled and stormed the citadel, for which purpose he constructed catapults and other devices.
 1mc:6.21    Some of the besieged escaped, joined by impious Israelites;
 1mc:6.22    they went to the king and said: "How long will you fail to do justice and avenge our kinsmen?
 1mc:6.23    We agreed to serve your father and to follow his orders and obey his edicts.
 1mc:6.24    And for this the sons of our people have become our enemies; they have put to death as many of us as they could find and have plundered our estates.
 1mc:6.25    They have acted aggressively not only against us, but throughout their whole territory.
 1mc:6.26    Look! They have now besieged the citadel in Jerusalem in order to capture it, and they have fortified the sanctuary and Beth-zur.
 1mc:6.27    Unless you quickly forestall them, they will do even worse things than these, and you will not be able to stop them."
 1mc:6.28    When the king heard this he was angry, and he called together all his Friends, the officers of his army, and the commanders of the cavalry.
 1mc:6.29    Mercenary forces also came to him from other kingdoms and from the islands of the seas.
 1mc:6.30    His army numbered a hundred thousand foot-soldiers, twenty thousand cavalry, and thirty-two elephants trained for war.
 1mc:6.31    They passed through Idumea and camped before Beth-zur. For many days they attacked it; they constructed siege-devices, but the besieged made a sortie and burned these, and they fought bravely.
 1mc:6.32    Then Judas marched away from the citadel and moved his camp to Beth-zechariah, on the way to the king's camp.
 1mc:6.33    The king, rising before dawn, moved his force hastily along the road to Beth-zechariah; and the armies prepared for battle, while the trumpets sounded.
 1mc:6.34    They showed the elephants the juice of grapes and mulberries to provoke them to fight.
 1mc:6.35    The beasts were distributed along the phalanxes, each elephant having assigned to it a thousand men in coats of mail, with bronze helmets, and five hundred picked cavalry.
 1mc:6.36    These anticipated the beast wherever it was; and wherever it moved, they moved too and never left it.
 1mc:6.37    A strong wooden tower covering each elephant, and fastened to it by a harness, held, besides the Indian mahout, three soldiers who fought from it.
 1mc:6.38    The remaining cavalry were stationed on one or the other of the two flanks of the army, to harass the enemy and to be protected from the phalanxes.
 1mc:6.39    When the sun shone on the gold and bronze shields, the mountains gleamed with their brightness and blazed like flaming torches.
 1mc:6.40    Part of the king's army extended over the heights, while some were on low ground, but they marched forward steadily and in good order.
 1mc:6.41    All who heard the noise of their numbers, the tramp of their marching, and the clashing of the arms, trembled; for the army was very great and strong.
 1mc:6.42    Judas with his army advanced to fight, and six hundred men of the king's army fell.
 1mc:6.43    Eleazar, called Avaran, saw one of the beasts bigger than any of the others and covered with royal armor, and he thought the king must be on it.
 1mc:6.44    So he gave up his life to save his people and win an everlasting name for himself.
 1mc:6.45    He dashed up to it in the middle of the phalanx, killing men right and left, so that they fell back from him on both sides.
 1mc:6.46    He ran right under the elephant and stabbed it in the belly, killing it. The beast fell to the ground on top of him, and he died there.
 1mc:6.47    When the Jews saw the strength of the royal army and the ardor of its forces, they retreated from them.
 1mc:6.48    A part of the king's army went up to Jerusalem to attack them, and the king established camps in Judea and at Mount Zion.
 1mc:6.49    He made peace with the men of Beth-zur, and they evacuated the city, because they had no food there to enable them to stand a siege, for that was a sabbath year in the land.
 1mc:6.50    The king took Beth-zur and stationed a garrison there to hold it.
 1mc:6.51    For many days he besieged the sanctuary, setting up artillery and machines, fire-throwers, catapults and mechanical bows for shooting arrows and slingstones.
 1mc:6.52    The Jews countered by setting up machines of their own, and kept up the fight a long time.
 1mc:6.53    But there were no provisions in the storerooms, because it was the seventh year, and the tide-over provisions had been eaten up by those who had been rescued from the Gentiles and brought to Judea.
 1mc:6.54    Few men remained in the sanctuary; the rest scattered, each to his own home, for the famine was too much for them.
 1mc:6.55    Lysias heard that Philip, whom King Antiochus, before his death, had appointed to train his son Antiochus to be king,
 1mc:6.56    had returned from Persia and Media with the army that accompanied the king, and that he was seeking to take over the government.
 1mc:6.57    So he hastily resolved to withdraw. He said to the king, the leaders of the army, and the soldiers: "We are grow-ing weaker every day, our provisions are scanty, the place we are besieging is strong, and it is our duty to take care of the affairs of the kingdom.
 1mc:6.58    Therefore let us now come to terms with these men, and make peace with them and all their nation.
 1mc:6.59    Let us grant them freedom to live according to their own laws as formerly; it was on account of their laws, which we abolished, that they became angry and did all these things."
 1mc:6.60    The proposal found favor with the king and the leaders;
 1mc:6.61    he sent peace terms to the Jews, and they accepted. So the king and the leaders swore an oath to them, and on these terms they evacuated the fortification.
 1mc:6.62    But when the king entered Mount Zion and saw how the place was fortified, he broke the oath he had sworn and gave orders for the encircling wall to be destroyed.
 1mc:6.63    Then he departed in haste and returned to Antioch, where he found Philip in possession of the city. He fought against him and took the city by force.
   
 1mc:7.1     In the year one hundred and fifty-one, Demetrius, son of Seleucus, set out from Rome, arrived with a few men in a city on the seacoast, and began to rule there.
 1mc:7.2     As he was preparing to enter the royal palace of his ancestors, the soldiers seized Antiochus and Lysias to bring them to him.
 1mc:7.3     When he was informed of this, he said, "Do not show me their faces."
 1mc:7.4     So the soldiers killed them, and Demetrius sat on the royal throne.
 1mc:7.5     Then all the lawless and impious men of Israel came to him. They were led by Alcimus, who desired to be high priest.
 1mc:7.6     They made this accusation to the king against the people: "Judas and his brothers have destroyed all your friends and have driven us out of our country.
 1mc:7.7     So now, send a man whom you trust to go and see all the havoc Judas has done to us and to the king's land, and let him punish them and all their supporters."
 1mc:7.8     Then the king chose Bacchides, one of the King's Friends, governor of West-of-Euphrates, a great man in the kingdom, and faithful to the king.
 1mc:7.9     He sent him and the impious Alcimus, to whom he granted the high priesthood, with orders to take revenge on the Israelites.
 1mc:7.10    They set out and, on arriving in the land of Judah with a great army, sent messengers who spoke deceitfully to Judas and his brothers in peaceful terms.
 1mc:7.11    But these paid no attention to their words, seeing that they had come with a great army.
 1mc:7.12    A group of scribes, however, gathered about Alcimus and Bacchides to ask for a just agreement.
 1mc:7.13    The Hasideans were the first among the Israelites to seek peace with them,
 1mc:7.14    for they said, "A priest of the line of Aaron has come with the army, and he will not do us any wrong."
 1mc:7.15    He spoke with them peacefully and swore to them, "We will not try to injure you or your friends."
 1mc:7.16    So they trusted him. But he arrested sixty of them and killed them in one day, according to the text of Scripture:
 1mc:7.17    "The flesh of your saints they have strewn, and their blood they have shed round about Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them."
 1mc:7.18    Then fear and dread of them came upon all the people, who said: "There is no truth or justice among them; they violated the agreement and the oath that they swore."
 1mc:7.19    Bacchides withdrew from Jerusalem and pitched his camp in Beth-zaith. He had many of the men arrested who deserted to him, throwing them into the great pit.
 1mc:7.20    He handed the province over to Alcimus, leaving troops to help him, while he himself returned to the king.
 1mc:7.21    Alcimus spared no pains to maintain his high priesthood,
 1mc:7.22    and all those who were disturbing their people gathered about him. They took possession of the land of Judah and caused great distress in Israel.
 1mc:7.23    When Judas saw all the evils that Alcimus and his men were bringing upon the Israelites, more than even the Gentiles had done,
 1mc:7.24    he went about all the borders of Judea and took revenge on the men who had deserted, preventing them from going out into the country.
 1mc:7.25    But when Alcimus saw that Judas and his followers were gaining strength and realized that he could not oppose them, he returned to the king and accused them of grave crimes.
 1mc:7.26    Then the king sent Nicanor, one of his famous officers, who was a bitter enemy of Israel, with orders to destroy the people.
 1mc:7.27    Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a large force and deceitfully sent to Judas and his brothers this peaceable message:
 1mc:7.28    "Let there be no fight between me and you. I will come with a few men to meet you peaceably."
 1mc:7.29    So he came to Judas, and they greeted one another peaceably. But Judas' enemies were prepared to seize him.
 1mc:7.30    When he became aware that Nicanor had come to him with treachery in mind, Judas was afraid and would not meet him again.
 1mc:7.31    When Nicanor saw that his plan had been discovered, he went out to fight Judas near Capharsalama.
 1mc:7.32    About five hundred men of Nicanor's army fell; the rest fled to the City of David.
 1mc:7.33    After this, Nicanor went up to Mount Zion. Some of the priests from the sanctuary and some of the elders of the people came out to greet him peaceably and to show him the holocaust that was being offered for the king.
