1In ⁶⁴the hundred and one and fiftieth year Demetrius the son of Seleucus came forth from Rome, and went up with a few men unto a city by the sea, and reigned there.

2And it came to pass, when he would go into the house of the kingdom of his fathers, that the army laid hands on Antiochus and Lysias, to bring them unto him.

3And the thing was known to him, and he said, shew me not their faces.

4And the army slew them. And Demetrius sat upon the throne of his kingdom.

5And there came unto him all the lawless and ungodly men of Israel; and Alcimus was their leader, desiring to be high priest;

6and they accused the people to the king, saying, Judas and his brethren have destroyed all thy friends, and have scattered us from our own land.

7Now therefore send a man whom thou trustest, and let him go and see all the havock which he hath made of us, and of the king’s country, and how he hath punished them and all that helped them.

8And the king chose Bacchides, one of the king’s ⁶⁵Friends, who was ruler in the country beyond the river, and was a great man in the kingdom, and faithful to the king.

9And he sent him, and that ungodly Alcimus, and made sure to him the high priesthood, and he commanded him to take vengeance upon the children of Israel.

10And they removed, and came with a great host into the land of Judah, and he sent messengers to Judas and his brethren with words of peace deceitfully.

11And they gave no heed to their words; for they saw that they were come with a great host.

12And there were gathered together unto Alcimus and Bacchides a company of scribes, to seek for justice.

13And the ⁶⁶Hasidaeans were the first among the children of Israel that sought peace of them;

14for they said, One that is a priest of the seed of Aaron is come with the forces, and he will do us no wrong.

15And he spake with them words of peace, and sware unto them, saying, We will seek the hurt neither of you nor your friends.

16And they gave him credence: and he laid hands on threescore men of them, and slew them in one day, according to the word which the psalmist wrote,

17⁶⁷The flesh of thy saints did they cast out,
And their blood did they shed round about Jerusalem;
And there was no man to bury them.

18And the fear and the dread of them fell upon all the people, for they said, There is neither truth nor judgement in them; for they have broken the covenant and the oath which they sware.

19And Bacchides removed from Jerusalem, and encamped in Bezeth; and he sent and took away many of the deserters that were with him, and certain of the people, and he slew them, and cast them into the great pit.

20And he made sure the country to Alcimus, and left with him a force to aid him; and Bacchides went away unto the king.

21And Alcimus strove for his high priesthood.

22And there were gathered unto him all they that troubled their people, and they got the mastery of the land of Judah, and did great hurt in Israel.

23And Judas saw all the mischief that Alcimus and his company had done among the children of Israel, even above the Gentiles,

24and he went out into all the coasts of Judaea round about, and took vengeance on the men that had deserted from him, and they were restrained from going forth into the country.

25But when Alcimus saw that Judas and his company waxed strong, and knew that he was not able to withstand them, he returned to the king, and brought evil accusations against them.

26⁶⁸And the king sent Nicanor, one of his honourable princes, a man that hated Israel and was their enemy, and commanded him to destroy the people.

27And Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a great host; and he sent unto Judas and his brethren deceitfully with words of peace, saying,

28Let there be no battle between me and you; I will come with a few men, that I may see your faces in peace.

29And he came to Judas, and they saluted one another peaceably. And the enemies were ready to take away Judas by violence.

30And the thing was known to Judas, to wit, that he came unto him with deceit, and he was sore afraid of him, and would see his face no more.

31And Nicanor knew that his counsel was discovered; and he went out to meet Judas in battle beside Capharsalama;

32and there fell of Nicanor’s side about ⁶⁹five hundred men, and they fled into the city of David.

33And after these things Nicanor went up to mount Sion: and there came some of the priests out of the sanctuary, and some of the elders of the people, to salute him peaceably, and to shew him the whole burnt sacrifice that was being offered for the king.

34And he mocked them, and laughed at them, and ⁷⁰entreated them shamefully, and spake haughtily,

35and sware in a rage, saying, Unless Judas and his army be now delivered into my hands, it shall be that, if I come again in peace, I will burn up this house: and he went out in a great rage.

36And the priests entered in, and stood before the altar and the temple; and they wept, and said,

37Thou didst choose this house to be called by thy name, to be a house of prayer and supplication for thy people:

38take vengeance on this man and his army, and let them fall by the sword: remember their blasphemies, and suffer them not to live any longer.

39And Nicanor went forth from Jerusalem, and encamped in Bethhoron, and there met him the host of Syria.

40And Judas encamped in Adasa with three thousand men: and Judas prayed and said,

41When they that came from the king blasphemed, thine angel went out, and smote among them a hundred and fourscore and five thousand.

42Even so discomfit thou this army before us to-day, and let all the rest know that he hath spoken wickedly against thy sanctuary, and judge thou him according to his wickedness.

43And on the thirteenth day of the month Adar the armies joined battle: and Nicanor’s army was discomfited, and he himself was the first to fall in the battle.

44Now when his army saw that Nicanor was fallen, they cast away their arms, and fled.

45And they pursued after them a day’s journey from Adasa until thou comest to ⁷¹Gazara, and they sounded an alarm after them with the ⁷²solemn trumpets.

46And they came forth out of all the villages of Judaea round about, and ⁷³closed them in; and these turned them back on those, and they all fell by the sword, and there was not one of them left.

47And they took the spoils, and the booty, and they smote off Nicanor’s head, and his right hand, which he stretched out so haughtily, and brought them, and ⁷⁴hanged them up beside Jerusalem.

48And the people were exceeding glad, and they kept that day as a day of great gladness.

49And ⁷⁵they ordained to keep this day year by year, to wit, the thirteenth day of Adar.

50And the land of Judah had rest ⁷⁶a little while.