The Rededication of the Temple
Judas Maccabeus Defeats Lysias
1 Judas Maccabeus and his followers, under the leadership of the Lord, recaptured the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. 2 They tore down the altars which foreigners had set up in the marketplace and destroyed the other places of worship that had been built. 3 They purified the Temple and built a new altar. Then, with new fire started by striking flint, they offered sacrifice for the first time in two years, burned incense, lighted the lamps, and set out the sacred loaves. 4 After they had done all this, they lay face down on the ground and prayed that the Lord would never again let such disasters strike them. They begged him to be merciful when he punished them for future sins and not hand them over any more to barbaric, pagan Gentiles. 5 They rededicated the Temple on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Kislev, the same day of the same month on which the Temple had been desecrated by the Gentiles. 6 The happy celebration lasted eight days, like the Festival of Shelters, and the people remembered how only a short time before, they had spent the Festival of Shelters wandering like wild animals in the mountains and living in caves. 7 But now, carrying green palm branches and sticks decorated with ivy, they paraded around, singing grateful praises to him who had brought about the purification of his own Temple. 8 Everyone agreed that the entire Jewish nation should celebrate this festival each year.Ptolemy Macron Commits Suicide
9 The days of Antiochus Epiphanes had come to an end. 10 Now we will tell about Antiochus Eupator, the son of this godless man, and give a summary of the evil effects of his wars. 11 When he became king he appointed a man by the name of Lysias to be in charge of the affairs of state and to be chief governor of Greater Syria, 12 replacing Ptolemy Macron, who had been the first governor to treat the Jews fairly. Macron had established peaceful relations with them in an attempt to make up for the wrongs they had suffered.Lysias Makes Peace with the Jews
13 As a result the King's Friends went to Eupator and accused Macron of treachery, because he had abandoned the island of Cyprus, which King Philometor of Egypt had placed under his command, and had gone over to Antiochus Epiphanes. In fact, everyone called Macron a traitor. No longer able to maintain the respect that his office demanded, he committed suicide by taking poison.Judas Maccabeus Defeats the Idumeans
14 When Gorgias became governor of Idumea, he kept a force of mercenaries and attacked the Jews at every opportunity. * 15 Not only this, but the Idumeans themselves controlled certain strategic fortresses and were constantly harassing the Jews. They welcomed those who fled from Jerusalem and did everything they could to keep the country in a perpetual state of war. *The Letter of Lysias to the Jews
16 So Judas Maccabeus and his men, after offering prayers for God's help, rushed out and made a vigorous attack against the Idumean fortresses. 17 They beat back those who were defending the walls and captured the fortresses, killing everyone they found, a total of about 20,000 people. 18 About 9,000 of the enemy, however, managed to take refuge in two easily defended forts, with everything they needed to withstand a siege. 19 Judas had to go on to some other places in the country, where he was more urgently needed, but he left behind Simon and Joseph, together with Zacchaeus and his men. This force was large enough to continue the siege, 20 but some of Simon's men were greedy, and when they were offered 140 pounds of silver, they let some of the enemy escape from the forts. 21 When Judas heard what had happened, he called together the leaders of his troops and accused those men of selling their brothers by setting their enemies free to fight against them. *The King's Letter to Lysias
22 Then he executed the traitors and immediately captured the two forts. 23 Judas was always successful in battle, and in his assault on those two forts he killed more than 20,000 men.Judas Defeats Timothy
24 Timothy, who had been defeated by the Jews once before, had gathered a large number of cavalry from Asia and a tremendous force of mercenary troops and was now advancing to take Judea by armed attack. 25 But as the enemy forces were approaching, Judas and his men prayed to God. They put on sackcloth, threw dirt on their heads, 26 and lay face downward on the steps of the altar, begging God to help them by fighting against their enemies, as he had promised in his Law. 27 When they had finished praying, they took up their weapons, went out a good distance from Jerusalem, and stopped for the night not far from the enemy. 28 At daybreak the two armies joined in battle. The Jewish forces depended upon both their bravery and their trust in the Lord for victory, while the enemy relied only on their ability to fight fiercely. 29 When the fighting was at its worst, the enemy saw five handsome men riding on horses with gold bridles and leading the Jewish forces. 30 These five men surrounded Judas, protecting him with their own armor and showering the enemy with arrows and thunderbolts. The enemy forces then became so confused and bewildered that they broke ranks, and the Jews cut them to pieces, 31 slaughtering 20,500 infantry and 600 cavalry. 32 Timothy himself escaped to the strongly defended fort of Gezer, where his brother Chaereas was in command. 33 Judas and his men besieged the fort for four days with great enthusiasm, *The Letter of the Romans to the Jews