 1mc:7.34    But he mocked and ridiculed them, defiled them, and spoke disdainfully.
 1mc:7.35    In a rage he swore: "If Judas and his army are not delivered to me at once, when I return victorious I will burn this temple down." He went away in great anger.
 1mc:7.36    The priests, however, went in and stood before the altar and the sanctuary. They wept and said:
 1mc:7.37    "You have chosen this house to bear your name, to be a house of prayer and petition for your people.
 1mc:7.38    Take revenge on this man and his army, and let them fall by the sword. Remember their blasphemies, and do not let them continue."
 1mc:7.39    Nicanor left Jerusalem and pitched his camp at Beth-horon, where the Syrian army joined him.
 1mc:7.40    But Judas camped in Adasa with three thousand men. Here Judas uttered this prayer:
 1mc:7.41    "When they who were sent by the king blasphemed, your angel went out and killed a hundred and eighty-five thousand of them.
 1mc:7.42    In the same way, crush this army before us today, and let the rest know that Nicanor spoke wickedly against your sanctuary; judge him according to his wickedness."
 1mc:7.43    The armies met in battle on the thirteenth day of the month Adar. Nicanor's army was crushed, and he himself was the first to fall in the battle.
 1mc:7.44    When his army saw that Nicanor was dead, they threw down their arms and fled.
 1mc:7.45    The Jews pursued them a day's journey, from Adasa to near Gazara, blowing the trumpets behind them as signals.
 1mc:7.46    From all the surrounding villages of Judea people came out and closed in on them. They hemmed them in, and all the enemies fell by the sword; not a single one escaped.
 1mc:7.47    Then the Jews collected the spoils and the booty; they cut off Nicanor's head and his right arm, which he had lifted up so arrogantly. These they brought to Jerusalem and displayed there.
 1mc:7.48    The people rejoiced greatly, and observed that day as a great festival.
 1mc:7.49    They decreed that it should be observed every year on the thirteenth of Adar.
 1mc:7.50    And for a short time the land of Judah was quiet.
   
 1mc:8.1     Judas had heard of the reputation of the Romans. They were valiant fighters and acted amiably to all who took their side. They established a friendly alliance with all who applied to them.
 1mc:8.2     He was also told of their battles and the brave deeds that they had performed against the Gauls, conquering them and forcing them to pay tribute.
 1mc:8.3     They had gotten possession of the silver and gold mines in Spain,
 1mc:8.4     and by planning and persistence had conquered the whole country, although it was very remote from their own. They had crushed the kings who had come against them from the far corners of the earth and had inflicted on them severe defeat, and the rest paid tribute to them every year.
 1mc:8.5     Philip and Perseus, king of the Macedonians, and the others who opposed them in battle had been overwhelmed and subjugated.
 1mc:8.6     Antiochus the Great, king of Asia, who had fought against them with a hundred and twenty elephants and with cavalry and chariots and a very great army, had been defeated by them.
 1mc:8.7     They had taken him alive and obliged him and the kings who succeeded him to pay a heavy tribute, to give hostages and a section of
 1mc:8.8     Lycia, Mysia, and Lydia from among their best provinces. The Romans took these from him and gave them to King Eumenes.
 1mc:8.9     When the men of Greece had planned to come and destroy them,
 1mc:8.10    the Romans discovered it, and sent against the Greeks a single general who made war on them. Many were wounded and fell, and the Romans took their wives and children captive. They plundered them, took possession of their land, tore down their strongholds and reduced them to slavery even to this day.
 1mc:8.11    All the other kingdoms and islands that had ever opposed them they destroyed and enslaved;
 1mc:8.12    with their friends, however, and those who relied on them, they maintained friendship. They had conquered kings both far and near, and all who heard of their fame were afraid of them.
 1mc:8.13    In truth, those whom they desired to help to a kingdom became kings, and those whom they wished to depose they deposed; and they were greatly exalted.
 1mc:8.14    Yet with all this, none of them put on a crown or wore purple as a display of grandeur.
 1mc:8.15    They had made for themselves a senate house, and every day three hundred and twenty men took counsel, deliberating on all that concerned the people and their well-being.
 1mc:8.16    They entrusted their government to one man every year, to rule over their entire country, and they all obeyed that one, and there was no envy or jealousy among them.
 1mc:8.17    So Judas chose Eupolemus, son of John, son of Accos, and Jason, son of Eleazar, and sent them to Rome to establish an alliance of friendship with them.
 1mc:8.18    He did this to get rid of the yoke, for it was obvious that the kingdom of the Greeks was subjecting Israel to slavery.
 1mc:8.19    After making a very long journey to Rome, the envoys entered the senate and spoke as follows:
 1mc:8.20    "Judas, called Maccabeus, and his brothers, with the Jewish people, have sent us to you to make a peaceful alliance with you, and to enroll ourselves among your allies and friends."
 1mc:8.21    The proposal pleased the Romans,
 1mc:8.22    and this is a copy of the reply they inscribed on bronze tablets and sent to Jerusalem, to remain there with the Jews as a record of peace and alliance:
 1mc:8.23    "May it be well with the Romans and the Jewish nation at sea and on land forever; may sword and enemy be far from them.
 1mc:8.24    But if war is first made on Rome, or any of its allies in any of their dominions,
 1mc:8.25    the Jewish nation will help them wholeheartedly, as the occasion shall demand;
 1mc:8.26    and to those who wage war they shall not give nor provide grain, arms, money, or ships; this is Rome's decision. They shall fulfill their obligations without receiving any recompense.
 1mc:8.27    In the same way, if war is made first on the Jewish nation, the Romans will help them willingly, as the occasion shall demand,
 1mc:8.28    and to those who are attacking them there shall not be given grain, arms, money, or ships; this is Rome's decision. They shall fulfill their obligations without deception.
 1mc:8.29    On these terms the Romans have made an agreement with the Jewish people.
 1mc:8.30    But if both parties hereafter decide to add or take away anything, they shall do as they choose, and whatever they shall add or take away shall be valid.
 1mc:8.31    "Moreover, concerning the wrongs that King Demetrius has done to them, we have written to him thus: 'Why have you made your yoke heavy upon our friends and allies the Jews?
 1mc:8.32    If they complain about you again, we will do them justice and make war on you by land and sea.'"
   
 1mc:9.1     When Demetrius heard that Nicanor and his army had fallen in battle, he again sent Bacchides and Alcimus into the land of Judah, along with the right wing of his army.
 1mc:9.2     They took the road to Galilee, and camping opposite the ascent at Arbela, they captured it and killed many people.
 1mc:9.3     In the first month of the year one hundred and fifty-two, they encamped against Jerusalem.
 1mc:9.4     Then they set out for Berea with twenty thousand men and two thousand cavalry.
 1mc:9.5     Judas, with three thousand picked men, had camped at Elasa.
 1mc:9.6     When his men saw the great number of the troops, they were very much afraid, and many slipped away from the camp, until only eight hundred men remained.
 1mc:9.7     As Judas saw that his army was melting away just when the battle was imminent, he was panic-stricken, because he had no time to gather them together.
 1mc:9.8     But in spite of his discouragement, he said to those who remained: "Let us go forward to meet our enemies; perhaps we can put up a good fight against them."
 1mc:9.9     They tried to dissuade him, saying: "We certainly cannot. Let us save our lives now, and come back with our kinsmen, and then fight against them. Now we are too few."
 1mc:9.10    But Judas said: "Far be it from me to do such a thing as to flee from them! If our time has come, let us die bravely for our kinsmen and not leave a stain upon our glory!"
 1mc:9.11    Then the army of Bacchides moved out of camp and took its position for combat. The cavalry were divided into two squadrons, and the slingers and the archers came on ahead of the army, and all the valiant men were in the front line.
 1mc:9.12    Bacchides was on the right wing. Flanked by the two squadrons, the phalanx attacked as they blew their trumpets. Those who were on Judas' side also blew their trumpets.
 1mc:9.13    The earth shook with the noise of the armies, and the battle raged from morning until evening.
 1mc:9.14    Seeing that Bacchides was on the right, with the main force of his army, Judas, with all the most stouthearted rallying to him,
 1mc:9.15    drove back the right wing and pursued them as far as the mountain slopes.
 1mc:9.16    But when the men on the left wing saw that the right wing was driven back, they turned and followed Judas and his men, taking them in the rear.
 1mc:9.17    The battle was fought desperately, and many on both sides fell wounded.
 1mc:9.18    Then Judas fell, and the rest fled.
 1mc:9.19    Jonathan and Simon took their brother Judas and buried him in the tomb of their fathers at Modein.
 1mc:9.20    All Israel bewailed him in great grief. They mourned for him many days, and they said,
 1mc:9.21    "How the mighty one has fallen, the savior of Israel!"
 1mc:9.22    The other acts of Judas, his battles, the brave deeds he performed, and his greatness have not been recorded; but they were very many.
 1mc:9.23    After the death of Judas, the transgressors of the law raised their heads in every part of Israel, and all kinds of evildoers appeared.
 1mc:9.24    In those days there was a very great famine, and the country deserted to them.
 1mc:9.25    Bacchides chose impious men and made them masters of the country.
 1mc:9.26    These sought out and hunted down the friends of Judas and brought them to Bacchides, who punished and derided them.
