1 Maccabees 9

1And Demetrius heard that Nicanor and his forces had made war, and he sent Bacchides and Alcimus into the land of Judah a second time, and the right wing with them.

2And they traveled on the road to Galgala, and encamped against Mesaloth in Arbela, and captured it, and destroyed many people.

3And in the first month of the one hundred and fifty-second year, they encamped in Jerusalem.

4And they set out and went to Berea with twenty thousand men and two thousand horsemen.

5And Judas was encamped at Alasa, and three thousand chosen men were with him.

6And they saw the multitude of the forces, that they were many, and they were greatly afraid; and many fled from the camp, and none of them were left except eight hundred men.

7And Judas saw that his camp was failing, because the battle was pressing hard on him; and he was crushed in heart, because he had no time to gather them together.

8And he was dismayed, and said to those who were left, “Let us rise and go up against our adversaries, if perhaps we are able to fight them.”

9But they turned away from him, saying, “We certainly cannot do it. Instead, let us save our own lives for now. Let us return with our brothers and fight against them, but we are few.”

10And Judas said, “Far be it from me to do this thing—to flee from them. And if our time has drawn near, let us die bravely for the sake of our brothers, and let us not leave a cause for reproach to our glory.”

11And the force moved out from the camp and took their stand to meet them, and the cavalry was divided into two parts, and the slingers and the archers went before the force, and all the mighty men were in the front ranks.

12But Bacchides was on the right wing, and the phalanx came near from both sides, and they were sounding the trumpets, and those with Judas also sounded the trumpets, they too.

13And the earth shook from their encampments, and the battle raged from morning until evening.

14And Judas saw that Bacchides and the main strength of the camp were on the right, and all the men courageous in heart gathered around him.

15And the right wing was crushed before them, and he pursued after them as far as the mountain of Azotus.

16And those on the left wing, seeing that the right wing had been crushed, turned back at the heels of Judas and those with him, from behind.

17And the battle grew fierce, and many fell wounded from both sides.

18And Judas fell, and the rest fled.

19And Jonathan and Simon carried Judas their brother and buried him in the tomb of his fathers at Modein.

20And they mourned for him there, and all Israel mourned for him with great mourning, and they grieved for many days and said,

21How the mighty one has fallen, he who was saving Israel.

22And the rest of the accounts concerning Judas, and his wars, and the brave deeds that he did, and his greatness, were not recorded; for they were very many.

23And it happened that after the death of Judas, the lawless emerged in all the territories of Israel, and all those who worked unrighteousness sprang up.

24In those days a very great famine came about, and the land defected with them.

25And Bacchides chose wicked men and appointed them rulers over the land.

26And they kept seeking out and searching for the friends of Judas, and they were bringing them to Bacchides, and he took vengeance on them and mocked them.

27And there was great distress in Israel, such as had not been since the day when a prophet was no longer seen among them.

28And all the friends of Judas gathered together and said to Jonathan,

29Since your brother Judas has died, and there is no man like him to go out against the enemies and Bacchides, and those who hate our nation,

30Now therefore we have chosen you today to be for us, in his place, a ruler and leader, to fight our war.

31And Jonathan took up the leadership at that time, and arose in place of Judas his brother.

32And Bacchides found out, and he was seeking to kill him.

33And Jonathan and Simon his brother, and all those with him, learned of it, and they fled into the wilderness of Tekoa and encamped by the water of the cistern of Asphar.

34And Bacchides learned of it on the Sabbath day, and he himself and all his army came to the other side of the Jordan.

35And he sent his brother as leader of the crowd, and he urged his Nabatean friends to take charge of their abundant baggage for them.

36And the sons of Jambri came out from Medaba, and they seized John and everything he had, and went away with them.

37After these words it was reported to Jonathan and Simon his brother that the sons of Jambri were holding a great wedding, and were bringing the bride from Nadabath, the daughter of one of the great nobles of Canaan, with a large escort.

38And they remembered John their brother, and they went up and hid under the cover of the mountain.

39And they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a noisy procession and much baggage; and the bridegroom came out to meet them, with his friends and his brothers, with tambourines and musicians and many weapons.

40And they rose up against them from the ambush and killed them; and many fell wounded, and the rest fled to the mountain, and they took all their equipment.

41And the wedding was turned into mourning, and the sound of their musicians into lamentation.

42And they avenged the blood of their brother, and returned to the hill country of the Jordan.

43And Bacchides heard, and on the day of the Sabbaths he came as far as the banks of the Jordan with a great force.

44And Jonathan said to his brothers, “Let us rise now and fight for our lives, for today is not as yesterday and the day before.”

45For behold, the battle is before us and behind us, while the water of the Jordan is on this side and on that, with marsh and forest, and there is no place to turn aside.

