Anonymous (Septuagint) · a new plain-English translation from the original language
1| In the one hundred and fifty-first year Demetrius son of Seleucus set out from Rome, and went up with a few men to a city by the sea, and there he became king.
2| And it happened that as he was entering the royal house of his fathers, the army seized Antiochus and Lysias to bring them to him.
3| And when the matter was made known to him he said, "Do not let me see their faces."
4| So the army killed them, and Demetrius sat upon the throne of his kingdom.
5| Then there came to him all the lawless and godless men of Israel, with Alcimus leading them, who wanted to be high priest.
6| And they accused the people before the king, saying, "Judas and his brothers have destroyed all your friends, and have scattered us from our land.
7| Now therefore send a man whom you trust, and let him go and see all the destruction Judas has done to us and to the king's country, and let him punish them and all who help them."
8| So the king chose Bacchides, one of the king's friends, who ruled beyond the river, a powerful figure within the realm and loyal to his sovereign,
9| and sent him and the godless Alcimus, and gave Alcimus the priesthood, and commanded him to take vengeance on the sons of Israel.
10| So they set out and came with a great army into the land of Judah; and Bacchides sent messengers to Judas and his brothers with peaceable words, but treacherously.
11| But they did not heed their words, for they saw that they had come with a great army.
12| Still, an assembly of scribes gathered before Alcimus and Bacchides, to seek what was just.
13| And the Hasideans were 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 Bacchides spoke peaceable words with them, and swore to them, saying, "We will seek no harm against you or your friends."
16| So they trusted him; but he seized sixty of them and killed them in one day, according to the word that was written,
17| "The flesh of your holy ones and their blood they poured out all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them."
18| Fear and trembling fell upon all the people because of this, for they said, "There is no truth or justice among them, for they have broken the agreement and the oath they swore."
19| Then Bacchides moved away from Jerusalem and camped at Bezeth, and he sent and seized many of the men who had deserted to him, and some of the people, and slaughtered them into the great pit.
20| And he put Alcimus in charge of the country, and left with him a force to support him; and Bacchides went away to the king.
21| And Alcimus struggled to hold the high priesthood.
22| And all who were troubling their own people gathered to him, and they took control of the land of Judah and did great harm in Israel.
23| And Judas saw all the evil that Alcimus and those with him had done among the sons of Israel, worse than the nations had done;
24| so he went out into all the territory of Judea, on every side, and took vengeance on the men who had deserted, and they were held back from going about in the country.
25| But when Alcimus saw that Judas and those with him had grown strong, and knew that he could not stand against them, he returned to the king and brought wicked charges against them.
26| So the king sent Nicanor, one of his most honored commanders, a man who hated Israel and was hostile toward it, and commanded him to destroy the people.
27| And Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a great army, and sent to Judas and his brothers, treacherously, with peaceable words, saying,
28| "Let no fighting break out between us; I will bring only a small escort, so that I may look upon your faces in peace."
29| So he came to Judas, and they greeted one another peaceably; but the enemy were ready to seize Judas.
30| Judas learned of the plot, that Nicanor had come to him treacherously, and he was alarmed by him, and no longer wished to see his face.
31| And Nicanor, realizing that his plan had been uncovered, went out to meet Judas in battle at Capharsalama.
32| And about five thousand of Nicanor's men fell, and the survivors escaped into David's citadel.
33| After these events Nicanor went up to Mount Zion; and some of the priests from the sanctuary, and some of the elders of the people, came out to greet him peaceably and to show him the burnt offering that was offered for the king.
34| But he jeered at them, sneering, and treated them shamefully, and spoke with arrogance.
35| And he swore in anger, saying, "Unless Judas and his army are handed over into my hands now, if I return in safety I will burn down this house." And he went out in anger.
36| Then the priests entered and took their place before the altar and the sanctuary, and wept, and said,
37| "You chose this house to be called by your name upon it, to be a house of prayer and supplication for your people.
38| Take vengeance on this man and on his army, and cut them down with the blade; do not forget their blasphemies, and grant them no rest."
39| So Nicanor went out from Jerusalem and camped at Beth-horon, and the army of Syria met him there.
40| And Judas camped at Adasa with three thousand men; and Judas prayed and said,
41| "When the messengers of the king spoke blasphemy, your angel went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand of them.
42| So crush this army before us today; and let the rest know that he has spoken wickedly against your holy things, and judge him according to his wickedness."
43| And the armies joined battle on the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and the army of Nicanor was crushed, and he himself fell first in the battle.
44| And when his army saw that Nicanor had fallen, they threw down their weapons and fled.
45| And they pursued them a day's journey from Adasa until they came to Gazara, and sounded the trumpets of alarm behind them.
46| And men came out from all the villages of Judea around, and surrounded them; and they turned back on one another, and every one of them was cut down, with no survivor remaining.
47| And they took the spoils and the plunder, and severed Nicanor's head along with the right arm he had raised in arrogance, and carried them off to display near Jerusalem.
48| And the people were filled with joy, and observed that day as one of tremendous rejoicing.
49| And they decreed that this day should be kept every year, on the thirteenth of Adar.
50| And the land of Judah had rest for a few days.