 1mc:9.27    There had not been such great distress in Israel since the time prophets ceased to appear among the people.
 1mc:9.28    Then all the friends of Judas came together and said to Jonathan:
 1mc:9.29    "Since your brother Judas died, there has been no one like him to oppose our enemies, Bacchides and those who are hostile to our nation.
 1mc:9.30    Now therefore we have chosen you today to be our ruler and leader in his place, and to fight our battle."
 1mc:9.31    From that moment Jonathan accepted the leadership, and took the place of Judas his brother.
 1mc:9.32    When Bacchides learned of it, he sought to kill him.
 1mc:9.33    But Jonathan and his brother Simon and all the men with him discovered this, and they fled to the desert of Tekoa and camped by the waters of the pool of Asphar.
 1mc:9.34    [When Bacchides heard of it, he came on the sabbath to the banks of the Jordan with a large force. ]
 1mc:9.35    Jonathan sent his brother as leader of the convoy to ask permission of his friends, the Nabateans, to deposit with them their great quantity of baggage.
 1mc:9.36    But the sons of Jambri from Medaba made a raid and seized and carried off John and everything he had.
 1mc:9.37    After this, word was brought to Jonathan and his brother Simon: "The sons of Jambri are celebrating a great wedding, and with a large escort they are bringing the bride, the daughter of one of the great princes of Canaan, from Nadabath."
 1mc:9.38    Remembering the blood of John their brother, they went up and hid themselves under cover of the mountain.
 1mc:9.39    They watched, and suddenly saw a noisy crowd with baggage; the bridegroom and his friends and kinsmen had come out to meet the bride's party with tambourines and musicians and much equipment.
 1mc:9.40    The Jews rose up against them from their ambush and killed them. Many fell wounded, and after the survivors fled toward the mountain, all their spoils were taken.
 1mc:9.41    Thus the wedding was turned into mourning, and the sound of music into lamentation.
 1mc:9.42    Having taken their revenge for the blood of their brother, the Jews returned to the marshes of the Jordan.
 1mc:9.43    When Bacchides heard of it, he came on the sabbath to the banks of the Jordan with a large force.
 1mc:9.44    Then Jonathan said to his companions, "Let us get up now and fight for our lives, for today is not like yesterday and the day before.
 1mc:9.45    The battle is before us, and behind us are the waters of the Jordan on one side, marsh and thickets on the other, and there is no way of escape.
 1mc:9.46    Cry out now to Heaven for deliverance from our enemies."
 1mc:9.47    When they joined battle, Jonathan raised his arm to strike Bacchides, but Bacchides backed away from him.
 1mc:9.48    Jonathan and his men jumped into the Jordan and swam across to the other side, but the enemy did not pursue them across the Jordan.
 1mc:9.49    A thousand men on Bacchides' side fell that day.
 1mc:9.50    On returning to Jerusalem, Bacchides built strongholds in Judea: the Jericho fortress, as well as Emmaus, Beth-horon, Bethel, Timnath, Pharathon, and Tephon, with high walls and gates and bars.
 1mc:9.51    In each he put a garrison to oppose Israel.
 1mc:9.52    He fortified the city of Beth-zur, Gazara and the citadel, and put soldiers in them and stores of provisions.
 1mc:9.53    He took as hostages the sons of the leaders of the country and put them in custody in the citadel at Jerusalem.
 1mc:9.54    In the year one hundred and fifty-three, in the second month, Alcimus ordered the wall of the inner court of the sanctuary to be torn down, thus destroying the work of the prophets. But he only began to tear it down.
 1mc:9.55    Just at that time he had a stroke, and his work was interrupted; his mouth was closed and he was paralyzed, so that he could no longer utter a word to give orders concerning his house.
 1mc:9.56    Finally he died in great agony.
 1mc:9.57    Seeing that Alcimus was dead, Bacchides returned to the king, and the land of Judah was quiet for two years. Bacchides and Jonathan
 1mc:9.58    Then all the transgressors of the law held a council and said: "Jonathan and his companions are living in peace and security. Now then, let us have Bacchides return, and he will capture all of them in a single night."
 1mc:9.59    So they went and took counsel with him.
 1mc:9.60    When Bacchides was setting out with a large force, he sent letters secretly to all his allies in Judea, telling them to seize Jonathan and his companions. They were not able to do this, however, because their plot became known.
 1mc:9.61    In fact, Jonathan's men seized about fifty of the men of the country who were ringleaders in the mischief and put them to death.
 1mc:9.62    Then Jonathan and Simon and their companions withdrew to Bethbasi in the desert; they rebuilt and strengthened its fortifications that had been demolished.
 1mc:9.63    When Bacchides learned of this, he gathered together his whole force and sent word to those who were in Judea.
 1mc:9.64    He came and pitched his camp before Bethbasi, and constructing siege-machines, he fought against it for many days.
 1mc:9.65    Leaving his brother Simon in the city, Jonathan, accompanied by a small group of men, went out into the field.
 1mc:9.66    He struck down Odomera and his kinsmen and the sons of Phasiron in their encampment; these men had set out to go up to the siege with their forces.
 1mc:9.67    Simon and his men then sallied forth from the city and set fire to the machines.
 1mc:9.68    They fought against Bacchides, and he was beaten. This caused him great distress. Because the enterprise he had planned came to nought,
 1mc:9.69    he was angry with the lawless men who had advised him to invade the province. He killed many of them and resolved to return to his own country.
 1mc:9.70    Jonathan learned of this and sent ambassadors to make peace with him and to obtain the release of the prisoners.
 1mc:9.71    He agreed to do as Jonathan had asked. He swore an oath to him that he would never try to injure him for the rest of his life;
 1mc:9.72    and he released the prisoners he had previously taken from the land of Judah. He returned to his own country and never came into their territory again.
 1mc:9.73    Then the sword ceased in Israel. Jonathan settled in Michmash; he began to judge the people and he destroyed the impious in Israel.
   
 1mc:10.1    In the year one hundred and sixty, Alexander, who was called Epiphanes, son of Antiochus, came up and took Ptolemais. He was accepted and began to reign there.
 1mc:10.2    When King Demetrius heard of it, he mustered a very large army and marched out to engage him in combat.
 1mc:10.3    Demetrius sent a letter to Jonathan written in peaceful terms, to pay him honor;
 1mc:10.4    for he said: "Let us be the first to make peace with him, before he makes peace with Alexander against us,
 1mc:10.5    since he will remember all the wrongs we have done to him, his brothers, and his nation."
 1mc:10.6    So Demetrius authorized him to gather an army and procure arms as his ally; and he ordered that the hostages in the citadel be released to him.
 1mc:10.7    Accordingly Jonathan went up to Jerusalem and read the letter to all the people. The men in the citadel
 1mc:10.8    were struck with fear when they heard that the king had given him authority to gather an army.
 1mc:10.9    They released the hostages to Jonathan, and he gave them back to their parents.
 1mc:10.10   Thereafter Jonathan dwelt in Jerusalem, and began to build and restore the city.
 1mc:10.11   He ordered the workmen to build the walls and encircle Mount Zion with square stones for its fortification, which they did.
 1mc:10.12   The foreigners in the strongholds that Bacchides had built, took flight;
 1mc:10.13   each one of them left his place and returned to his own country.
 1mc:10.14   Only in Beth-zur did some remain of those who had abandoned the law and the commandments, for they used it as a place of refuge.
 1mc:10.15   King Alexander heard of the promises that Demetrius had made to Jonathan; he was also told of the battles and valiant deeds of Jonathan and his brothers and the troubles that they had endured.
 1mc:10.16   He said, "Shall we ever find another man like him? Let us now make him our friend and ally."
 1mc:10.17   So he sent Jonathan a letter written in these terms:
 1mc:10.18   "King Alexander sends greetings to his brother Jonathan.
 1mc:10.19   We have heard of you, that you are a mighty warrior and worthy to be our friend.
 1mc:10.20   We have therefore appointed you today to be high priest of your nation; you are to be called the King's Friend, and you are to look after our interests and preserve amity with us." He also sent him a purple robe and a crown of gold.
 1mc:10.21   Jonathan put on the sacred vestments in the seventh month of the year one hundred and sixty at the feast of Booths, and he gathered an army and procured many arms.
 1mc:10.22   When Demetrius heard of these things, he was distressed and said:
 1mc:10.23   "Why have we allowed Alexander to get ahead of us by gaining the friendship of the Jews and thus strengthening himself?
 1mc:10.24   I too will write them conciliatory words and offer dignities and gifts, so that they may be an aid to me."
 1mc:10.25   So he sent them this message: "King Demetrius sends greetings to the Jewish nation.
 1mc:10.26   We have heard how you have kept the treaty with us and continued in our friendship and not gone over to our enemies, and we are glad.
 1mc:10.27   Continue, therefore, to keep faith with us, and we will reward you with favors in return for what you do in our behalf.
 1mc:10.28   We will grant you many exemptions and will bestow gifts on you.
 1mc:10.29   "I now free you, as I also exempt all the Jews, from the tribute, the salt tax, and the crown levies.
 1mc:10.30   Instead of collecting the third of the grain and the half of the fruit of the trees that should be my share, I renounce the right from this day forward: Neither now nor in the future will I collect them from the land of Judah or from the three districts annexed from Samaria.
 1mc:10.31   Let Jerusalem and her territory, her tithes and her tolls, be sacred and free from tax.
