1 Maccabees 7

1 In the 151st year, Demetrius the son of Seleucus set out from Rome, and with a few men he landed at a city on the seacoast and began to reign there. [a] 2 But as he was entering the royal house of his fathers, the forces seized Antiochus and Lysias, to bring them to him. 3 When he learned of it, he said, “Do not show me their faces.” 4 So the forces killed them, and Demetrius took his seat on the throne of his kingdom.

5 Then all the lawless and ungodly men of Israel came to him, with Alcimus at their head — a man who wanted the priesthood — 6 and they accused the people before the king: “Judas and his brothers have destroyed all your friends, and they have scattered us from our land. 7 Now then, send a man you trust. Let him go and see all the ruin Judas has brought on us and on the king’s country, and let him punish them and everyone who backs them.”

8 The king chose Bacchides, one of the king’s friends, governor of the province Beyond the River, a great man in the kingdom and loyal to the king. 9 He sent him with the ungodly Alcimus, on whom he conferred the priesthood, and ordered him to take vengeance on the sons of Israel. 10 So they set out and came into the land of Judah with a large force, and he sent messengers to Judas and his brothers with peaceable words — and treachery underneath. 11 But they paid no attention to their words, for they saw that these men had come with a large force.

12 Then a gathering of scribes came before Alcimus and Bacchides to seek just terms. 13 The Hasideans were the first among the sons of Israel to seek peace from them, 14 for they said, “A priest of the line of Aaron has come with the army; he will do us no wrong.” 15 And he spoke peaceable words to them and swore to them: “We will seek to harm neither you nor your friends.” 16 So they trusted him. But he seized sixty of them and killed them in a single day, in keeping with the word that was written:

18 Then fear and dread of them fell on all the people, for they said, “There is no truth or justice in them — they have broken the agreement and the oath they swore.”

19 Then Bacchides withdrew from Jerusalem and camped at Beth-zaith. He sent and seized many of the men who had deserted to him, and some of the people as well, and killed them and threw them into the great cistern. 20 He put the country in the charge of Alcimus and left a force with him to support him; then Bacchides went back to the king. 21 But Alcimus kept up his fight for the chief priesthood, [c] 22 and everyone who stirred up trouble among their own people rallied to him. They got control of the land of Judah and did great damage in Israel.

23 Judas saw all the harm that Alcimus and his men had done among the sons of Israel — worse than the nations had done — 24 and he went out into all the surrounding territory of Judea and took vengeance on the men who had deserted, and they were kept from going out into the countryside. 25 When Alcimus saw that Judas and his men had grown strong, and realized that he could not stand against them, he went back to the king and brought the worst of accusations against them.

26 Then the king sent Nicanor, one of his honored commanders, a man who hated Israel with a bitter hatred, with orders to destroy the people. 27 Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a large force, and he sent to Judas and his brothers with peaceable words and treachery underneath: 28 “Let there be no fighting between me and you. I will come with a few men, to see you face to face in peace.”

29 So he came to Judas, and they greeted one another peaceably — but the enemy was standing ready to seize Judas by force. 30 When word reached Judas that Nicanor had come to him with treachery, he drew back from him in alarm and refused to see his face again. 31 Nicanor realized that his plan had been uncovered, and he marched out to meet Judas in battle near Capharsalama. 32 About five hundred of Nicanor’s men fell, and the rest fled into the city of David. [d]

33 After this, Nicanor went up to Mount Zion. Some of the priests came out of the holy place, with some of the elders of the people, to greet him peaceably and to show him the whole burnt offering that was being presented for the king. 34 But he mocked them and laughed at them; he defiled them and spoke arrogantly, 35 and he swore in his rage: “Unless Judas and his army are delivered into my hands this instant, then when I come back in peace, I will burn this house to the ground.” And he went out in a towering rage.

36 At that the priests went in and stood before the altar and the temple, weeping, and they said: 37 “You chose this house to bear your name, to be a house of prayer and petition for your people. [e] 38 Take vengeance on this man and on his army; let them fall by the sword. Remember their blasphemies, and do not let them last.”

39 Nicanor left Jerusalem and camped at Beth-horon, and there an army out of Syria joined him. 40 Judas camped at Adasa with three thousand men, and there Judas prayed: 41 “When the men sent from the king spoke blasphemy, your messenger went out and struck down 185,000 of them. [f] 42 Crush this army before us today in the same way, and let all who are left know that he has spoken wickedly against your holy place. Judge him according to his wickedness.”

43 The armies met in battle on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and Nicanor’s army was crushed — and he himself was the first to fall in the fighting. [g] 44 When his army saw that Nicanor had fallen, they threw down their weapons and fled. 45 The Jews pursued them about twenty miles, from Adasa all the way to Gazara, sounding the signal trumpets behind them. [h] 46 And men came out of all the surrounding villages of Judea and outflanked the fugitives, turning them back on their pursuers, so that they all fell by the sword; not one of them was left. 47 Then they took the spoils and the plunder. They cut off Nicanor’s head, and the right hand he had stretched out so arrogantly, and brought them and hung them up in sight of Jerusalem.

48 The people rejoiced greatly, and they kept that day as a day of great gladness. 49 And they decreed that this day should be kept every year, on the thirteenth of Adar. 50 So the land of Judah had rest for a few days.