1And Demetrius heard that Nicanor and his forces had waged war, and he again sent Bacchides and Alcimus into the land of Judah, and the right wing with them.
2And they went by the road to Gilgal and encamped against Messaloth in Arbela; and they captured it and destroyed many lives.
3And in the first month of the one hundred and fifty-second year, they encamped against Jerusalem.
4Then they broke camp and went to Berea with twenty thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry.
5And Judas was encamped in Elasa, with three thousand chosen men with him.
6And when they saw the size of the enemy forces, that they were so many, they were greatly afraid. And many slipped away from the camp, until no more than eight hundred men were left of them.
7And Judas saw that his army had melted away and that the battle was pressing him; and he was crushed in heart, because he had no time to rally them.
8Though he was faint, he said to those who remained, “Let us rise up and go against our opponents; perhaps we will be able to fight them.”
9But they tried to dissuade him, saying, “We will not be able to. Instead, let us save our own lives for now and return with our brothers to fight against them. For now, we are too few.”
10But Judas said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing as to flee from them! If our time has come, let us die bravely for the sake of our brothers, and not leave a stain upon our glory.”
11Then the enemy force moved out from their camp and took up positions to meet them. The cavalry was divided into two parts, and the slingers and archers went ahead of the main force, along with all the mightiest of the front-line fighters.
12Bacchides was in the right wing, and the phalanx advanced from two sides, and they sounded their trumpets. And those with Judas also sounded their trumpets.
13And the earth was shaken by the noise of the armies, and the battle was joined, raging from morning until evening.
14And Judas saw that Bacchides and the main strength of his army were on the right wing, and all the stout-hearted men rallied to him.
15And the right wing was crushed by them, and Judas pursued them as far as Mount Azotus.
16When those on the left wing saw that the right wing was crushed, they turned and followed on the heels of Judas and his men, attacking from the rear.
17And the battle became fierce, and many wounded fell on both sides.
18And Judas fell, and the rest fled.
19And Jonathan and Simon took up Judas their brother and buried him in the tomb of their fathers in Modein.
20And all Israel wept for him and made a great lamentation for him, and they mourned for many days and said,
21“How the mighty one has fallen, the savior of Israel!”
22Now the rest of the acts of Judas, and his wars and the deeds of valor that he performed, and his greatness, they have not been recorded, for they were very many.
23And it happened after the death of Judas that the lawless emerged in all the territories of Israel, and all the workers of iniquity rose up.
24In those days a very great famine occurred, and the country went over to their side.
25And Bacchides chose the godless men and made them masters of the country.
26And they sought out and hunted down the friends of Judas and brought them to Bacchides, who took vengeance on them and mocked them.
27And there was great affliction in Israel, such as had not been since the day that no prophet was seen among them.
28Then all the friends of Judas gathered and said to Jonathan,
29“Since your brother Judas died, there is no man like him to go out against our enemies—against Bacchides and against those of our nation who hate us.”
30“So now today we have chosen you to be our ruler and leader in his place, to fight our war.”
31And Jonathan accepted the leadership at that time, and he rose up in place of his brother Judas.
32And Bacchides learned of it and sought to kill him.
33And Jonathan, his brother Simon, and all those with him learned of it, and they fled into the wilderness of Tekoa and camped by the water of the cistern of Asphal.
34And Bacchides learned of it on the Sabbath day, and he and all his army came across the Jordan.
35Then Jonathan sent his brother, a leader of the company, and asked the Nabateans, who were his friends, to store their extensive baggage with them.
36But the sons of Jambri came out from Medeba and seized John and all that he had, and they went off with it.
37But after these events, it was reported to Jonathan and his brother Simon, “The sons of Jambri are holding a great wedding and are bringing the bride, the daughter of one of the great magnates of Canaan, from Nadabath with a great escort.”
38And they remembered their brother John, and they went up and hid under the cover of the mountain.
39And they lifted up their eyes and saw, and behold, there was a tumult and much equipment. The bridegroom came out with his friends and his brothers to meet them with tambourines, musicians, and many weapons.
40And they rose up against them from the ambush and killed them. Many wounded fell, and the rest fled to the mountain. And they took all their spoil.
41And the wedding was turned into mourning, and the sound of their music into a lament.
42And they avenged the blood of their brother and returned to the mountain by the Jordan.
43And Bacchides heard of it and came on the Sabbath day to the banks of the Jordan with a great force.
44And Jonathan said to his men, “Let us rise up now and fight for our lives, for today is not like yesterday and the day before.”
45For behold, the battle is in front of us and behind us, and the water of the Jordan is on this side and on that, with marsh and thicket, and there is no place to retreat.
46Now therefore, cry out to heaven, so that you may be delivered from the hand of our enemies.
47And the battle was joined. Jonathan stretched out his hand to strike Bacchides, but he turned away from him and drew back.
48And Jonathan and those with him leaped into the Jordan and swam across to the other side, but the enemy did not cross the Jordan after them.
49And about a thousand men from Bacchides’ side fell on that day.
50And they returned to Jerusalem and built fortified cities in Judea: the fortress in Jericho, and Emmaus, Beth-horon, Bethel, Thamnata, Pharathon, and Tephon, with high walls, gates, and bars.
51And they placed garrisons in them to harass Israel.
52And they fortified the city of Beth-zur, Gazara, and the citadel, and they placed forces and stores of food in them.
53And they took the sons of the leaders of the country as hostages and put them in the citadel in Jerusalem under guard.
54In the one hundred and fifty-third year, in the second month, Alcimus gave orders to tear down the wall of the inner court of the sanctuary. He was thus tearing down the works of the prophets, and he began the demolition.
55At that time Alcimus was struck down, and his work was stopped. His mouth was shut and he was paralyzed, and he could no longer speak a word or give orders concerning his household.
56And Alcimus died at that time in great torment.
57And when Bacchides saw that Alcimus was dead, he returned to the king, and the land of Judah had rest for two years.
58And all the lawless men plotted, saying, “Behold, Jonathan and those with him are living in quiet and security. Now therefore, let us bring Bacchides back, and he will capture them all in a single night.”
59And they went and conferred with him.
60And he set out to come with a great force, and he secretly sent letters to all his allies in Judea to seize Jonathan and those with him. But they were not able, because their plan became known to Jonathan’s men.
61And they seized about fifty men from the country, the ringleaders of the evil, and he killed them.
62Then Jonathan and Simon and those with them withdrew to Bethbasi in the wilderness; and he rebuilt its ruined parts and fortified it.
63When Bacchides learned of this, he gathered his entire force and sent word to those from Judea.
64And he came and encamped against Bethbasi, and he fought against it for many days and made siege engines.
65And Jonathan left his brother Simon in the city and went out into the country; he went with a force of men.
66And he struck down Odomera and his brothers and the sons of Phasiron in their encampment. And he began to strike and to advance with his forces.
67Then Simon and those with him went out from the city and set fire to the siege engines.
68And they fought against Bacchides, and he was crushed by them. And they pressed him hard, because his plan and his attack were in vain.
69And he grew furiously angry with the lawless men who had advised him to come into the country, and they killed many of them. Then he resolved to depart to his own land.
70When Jonathan learned of this, he sent envoys to him to make a peace treaty with him and to have him return the prisoners.
71And he accepted and acted according to his terms, and he swore an oath to him not to seek to harm him all the days of his life.
72And he returned to him the prisoners whom he had previously taken captive from the land of Judah. Then he turned and departed to his own land, and he came no more into their territory.
73So the sword ceased from Israel. And Jonathan settled in Machmas, and Jonathan began to judge the people and removed the ungodly from Israel.
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