Demetrius is made king, and sends Bacchides and Alcimus the priest into Judea, and after them Nicanor, who is slain by Judas with all his army.
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In the one hundred and fifty-first year, Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, departed from the city of Rome, and he went up with a few men to a maritime city, and he reigned there.
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And it happened that, as he entered into the house of the kingdom of his fathers, the army captured Antiochus and Lysias, to bring them to him.
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And the matter became known to him, and he said, “Do not show me their face.”
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And so the army killed them. And Demetrius sat upon the throne of his kingdom.
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And there came to him iniquitous and impious men from Israel. And Alcimus was their leader, who wanted to be made a priest.
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And they accused the people to the king, saying: “Judas and his brothers have destroyed all your friends, and he has scattered us from our land.
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Now, therefore, send a man, whom you trust, and let him go and see all the destruction he has done to us and to the regions of the king. And let him punish all his friends and their helpers.”
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And so the king chose, from among his friends, Bacchides, who ruled across the great river in the kingdom, and who was faithful to the king. And he sent him
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to see the destruction that Judas had done. Moreover, he appointed the wicked Alcimus to the priesthood, and he commanded him to take revenge on the sons of Israel.
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And they rose up and came forth with a great army into the land of Judah. And they sent messengers, who spoke to Judas and his brothers with words of peace, in deceitfulness.
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But they did not heed their words, for they saw that they arrived with a great army.
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Then there assembled to Alcimus and Bacchides, a congregation of scribes, to seek just terms.
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And first, the Hasideans, who were among the sons of Israel, also sought peace from them.
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For they said, “A man who is a priest from the offspring of Aaron has arrived; he will not deceive us.”
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And he spoke to them peaceful words, and he swore to them, saying, “We will not carry out any evil against you or your friends.”
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And they believed him. And he captured sixty of their men and killed them in one day, according to the word that is written:
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The flesh of your saints, and their blood, they have poured out all around Jerusalem, and there was no one who would bury them.
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Then fear and trembling hovered over all the people. For they said: “There is no truth or judgment among them. For they have transgressed the agreement and the oath that they swore.”
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And Bacchides moved the camp from Jerusalem, and he took up a position at Bethzaith. And he sent and captured many of those who had fled from him, and some of the people he killed in sacrifice, and he threw them into a great pit.
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Then he committed the country to Alcimus, and he left behind troops with him to assist him. And so Bacchides went away to the king.
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And Alcimus did what he pleased by means of his leadership of the priesthood.
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And all those who disturbed the people assembled before him, and they obtained the land of Judah, and they caused a great scourging in Israel.
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And Judas saw all the evils that Alcimus, and those who were with him, did to the sons of Israel, even more than the Gentiles did.(a)
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And he went out into all the parts surrounding Judea, and he took vengeance on the men who had rebelled, and they ceased to go forth into the region any longer.
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But Alcimus saw that Judas, and those who were with him, prevailed. And he knew that he was not able to withstand them. And so he returned to the king, and he accused them of many crimes.
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And the king sent Nicanor, one of his principal noblemen, who was a cultivator of hostility against Israel. And he commanded him to overthrow the people.
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And Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a great army, and he sent to Judas and his brothers words of peace, with deceitfulness,
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saying: “Let there be no fighting between me and you. I will come with a few men, to see your faces with peace.”
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And he came to Judas, and they greeted one another in turns, peaceably. And the enemies were prepared to abduct Judas.
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And the plan became known to Judas, that he came to him with deceit. And so he became very afraid of him, and he was no longer willing to see his face.
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And Nicanor knew that his plan had been exposed, and he went out to meet Judas in battle near Capharsalama.
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And there fell of the army of Nicanor nearly five thousand men, and they fled into the city of David.
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And after these events, Nicanor ascended to mount Zion. And some of the priests of the people went out to greet him in peace, and to show him the holocausts that were offered for the king.
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But he mocked and despised them, and he defiled them. And he spoke arrogantly,
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and he swore with anger, saying, “Unless Judas and his army have been delivered into my hands, when I return in peace, I will burn this house.” And he went out with great anger.
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And the priests went in and stood before the face of the altar and the temple. And weeping, they said:
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“You, O Lord, have chosen this house so that your name may be invoked in it, so that it may be a house of prayer and supplication for your people.
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Accomplish vindication with this man and his army, and let them fall by the sword. Remember their blasphemies, and do not allow them to continue.”
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Then Nicanor departed from Jerusalem, and he positioned his camp near Bethhoron, and an army of Syria met him there.
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And Judas took a position in Adasa with three thousand men. And Judas prayed, and he said:
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“O Lord, when those who were sent by king Sennacherib blasphemed against you, an angel went out and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand of them.
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Just so, crush this army in our sight today, and so let the others know that he has spoken evil against your sanctuary. And judge him according to his wickedness.”
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And the armies were sent into battle together on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. And the camp of Nicanor was crushed, and he himself was among the first slain in the battle.
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So then, when his army saw that Nicanor had fallen, they threw away their weapons and fled.
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And they pursued them for one day’s journey from Adasa, even until one comes into Gazara, and they sounded the trumpets after them with signals.
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And they went forth from all of the towns all around Judea. And they herded them with the horns, and they turned back again to them, and they were all felled with the sword, and there was not so much as one of them left behind.
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And they took their spoils like a prey, and they cut off the head of Nicanor, and his right hand, which he had extended arrogantly, and they brought it, and hung it up opposite Jerusalem.
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And the people rejoiced exceedingly, and they spent that day in great joy.
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And he established that this day should be kept every year, on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar.
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And the land of Judah was quieted for a brief time.
Footnotes