The Koine Bible

In the one hundred and fifty-first year Demetrius the son of Seleucus went out from Rome and went up with few men to a city by the sea and reigned there

And it happened, as he was entering into the house of the kingdom of his fathers, that the forces seized Antiochus and Lysias to bring them to him

And the matter was made known to him, and he said, Do not show me their faces.

And the forces killed them, and Demetrius sat upon the throne of his kingdom.

And all lawless and ungodly men from Israel came to him, and Alcimus led them, wishing to serve as priest.

And they accused the people before the king, saying, Judas and his brothers destroyed all your friends, and he scattered us away from our land.

Now therefore send a man whom you trust, and let him go and see all the destruction which he has done to us and to the king’s land, and let him punish them and all those who help them

And the king chose Bacchides, one of the king’s friends, ruling over the region beyond the river and great in the kingdom and faithful to the king.

And he sent him and Alcimus the impious man, and he established the high priesthood for him, and he ordered him to take vengeance on the sons of Israel.

And they departed and came with a very great force into the land of Judah, and he sent messengers to Judas and to his brothers with peaceful words, with deceit.

And they did not pay attention to their words, for they saw that they had come with much power.

And a gathering of scribes was assembled to Alcimus and Bacchides to seek justice

And the Hasideans were the first among the sons of Israel, and they were seeking peace from them

For they said, A man, a priest from the seed of Aaron, has come in the forces, and he will not wrong us.

And he spoke with them peaceful words and swore to them, saying, We shall not seek evil for you and for your friends.

And they trusted him, and he seized from them sixty men and killed them in one day, according to the word which he wrote to him.

the flesh of your holy ones and their blood they poured out around Jerusalem, and there was not one to bury them

And fear and trembling fell upon all the people, because they said, There is no truth and judgment among them; for they transgressed the agreement and the oath which they swore.

And Bacchides departed from Jerusalem and encamped in Bethzaith, and he sent and seized many of the men who had deserted to him, and some of the people, and he sacrificed them into the great pit.

And he established the land for Alcimus and left with him force to help him, and Bacchides went away to the king

And Alcimus contended for the high priesthood.

And all those troubling their people gathered to him, and they overpowered the land of Judah and inflicted a great blow in Israel.

And Judas saw all the wickedness that Alcimus did, and those with him, among the sons of Israel, beyond the nations.

And he went out into all the borders of Judea round about, and he executed vengeance on the men who had defected, and they were restrained from going out into the country.

But when Alcimus saw that Judas and those with him had grown strong, and he knew that he could not withstand them, he returned to the king and accused them wickedly.

And the king sent Nicanor, one of his glorious leaders, and hating and hostile to Israel, and he charged him to destroy the people.

And Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a great force, and he sent to Judas and his brothers with deceit, with peaceable words, saying:

Let there be no battle between me and you; I will come with few men, so that I may see your faces in peace.

And he came to Judas, and they greeted one another peacefully, and the enemies were ready to seize Judas.

And the matter was known to Judas, that he had come against him with deceit, and he was frightened by him and no longer wished to see his face.

And Nicanor knew that his plan had been exposed, and he went out to meet Judas in battle at Capharsalama

And about five hundred men of those with Nicanor fell, and they fled into the city of David.

And after these words Nicanor went up to Mount Zion, and some of the priests went out from the holy places and some of the elders of the people to greet him peaceably and to show him the whole burnt offering being offered for the king

And he mocked them and derided them and defiled them and spoke arrogantly.

And he swore in wrath, saying, If Judas and his camp are not given into my hands now, and if I return in peace, I will burn this house; and he went out in great wrath

And the priests entered and stood before the altar and the temple, and they wept and said

You chose this house to have your name called upon it, to be a house of prayer and supplication for your people

Execute vengeance on this man and on his camp, and let them fall by the sword; remember their blasphemies, and do not give them a dwelling-place

And Nicanor went out from Jerusalem and encamped at Beth-horon, and the power of Syria met him.

And Judas encamped at Adasa with three thousand men, and Judas prayed and said

When those from the king slandered, your angel went out and struck among them one hundred eighty-five thousand.

So crush this camp before us today, and let the survivors know that he spoke evil against your holy things, and judge him according to his wickedness.

And the camps joined in battle on the thirteenth of the month Adar, and the camp of Nicanor was shattered, and he himself fell first in the battle.

And when his camp saw that Nicanor had fallen, they threw down their weapons and fled.

And they pursued them a journey of one day from Adasa until they came to Gazara, and they were sounding behind them with the trumpets of the signals.

And they came out from all the villages of Judea round about and outflanked them, and these turned against those, and they all fell by the sword, and not even one of them was left behind.

And they took the spoils and the plunder, and they cut off Nicanor’s head and his right hand, which he had stretched out arrogantly, and they brought them and displayed them beside Jerusalem.

And the people rejoiced exceedingly, and they kept that day as a great day of gladness

And they established to keep this day yearly on the thirteenth of Adar

And the land of Judea was quiet for a few days.