1 Maccabees 6 — GNB — Biblija.net

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The Death of Antiochus the Fourth

The High Priest Alcimus and the Campaign of Nicanor

¹ As King Antiochus the Fourth was passing through Mesopotamia, he heard of a city in Persia, named Elymais, which was famous for its riches in silver and gold. ^* ² The temple was very rich, containing gold shields, armor, and weapons left there by Alexander, son of King Philip of Macedonia, who was the first to rule the Greek Empire. ³ Antiochus came and tried to take the city and loot it, but he didn't succeed, because the citizens had learned what he was planning to do, ⁴ and they drew up their troops to resist him. In great frustration he withdrew to return to Babylonia. ⁵ In Persia a messenger reached him with the news that the armies he had sent into Judea had been defeated. ⁶ Lysias and his strong army had been forced to flee from the Jews, who were now reinforced by the additional weapons, supplies, and loot they had taken from the defeated armies. ⁷ The Jews had pulled down the thing they called “The Awful Horror” that Antiochus had built on the altar in Jerusalem. They had also surrounded the Temple with high walls, as it had been before, and had taken and fortified the town of Bethzur, one of the king's own towns. ⁸ When the king heard this report, he was so dumbfounded and terribly shaken that he went to bed in a fit of deep depression because things had not turned out as he had hoped. ⁹ He remained ill for a long time, as waves of despair swept over him, until he finally realized that he was going to die. ¹⁰ He called together all those to whom he had given the title “Friends of the King” and said to them, “I cannot sleep, and my heart is broken with grief and worry. ¹¹ At first I asked myself why these great waves of trouble were sweeping over me, since I have been kind and well-liked during my reign. ¹² But then I remembered the wrongs I did in Jerusalem when I took all the silver and gold objects from the Temple and tried without any good reason to destroy the inhabitants of Judea. ¹³ I know this is why all these terrible things have happened to me and I am about to die in deep despair here in this foreign land.” ¹⁴ Then he called Philip, one of his most trusted advisers, and put him in charge of his whole empire. ¹⁵ He gave him his crown, robe, and official ring, and authorized him to educate his son Antiochus the Fifth and bring him up to be king. ¹⁶ King Antiochus died there in the year 149. ¹⁷ When Lysias learned that the king had died, he made the young Antiochus king in place of his father. He had brought up Antiochus from childhood and now gave him the name Eupator.

The Campaign of Antiochus the Fifth and Lysias

(2 Maccabees 13.1-26; 11.22-26)

