19
Victory in battle does not depend on who has the largest army; it is the Lord's power that determines the outcome.
20
Our enemies are coming against us with great violence, intending to plunder our possessions and kill our wives and children.
21
But we are fighting for our lives and for our religion.
22
When we attack, the Lord will crush our enemies, so don't be afraid of them."
23
As soon as Judas had finished speaking, he and his men made a sudden attack against Seron and his army and crushed them.
24
They pursued them down the pass at Beth Horon to the plain and killed about 800 men. Those who escaped fled to Philistia.
25
After that, Gentiles everywhere began to be afraid of Judas and his brothers.
26
His fame reached the ears of King Antiochus, and people in every nation talked about Judas and his victories.
27
When Antiochus heard what had happened, he was furious. He ordered all the armies of his empire to assemble in one huge force.
28
From his treasury he paid a full year's wages to his soldiers and ordered them to be prepared for any emergency.
29
But then he found that the funds in his treasury were exhausted. Income from taxes had decreased because of the disorder and the troubles he had brought on the world by doing away with the laws which had been in force from the earliest times.
30
Antiochus had always given presents more lavishly than earlier kings, but now he was worried that he might not be able to continue this, or even to meet expenses - this had happened once or twice before.
31
He was very disturbed; but finally he decided to go to Persia, collect the taxes from the provinces there, and bring together a large sum of ready cash.
32
He appointed Lysias, an important man who had been granted the title "Relative of the King," as governor to take care of the king's affairs in the whole territory between the Euphrates River and the Egyptian border.
33
The king also made Lysias the guardian of his son Antiochus the Fifth until his own return.
34
He put Lysias in charge of all the elephants and of half his army, and then gave him detailed instructions about what he wanted done, and in particular, what he wanted done with the inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem.
35
Lysias was ordered to send an army against the Jews, especially the Jews in Jerusalem, to break their power and destroy them, so that no trace of them would remain.
36
He was ordered to take their land and give it to foreigners, who would settle the whole area.
37
Taking the other half of his army, the king set out from Antioch, his capital city, in the year 147. He crossed the Euphrates River and marched through Mesopotamia.
38
Lysias chose Nicanor, Gorgias, and Ptolemy son of Dorymenes as army commanders; all three were able men who bore the title "Friend of the King."
39
He put them in charge of 40,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry and ordered them to invade the land of Judea and destroy it as the king had commanded.
40
These commanders set out with their entire force, and when they came to the plains near Emmaus, they made camp.
41
A force from Idumea and Philistia joined them. The merchants of the region heard about the strength of the army, and they came to the camp with chains and a large amount of money, hoping to buy some Jewish slaves.
42
Judas and his brothers saw that their situation was getting more and more difficult, with foreign armies camped within their own borders. They also learned that the king had commanded the complete destruction of the people.
43
So they determined to rebuild their ruined nation and fight for their country and the Temple.
44
Then the whole community came together to prepare for war and to pray for God's mercy.
45
Jerusalem was as empty as a wilderness; no citizens left or entered the city. The holy Temple was profaned by foreigners, and Gentiles camped in the city's fort; so joy departed from the people of Israel, and the sound of music was heard no more.
46
Then Judas and his men assembled and marched to Mizpah, opposite Jerusalem, because the people of Israel had previously had a place of worship there.
47
In deep mourning, they fasted all that day, put on sackcloth, threw ashes on their heads, and tore their clothes.
48
The Gentiles would have consulted their idols in such a situation, but the Israelites unrolled the book of the Law to search for God's guidance.
49
They brought the priests' robes, the offerings of the first grain, and the tithes, and then they brought in some Nazirites who had completed their vows.