The Koine Bible

And Judas, the one called Maccabaeus, his son, rose up in his place.

And all his brothers were helping him, and all who had attached themselves to his father, and they were waging the war of Israel with joy.

And he enlarged glory for his people, and he clothed himself with a breastplate like a giant, and he girded on his war gear, and he assembled battles, covering the camp with a sword

And he was likened to a lion in his deeds, and like a lion’s cub roaring for prey

And he pursued lawless men, searching them out, and those troubling his people he burned up

And the lawless shrank back because of the fear of him, and all the workers of lawlessness were troubled, and salvation prospered in his hand.

And he embittered many kings, and he gladdened Jacob with his works, and his memorial is unto blessing until eternity.

And he went through the cities of Judah and destroyed the ungodly out of it, and turned away wrath from Israel

And he was named as far as the end of the earth, and he gathered those perishing

And Apollonius gathered nations and from Samaria a great force to wage war against Israel.

And Judas knew, and he went out to meet him, and struck him, and killed him, and many wounded fell, and the rest fled.

And they took their spoils, and Judas took the sword of Apollonius, and he was fighting with it all the days.

And Seron, the commander of the force of Syria, heard that Judas had gathered a gathering and an assembly of faithful men with him, and going out to war.

And he said, I will make for myself a name and I will be glorified in the kingdom, and I will wage war against Judas and those with him, those who make the word of the king of no account.

And there was added, and with him there went up a strong camp of the ungodly to help him to carry out vengeance against the sons of Israel.

And he approached as far as the ascent of Beth-horon, and Judas went out to meet him with a small number

But when they saw the camp coming to meet them, they said to Judas, How shall we, being few, be able to fight against so great a multitude, strong as it is? And we have become exhausted, fasting today.

And Judas said, It is easy for many to be shut up in the hands of few, and there is no difference before heaven to save by many or by few.

For victory in war is not in a multitude of strength, but from heaven is the power.

They are coming against us in a multitude of insolence and lawlessness, to destroy us and our wives and our children, to plunder us.

But we are fighting for our lives and for our laws

and he himself will crush them before our face, but do not fear from them

And as he ceased speaking, he rushed upon them suddenly, and Seron was crushed, and his camp before him.

And they pursued him in the descent of Beth-horon as far as the plain, and eight hundred men fell from them, and the rest fled into the land of Philistia.

And the fear of Judas and his brothers began, and dread was falling upon the nations around them

And his name came near to the king, and concerning the battles of Juda he was telling the nations

And when King Antiochus heard these words, he was enraged with anger and sent and gathered all the forces of his kingdom, a very strong camp.

And he opened his treasury and gave provisions to the forces for a year, and he commanded them to be ready for every need.

And he saw that the silver had failed from the treasuries, and the taxes of the country were few because of the division and the plague that he had brought upon the land to remove the laws that were from the first days

And he was afraid lest he should not have as once and twice for the expenses and the gifts which he gave formerly with a bountiful hand, and he excelled above the kings that were before him.

And he was greatly perplexed in his soul, and he planned to go into Persia and to take the tributes of the provinces and to collect much silver

And he left Lysias, a man of distinction and of royal stock, over the affairs of the king from the river Euphrates and as far as the borders of Egypt.

and to rear Antiochus his son until he return him

and he gave to him the half of the forces and the elephants, and he instructed him concerning all things that he wanted and concerning those inhabiting Judea and Jerusalem

to send upon them a force to crush and to wipe out the strength of Israel and the remnant of Jerusalem and to remove their memorial from the place

and to settle foreign sons in all their borders and to bequeath their land

And the king took the half of the forces that were left and departed from Antioch, from the city of his kingdom, in the one hundred and forty-seventh year, and he crossed the Euphrates River and was passing through the upper regions.

And Lysias chose Ptolemaeus son of Dorymenes and Nicanor and Gorgias, mighty men of the king’s friends

And he sent with them forty thousand men and seven thousand horsemen to come into the land of Judea and to destroy it according to the word of the king.

And he set out with all their force, and they came and encamped near Emmaus in the plain land.

And the merchants of the country heard their name, and they took very much silver and gold and fetters, and came into the camp to take the sons of Israel as slaves; and a force of Syria and of the land of the foreigners was added to them.

And Judas and his brothers saw that evils had multiplied and that the forces were encamping in their borders, and they perceived the words of the king which he had commanded to be done to the people for destruction and end.

And each said to his neighbor, Let us raise up the ruin of our people, and let us fight for our people and for the holy places.

And the assembly was gathered to be ready for war and to pray and to ask for mercy and compassions.

And Jerusalem was uninhabited like a wilderness; there was no one entering in and going out from her offspring, and the sanctuary trampled down, and sons of foreigners in the citadel, a lodging-place for the nations; and joy was taken away from Jacob, and the flute and the harp ceased.

And they gathered together and came to Mizpah, opposite Jerusalem, because there was a place of prayer in Mizpah formerly for Israel.

And they fasted on that day and put on sackcloth and ashes on their head, and they tore their garments

And they spread out the book of the law, about the things concerning which the nations were searching out the likenesses of their idols.

And they brought the garments of the priesthood and the firstfruits and the tithes, and they raised up the Nazirites who had fulfilled the days.

And they cried out with a voice to heaven, saying, What shall we do to these, and where shall we lead them away?

And your holy things have been trampled down and profaned, and your priests are in mourning and humiliation

And behold, the nations have gathered together against us to destroy us; you know what they are planning against us.

How shall we be able to stand face to face with them, if you do not help us?

And they trumpeted with the trumpets, and they shouted with a loud voice.

And after this Judas appointed commanders of the people, captains of thousands and captains of hundreds and captains of fifties and captains of tens

And he said to those building houses and betrothing women and planting vineyards and to the cowardly, for each to turn back to his house according to the law

And the camp set out, and they camped to the south of Emmaus.

And Judas said, Gird yourselves and become sons of might, and become ready in the morning to fight against these nations that have gathered together against us, to destroy us and our holy things.

for it is better for us to die in war than to look upon the evils of our nation and of the holy things

But as there may be a will in heaven, so he will do.