¹⁸ Meanwhile, the enemies in the fort at Jerusalem had been blockading the people of Israel in the area around the Temple, constantly causing them trouble and giving support to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ So Judas decided to get rid of them and called all the people together to besiege the fort. ²⁰ The people assembled and laid siege to the fort in the year 150. They built siege platforms and battering rams. ²¹ But some of the men under siege escaped, and together with some of the renegade Jews, they went to the king and said, ²² “How long are you going to wait before you take revenge for what was done to our countrymen? ²³ We were willing to serve your father, follow his orders, and obey his decrees. ²⁴ But what good did it do us? Now our own countrymen have become our enemies. In fact, they have killed as many of us as they could find and have stolen our possessions. ²⁵ But we are not the only ones they have harmed; they have attacked all their neighbors. ²⁶ And now they have laid siege to the fort in Jerusalem and are planning to take it. They have also fortified the Temple and Bethzur. ²⁷ Unless you act immediately, they will do even more, and you will not be able to stop them.” ²⁸ When the king heard this, he was furious. He brought together all the army commanders, the cavalry officers, and his most trusted advisers. ²⁹ He also hired mercenary soldiers from other countries and from the Greek islands. ³⁰ His forces numbered 100,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, and 32 elephants trained for war. ³¹ The king and his army passed through Idumea and laid siege to Bethzur, where they fought for a long time. They built battering rams and siege platforms, but the defenders fought bravely and came out of the town and burned down the platforms. ³² Then Judas withdrew his troops from the fort in Jerusalem and set up his camp at Beth Zechariah, blocking the advance of the king's army. ³³ Early the next morning, the king rapidly moved his army along the road to Beth Zechariah, where his troops took up battle positions and blew trumpets. ³⁴ They got the elephants ready for battle by showing them grape juice and mulberry juice. ³⁵ The huge animals were distributed among the infantry units. A thousand men, protected by chain armor and bronze helmets, were stationed with each elephant. Each animal was also accompanied by a special force of 500 cavalry, ³⁶ which always remained with the elephant. ³⁷ A strong, protected wooden platform was securely fastened by a special harness to the back of each elephant. Three soldiers rode on each animal, in addition to the elephant driver. ³⁸ Lysias placed the rest of the cavalry on the two flanks of the army where they could be protected by the infantry while harassing the enemy. ³⁹ The sunlight, reflected off the bronze and gold shields, shone on the mountains and flashed like burning torches. ⁴⁰ Part of the king's army was spread out over the higher ground of the mountain slopes and part over the lower land, but they all moved forward steadily and in good order. ⁴¹ All the people were terrified when they heard the noise made by the clashing of weapons and the marching of that great and powerful army. ⁴² Judas and his army advanced into battle, and immediately killed 600 of the king's army. ⁴³ When Eleazar Avaran saw that one of the elephants was larger than the others and that it was covered with royal armor, he thought that the king was riding on it. ⁴⁴ Eleazar sacrificed his life to save his people and to gain eternal fame. ⁴⁵ He ran boldly toward the elephant, which was in the middle of a battalion of infantry. He rushed forward killing men to the right and left, so that the enemy soldiers fell back before him on both sides. ⁴⁶ He slipped in under the elephant and stabbed it to death, and it fell on him and killed him. ⁴⁷ But when the Jews realized how strong the royal army was and how determined it was to fight, they retreated. ⁴⁸ The king and his army advanced to fight the Jews at Jerusalem and laid siege to the whole of Judea and Jerusalem. ⁴⁹ He made peace with the Jews of Bethzur, who then left the town. There had not been enough food in the town for them to withstand the siege because it was the sabbatical year, when no crops were planted. ⁵⁰ The king occupied Bethzur and stationed a body of troops there to guard it. ⁵¹ Then he surrounded the Temple and besieged it for a long time. He set up siege platforms, battering rams, catapults for throwing fire and stones, and other weapons to throw spears and rocks. ⁵² The defenders also made war machines to oppose those of the enemy, and so the battle went on for a long time. ⁵³ But there was no food left in the Temple storage bins because it was the sabbatical year, and the people who had fled from the Gentiles and taken refuge in Judea had eaten all the food that had been stored there. ⁵⁴ The shortage of food had been so severe that many people had scattered to their homes, and only a few men were left in the Temple. ⁵⁵ Meanwhile, Philip, who had been appointed by King Antiochus before his death to educate his son to be king, ⁵⁶ returned from Persia and Media. He had come back with the royal army and planned to take control of the government. When Lysias heard this news, ⁵⁷ he made rapid preparations to depart. He said to the young king, to his officers, and to his men, “We are growing weaker each day; we are short of provisions, and this place we are besieging is strong. Besides, there are pressing government affairs which need our attention. ⁵⁸ So now let's arrange a truce and make a peace treaty with the Jews and their whole nation. ⁵⁹ We will allow them to follow their own laws and customs as they did before. All this trouble started when we provoked them by abolishing their laws and customs.” ⁶⁰ This recommendation was well received by the king and the officers, so Lysias proposed peace terms to the Jews, and they accepted them. ⁶¹ When the king and his officers solemnly agreed to abide by these terms, the Jews came out of their fortress. ⁶² But when the king entered the Temple area on Mount Zion and saw the strong fortifications, he broke his word and ordered the walls surrounding the Temple to be torn down. ⁶³ Then he hurriedly left and returned to Antioch, where he found Philip in control of the city. The king attacked the city and took it by force.

The Death of Antiochus the Fourth

(2 Maccabees 1.11-17; 9.1-29; 10.9-11)

The High Priest Alcimus and the Campaign of Nicanor

(2 Maccabees 14.1-36; 15.1-36)

¹ In the year 151, Demetrius son of Seleucus left Rome and with a few men landed at a town on the Mediterranean coast, where he proclaimed himself king. ^* ² As he was making his way to the royal palace of his ancestors, the soldiers arrested Antiochus the Fifth and Lysias, planning to take them to Demetrius. ³ When Demetrius heard about it, he said, “I don't want to see them.” ⁴ So the soldiers killed them, and Demetrius took the throne. ⁵ Then all the godless traitorous Jews led by Alcimus, who wanted to be High Priest, went to Demetrius. ⁶ They brought accusations against the other Jews and said, “Judas and his brothers have killed everybody who supported you, and they have driven us out of our country. ⁷ We advise you to send someone whom you can trust to go and inspect all the damage done to our property and the king's territory and to punish Judas, his brothers, and all who support them.” ⁸ King Demetrius chose one of his advisers, a man by the name of Bacchides, who was the governor of Greater Syria. He was an important man in the empire and loyal to the king. ⁹ He was sent along with the godless Alcimus, whom the king had appointed High Priest; Alcimus had orders to take revenge on the Jews. ¹⁰ They left Antioch and arrived in Judea with a large army. Bacchides tried to trick Judas and his brothers by sending to them messengers with offers of peace. ¹¹ But when Judas and his brothers saw what a large army they had brought, they did not believe what the messengers said. ¹² A group of teachers of the Law came to Alcimus and Bacchides, asking for justice. ¹³ These devout and patriotic men were the first of the Jews to try to make peace with Alcimus and Bacchides. ¹⁴ They trusted Alcimus, who was a priest descended from Aaron, and they thought he would not cause them any harm. ¹⁵ Alcimus assured them of his peaceful intentions and solemnly promised that no harm would come to them or their friends. ¹⁶ But as soon as they began to trust him, he arrested 60 of them and put them all to death on the same day. As the scripture says,
¹⁷ “The blood of your faithful people was poured out,
their bodies were scattered around Jerusalem,
and there was no one left to bury the dead.”

