1 Maccabees 5

1 When the nations round about heard that the altar had been rebuilt and the sanctuary dedicated anew, as it was before, they were furious, 2 and they resolved to wipe out the descendants of Jacob who lived among them. And they began killing and destroying among the people.

3 So Judas made war on the sons of Esau in Idumea, at Akrabattene, because they were keeping Israel under siege. He struck them a heavy blow, broke them, and took their spoils. [a] 4 He remembered too the malice of the sons of Baean, who had been a snare and a stumbling block to the people, lying in ambush for them along the roads. 5 He shut them up in their towers and camped against them; he devoted them to destruction and burned the towers of that place with fire, with everyone inside them.

6 Then he crossed over to the sons of Ammon, and found there a strong hand and a numerous people, with Timothy as their leader. 7 He fought many battles with them, and they were crushed before him; he struck them down. 8 And when he had taken Jazer and its villages, he returned to Judea. [b]

9 Then the nations in Gilead gathered against the Israelites who lived in their territory, to wipe them out; and the Israelites fled to the fortress of Dathema 10 and sent letters to Judas and his brothers: “The nations around us have gathered against us to wipe us out, 11 and they are preparing to come and seize the fortress we have fled to; Timothy is commanding their force. 12 Come now and rescue us out of their hand, for many of us have already fallen. 13 All our brothers in the land of Tob have been put to death; their wives and children and goods have been carried off, and about a thousand men have been destroyed there.” [c]

14 The letters were still being read when other messengers arrived from Galilee, their clothes torn, carrying the same kind of news. 15 They said, “Men from Ptolemais, from Tyre and Sidon, and from all Galilee of the foreigners have gathered against us, to finish us off.” [d]

16 When Judas and the people heard these words, a great assembly came together to decide what they should do for their brothers, who were in distress and under attack. 17 Judas said to his brother Simon, “Choose your men and go rescue your brothers in Galilee; my brother Jonathan and I will go to Gilead.” 18 He left Joseph son of Zechariah, and Azariah, as leaders of the people, with the rest of the force, in Judea to guard it, 19 and gave them this order: “Take charge of this people, but do not join battle with the nations until we come back.” 20 Three thousand men were assigned to Simon for the march into Galilee, and eight thousand to Judas for Gilead.

21 Simon went into Galilee and fought many battles with the nations, and the nations were crushed before him. 22 He pursued them to the very gate of Ptolemais; about three thousand of the nations fell, and he took their spoils. 23 Then he took with him the Jews of Galilee and of Arbatta, with their wives and children and everything they had, and brought them to Judea with great rejoicing.

24 Meanwhile Judas Maccabeus and his brother Jonathan crossed the Jordan and marched three days’ journey into the wilderness. 25 There they met the Nabateans, who received them peaceably and told them everything that had happened to their brothers in Gilead: 26 many of them were shut up in Bozrah and Bosor, in Alema, Caspho, Maked, and Carnaim — all of them strong, large cities — [e] 27 and others were shut up in the rest of the towns of Gilead; and the enemy had set the next day for bringing their forces against the fortresses, to take them and wipe them all out in a single day.

28 So Judas and his army turned suddenly, by the wilderness road, to Bozrah. He took the city, killed every male by the edge of the sword, seized all their spoils, and burned the city with fire. 29 From there he marched off by night, and they kept going until they came to the fortress. 30 At first light they looked up, and there was a people beyond counting, carrying ladders and siege engines to take the fortress; the attack had already begun. 31 When Judas saw that the battle had opened and that the cry of the city was going up to heaven — trumpets and a great shouting — 32 he said to the men of his force, “Fight today for our brothers!” 33 He came out behind the enemy in three columns; the trumpets sounded, and the men cried out in prayer. 34 And when Timothy’s army realized that it was Maccabeus, they fled before him. He struck them a heavy blow, and about eight thousand of them fell that day.

35 Then he turned aside to Alema; he attacked it and took it, killed every male in it, took its spoils, and burned it with fire. [f] 36 From there he moved on and took Caspho, Maked, Bosor, and the rest of the towns of Gilead.

37 After this Timothy gathered another army and camped facing Raphon, across the stream. 38 Judas sent men to scout the camp, and they reported back to him: “All the nations around us have rallied to him — a very great force. 39 They have hired Arabs to help them, and they are camped across the stream, ready to come over and fight you.” So Judas went to meet them.

40 As Judas and his army were nearing the running stream, Timothy said to the commanders of his force, “If he crosses over to us first, we will not be able to stand against him — he will overpower us for certain. 41 But if he is afraid and makes camp on the far side of the river, we will cross over to him and overpower him.”

42 When Judas reached the stream, he stationed the scribes of the people along its bank and gave them this order: “Let no man make camp; let every man come into the battle.” 43 Then he crossed over first against the enemy, with all the people behind him, and all the nations were crushed before them. They threw down their weapons and fled into the sacred precinct at Carnaim. 44 But the Jews took the city and burned the precinct with fire, with everyone inside it. So Carnaim was brought down, and they could no longer stand before Judas.

45 Then Judas gathered all the Israelites in Gilead, from the least to the greatest, with their wives, their children, and their goods — an enormous company — to go to the land of Judah. 46 They came to Ephron, a large and very strong city set right on the road; there was no swinging around it to the right or the left — the only way was straight through it. 47 But the people of the city shut them out and blocked up the gates with stones. 48 Judas sent them a peaceable message: “Let us pass through your land to reach our own land. No one will do you any harm; we will simply go through on foot.” But they would not open to him.

49 So Judas had word passed through the camp that every man should take up position where he stood. 50 The men of the force took their positions, and he attacked the city all that day and all that night, until the city was given into his hand. 51 He destroyed every male by the edge of the sword, razed the city to the ground, took its spoils, and passed through the city over the bodies of the dead.

52 Then they crossed the Jordan into the great plain facing Beth-shan. 53 Judas kept gathering in the stragglers and heartening the people the whole way, until he came to the land of Judah. 54 And they went up Mount Zion with gladness and joy and offered whole burnt offerings, because not one of them had fallen before they returned in peace.

55 Now in the days when Judas and Jonathan were in the land of Gilead, and their brother Simon was in Galilee before Ptolemais, 56 Joseph son of Zechariah, and Azariah, the commanders of the force, heard of their brave deeds and of the battles they had fought, 57 and they said, “Let us make a name for ourselves too. Let us go fight the nations around us.” 58 So they gave orders to the men of the force that was with them and marched on Jamnia. 59 And Gorgias came out of the city with his men to meet them in battle. 60 Joseph and Azariah were routed and were pursued to the borders of Judea, and about two thousand men of the people of Israel fell that day.

61 It was a heavy defeat for the people — because they had not listened to Judas and his brothers, but imagined they would do some brave deed themselves. 62 But they were not of the stock of those men by whose hand rescue was given to Israel. 63 As for the man Judas and his brothers, they were held in great honor before all Israel and all the nations, wherever their name was heard, 64 and people gathered to them with shouts of praise.

65 Then Judas and his brothers went out and made war on the sons of Esau in the land to the south. He struck Hebron and its villages, pulled down its fortresses, and burned its towers all around. 66 Then he set out for the land of the Philistines, and passed through Marisa. [g] 67 That day priests fell in battle — men who wanted to do a brave deed and went out to fight without taking counsel. 68 Judas then turned aside to Azotus, in the land of the Philistines. He pulled down their pagan altars, burned the carved images of their gods with fire, plundered their cities, and returned to the land of Judah.