34 but those inside trusted to the security of their positions and shouted all sorts of terrible insults against the Jews and their God. 35 At dawn on the fifth day, twenty of Judas' men, burning with anger at these insults, bravely climbed the wall and with savage fury chopped down everyone they met. 36 At the same time, others climbed the walls on the other side of the fort and set the towers on fire. Many of the enemy were burned to death as the flames spread. A third force broke down the gates and let in the rest of Judas' men to capture the city. 37 Timothy had hidden in a cistern, but they killed him, as well as his brother Chaereas and Apollophanes. 38 When it was over, the Jews celebrated by singing hymns and songs of thanksgiving to the Lord, who had shown them great kindness and had given them victory.The Rededication of the Temple
Judas Maccabeus Defeats Lysias
1 Not long after Timothy was defeated, Lysias, the King's guardian and relative, and head of the government, heard what had happened. He became angry 2 and led 80,000 infantry and all his cavalry against the Jews with the intention of turning Jerusalem into a Greek city. 3 The Temple would be taxed, as were all Gentile places of worship, and the office of High Priest would be up for sale each year. 4 Lysias was so pleased with his tens of thousands of infantry, his thousands of cavalry, and his eighty elephants that he failed to take into account the power of God. 5 He invaded Judea and attacked the fort of Bethzur, about twenty miles south of Jerusalem. 6 When Judas and his men heard that Lysias was laying siege to their forts, they and all the people cried and wept, begging the Lord to send a good angel to save them. 7 Judas was the first to take up his weapons, and he urged the others to join him in risking their lives to help the other Jews. So with great eagerness they all set out together. 8 But they had not gone far from Jerusalem, when suddenly they noticed they were being led by a horseman dressed in white and carrying gold weapons.Ptolemy Macron Commits Suicide
9 Immediately all of them together thanked God for his mercy; he had made them brave enough to attack not only men, but even the most savage animals or even walls of iron. 10 So they marched in battle formation, and with them went the one whom the Lord in his mercy had sent to fight on their side. 11 Then they charged into the enemy like lions, killing 11,000 infantry and 1,600 cavalry, and forcing the rest to run for their lives. 12 Most of those who ran were wounded and had lost their weapons, and Lysias himself managed to escape only because he ran away like a coward.Lysias Makes Peace with the Jews
13 Lysias was no fool. As he thought about the defeat he had suffered, he realized it was because the mighty God had fought for the Jews, making it impossible for them to be defeated. So he sent a message to the Jews,Judas Maccabeus Defeats the Idumeans
14 trying to persuade them to agree to a just settlement and promising to do all he could to make the king friendly toward them. * 15 Judas Maccabeus considered what would be best for the people, and so he agreed to all the proposals Lysias had made, since the king had granted every written request that Judas had presented to Lysias. *The Letter of Lysias to the Jews
16 Here is a copy of the letter which Lysias wrote to the Jews: 17 Your representatives John and Absalom have delivered to me the official document you sent with them, and they have asked me to agree to what is contained in it. 18 I have informed the king of the matters that needed to be brought to his attention, and he has agreed to do whatever is possible. 19 If you continue to be loyal to the government, I will do everything I can in the future to benefit your nation. 20 I have instructed your representatives and mine to meet with you to discuss the details of these matters. 21 May all go well with you. Dated the twenty-fourth day of the month of Dioscorinthius in the year 148.” *The King's Letter to Lysias
22 Here is a copy of the King's letter: 23 Now that my father has gone to be with the gods, I want the subjects of my kingdom to conduct their own affairs without interference.Judas Defeats Timothy
24 I understand that the Jews do not wish to adopt the Greek way of life, as my father had intended, but prefer their own way of life and have requested that they be allowed to live according to their own customs. 25 Since I desire that they live undisturbed like the other nations in my empire, I hereby decree that their Temple be restored to them and that they be allowed to live according to the customs of their ancestors. 26 Please inform them of this decision and assure them of my friendship, so that they may conduct their own affairs in peace, without anything to worry about.” 27 Here is a copy of the king's letter to the Jewish people: 28 I hope that all is going well for you. I am in good health. 29 Menelaus has informed me of your desire to return home and attend to your own affairs. 30 So then, those of you who return home by the thirtieth of the month of Xanthicus may rest assured that you have nothing to fear. 31 You may continue to observe your food laws and other laws, as you used to do, and no Jew will be punished for any crime done in ignorance. 32 I am sending Menelaus to set your minds at ease. 33 May all go well with you. Dated the fifteenth day of the month of Xanthicus in the year 148.” *The Letter of the Romans to the Jews
34 The Romans also sent the Jews the following letter: 35 We are in complete agreement with all that has been granted to you by the honorable Lysias. 36 We are now on our way to Antioch, so please examine carefully those matters that Lysias referred to the king. Then send a reply to us immediately so that we can represent your best interests before him. Do this as soon as you can, 37 without delay, so that we may know what you have decided. 38 May all go well with you. Dated the fifteenth day of the month of Xanthicus in the year 148.”© 1992 American Bible Society