1 Maccabees 16

1 Then John came up from Gazara and told his father Simon what Cendebeus had done. 2 So Simon called his two eldest sons, Judas and John, and said to them, “I and my brothers and my father’s house have fought Israel’s wars from our youth until this day, and many times the work has prospered in our hands, and we have rescued Israel. 3 But now I have grown old, while you, by mercy, are of full age. Take my place and my brother’s: go out and fight for our nation — and may the help of Heaven be with you.” [a]

4 Then he chose from the country twenty thousand fighting men, and horsemen, and they marched against Cendebeus and spent the night at Modein. 5 Rising in the morning, they went out into the plain — and there was a great force of infantry and horsemen coming to meet them, with a winter stream between the two.

6 John and his men drew up facing them. And when he saw that the men were afraid to cross the stream, he crossed first himself — and when his men saw him, they crossed after him. 7 Then he divided the army and set the horsemen in the middle of the infantry, for the enemy’s cavalry was very numerous.

8 They sounded the trumpets, and Cendebeus and his army were put to flight; many of them fell wounded, and the rest fled to the stronghold. [b] 9 It was then that Judas, John’s brother, was wounded. But John kept up the pursuit until he reached Kedron, which Cendebeus had built. 10 They fled as far as the towers in the fields of Azotus, and he burned it with fire. About two thousand of their men fell, and John returned to Judea in peace.

11 Now Ptolemy son of Abubus had been appointed commander over the plain of Jericho, and he had silver and gold in abundance, 12 for he was the son-in-law of the chief priest. [c] 13 And his heart grew proud. He set his mind on making himself master of the country, and he plotted treachery against Simon and his sons, to do away with them.

14 Simon was making a tour of the cities of the country, seeing to their good order; and in the 177th year, in the eleventh month — the month of Shebat — he came down to Jericho with his sons Mattathias and Judas. [d] 15 The son of Abubus received them with treachery in the little fortress called Dok, which he had built. He gave them a great banquet — and hid men there. [e]

16 When Simon and his sons had drunk deeply, Ptolemy and his men rose up, seized their weapons, burst in on Simon in the banquet hall, and killed him and his two sons and some of his servants. 17 It was a monstrous breach of faith: he repaid good with evil.

18 Then Ptolemy wrote a report of it and sent it to the king, asking him to send forces to his aid and to hand over to him the country of the Jews and its cities. [f] 19 He sent other men to Gazara to do away with John, and he sent letters to the commanders of thousands to come to him, so that he could give them silver and gold and gifts; 20 and he sent others to seize Jerusalem and the temple mount.

21 But someone ran ahead and brought word to John at Gazara that his father and his brothers had perished, and said, “He has sent men to kill you too.” 22 When John heard it, he was utterly astounded. But he laid hands on the men who had come to destroy him and killed them, for he knew that they were seeking to destroy him.

23 As for the rest of the story of John — his wars, the brave deeds he did, the walls he built, and all his achievements — 24 these are written in the book of the days of his chief priesthood, from the time he became chief priest after his father. [g]