The Koine Bible

And Demetrius heard that Nicanor and his force had fallen in battle, and he resolved to send Bacchides and Alcimus a second time into the land of Judaea, and the right wing with them.

And they went on the way that leads to Galgala and encamped at Maisaloth, which is in Arbela, and they seized it beforehand and destroyed many lives of men.

And in the first month of the one hundred and fifty-second year they encamped against Jerusalem.

And they set out and went to Berea with twenty thousand men and two thousand horsemen.

And Judas was encamped in Elasa, and three thousand men with him, chosen men

And they saw the multitude of the forces, that they were many, and they were greatly afraid, and many slipped away from the camp; there were not left of them except eight hundred men.

And Judas saw that his camp had melted away and the battle was pressing him, and he was broken in heart because he had no time to gather them together.

And he was released and said to those who were left behind, Let us rise and let us go up against our adversaries; if indeed we may be able to fight against them.

And they were turning him back, saying, We shall by no means be able, but let us save our own lives now; let us turn back, both we and our brothers, and let us fight against them, since we are few.

And Judas said, Let it not happen to do this thing, to flee from them; and even if our time has drawn near, let us die in courage for the sake of our brothers, and let us not leave a cause to our glory.

And the force departed from the camp and took their stand to meet them, and the horsemen were divided into two parts, and the slingers and the archers went before the force, and all the champions, all the mighty men; and Bacchides was in the right wing.

And the phalanx drew near from the two sides, and they sounded with the trumpets, and those beside Judas also trumpeted with the trumpets.

And the land was shaken by the sound of the camps, and the battle became joined from morning until evening.

And Judas saw that Bacchides and the stronghold of the camp were on the right, and all those courageous in heart came together to him.

And the right wing was crushed from them, and it pursued after them as far as the mountains of Azotus

And those in the left wing saw that the right wing was broken, and they turned after the heels of Judas and of those with him from behind.

And the battle became heavy, and many wounded men fell from these and from these

And Judas fell, and the rest fled.

And Jonathan and Simon took up Judas their brother and buried him in the tomb of his fathers in Modin

And all Israel mourned over him and bewailed him with a great lamentation, and they mourned many days, and they said:

How has a mighty one fallen, saving Israel!

And the rest of the words of Judas and of the wars and of the brave deeds which he did and of his greatness were not written, for they were very many.

And after the death of Judas, the lawless men sprang up in all the borders of Israel, and all those who were working wickedness arose.

In those days there came to be a very great famine, and the land revolted with them.

And Bacchides chose out the ungodly men and appointed them masters of the land.

And they were seeking out and searching for the friends of Ioudas, and were bringing them to Bakchides, and he was avenging himself on them and mocking them

And there was great distress in Israel, such as had not occurred since the day when a prophet was no longer seen among them.

And all the friends of Judas gathered together and said to Jonathan,

from the time when your brother Judas died, and there is no man like him to go out and to come in against the enemies and Bacchides and among those who are hostile to our nation

Now therefore we have chosen you today to be for us in his place as ruler and leader, to wage our war

And Jonathan accepted the leadership at that time and arose in place of Judas his brother

And Bacchides knew, and he was seeking to kill him.

And Jonathan and Simon his brother and all who were with him knew it, and they fled into the wilderness of Tekoa, and they encamped by the water of the pit of Asphar

And Bacchides knew on the day of the Sabbaths, and he came, he and all his army, beyond the Jordan.

And he sent his brother as leader of the crowd, and he entreated the Nabataeans, his friends, to deposit with them their much baggage.

And the sons of Jambri, those from Medaba, went out and captured John and all that he had, and they departed, having carried it off

After these words they reported to Jonathan and Simon his brother that the sons of Jambri are making a great wedding and are bringing the bride from Nadabath, daughter of one of the great nobles of Canaan, with a great escort.

And they remembered the blood of John their brother, and they went up and hid under the shelter of the mountain.

And they lifted up their eyes and saw, and behold, a noise and much baggage, and the bridegroom went out and his friends and his brothers to meet them, with tambourines and musicians and many weapons.

And those who were in ambush rose up against them and killed them, and many wounded fell, and the rest fled to the mountain, and they took all their spoils

And the wedding was turned into mourning, and the voice of their musicians into lamentation

And they avenged the avenging of the blood of their brother and returned to the marsh of the Jordan.

And Bacchides heard, and he came on the day of the sabbaths as far as the banks of the Jordan with a very great force

And Jonathan said to those with him, Let us now rise and fight for our lives, for it is not today as yesterday and the third day.

For behold, the battle is in front of us and behind us, and the water of the Jordan is on this side and on that side, and marsh and thicket; there is no place to turn aside.

Now therefore cry out to heaven, so that you may be saved from the hand of our enemies.

And the battle joined, and Jonathan stretched out his hand to strike Bacchides, and he drew back from him to the rear.

And Jonathan and those with him leaped into the Jordan and swam across to the other side, and they did not cross the Jordan against them.

And there fell from Bacchides on that day about a thousand men

And he returned to Jerusalem, and they built fortified cities in Judea: the fortress in Jericho and Emmaus and Beth-horon and Beth-el and Thamnatha-Pharathon and Tephon, with high walls and gates and bars.

And he stationed a garrison among them to act hostilely against Israel

And he fortified the city Bethsura and Gazara and the Akra, and he placed in them forces and provisions of food.

And he took the sons of the leaders of the country as hostages and put them in the citadel in Jerusalem in custody

And in the one hundred and fifty-third year, in the second month, Alcimus ordered to tear down the wall of the court of the holy things, the inner one, and he tore down the works of the prophets and began to tear down it

At that time Alcimus was struck, and his works were hindered, and his mouth was shut, and he was weakened, and he was no longer able to speak a word or to give orders concerning his house.

And Alcimus died at that time with great torment.

And Bacchides saw that Alcimus had died, and he returned to the king, and the land of Judea was at rest for two years.

And all the lawless ones took counsel, saying, Behold, Jonathan and those with him are dwelling in quiet, having confidence; now therefore let us bring up Bacchides, and he will seize them all in one night.

And they went and took counsel with him.

And he departed to come with a great force, and he sent secretly letters to all his allies in Judea, that they might seize Jonathan and those with him; and they were not able, because their plan was made known.

And they seized from among the men of the country the leaders of wickedness, about fifty men, and they killed them.

And Jonathan and Simon and those with him withdrew to Bethbasi, which is in the wilderness, and he built up its torn-down parts and made it strong.

And Bacchides knew, and he gathered all his multitude, and he gave orders to those from Judea.

And he came and encamped against Bethbasi and fought it for many days and made engines.

And Jonathan left Simon his brother in the city, and he went out into the country, and he came with a number

And he struck Odomera and his brothers and the sons of Phasiron in their camp, and they began to beat, and they were going up in the forces.

And Simon and those with him went out from the city and burned the siege engines

And they fought against Bacchides, and he was shattered by them, and they pressed him very hard, because his counsel and his assault were empty.

And he was enraged in wrath against the lawless men, those who had counseled him to come into the land, and he killed many of them, and he planned to go away into his own land.

And Jonathan recognized, and he sent envoys to him to make peace with him and to give back to them the captivity.

And he accepted and did according to his words, and he swore to him not to seek evil against him all the days of his life.

And he restored to him the captives whom he had taken captive before from the land of Judea, and turning back he went away to his land, and he did not add to come anymore into their borders.

And the sword ceased from Israel, and Jonathan dwelt in Machmas, and Jonathan began to judge the people, and he destroyed the impious out of Israel.