 1mc:10.32   I also yield my authority over the citadel in Jerusalem, and I transfer it to the high priest, that he may put in it such men as he shall choose to guard it.
 1mc:10.33   Every one of the Jews who has been carried into captivity from the land of Judah into any part of my kingdom I set at liberty without ransom; and let all their taxes, even those on their cattle, be canceled.
 1mc:10.34   Let all feast days, sabbaths, new moon festivals, appointed days, and the three days that precede each feast day, and the three days that follow, be days of immunity and exemption for every Jew in my kingdom.
 1mc:10.35   Let no man have authority to exact payment from them or to molest any of them in any matter.
 1mc:10.36   "Let thirty thousand Jews be enrolled in the king's army and allowances be given them, as is due to all the king's soldiers.
 1mc:10.37   Let some of them be stationed in the king's principal strongholds, and of these let some be given positions of trust in the affairs of the kingdom. Let their superiors and their rulers be taken from among them, and let them follow their own laws, as the king has commanded in the land of Judah.
 1mc:10.38   "Let the three districts that have been added to Judea from the province of Samaria be incorporated with Judea so that they may be under one man and obey no other authority than the high priest.
 1mc:10.39   Ptolemais and its confines I give as a present to the sanctuary in Jerusalem for the necessary expenses of the sanctuary.
 1mc:10.40   I make a yearly personal grant of fifteen thousand silver shekels out of the royal revenues, from appropriate places.
 1mc:10.41   All the additional funds that the officials did not hand over as they had done in the first years, shall henceforth be handed over for the services of the temple.
 1mc:10.42   Moreover, the dues of five thousand silver shekels that used to be taken from the revenue of the sanctuary every year shall be canceled, since these funds belong to the priests who perform the services.
 1mc:10.43   Whoever takes refuge in the temple of Jerusalem or in any of its precincts, because of money he owes the king, or because of any other debt, shall be released, together with all the goods he possesses in my kingdom. \
 1mc:10.44   The cost of rebuilding and restoring the structures of the sanctuary shall be covered out of the royal revenue.
 1mc:10.45   Likewise the cost of building the walls of Jerusalem and fortifying it all around, and of building walls in Judea, shall be donated from the royal revenue."
 1mc:10.46   When Jonathan and the people heard these words, they neither believed nor accepted them, for they remembered the great evil that Demetrius had done in Israel, and how sorely he had afflicted them.
 1mc:10.47   They therefore decided in favor of Alexander, for he had been the first to address them peaceably, and they remained his allies for the rest of his life.
 1mc:10.48   King Alexander gathered together a large army and encamped opposite Demetrius.
 1mc:10.49   The two kings joined battle, and when the army of Demetrius fled, Alexander pursued him, and overpowered his soldiers.
 1mc:10.50   He pressed the battle hard until sunset, and Demetrius fell that day.
 1mc:10.51   Alexander sent ambassadors to Ptolemy, king of Egypt, with this message:
 1mc:10.52   "Now that I have returned to my realm, taken my seat on the throne of my fathers, and established my rule by crushing Demetrius and gaining control of my country--
 1mc:10.53   for I engaged him in battle, defeated him and his army, and recovered the royal throne--
 1mc:10.54   let us now establish friendship with each other. Give me your daughter for my wife; and as your son-in-law, I will give to you and to her gifts worthy of you."
 1mc:10.55   King Ptolemy answered in these words: "Happy the day on which you returned to the land of your fathers and took your seat on their royal throne!
 1mc:10.56   I will do for you what you have written; but meet me in Ptolemais, so that we may see each other, and I will become your father-in-law as you have proposed."
 1mc:10.57   So Ptolemy with his daughter Cleopatra set out from Egypt and came to Ptolemais in the year one hundred and sixty-two.
 1mc:10.58   There King Alexander met him, and Ptolemy gave him his daughter Cleopatra in marriage. Their wedding was celebrated at Ptolemais with great splendor according to the custom of kings.
 1mc:10.59   King Alexander also wrote to Jonathan to come and meet him.
 1mc:10.60   So he went with pomp to Ptolemais, where he met the two kings and gave them and their friends silver and gold and many gifts and thus won their favor.
 1mc:10.61   Some pestilent Israelites, transgressors of the law, united against him to accuse him, but the king paid no heed to them.
 1mc:10.62   He ordered Jonathan to be divested of his ordinary garments and to be clothed in royal purple; and so it was done.
 1mc:10.63   The king also had him seated at his side. He said to his magistrates: "Go with him to the center of the city and make a proclamation that no one is to bring charges against him on any grounds or be troublesome to him in any way."
 1mc:10.64   When his accusers saw the honor paid to him in the proclamation, and the purple with which he was clothed, they all fled.
 1mc:10.65   The king also honored him by numbering him among his Chief Friends and made him military commander and governor of the province.
 1mc:10.66   So Jonathan returned in peace and happiness to Jerusalem.
 1mc:10.67   In the year one hundred and sixty-five, Demetrius, son of Demetrius, came from Crete to the land of his fathers.
 1mc:10.68   When King Alexander heard of it he was greatly troubled, and returned to Antioch.
 1mc:10.69   Demetrius appointed Apollonius governor of Coelesyria. Having gathered a large army, Appollonius pitched his camp at Jamnia. From there he sent this message to Jonathan the high priest:
 1mc:10.70   "You are the only one who resists us. I am laughed at and put to shame on your account. Why are you displaying power against us in the mountains?
 1mc:10.71   If you have confidence in your forces, come down now to us in the plain, and let us test each other's strength there; the city forces are on my side.
 1mc:10.72   Inquire and learn who I am and who the others are who are helping me. Men say that you cannot make a stand against us because your fathers were twice put to flight in their own land.
 1mc:10.73   Now you too will be unable to withstand our cavalry and such a force as this in the plain, where there is not a stone or a pebble or a place to flee."
 1mc:10.74   When Jonathan heard the message of Apollonius, he was roused. Choosing ten thousand men, he set out from Jerusalem, and Simon his brother joined him to help him.
 1mc:10.75   He pitched camp near Joppa, but the men in the city shut him out because Apollonius had a garrison there. When the Jews besieged it,
 1mc:10.76   the men of the city became afraid and opened the gates, and so Jonathan took possession of Joppa.
 1mc:10.77   When Apollonius heard of it, he drew up three thousand horsemen and an innumerable infantry. He marched on Azotus as though he were going on through the country, but at the same time he advanced into the plain, because he had such a large number of horsemen to rely on.
 1mc:10.78   Jonathan followed him to Azotus, and they engaged in battle.
 1mc:10.79   Apollonius, however, had left a thousand cavalry in hiding behind them.
 1mc:10.80   When Jonathan discovered that there was an ambush behind him, his army was surrounded. From morning until evening they showered his men with arrows.
 1mc:10.81   But his men held their ground, as Jonathan had commanded, whereas the enemy's horses became tired out.
 1mc:10.82   When the horsemen were exhausted, Simon attacked the phalanx, overwhelmed it and put it to flight.
 1mc:10.83   The horsemen too were scattered over the plain. The enemy fled to Azotus and entered Beth-dagon, the temple of their idol, to save themselves.
 1mc:10.84   But Jonathan burned and plundered Azotus with its neighboring towns, and destroyed by fire both the temple of Dagon and the men who had taken refuge in it.
 1mc:10.85   Those who fell by the sword, together with those who were burned alive, came to about eight thousand men.
 1mc:10.86   Then Jonathan left there and pitched his camp at Ashkalon, and the people of that city came out to meet him with great pomp.
 1mc:10.87   He and his men then returned to Jerusalem, laden with much booty.
 1mc:10.88   When King Alexander heard of these events, he accorded new honors to Jonathan.
 1mc:10.89   He sent him a gold buckle, such as is usually given to King's Kinsmen; he also gave him Ekron and all its territory as a possession.
   
 1mc:11.1    The king of Egypt gathered his forces, as numerous as the sands of the seashore, and many ships; and he sought by deceit to take Alexander's kingdom and add it to his own.
 1mc:11.2    He entered Syria with peaceful words, and the people in the cities opened their gates to welcome him, as King Alexander had ordered them to do, since Ptolemy was his father-in-law.
 1mc:11.3    But when Ptolemy entered the cities, he stationed garrison troops in each one.
 1mc:11.4    When he reached Azotus, he was shown the temple of Dagon destroyed by fire, Azotus and its suburbs demolished, corpses lying about, and the charred bodies of those burned by Jonathan in the war and stacked up along his route.
 1mc:11.5    To prejudice the king against Jonathan, he was told what the latter had done; but the king said nothing.
 1mc:11.6    Jonathan met the king with pomp at Joppa, and they greeted each other and spent the night there.
 1mc:11.7    Jonathan accompanied the king as far as the river called Eleutherus and then returned to Jerusalem.
 1mc:11.8    Plotting evil against Alexander, King Ptolemy took possession of the cities along the seacoast as far as Seleucia-by-the-Sea.
 1mc:11.9    He sent ambassadors to King Demetrius, saying: "Come, let us make a pact with each other; I will give you my daughter whom Alexander has married, and you shall reign over your father's kingdom.
 1mc:11.10   I regret that I gave him my daughter, for he has sought to kill me."
 1mc:11.11   His real reason for accusing Alexander, however, was that he coveted Alexander's kingdom.
