1 Maccabees 3 - Contemporary English Version Interconfessional Edition

Judas Maccabeus Wins Many Victories

¹ Judas Maccabeus took his father's place as leader.

² His four brothers and his father's soldiers eagerly helped him fight for Israel.

³ Judas was a mighty warrior and made Israel more glorious than ever. When he put on his armor and took up his sword, he marched into battle and protected his troops.

⁴ He roared and attacked like a hungry lion.

⁵ He went after those Jews who disobeyed God's Law, and he burned to death those who abused his people.

⁶ Judas confused and terrified everyone who broke God's Law, but he kept his people safe.

⁷ Kings were furious because of his victories, but Israel rejoiced. Judas will be remembered and praised forever.

⁸ After Judas had killed the unfaithful Jews in the towns of Judea, God was no longer angry.

⁹ Now the whole world knew that Judas had rescued those who were to be slaughtered.

Apollonius Is Defeated

¹⁰ A man by the name of Apollonius decided to invade Israel. So he got together an army of Gentiles and many Samaritans.

¹¹ When Judas learned about this, he attacked, killing Apollonius and a large number of his soldiers. The others ran for their lives.

¹² Then everyone took what they wanted from the dead soldiers. Judas himself took Apollonius' sword and used it from then on.

The Battle of Beth-Horon

¹³ Seron, the commander of the Syrian forces, heard about Judas and the many loyal troops who were always ready to fight for him.

¹⁴ Seron thought, “Judas and his soldiers are rebels. So I'll destroy them and make a name for myself everywhere in the kingdom!”

¹⁵ Then Seron led his soldiers and a large number of unfaithful Jews out of his camp to attack them.

¹⁶ While Seron and his army were going through the hills toward the town of Beth-Horon, Judas and a small force went out to attack.

¹⁷ But when they saw the enemy closing in, they said, “There are only a few of us. How can we fight against such a strong army? And besides, we feel weak, because we haven't had anything to eat all day long.”

¹⁸ Judas said to his soldiers: God doesn't care how many soldiers Seron has or how few we have. Our small army can easily destroy his forces.

¹⁹ It isn't the size of the army, it is the power of God that wins battles.

²⁰ Seron and his troops are arrogant sinners who want to kill us and our families, so they can steal everything we own.

²¹ But we're fighting for our faith as much as for ourselves.

²² God will let us wipe out Seron's army. So don't be afraid!

²³ Judas and his soldiers struck quickly. They defeated Seron and his army

²⁴ and chased them to the valley below the hills of Beth-Horon. Eight hundred enemy soldiers were killed, and the rest ran away to the country of the Philistines.

King Antiochus Makes War Plans

²⁵ The Gentiles in this whole region were now terrified of Judas and his brothers.

²⁶ In fact, everyone talked about his victories so much that even King Antiochus finally heard about Judas.

²⁷ Antiochus was furious and brought his troops together from everywhere in his kingdom to build up a powerful army.

²⁸ He took money from his treasury and gave each soldier a year's pay. Then he told them, “Be ready to fight at a moment's notice!”

²⁹ Soon Antiochus ran out of money, and it became difficult to collect taxes, because of the hard feelings and trouble he had caused by doing away with the ancient customs of the land.

³⁰ Once again Antiochus started worrying about how he would pay his bills and outdo the other kings before him who gave expensive gifts.

³¹ He was so upset that he decided to take his army and collect all the taxes he could from Persia and the other countries nearby.

Antiochus Puts Lysias in Charge

³² A man by the name of Lysias was a respected member of the royal family and King Antiochus put him in charge of the land from the Euphrates River to the border of Egypt.

³³ Then Antiochus told him: Look after my son until I get back.

³⁴ I am placing half of my army and all of my elephants under your command. Obey my orders, especially concerning the people of Judea and Jerusalem.

³⁵ Destroy the army of Judas and kill anyone you find in Jerusalem. Make the whole world forget that those Jews ever lived

³⁶ and give their land to Gentiles.

³⁷ In the year 147 of the Syrian Kingdom, Antiochus and the rest of his army set out from the capital city of Antioch. They crossed the Euphrates River and started through Mesopotamia.

Judas and His Brothers

³⁸ Nicanor, Gorgias, and Ptolemy the son of Dorymenes were three important and trusted friends of Antiochus. So Lysias chose them as army commanders.

³⁹ He told them what the king had commanded and gave them 40,000 soldiers and 7,000 cavalry troops to invade and destroy the land of Judea.

⁴⁰ Nicanor, Gorgias, and Ptolemy then led the whole army to Judea and set up camp in the valley near the town of Emmaus.

⁴¹ Local slave traders heard about these three commanders and went to their camp, taking with them chains and plenty of silver and gold to buy Israelite prisoners as slaves. Armies from Syria and the land of the Philistines also came.

⁴² Judas and his brothers realized things were worse now than ever, because their enemies had invaded Judea with orders from the king to wipe out the Jewish people.

⁴³ But Judas and his brothers were determined to make their nation strong again and to defend their people and temple.

⁴⁴ So Judas organized an army, and when his troops were ready, they prayed for God's mercy and kindness.

⁴⁵ Jerusalem was a barren desert that no one could enter or leave. The temple was trampled down, and foreign troops took over the fortress. Everyone in Israel was sad; their flutes and harps were silent.

⁴⁶ Judas led his army a short distance from Jerusalem to the town of Mizpah, which had been a place of worship.

⁴⁷ That day Judas and his troops went without eating; they put on sackcloth, then rubbed ashes on their heads and tore their clothes.

⁴⁸ Instead of praying to idols, as the Gentiles do, they read in their Jewish Law to find what God wanted them to do.

⁴⁹ They also brought together a tenth of their crops and the best part of their harvest, as well as the clothes of the priests. Judas also called together those who had completed their time of special service to God and now had to offer sacrifices.

⁵⁰ Then everyone prayed out loud: Where can we take these people to offer their sacrifices?

⁵¹ Your temple has been disgraced and made unfit for worship; the priests are humiliated and brokenhearted.

⁵² Our God, you know these Gentiles are here to destroy us,

⁵³ and there is nothing we can do without your help.

⁵⁴ Then trumpets were blown, and everyone shouted.

⁵⁵ Judas divided his army into groups of 1,000, groups of 100, groups of 50, and groups of 10, and he put an officer in charge of each group.

⁵⁶ He obeyed the Law of Moses by sending home any soldier who was either building a house or engaged to get married or who was planting a vineyard or was simply afraid to fight.

⁵⁷ Judas and his troops left Mizpah and set up camp south of the town of Emmaus,

⁵⁸ where he said to them: Our enemies have come together to destroy us and our temple. So get your weapons ready and be brave! We'll attack early tomorrow morning.

⁵⁹ It's better to die in battle than to watch our country and temple crumble.

⁶⁰ But God will do whatever he has decided.