46Now then, cry out to heaven, so that you may be delivered from the hand of our enemies.

47And the battle grew intense, and Jonathan stretched out his hand to strike Bacchides, but he turned away from him to the rear.

48And Jonathan and those with him jumped into the Jordan and swam across to the other side, and they did not cross the Jordan after them.

49And about a thousand men fell beside Bacchides on that day.

50And they returned to Jerusalem and built fortified cities in Judea: the stronghold in Jericho, and Emmaus, and Beth-horon, and Bethel, and Thamnatha-pharathon, and Tephon, with high walls and gates and bars.

51And they stationed a garrison in them to be hostile toward Israel.

52And they fortified the city, and Beth-zur, and Gazara, and the citadel, and they stationed forces in them and supplies of food.

53And they took the sons of the leaders of the land as hostages, and placed them under guard in the citadel in Jerusalem.

54And in the one hundred and fifty-third year, in the second month, Alcimus ordered the wall of the inner court of the sanctuary to be torn down, and he tore down the works of the prophets, and began to tear it down.

55At that time Alcimus was struck down, and his works were hindered; his mouth was stopped up, and he was paralyzed, and he could no longer speak a word or give orders concerning his house.

56And Alcimus died at that time after great torment.

57And Bacchides saw that Alcimus had died, and he returned to the king, and the land of Judah was quiet for two years.

58And all the lawless men took counsel, saying, “Look, Jonathan and those with him are living in peace, confident; so now let us bring Bacchides, and he will seize them all in a single night.”

59And after they went, they took counsel with him.

60And he refrained from coming with a large force, and secretly sent letters to all his allies in Judea, so that they might seize Jonathan and those with him; but they were not able, because their plan became known to them.

61And they seized from the men of the country fifty men who were leaders of wickedness, and he killed them.

62And Jonathan and Simon and those with them withdrew to Beth-basi in the wilderness, and rebuilt its ruins and fortified it.

63And Bacchides learned of it and gathered all his forces, and he gave orders to those from Judea.

64And he came and encamped against Bethbasi, and fought against it for many days, and made siege engines.

65And Jonathan left Simon his brother in the city, and went out into the country, and came with a number of men.

66And he struck Odomera and his brothers and the sons of Phasiron in their camp, and he began to strike and to advance with his forces.

67And Simon and those with him went out from the city and set fire to the siege engines.

68And they fought against Bacchides, and he was crushed by them, and they pressed him hard, because his plan and his attack were in vain.

69And he became angry with those lawless men who had advised him to come into the country, and he killed many of them, and he decided to depart to his own land.

70And Jonathan learned of it, and sent ambassadors to him to make peace with him and to return the captives to them.

71And he accepted, and did according to his words, and swore to him not to seek harm against him all the days of his life.

72And he returned to him the captives whom he had formerly taken captive from the land of Judah, and he turned back and went away to his own land, and he no longer came again into their borders.

73And the sword ceased.

74When Jonathan heard the words of Apollonius, he was stirred in his mind, and he chose ten thousand men and went out from Jerusalem; and Simon his brother met him to help him.

75And he encamped against Joppa, but those from the city shut him out, because a garrison of Apollonius was in Joppa; and they fought against it.

76And those from the city, being afraid, opened up, and Jonathan gained control of Joppa. And Apollonius heard, and

77He encamped three thousand cavalry and a large force, and went to Azotus as though passing through; at the same time he was leading them into the plain, because he had a multitude of cavalry and trusted in it.

78He pursued after him as far as Azotus, and the camps joined battle behind him. And Apollonius left behind a thousand horsemen

79secretly behind them. And Jonathan knew that it was an ambush

80behind him. And they surrounded the camp around him, and from early morning until evening they shot arrows at the people. But the people

81it stood as Jonathan had commanded, and their horses grew weary. Then Simon deployed his force and joined battle with the

82the phalanx, for the cavalry broke up; and they were crushed by him and fled. And the cavalry was scattered in the plain, and they fled into

83to Azotus, and they entered Beth-dagon, their idol temple, to be saved. And Jonathan burned Azotus and the cities around it.

84and he took their spoils, and he burned the temple of Dagon and its temple with fire. And those who had fallen by the sword

85together with those burned, to eight thousand men. And he departed

86From there Jonathan moved on and encamped at Ashkelon, and those from the city came out to meet him with great honor.

87Jonathan returned with those who were with him, carrying much plunder.

88And it happened that when Alexander the king heard these words, he continued to honor Jonathan, and he sent him a clasp.

89a gold buckle, as is customary to give to the kinsmen of kings; and he gave him Accaron and all its territories as an inheritance.