The Campaign of Antiochus the Fifth and Lysias

(2 Maccabees 13.1-26; 11.22-26)

¹⁸ When this happened, all the people were afraid of Alcimus and Bacchides, and they said, “They don't know what truth or justice means. They gave their solemn word and then broke it!” ¹⁹ Bacchides left Jerusalem and set up his headquarters at Beth Zaith. He ordered the arrest of some of the faithful Jews and even many of the renegades who had willingly joined him; he had them killed and thrown into a deep pit. ²⁰ Bacchides put the country under the control of Alcimus, left troops there to help him, and returned to the king. ²¹ Alcimus then began his struggle to establish himself as High Priest. ²² Every troublemaker in the country joined him. They gained control of the land of Judea and caused great difficulties for the Jews. ²³ Judas saw that the trouble Alcimus and his men had caused was even worse than the damage done by the Gentiles. ²⁴ So he went around the whole country of Judea taking revenge on all the men who had willingly joined Alcimus and preventing them from leaving the towns and going into the country. ²⁵ When Alcimus saw that Judas and his men were growing more powerful and when he realized that he would not be able to stand against them, he returned to the king and accused them of great crimes. ²⁶ Then the king sent Nicanor, one of his most honored officers, who hated the Jews, with orders to exterminate them. ²⁷ Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a big army. He tried to trick Judas and his brothers by sending peace offers. He said, ²⁸ “There need not be any quarrel between you and me. I will come to you with a small escort for a friendly private conversation.” ²⁹ When he came to Judas, they exchanged polite greetings, but Judas' enemies were ready to kidnap him. ³⁰ When Judas learned that Nicanor's visit was part of a plot against him, he was afraid and decided not to meet him again. ³¹ Nicanor realized that his plan had been discovered, so he left Jerusalem to meet Judas in battle near Capharsalama. ³² About 500 of Nicanor's men were killed, and the rest of the army escaped to the fort in Jerusalem. ³³ Some time later Nicanor went to Mount Zion. Some of the priests left the Temple and, along with some of the leaders of the people, went to welcome him with words of peace and to show him the burnt offering that was being sacrificed on behalf of the king. ³⁴ But he ridiculed them and made them ceremonially unclean by spitting on them. He spoke proudly ³⁵ and angrily threatened them with an oath, “Unless Judas and his army are surrendered to me immediately, I will burn this Temple down as soon as I return after my victory.” And he left in a rage. ³⁶ The priests went into the courtyard and stood facing the altar and the Temple. They started weeping and prayed, ³⁷ “Lord, you chose this Temple to bear your name and to be a place of prayer and intercession for your people. ³⁸ Now, take vengeance on this man and his army; let them die in battle. Remember how they spoke evil of you, and let none of them survive.” ³⁹ Nicanor left Jerusalem and set up his headquarters at Beth Horon, where the Syrian army joined him. ⁴⁰ Meanwhile, Judas set up camp at Adasa with 3,000 men. There Judas prayed, ⁴¹ “Lord, the Scriptures tell us that when a king sent messengers to insult you, your angel went out and killed 185,000 of his soldiers. ⁴² Now, in the same way, crush this army before us today and let everyone know that Nicanor is being punished because he insulted your holy Temple. Punish him as his wickedness deserves.” ⁴³ The armies met in battle on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and Nicanor's army was defeated. Nicanor himself was the first to be killed in the battle, ⁴⁴ and when his soldiers saw that he was dead, they threw down their weapons and fled. ⁴⁵ The Jews pursued them all day long from Adasa to Gezer. As they followed, they kept sounding the call to battle on the trumpets, ⁴⁶ and from all the surrounding villages of Judea people came out and attacked the fleeing enemy from the sides. This forced them back toward the Jews who were chasing them, and all of the enemy were killed in the fight. Not one of them survived. ⁴⁷ The Jews took the loot and then cut off Nicanor's head and his right arm, which he had extended so arrogantly. They brought his head and his arm to be put on display outside Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ There was great rejoicing among the Jews. They set that day aside as a special day of celebration, ⁴⁹ and decreed that the thirteenth day of Adar should be observed as an annual day of celebration. ⁵⁰ There was peace in the land of Judea for a little while.

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