1 Maccabees 6

1And King Antiochus was traveling through the upper regions, and he heard that in Elymais, in Persia, there was a city renowned for wealth, silver, and gold;

2and that the temple in it was exceedingly rich, and that there were gold coverings there, and breastplates and weapons, which Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian king, who first reigned over the Greeks, had left there.

3And he came and sought to take the city and plunder it, but he was not able, because the plan became known to those from the city.

4And they rose up against him in battle, and he fled and went away from there with great sorrow, to return to Babylon.

5And someone came reporting to him in Persia that the camps that had gone into the land of Judah had been routed;

6And Lysias marched at first with a strong force, but was driven back before them, and they grew strong by means of the weapons that they had taken from the camps they had cut down.

7and they tore down the abomination that he had built upon the altar in Jerusalem, and they surrounded the sanctuary, as before, with high walls, and also Bethsura, his city.

8And it happened that when the king heard these words, he was astonished and greatly shaken; and he fell upon his bed and became sick from grief, because it had not happened for him as he had planned.

9And he remained there for many days, because great grief came over him, and he thought that he was dying.

10And he called all his friends and said to them, “Sleep departs from my eyes, and my heart faints from anxiety.”

11And I said in my heart, ‘Into what distress I have come, and into a great סער? now I am in it—though I was kind and beloved.’

12But now I remember the evils that I did in Jerusalem: I took all the silver vessels and the gold vessels that were in it, and I sent orders to wipe out the inhabitants of Judah for nothing.

13I know that because of these things these evils have come upon me, and

14Look, I am perishing in great grief in a foreign land. And he called Philip, one of his friends, and appointed him over all his kingdom.

15and he gave him the crown and his robe and the ring, to bring Antiochus his son and

16to raise him up to reign. And Antiochus the king died there, in the one hundred forty-ninth year.

17And Lysias learned that the king had died, and he installed Antiochus his son to reign in his place, whom he had reared from youth, and

18He named him Eupator. And those from the citadel were hemming Israel in around the sanctuary, seeking evil continually and serving as a support to the nations.

19And Judas decided to root them out, and he assembled all the people to besiege them.

20in the one hundred and fiftieth year; and he made against them missile-launchers and siege engines.

21And they came out from it, from the confinement, and some of the ungodly from Israel joined them.

22And they went to the king and said, “How long will you not act…?”

23judgment, and avenge our brothers? We are pleased to serve your father and to walk according to what is said by him,

24and to follow his commands, because those of our people were becoming alienated from us on account of this, except those who were found among us.

25They were being put to death, and our inheritances were being plundered. And they stretched out their hand not only against us, but also against all their territories.

26And behold, today they have encamped against the citadel in Jerusalem, to capture it and the sanctuary, and they have fortified Beth-zur.

27And if he does not get ahead of them quickly, they will do greater things than these, and he will not be able to restrain them.

28And the king was enraged when he heard it, and he gathered all his Friends, the commanders of his forces, and those over the reins.

29And from other kings and from islands of the seas, hired troops came to him.

30And the number of his forces was one hundred thousand foot soldiers, and twenty thousand horsemen, and thirty-two elephants trained for war.

31And they came through Idumea and encamped against Bethsura, and they fought for many days, and they made siege engines; but they came out and burned them with fire, and fought bravely.

32And Judas moved away from the citadel and encamped at Beth-zachariah, opposite the king’s camp.

33And the king rose early in the morning and moved the camp out in full force on the road to Beth-zachariah, and the forces drew up for battle, and they sounded the trumpets.

34And they showed the elephants the blood of grapes and mulberries, to provoke them for battle.

35And they divided the beasts among the units, and beside each elephant they stationed a thousand men in coats of mail, with bronze helmets on their heads, and five hundred picked horsemen assigned to each beast.

36These were there beforehand, wherever the beast might be; and wherever it went, they went with it and did not leave it.

37and on them were strong wooden towers, covered over, on each beast, fitted on them with engines; and on each one were thirty-two fighting men, and its Indian driver.

38And he stationed the remaining cavalry on both sides, at the two flanks of the camp, brandishing and fully armed in the phalanxes.

39And when the sun flashed on the golden shields, the mountains flashed from them and shone like torches of fire.

40And part of the king’s camp spread out over the high mountains, and some over the lowlands; and they advanced securely and in formation.

41And all who heard the sound of their multitude, and the marching of the multitude, and the clashing of the weapons, were shaken; for the camp was exceedingly great and strong.

42And Judas and his camp advanced into battle formation, and six thousand men from the king’s camp fell.

43And Eleazar the Avaran saw one of the beasts armored with royal breastplates, and it towered above all the beasts, and it appeared that the king was on it.

44And he gave himself to save his people and to win for himself an everlasting name.

45And he charged boldly into the middle of the phalanx, and kept killing right and left, and they were split apart before him on both sides.

46And he slipped in under the elephant, struck it from beneath, and killed it; and it fell to the ground on top of him, and he died there.

47And they saw the strength of the kingdom and the fierce rush of the forces, and they turned away from them.

48And from the king’s camp they went up to meet them at Jerusalem, and the king encamped in Judea and at Mount Zion.

49And he came to terms with those in Bethsura and went out from the city, because they had no provisions there to remain shut up in it, because it was a sabbath year for the land.

50And the king captured Bethsura, and he stationed a garrison there to guard it.

51And he encamped against the sanctuary for many days, and there he set up missile-launchers and engines and fire-throwers and stone-throwers and scorpions, to shoot arrows and slingstones.

52And they also made engines against their engines, and they fought for many days.

53But there was no food in the holy place, because it was the seventh year, and those who had escaped into Judea from the nations had eaten up the remnant of the supplies.

54And a few men were left in the sanctuary, because the famine had overpowered them; and they were scattered, each to his own place.

55And Lysias heard that Philip, whom King Antiochus had appointed while he was still alive to bring up Antiochus his son so that he might reign,

56he turned back from Persia and Media, and the forces that had gone with the king are with him, and that he is seeking to take over the conduct of affairs;

57And they kept urging and pressing to depart. And he said to the king and the leaders of the army and the men, “We are growing weaker day by day, and our food is scant, and the place where we are encamped is strong, and the affairs of the kingdom are pressing upon us.”

58Now then, let us give our right hand to these men, and let us make peace with them and with their whole nation;

59and let us establish for them to walk according to their own laws, as before; for it was because of their laws, which we set aside, that they became angry and did all these things.

60And the proposal pleased the king and the rulers, and he sent to them to make peace, and they accepted.

61And the king and the rulers swore this to them; then he came out from the stronghold,

62And the king entered Mount Zion, and when he saw the fortification of the place, he broke the oath that he had sworn and gave orders to tear down the wall all around.

63And he departed in haste and returned to Antioch, and he found Philip in control of the city, and he fought against him and took the city by force.