1And Gorgias took five thousand men and a thousand choice horsemen, and the army set out by night,
2in order to attack the camp of the Jews and strike them suddenly. And the men from the citadel were his guides.
3And Judas heard of it, and he and his mighty men set out to strike the king’s force that was in Emmaus,
4while the forces were still scattered from the main camp.
5And Gorgias came to Judas’s camp by night and found no one. So he began searching for them in the mountains, for he said, “These men are fleeing from us.”
6And at daybreak, Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men, but they did not have the armor and swords they would have wished.
7And they saw the strong, armored camp of the Gentiles, with cavalry surrounding it; and these men were trained for war.
8And Judas said to the men with him, “Do not fear their number, and do not be terrified by their assault.”
9Remember how our fathers were saved in the Red Sea when Pharaoh pursued them with his army.
10And now let us cry out to heaven, and he may have mercy on us; he will remember the covenant of our fathers and crush this army before us today.
11And all the nations will know that there is one who redeems and saves Israel.
12And the foreigners lifted up their eyes and saw them coming against them.
13And they came out of the camp for battle, and the men with Judas sounded the trumpets.
14And they joined battle, and the Gentiles were crushed and fled into the plain.
15And all the stragglers fell by the sword, and they pursued them as far as Gazara and the plains of Idumea, and to Azotus and Jamnia. And about three thousand of their men fell.
16Then Judas and his force returned from pursuing them,
17and he said to the people, “Do not be greedy for the spoils, because a battle is still before us.”
18Gorgias and his force are in the mountains near us. But now stand against our enemies and fight them, and after this you may take the spoils with confidence.
19While Judas was still saying these things, a detachment was seen peering out from the mountain.
20And they saw that their army had been routed and that Judas’s men were setting fire to the camp, for the smoke that was visible made clear what had happened.
21When they realized this, they were greatly terrified; and seeing Judas’s army in the plain ready for battle,
22they all fled into the land of the foreigners.
23Then Judas returned to plunder the camp. And they took much gold and silver, and blue, purple, and sea-purple cloth, and great wealth.
24And on their return they sang hymns and blessed heaven, saying, “For he is good, for his mercy endures forever.”
25And a great salvation was accomplished for Israel on that day.
26But as many of the foreigners as escaped went and reported to Lysias all that had happened.
27And when he heard it, he was confounded and disheartened, because things had not happened to Israel as he had wished, and the outcome was not what the king had commanded him.
28And in the following year, he gathered sixty thousand chosen men and five thousand horsemen to make war on them.
29And they came into Idumea and encamped at Beth-zur, and Judas met them with ten thousand men.
30And he saw that the army was strong, and he prayed and said, “Blessed are you, O Savior of Israel, who crushed the assault of the mighty one by the hand of your servant David, and delivered the army of the foreigners into the hands of Jonathan son of Saul, and of his armor-bearer.”
31Deliver this army into the hands of your people Israel, and let them be put to shame for their force and their cavalry.
32Give them cowardice, and melt the boldness of their strength; let them be shaken by their own destruction.
33Strike them down by the sword of those who love you, and let all who know your name praise you with hymns.
34And they engaged one another in battle, and about five thousand men from the army of Lysias fell; they fell in a direct confrontation with them.
35But when Lysias saw the rout of his army and the courage of Judah’s men—and how they were ready either to live or to die nobly—he departed for Antioch. And he began to recruit mercenaries, intending to come to Judea again with a much larger force.
36Then Judas and his brothers said, “Behold, our enemies have been crushed. Let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and rededicate it.”
37And the whole army was gathered, and they went up to Mount Zion.
38And they saw our sanctuary desolated, the altar desecrated, and the gates burned down. In the courts, plants had sprung up as in a forest or on one of the mountains, and the priests’ chambers were torn down.
39And they tore their garments, made a great lamentation, and put ashes on their heads.
40And they fell on their faces to the ground, sounded the signal trumpets, and cried out to heaven.
41Then Judas appointed men to fight against those in the citadel, while he cleansed the sanctuary.
42And he chose blameless priests who were devoted to the law.
43And they cleansed the sanctuary and carried the stones of defilement to an unclean place.
44And they deliberated about the altar of burnt offering, which had been desecrated, as to what they should do with it.
45And a good plan occurred to them: to tear it down, lest it become a reproach to them because the Gentiles had defiled it. And so they tore down the altar.
46And they stored the stones in a suitable place on the temple mount, until a prophet should come to give an answer concerning them.
47And they took uncut stones, according to the law, and built a new altar like the former one.
48And they rebuilt the sanctuary and the inner parts of the temple, and they consecrated the courts.
49And they made new holy vessels, and they brought the lampstand, the altar of burnt offerings and of incense, and the table into the temple.
50And they burned incense on the altar and lit the lamps on the lampstand, and they gave light in the temple.
51And they placed bread on the table and hung the curtains, and they finished all the work they had undertaken.
52And they rose early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-eighth year.
53And they offered a sacrifice according to the law on the new altar of burnt offerings that they had made.
54At the very season and on the very day that the Gentiles had desecrated it, it was rededicated with songs, lyres, harps, and cymbals.
55And all the people fell on their faces, and they worshiped and blessed Heaven, who had given them success.
56And they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days, and with gladness they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed offerings of well-being and thanksgiving.
57And they decorated the facade of the temple with golden crowns and small shields, and they rededicated the gates and the priests’ chambers and furnished them with doors.
58And there was very great gladness among the people, and the reproach of the Gentiles was turned away.
59And Judas and his brothers and the whole assembly of Israel decreed that the days of the dedication of the altar should be observed at their proper time, year by year, for eight days, from the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev, with gladness and joy.
60And at that time they fortified Mount Zion with high walls and strong towers all around, lest the Gentiles should ever come and trample it down as they had done before.
61And they stationed a force there to guard it, and they fortified Beth-zur to guard it, so that the people would have a fortress facing Idumea.
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