Anonymous (Septuagint) · a new plain-English translation from the original language
1| King Antiochus was passing through the upper provinces, and he heard that there was in Elymais, in Persia, a city famous for its wealth of silver and gold,
2| and that its temple was very rich, containing golden coverings, breastplates, and weapons left there by Alexander, son of Philip, the Macedonian ruler who was the first to reign over the Greeks.
3| So he came and sought to seize the city and plunder it, but he could not, because the people of the city learned of his plan.
4| They rose up against him for battle, and he fled and departed from there in great grief, to return to Babylon.
5| While he was in Persia someone came bringing him a report that the armies which had gone into the land of Judah had been routed,
6| and that Lysias had marched out first with a strong force but had been driven back before them, and that they had grown strong through the weapons they took from the camps they cut down;
7| and that they had torn down the abomination which he had built upon the altar in Jerusalem, and had walled the sanctuary round about with high walls as it had been before, and had done the same to Bethzur, his city.
8| Hearing this report, the king was struck with dismay and greatly shaken; he took to his bed and fell sick from grief, because things had not turned out for him as he had intended.
9| He remained there many days, for great grief kept renewing itself upon him, and he reckoned that he was dying.
10| So he called all his friends and said to them, Sleep has fled from my eyes, and my heart has sunk within me from anxiety.
11| And I said to my own heart, To what distress have I come, and into what a great storm, in which I now find myself? For I was kind and beloved in my power.
12| But now I remember the wrongs I did in Jerusalem: I took all the vessels of silver and gold that were there, and I sent men to destroy the inhabitants of Judah for no reason.
13| I know that it is on account of these things that these evils have found me, and now, look, I am perishing in great grief in a foreign land.
14| Then he called Philip, one of his friends, and set him over the whole of his kingdom.
15| He gave him the crown, his robe, and his ring, so that he might guide his son Antiochus and raise him to become king.
16| And King Antiochus died there, in the hundred and forty-ninth year.
17| When Lysias learned that the king had died, he set up in his place Antiochus his son, whom he had raised from boyhood, to be king, and he named him Eupator.
18| Meanwhile those in the citadel were shutting in Israel all around the sanctuary, continually seeking their harm, and acting as a support for the gentiles.
19| So Judas resolved to destroy them, and he assembled all the people to besiege them,
20| in the year one hundred fifty, setting up siege engines and machines against them.
21| But some of them broke out of the blockade, and certain ungodly men of Israel joined themselves to them,
22| and they went to the king and said, How long will you delay to render judgment and avenge our brothers?
23| We were content to serve your father, to walk by what he commanded, and to follow his decrees;
24| but because of this our own people turned against us — indeed, as many of us as were found were put to death, and our inheritances were plundered.
25| And it was not only against us that they stretched out their hand, but against all their borders as well.
26| And look, at this very moment they have encamped against the citadel in Jerusalem to seize it, and they have fortified the sanctuary and Bethzur.
27| And if you do not move against them quickly, they will do worse things than these, and you will not be able to restrain them.
28| The king was enraged when he heard this, and he gathered all his friends, the commanders of his forces, and those in charge of the cavalry;
29| and there came to him mercenary forces from other kings and from the islands of the seas.
30| The number of his forces was a hundred thousand foot soldiers and twenty thousand horsemen, and thirty-two elephants trained for war.
31| They came through Idumea and encamped against Bethzur, and fought there for many days and built machines; but the defenders sallied out and burned these with fire, and fought bravely.
32| Then Judas withdrew from the citadel and encamped at Bethzachariah, opposite the king's camp.
33| The king rose early in the morning and moved the army in full force along the road to Bethzachariah, and the forces made ready for battle and sounded the trumpets.
34| To the elephants they showed the blood of grapes and mulberries, to rouse them for battle.
35| They divided the beasts among the battle lines, and stationed beside each elephant a thousand men armored in chain mail, with bronze helmets on their heads, and five hundred picked horsemen assigned to each beast.
36| These men kept their position wherever the beast was; wherever it went, they went along with it, and never left its side.
37| And upon each beast were strong wooden towers, fitted with protective coverings, girded to them by devices; and on each were thirty-two men who fought from them, besides the beast's Indian driver.
38| The rest of the cavalry he stationed on either side, on the two flanks of the camp, shaking their weapons and arraying themselves in the battle lines.
39| When the sun shone upon the golden shields, the mountains gleamed with their light and blazed like torches of fire.
40| Part of the king's army was spread out over the high mountains and some over the lowlands, and they advanced securely and in order.
41| All who heard the sound of their multitude, the marching of that great host, and the clashing of their weapons trembled, for the army was very great and very strong.
42| Judas and his army drew near for battle, and six hundred men fell from the king's army.
43| And Eleazar, called Avaran, saw one of the beasts armored with royal breastplates, and it stood taller than all the other beasts, and it appeared to him that the king was on it.
44| So he gave himself up, to save his people and win for himself an everlasting name.
45| He ran boldly toward it into the middle of the line, killing to the right and to the left, so that men fell back from him on either side.
46| He slipped in under the elephant, thrust his sword into it, and killed it; and it fell to the ground on top of him, and he died there.
47| When the Jews saw the strength of the kingdom and the fury of its forces, they turned away from them.
48| Meanwhile forces from the king's camp went up to meet them at Jerusalem, and the king encamped against Judea and against Mount Zion.
49| He made peace with the men of Bethzur, and they left the city, for they had no supplies on hand to endure a siege, since the land was lying fallow that year.
50| So the king took Bethzur and stationed a garrison there to hold it.
51| Then he encamped against the sanctuary for many days, and set up there siege engines, machines, fire-throwers, stone-throwers, small catapults for shooting arrows, and slings.
52| The defenders in turn built machines to counter theirs, and fought for many days.
53| But there was no food in the sanctuary, since it was the seventh year, and those who had taken refuge in Judea from the gentile nations had eaten up what remained of the stores;
54| so only a few men were left in the sanctuary, for famine had overpowered them, and each one scattered to his own place.
55| Meanwhile Lysias heard that Philip, whom King Antiochus, while still alive, had appointed to raise his son Antiochus to be king,
56| had returned from Persia and Media, along with the forces that had gone with the king, and that he was seeking to take control of the government.
57| So he hurried and was eager to depart, and he said to the king, the officers of the army, and the men, We grow weaker every day, our food is scarce, the site of our encampment is well defended, and the burdens of governing weigh upon us.
58| Now then, let us extend our right hand to these men, coming to terms with them and their entire nation;
59| and let us grant them the right to live by their own laws as before, for it was on account of the laws, which we abolished, that they became angry and did all these things.
60| This proposal pleased the king and the officers, and he sent to them to make peace, and they accepted.
61| And the king and the officers swore an oath to them on these terms; and they came out of the stronghold,
62| and the king entered Mount Zion and saw the strength of the place; but he broke the oath he had sworn, and gave orders to tear down the wall all around.
63| Then he departed in haste and returned to Antioch, where he found Philip in control of the city; he made war on him, and captured the city through force.