 1mc:11.12   After taking his daughter away and giving her to Demetrius, Ptolemy broke with Alexander; their enmity became open.
 1mc:11.13   Then Ptolemy entered Antioch and assumed the crown of Asia; he thus wore two crowns on his head, that of Egypt and that of Asia.
 1mc:11.14   King Alexander was in Cilicia at that time, because the people of that region had revolted.
 1mc:11.15   When Alexander heard the news, he came to challenge Ptolemy in battle. Ptolemy marched out and met him with a strong force and put him to flight.
 1mc:11.16   Alexander fled to Arabia to seek protection. King Ptolemy's triumph was complete
 1mc:11.17   when the Arab Zabdiel cut off Alexander's head and sent it to Ptolemy.
 1mc:11.18   But three days later King Ptolemy himself died, and his men in the fortified cities were killed by the inhabitants of the strongholds.
 1mc:11.19   Thus Demetrius became king in the year one hundred and sixty-seven.
 1mc:11.20   At that time Jonathan gathered together the men of Judea to attack the citadel in Jerusalem, and they set up many machines against it.
 1mc:11.21   Some transgressors of the law, enemies of their own nation, went to the king and informed him that Jonathan was besieging the citadel.
 1mc:11.22   When Demetrius heard this, he was furious, and set out immediately for Ptolemais. He wrote to Jonathan to discontinue the siege and to meet him for a conference at Ptolemais as soon as possible.
 1mc:11.23   On hearing this, Jonathan ordered the siege to continue. He selected some elders and priests of Israel and exposed himself to danger
 1mc:11.24   by going to the king at Ptolemais. He brought with him silver, gold apparel, and many other presents, and found favor with the king.
 1mc:11.25   Although some impious men of his own nation brought charges against him,
 1mc:11.26   the king treated him just as his predecessors had done and showed him great honor in the presence of all his Friends.
 1mc:11.27   He confirmed him in the high priesthood and in all the honors he had previously held, and had him enrolled among his Chief Friends.
 1mc:11.28   Jonathan asked the king to exempt Judea and the three districts of Samaria from tribute, promising him in return three hundred talents.
 1mc:11.29   The king agreed and wrote the following letter to Jonathan about all these matters: Pact with Demetrius
 1mc:11.30   "King Demetrius sends greetings to his brother Jonathan and to the Jewish nation.
 1mc:11.31   We are sending you, for your information, a copy of the letter that we wrote to Lasthenes our kinsman concerning you.
 1mc:11.32   "'King Demetrius sends greetings to his father Lasthenes.
 1mc:11.33   Because of the good will they show us, we have decided to bestow benefits on the Jewish nation, who are our friends and who observe their obligations to us.
 1mc:11.34   Therefore we confirm their possession, not only of the territory of Judea, but also of the three districts of Aphairema, Lydda, and Ramathaim. These districts, together with all their dependencies, were transferred from Samaria to Judea in favor of all those who offer sacrifices for us in Jerusalem instead of paying the royal taxes that formerly the king received from them each year from the produce of the soil and the fruit of the trees.
 1mc:11.35   From this day on we grant them release from payment of all other things that would henceforth be due to us, that is, of tithes and tribute and of the tax on the salt pans and the crown tax.
 1mc:11.36   Henceforth none of these provisions shall ever be revoked.
 1mc:11.37   Be sure, therefore, to have a copy of these instructions made and given to Jonathan, that it may be displayed in a conspicuous place on the holy hill.'"
 1mc:11.38   When King Demetrius saw that the land was peaceful under his rule and that he had no opposition, he dismissed his entire army, every man to his home, except the foreign troops which he had hired from the islands of the nations. So all the soldiers who had served under his predecessors hated him.
 1mc:11.39   When a certain Trypho, who had previously belonged to Alexander's party, saw that all the troops were grumbling at Demetrius, he went to Imalkue the Arab, who was bringing up Alexander's young son Antiochus.
 1mc:11.40   Trypho kept urging Imalkue to hand over the boy to him, that he might make him king in his father's place. During his stay there of many days, he told him of all that Demetrius had done and of the hatred that his soldiers had for him.
 1mc:11.41   Meanwhile Jonathan sent the request to King Demetrius to withdraw his troops from the citadel of Jerusalem and from the other strongholds, for they were constantly hostile to Israel.
 1mc:11.42   Demetrius, in turn, sent this word to Jonathan: "I will not only do this for you and your nation, but I will greatly honor you and your nation when I find the opportunity.
 1mc:11.43   Do me the favor, therefore, of sending men to fight for me, because all my troops have revolted."
 1mc:11.44   So Jonathan sent three thousand good fighting men to him at Antioch. When they came to the king, he was delighted over their arrival,
 1mc:11.45   for the populace, one hundred and twenty thousand strong, had massed in the center of the city in an attempt to kill him.
 1mc:11.46   But he took refuge in the palace, while the populace gained control of the main streets and began to fight.
 1mc:11.47   So the king called the Jews to his aid. They all rallied around him and spread out through the city. On that day they killed about a hundred thousand men in the city,
 1mc:11.48   which, at the same time, they set on fire and plundered on a large scale. Thus they saved the king's life.
 1mc:11.49   When the populace saw that the Jews held the city at their mercy, they lost courage and cried out to the king in supplication,
 1mc:11.50   "Give us your terms and let the Jews stop attacking us and our city." So they threw down their arms and made peace.
 1mc:11.51   The Jews thus gained glory in the eyes of the king and all his subjects, and they became renowned throughout his kingdom. Finally they returned to Jerusalem with much spoil.
 1mc:11.52   But when King Demetrius was sure of his royal throne, and the land was peaceful under his rule,
 1mc:11.53   he broke all his promises and became estranged from Jonathan. Instead of rewarding Jonathan for all the favors he had received from him, he caused him much trouble.
 1mc:11.54   After this, Trypho returned and brought with him the young boy Antiochus, who became king and wore the royal crown.
 1mc:11.55   All the soldiers whom Demetrius had discharged rallied around Antiochus and fought against Demetrius, who was routed and fled.
 1mc:11.56   Trypho captured the elephants and occupied Antioch.
 1mc:11.57   Then young Antiochus wrote to Jonathan: "I confirm you in the high priesthood and appoint you ruler over the four districts and wish you to be one of the King's Friends."
 1mc:11.58   He also sent him gold dishes and a dinner service, gave him the right to drink from gold cups, to dress in royal purple, and to wear a gold buckle.
 1mc:11.59   Likewise, he made Jonathan's brother Simon governor of the region from the Ladder of Tyre to the frontier of Egypt.
 1mc:11.60   Jonathan set out and traveled through West-of-Euphrates and its cities, and all the forces of Syria espoused his cause as allies. When he arrived at Ashkalon, the citizens welcomed him with pomp.
 1mc:11.61   But when he set out for Gaza, the people of Gaza locked their gates against him. So he besieged it and burned and plundered its suburbs.
 1mc:11.62   Then the people of Gaza appealed to him for mercy, and he granted them peace. He took the sons of their chief men as hostages and sent them to Jerusalem. He then traveled on through the province as far as Damascus.
 1mc:11.63   Jonathan heard that the generals of Demetrius had come with a strong force to Kadesh in Galilee, intending to remove him from office.
 1mc:11.64   So he went to meet them, leaving his brother Simon in the province.
 1mc:11.65   Simon besieged Beth-zur, attacked it for many days, and blockaded the inhabitants.
 1mc:11.66   When they sued for peace, he granted it to them. He expelled them from the city, took possession of it, and put a garrison there.
 1mc:11.67   Meanwhile, Jonathan and his army pitched their camp near the waters of Gennesaret, and at daybreak they went to the plain of Hazor.
 1mc:11.68   There, in front of him on the plain, was the army of the foreigners. This army attacked him in the open, having first detached an ambush against him in the mountains.
 1mc:11.69   Then the men in ambush rose out of their places and joined in the battle.
 1mc:11.70   All of Jonathan's men fled; no one stayed except the army commanders Mattathias, son of Absalom, and Judas, son of Chalphi.
 1mc:11.71   Jonathan tore his clothes, threw earth on his head, and prayed.
 1mc:11.72   Then he went back to the combat and so overwhelmed the enemy that they took to flight.
 1mc:11.73   Those of his men who were running away saw it and returned to him; and with him they pursued the enemy as far as their camp in Kadesh, where they pitched their own camp.
 1mc:11.74   Three thousand of the foreign troops fell on that day. Then Jonathan returned to Jerusalem.
   
 1mc:12.1    When Jonathan saw that the times favored him, he sent selected men to Rome to confirm and renew his friendship with the Romans.
 1mc:12.2    He also sent letters to Sparta and other places for the same purpose.
 1mc:12.3    After reaching Rome, the men entered the senate chamber and said, "The high priest Jonathan and the Jewish people have sent us to renew the earlier friendship and alliance between you and them."
 1mc:12.4    The Romans gave them letters addressed to the authorities in the various places, requesting them to provide the envoys with safe conduct to the land of Judah.
 1mc:12.5    This is a copy of the letter that Jonathan wrote to the Spartans:
 1mc:12.6    "Jonathan the high priest, the senate of the nation, the priests, and the rest of the Jewish people send greetings to their brothers the Spartans.
 1mc:12.7    Long ago a letter was sent to the high priest Onias from Arius, who then reigned over you, stating that you are our brothers, as the attached copy shows.
 1mc:12.8    Onias welcomed the envoy with honor and received the letter, which clearly referred to alliance and friendship.
 1mc:12.9    Though we have no need of these things, since we have for our encouragement the sacred books that are in our possession,
 1mc:12.10   we have ventured to send word to you for the renewal of brotherhood and friendship, so as not to become strangers to you altogether; a long time has passed since your mission to us.
 1mc:12.11   We, on our part, have never ceased to remember you in the sacrifices and prayers that we offer on our feasts and other appropriate days, as it is right and proper to remember brothers.
 1mc:12.12   We likewise rejoice in your renown.
 1mc:12.13   But many hardships and wars have beset us, and the kings around us have attacked us.
 1mc:12.14   We did not wish to be troublesome to you and to the rest of our allies and friends in these wars;
 1mc:12.15   with the help of Heaven for our support, we have been saved from our enemies, and they have been humbled.
 1mc:12.16   So we have chosen Numenius, son of Antiochus, and Antipater, son of Jason, and we have sent them to the Romans to renew our former friendship and alliance with them.
 1mc:12.17   We have also ordered them to come to you and greet you, and to deliver to you our letter about the renewal of our brotherhood.
 1mc:12.18   Therefore kindly send us an answer on this matter."
 1mc:12.19   This is a copy of the letter that was sent to Onias:
 1mc:12.20   "Arius, king of the Spartans, sends greetings to Onias the high priest.
 1mc:12.21   A document has been found stating that the Spartans and the Jews are brothers; both nations descended from Abraham.
 1mc:12.22   Now that we have learned this, kindly write to us about your welfare.
 1mc:12.23   We, on our part, are informing you that your cattle and your possessions are ours, and ours are yours. We have, therefore, given orders that you should be told of this."
 1mc:12.24   Jonathan heard that the generals of Demetrius had returned to attack him with a stronger army than before.
 1mc:12.25   He set out from Jerusalem and went into the country of Hamath to meet them, giving them no time to enter his province.
 1mc:12.26   The spies he had sent into their camp came back and reported that the enemy had made ready to attack the Jews that very night.
 1mc:12.27   Therefore, when the sun set, Jonathan ordered his men to be on guard and to remain armed, ready for combat, throughout the night. He also set outposts all around the camp.
 1mc:12.28   When the enemy heard that Jonathan and his men were ready for battle, their hearts sank with fear and dread. They lighted fires and then withdrew.
 1mc:12.29   But because Jonathan and his men were watching the lights burning, they did not know what had happened until morning.
 1mc:12.30   Then Jonathan pursued them, but he could not overtake them, for they had crossed the river Eleutherus.
 1mc:12.31   So Jonathan turned aside against the Arabs who are called Zabadeans, overwhelming and plundering them.
 1mc:12.32   Then he marched on to Damascus and traversed that whole region.
 1mc:12.33   Simon also set out and went as far as Ashkalon and its neighboring strongholds. He then turned to Joppa and occupied it,
 1mc:12.34   for he heard that its men had intended to hand over this stronghold to the supporters of Demetrius. He left a garrison there to guard it.
 1mc:12.35   When Jonathan returned, he assembled the elders of the people, and with them he made plans for building strongholds in Judea,
 1mc:12.36   for making the walls of Jerusalem still higher, and for erecting a high barrier between the citadel and the city, that would isolate the citadel and so prevent its garrison from commerce with the city.
 1mc:12.37   The people therefore worked together on building up the city, for part of the east wall above the ravine had collapsed. The quarter called Chaphenatha was also repaired.
 1mc:12.38   Simon likewise built up Adida in the Shephelah, and strengthened its fortifications by providing them with gates and bars.
 1mc:12.39   Trypho was determined to become king of Asia, assume the crown, and do away with King Antiochus.
 1mc:12.40   But he was afraid that Jonathan would not permit him, but would fight against him. Looking for a way to seize and kill him, he set out and reached Beth-shan.
 1mc:12.41   Jonathan marched out against him with forty thousand picked fighting men and came to Beth-shan.
 1mc:12.42   But when Trypho saw that Jonathan had arrived with a large army he was afraid to offer him violence.
 1mc:12.43   Instead, he received him with honor, introduced him to all his friends, and gave him presents. He also ordered his friends and soldiers to obey him as they would himself.
 1mc:12.44   Then he said to Jonathan: "Why have you put all your soldiers to so much trouble when we are not at war?
 1mc:12.45   Pick out a few men to stay with you, send the rest back home, and then come with me to Ptolemais. I will hand it over to you together with other strongholds and their garrisons, as well as the officials, then I will leave and go home. That is why I came here."
 1mc:12.46   Jonathan believed him and did as he said. He dismissed his troops, and they returned to the land of Judah.
 1mc:12.47   But he kept with him three thousand men, of whom he sent two thousand to Galilee while one thousand accompanied him.
 1mc:12.48   Then as soon as Jonathan had entered Ptolemais, the men of the city closed the gates and seized him; all who had entered with him, they killed with the sword.
 1mc:12.49   Trypho sent soldiers and cavalry to Galilee and the Great Plain to destroy all Jonathan's men.
 1mc:12.50   These, upon learning that Jonathan had been captured and his companions killed, encouraged one another and went out in compact body ready to fight.
 1mc:12.51   As their pursuers saw that they were ready to fight for their lives, they turned back.
 1mc:12.52   Thus all these men of Jonathan came safely into the land of Judah. They mourned over Jonathan and his men, and were in great fear, and all Israel fell into deep mourning.
 1mc:12.53   All the nations round about sought to destroy them. They said, "Now that they have no leader to help them, let us make war on them and wipe out their memory from among men."
   
 1mc:13.1    When Simon heard that Trypho was gathering a large army to invade and ravage the land of Judah,
 1mc:13.2    and saw that the people were in dread and terror, he went up to Jerusalem. There he assembled the people
 1mc:13.3    and exhorted them in these words: "You know what I, my brothers, and my father's house have done for the laws and the sanctuary; what battles and disasters we have been through.
 1mc:13.4    It was for the sake of these, for the sake of Israel, that all my brothers have perished, and I alone am left.
 1mc:13.5    Far be it from me, then, to save my own life in any time of distress, for I am not better than my brothers.
 1mc:13.6    Rather will I avenge my nation and the sanctuary, as well as your wives and children, for all the nations out of hatred have united to destroy us."
 1mc:13.7    As the people heard these words, their spirit was rekindled.
 1mc:13.8    They shouted in reply: "You are our leader in place of your brothers Judas and Jonathan.
 1mc:13.9    Fight our battles, and we will do everything that you tell us."
 1mc:13.10   So Simon mustered all the men able to fight, and quickly completing the walls of Jerusalem, fortified it on every side.
 1mc:13.11   He sent Jonathan, son of Absalom, to Joppa with a large force; Jonathan drove out the occupants and remained there.
 1mc:13.12   Then Trypho moved from Ptolemais with a large army to invade the land of Judah, bringing Jonathan with him as a prisoner.
 1mc:13.13   But Simon pitched his camp at Adida, facing the plain.
 1mc:13.14   When Trypho learned that Simon had succeeded his brother Jonathan, and that he intended to fight him, he sent envoys to him with this message:
 1mc:13.15   "We have detained your brother Jonathan on account of the money that he owed the royal treasury in connection with the offices that he held.
 1mc:13.16   Therefore, if you send us a hundred talents of silver, and two of his sons as hostages to guarantee that when he is set free he will not revolt against us, we will release him."
 1mc:13.17   Although Simon knew that they were speaking deceitfully to him, he gave orders to get the money and the boys, for fear of provoking much hostility among the people, who might say
 1mc:13.18   that Jonathan perished because Simon would not send Trypho the money and the boys.
 1mc:13.19   So he sent the boys and the hundred talents; but Trypho broke his promise and would not let Jonathan go.
 1mc:13.20   Next he began to invade and ravage the country. His troops went around by the road that leads to Adora, but Simon and his army moved along opposite him everywhere he went.
 1mc:13.21   The men in the citadel sent messengers to Trypho, urging him to come to them by way of the desert, and to send them provisions.
 1mc:13.22   Although Trypho got all his cavalry ready to go, there was a heavy fall of snow that night, and he could not go. So he left for Gilead.
 1mc:13.23   When he was approaching Baskama, he had Jonathan killed and buried there.
 1mc:13.24   Then Trypho returned to his own country.
 1mc:13.25   Simon sent for the remains of his brother Jonathan, and buried him in Modein, the city of his fathers.
 1mc:13.26   All Israel bewailed him with solemn lamentation, mourning over him for many days.
 1mc:13.27   Then Simon erected over the tomb of his father and his brothers a monument of stones, polished front and back, and raised high enough to be seen at a distance.
 1mc:13.28   He set up seven pyramids facing one another for his father and his mother and his four brothers.
 1mc:13.29   For the pyramids he devised a setting of big columns, on which he carved suits of armor as a perpetual memorial, and next to the armor he placed carved ships, which could be seen by all who sailed the sea.
 1mc:13.30   This tomb which he built at Modein is there to the present day.
 1mc:13.31   Trypho dealt treacherously with the young King Antiochus. He killed him
 1mc:13.32   and assumed the kingship in his place, putting on the crown of Asia. Thus he brought much evil on the land.
 1mc:13.33   Simon, on his part, built up the strongholds of Judea, strengthening their fortifications with high towers, thick walls, and gates with bars, and he stored up provisions in the fortresses.
 1mc:13.34   Simon also sent chosen men to King Demetrius with the request that he grant the land a release from taxation, for all that Trypho did was to plunder the land.
 1mc:13.35   In reply, King Demetrius sent him the following letter:
 1mc:13.36   "King Demetrius sends greetings to Simon the high priest, the friend of kings, and to the elders and the Jewish people.
 1mc:13.37   We have received the gold crown and the palm branch that you sent. We are willing to be on most peaceful terms with you and to write to our official to grant you release from tribute.
 1mc:13.38   Whatever we have guaranteed to you remains in force, and the strongholds that you have built shall remain yours.
 1mc:13.39   We remit any oversights and defaults incurred up to now, as well as the crown tax that you owe. Any other tax that may have been collected in Jerusalem shall no longer be collected there.
 1mc:13.40   If any of you are qualified for enrollment in our service, let them be enrolled. Let there be peace between us."
 1mc:13.41   Thus in the year one hundred and seventy, the yoke of the Gentiles was removed from Israel,
 1mc:13.42   and the people began to write in their records and contracts, "In the first year of Simon, high priest, governor, and leader of the Jews."
 1mc:13.43   In those days Simon besieged Gazara and surrounded it with troops. He made a siege machine, pushed it up against the city, and attacked and captured one of the towers.
 1mc:13.44   The men who had been on the siege machine jumped down into the city and caused a great tumult there.
 1mc:13.45   The men of the city, joined by their wives and children, went up on the wall, with their garments rent, and cried out in loud voices, begging Simon to grant them peace.
 1mc:13.46   "Do not treat us according to our evil deeds," they said, "but according to your mercy."
 1mc:13.47   So Simon came to terms with them and did not destroy them. He made them leave the city, however, and he purified the houses in which there were idols. Then he entered the city with hymns and songs of praise.
 1mc:13.48   After removing from it everything that was impure, he settled there men who observed the law. He improved its fortifications and built himself a residence.
 1mc:13.49   The men in the citadel in Jerusalem were prevented from going out into the country and back for the purchase of food; they suffered greatly from hunger, and many of them died of starvation.
 1mc:13.50   They finally cried out to Simon for peace, and he gave them peace. He expelled them from the citadel and cleansed it of impurities.
 1mc:13.51   On the twenty-third day of the second month, in the year one hundred and seventy-one, the Jews entered the citadel with shouts of jubilation, waving of palm branches, the music of harps and cymbals and lyres, and the singing of hymns and canticles, because a great enemy of Israel had been destroyed.
 1mc:13.52   Simon decreed that this day should be celebrated every year with rejoicing. He also strengthened the fortifications of the temple hill alongside the citadel, and he and his companions dwelt there.
 1mc:13.53   Seeing that his son John was now a grown man, Simon made him commander of all his soldiers, with his residence in Gazara.
   
 1mc:14.1    In the year one hundred and seventy-two, King Demetrius assembled his army and marched into Media to obtain help so that he could fight Trypho.
 1mc:14.2    When Arsaces, king of Persia and Media, heard that Demetrius had invaded his territory, he sent one of his generals to take him alive.
 1mc:14.3    The general went forth and defeated the army of Demetrius; he captured him and brought him to Arsaces, who put him in prison.
 1mc:14.4    The land was at rest all the days of Simon, who sought the good of his nation. His people were delighted with his power and his magnificence throughout his reign.
 1mc:14.5    As his crowning glory he captured the port of Joppa and made it a gateway to the isles of the sea.
 1mc:14.6    He enlarged the borders of his nation and gained control of the country.
 1mc:14.7    He took many enemies prisoners of war and made himself master of Gazara, Beth-zur, and the citadel. He cleansed the citadel of its impurities; there was no one to withstand him.
 1mc:14.8    The people cultivated their land in peace; the land yielded its produce and the trees of the field their fruit.
 1mc:14.9    Old men sat in the squares, all talking about the good times, while the young men wore the glorious apparel of war.
 1mc:14.10   He supplied the cities with food and equipped them with means of defense, till his glorious name reached the ends of the earth.
 1mc:14.11   He brought peace to the land, and Israel was filled with happiness.
 1mc:14.12   Every man sat under his vine and his fig tree, with no one to disturb him.
 1mc:14.13   No one was left to attack them in their land; the kings in those days were crushed.
 1mc:14.14   He strengthened all the lowly among his people and was zealous for the law; he suppressed all the lawless and the wicked.
 1mc:14.15   He made the temple splendid and enriched its equipment.
 1mc:14.16   When people heard in Rome and even in Sparta that Jonathan had died, they were deeply grieved.
 1mc:14.17   But when the Romans heard that his brother Simon had been made high priest in his place and was master of the country and the cities,
 1mc:14.18   they sent him inscribed tablets of bronze to renew with him the friendship and alliance that they had established with his brothers Judas and Jonathan.
 1mc:14.19   These were read before the assembly in Jerusalem.
 1mc:14.20   This is a copy of the letter that the Spartans sent: "The rulers and the citizens of Sparta send greetings to Simon the high priest, the elders, the priests, and the rest of the Jewish people, our brothers.
 1mc:14.21   The envoys you sent to our people have informed us of your glory and fame, and we were happy that they came.
 1mc:14.22   In accordance with what they said we have recorded the following in the public decrees: Since Numenius, son of Antiochus, and Antipater, son of Jason, envoys of the Jews, have come to us to renew their friendship with us,
 1mc:14.23   the people have voted to receive the men with honor, and to deposit a copy of their words in the public archives, so that the people of Sparta may have a record of them. A copy of this decree has been made for Simon the high priest."
 1mc:14.24   After this, Simon sent Numenius to Rome with a great gold shield weighing a thousand minas, to confirm the alliance with the Romans.
 1mc:14.25   When the people heard of these things, they said, "How can we thank Simon and his sons?
 1mc:14.26   He and his brothers and his father's house have stood firm and repulsed Israel's enemies. They have thus preserved its liberty." So they made an inscription on bronze tablets, which they affixed to pillars on Mount Zion.
 1mc:14.27   The following is a copy of the inscription: "On the eighteenth day of Elul, in the year one hundred and seventy-two, that is, the third year under Simon the high priest in Asaramel,
 1mc:14.28   in a great assembly of priests, people, rulers of the nation, and elders of the country, the following proclamation was made:
 1mc:14.29   "'Since there have often been wars in our country, Simon, son of the priest Mattathias, descendant of Joarib, and his brothers have put themselves in danger and resisted the enemies of their nation, so that their sanctuary and law might be maintained, and they have thus brought great glory to their nation.
 1mc:14.30   After Jonathan had rallied his nation and become their high priest, he was gathered to his kinsmen.
 1mc:14.31   When the enemies of the Jews sought to invade and devastate their country and to lay hands on their temple,
 1mc:14.32   Simon rose up and fought for his nation, spending large sums of his own money to equip the men of his nation's armed forces and giving them their pay.
 1mc:14.33   He fortified the cities of Judea, especially the frontier city of Beth-zur, where he stationed a garrison of Jewish soldiers, and where previously the enemy's arms had been stored.
 1mc:14.34   He also fortified Joppa by the sea and Gazara on the border of Azotus, a place previously occupied by the enemy; these cities he resettled with Jews, and furnished them with all that was necessary for their restoration.
 1mc:14.35   When the Jewish people saw Simon's loyalty and the glory he planned to bring to his nation, they made him their leader and high priest because of all he had accomplished and the loyalty and justice he had shown his nation. In every way he sought to exalt his people.
 1mc:14.36   "'In his time and under his guidance they succeeded in driving the Gentiles out of their country, especially those in the City of David in Jerusalem, who had built for themselves a citadel from which they used to sally forth to defile the environs of the temple and inflict grave injury on its purity.
 1mc:14.37   In this citadel he stationed Jewish soldiers, and he strengthened its fortifications for the defense of the land and the city, while he also raised the wall of Jerusalem to a greater height.
 1mc:14.38   Consequently, King Demetrius confirmed him in the high priesthood,
 1mc:14.39   made him one of his Friends, and conferred the highest honors on him.
 1mc:14.40   He had indeed heard that the Romans had addressed the Jews as friends, allies, and brothers and that they had received Simon's envoys with honor.
 1mc:14.41   "'The Jewish people and their priest have, therefore, made the following decisions. Simon shall be their permanent leader and high priest until a true prophet arises.
 1mc:14.42   He shall act as governor general over them, and shall have charge of the temple, to make regulations concerning its functions and concerning the country, its weapons and strongholds,
 1mc:14.43   he shall be obeyed by all. All contracts made in the country shall be dated by his name. He shall have the right to wear royal purple and gold ornaments.
 1mc:14.44   It shall not be lawful for any of the people or priests to nullify any of these decisions, or to contradict the orders given by him, or to convene an assembly in the country without his consent, to be clothed in royal purple or wear an official gold brooch.
 1mc:14.45   Whoever acts otherwise or violates any of these prescriptions shall be liable to punishment.
 1mc:14.46   "'All the people approved of granting Simon the right to act in accord with these decisions,
 1mc:14.47   and Simon accepted and agreed to act as high priest, governor general, and ethnarch of the Jewish people and priests and to exercise supreme authority over all.'"
 1mc:14.48   It was decreed that this inscription should be engraved on bronze tablets, to be set up in a conspicuous place in the precincts of the temple,
 1mc:14.49   and that copies of it should be deposited in the treasury, where they would be available to Simon and his sons.
   
 1mc:15.1    Antiochus, son of King Demetrius, sent a letter from the islands of the sea to Simon, the priest and ethnarch of the Jews, and to all the nation,
 1mc:15.2    which read as follows: "King Antiochus sends greetings to Simon, the priest and ethnarch, and to the Jewish nation.
 1mc:15.3    Whereas certain villains have gained control of the kingdom of my ancestors, I intend to reclaim it, that I may restore it to its former state. I have recruited a large number of mercenary troops and equipped warships
 1mc:15.4    to make a landing in my country and take revenge on those who have ruined it and laid waste many cities in my realm.
 1mc:15.5    "Now, therefore, I confirm to you all the tax exemptions that the kings before me granted you and whatever other privileges they conferred on you.
 1mc:15.6    I authorize you to coin your own money, as legal tender in your country.
 1mc:15.7    Jerusalem and its temple shall be free. All the weapons you have prepared and all the strongholds you have built and now occupy shall remain in your possession.
 1mc:15.8    All debts, present or future, due to the royal treasury shall be canceled for you, now and for all time.
 1mc:15.9    When we recover our kingdom, we will greatly honor you and your nation and the temple, so that your glory will be manifest in all the earth."
 1mc:15.10   In the year one hundred and seventy-four Antiochus invaded the land of his ancestors, and all the troops rallied to him, so that few were left with Trypho.
 1mc:15.11   Pursued by Antiochus, Trypho fled to Dor, by the sea,
 1mc:15.12   realizing what a mass of troubles had come upon him now that his soldiers had deserted him.
 1mc:15.13   Antiochus encamped before Dor with a hundred and twenty thousand infantry and eight thousand horsemen.
 1mc:15.14   While he invested the city, his ships closed in along the coast, so that he blockaded it by land and sea and let no one go in or out.
 1mc:15.15   Meanwhile, Numenius and his companions left Rome with letters such as this addressed to various kings and countries:
 1mc:15.16   "Lucius, Consul of the Romans, sends greetings to King Ptolemy.
 1mc:15.17   Certain envoys of the Jews, our friends and allies, have come to us to renew their earlier alliance of friendship. They had been sent by Simon the high priest and the Jewish people,
 1mc:15.18   and they brought with them a gold shield worth a thousand minas.
 1mc:15.19   Therefore we have decided to write to various kings and countries, that they are not to harm them, or wage war against them or their cities or their country, and are not to assist those who fight against them.
 1mc:15.20   We have also decided to accept the shield from them.
 1mc:15.21   If, then, any troublemakers from their country take refuge with you, hand them over to Simon the high priest, so that he may punish them according to their law."
 1mc:15.22   The consul sent similar letters to Kings Demetrius, Attalus, Ariarthes and Arsaces;
 1mc:15.23   to all the countries--Sampsames, Sparta, Delos, Myndos, Sicyon, Caria, Samos, Pamphylia, Lycia, Halicarnassus, Rhodes, Phaselis, Cos, Side, Aradus, Gortyna, Cnidus, Cyprus, and Cyrene.
 1mc:15.24   A copy of the letter was also sent to Simon the high priest.
 1mc:15.25   When King Antiochus was encamped before Dor, he assaulted it continuously both with troops and with the siege machines he had made. He blockaded Trypho by preventing anyone from going in or out.
 1mc:15.26   Simon sent to Antiochus' support two thousand elite troops, together with gold and silver and much equipment.
 1mc:15.27   But he refused to accept the aid; in fact, he broke all the agreements he had previously made with Simon and became hostile toward him.
 1mc:15.28   He sent Athenobius, one of his Friends, to confer with Simon and say: "You are occupying Joppa and Gazara and the citadel of Jerusalem; these are cities of my kingdom.
 1mc:15.29   You have laid waste their territories, done great harm to the land, and taken possession of many districts in my realm.
 1mc:15.30   Therefore, give up the cities you have seized and the tribute money of the districts outside the territory of Judea of which you have taken possession;
 1mc:15.31   or instead, pay me five hundred talents of silver for the devastation you have caused and five hundred talents more for the tribute money of the cities. If you do not do this, we will come and make war on you."
 1mc:15.32   So Athenobius, the king's Friend, came to Jerusalem and on seeing the splendor of Simon's court, the gold and silver plate on the sideboard, and the rest of his rich display, he was amazed. When he gave him the king's message,
 1mc:15.33   Simon said to him in reply: "We have not seized any foreign land; what we took is not the property of others, but our ancestral heritage which for a time had been unjustly held by our enemies.
 1mc:15.34   Now that we have the opportunity, we are holding on to the heritage of our ancestors.
 1mc:15.35   As for Joppa and Gazara, which you demand, the men of these cities were doing great harm to our people and laying waste our country; however, we are willing to pay you a hundred talents for these cities."
 1mc:15.36   Athenobius made no reply, but returned to the king in anger. When he told him of Simon's words, of his splendor, and of all he had seen, the king fell into a violent rage.
 1mc:15.37   Trypho had gotten aboard a ship and escaped to Orthosia.
 1mc:15.38   Then the king appointed Cendebeus commander-in-chief of the seacoast, and gave him infantry and cavalry forces.
 1mc:15.39   He ordered him to move his troops against Judea and to fortify Kedron and strengthen its gates, so that he could launch attacks against the Jewish people. Meanwhile the king went in pursuit of Trypho.
 1mc:15.40   When Cendebeus came to Jamnia, he began to harass the people and to make incursions into Judea, where he took people captive or massacred them.
 1mc:15.41   As the king ordered, he fortified Kedron and stationed horsemen and infantry there, so that they could go out and patrol the roads of Judea.

 1mc:16.1.   John then went up from Gazara and told his father Simon what Cendebeus was doing.
 1mc:16.2.   Simon called his two oldest sons, Judas and John, and said to them: "I and my brothers and my father's house have fought the battles of Israel from our youth until today, and many times we succeeded in saving Israel.
 1mc:16.3.   I have now grown old, but you, by the mercy of Heaven, have come to man's estate. Take my place and my brother's, and go out and fight for our nation; and may the help of Heaven be with you!"
 1mc:16.4.   John then mustered in the land twenty thousand warriors and horsemen. Setting out against Cendebeus, they spent the night at Modein,
 1mc:16.5.   rose early, and marched into the plain. There, facing them, was an immense army of foot soldiers and horsemen, and between the two armies was a stream.
 1mc:16.6.   John and his men took their position against the enemy. Seeing that his men were afraid to cross the stream, John crossed first. When his men saw this, they crossed over after him.
 1mc:16.7.   Then he divided his infantry into two corps and put his cavalry between them, for the enemy's horsemen were very numerous.
 1mc:16.8.   They blew the trumpets, and Cendebeus and his army were put to flight; many of them fell wounded, and the rest fled toward the stronghold.
 1mc:16.9.   It was then that John's brother Judas fell wounded; but John pursued them until Cendebeus reached Kedron, which he had fortified.
 1mc:16.10   Some took refuge in the towers on the plain of Azotus, but John set fire to these, and about two thousand of the enemy perished. He then returned to Judea in peace.
 1mc:16.11   Ptolemy, son of Abubus, had been appointed governor of the plain of Jericho, and he had much silver and gold,
 1mc:16.12   being the son-in-law of the high priest.
 1mc:16.13   But he became ambitious and sought to get control of the country. So he made treacherous plans to do away with Simon and his sons.
 1mc:16.14   As Simon was inspecting the cities of the country and providing for their needs, he and his sons Mattathias and Judas went down to Jericho in the year one hundred and seventy-seven, in the eleventh month (that is, the month Shebat).
 1mc:16.15   The son of Abubus gave them a deceitful welcome in the little stronghold called Dok which he had built. While serving them a sumptuous banquet, he had his men hidden there.
 1mc:16.16   Then, when Simon and his sons had drunk freely, Ptolemy and his men sprang up, weapons in hand, rushed upon Simon in the banquet hall, and killed him, his two sons, and some of his servants.
 1mc:16.17   By this vicious act of treason he repaid good with evil.
 1mc:16.18   Then Ptolemy wrote an account of this and sent it to the king, asking that troops be sent to help him and that the country be turned over to him.
 1mc:16.19   He sent other men to Gazara to do away with John. To the army officers he sent letters inviting them to come to him so that he might present them with silver, gold, and gifts.
 1mc:16.20   He also sent others to seize Jerusalem and the mount of the temple.
 1mc:16.21   But someone ran ahead and brought word to John at Gazara that his father and his brothers had perished, and that Ptolemy had sent men to kill him also.
 1mc:16.22   On hearing this, John was utterly astounded. When the men came to kill him, he had them arrested and put to death, for he knew what they meant to do.
 1mc:16.23   Now the rest of the history of John, his wars and the brave deeds he performed, his rebuilding of the walls, and his other achievements-
 1mc:16.24   these things are recorded in the chronicle of his pontificate, from the time that he succeeded his father as high priest.   [end of 1 Maccabees]

