The Koine Bible

And Gorgias took five thousand men and a thousand chosen horsemen, and the camp departed by night

so that he might fall upon the camp of the Jews and strike them suddenly, and the sons of the Akra were guides to him

And Judas heard, and he himself and the mighty men set out to strike the force of the king that was in Emmaus

while the forces were still scattered from the camp

And Gorgias came into the camp of Judah by night and found no one, and he was seeking them in the mountains, because he said, These are fleeing from us.

And at the same day Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men, except that they had no coverings and swords, as they wished.

And they saw a camp of nations, strong and armored, and horsemen circling it, and these trained for war

And Judas said to the men with him, Do not fear their multitude, and do not be cowed by their onslaught.

Remember how our fathers were saved in the Red Sea when Pharaoh pursued them with power

And now let us cry out to heaven, if he will be pleased with us, and will remember the covenant of the fathers, and will crush this camp before us today.

And all the nations will know that there is one who redeems and saves Israel.

And the foreigners lifted up their eyes and saw them coming from opposite directions

And they came out from the camp for battle, and those with Judas sounded the trumpets.

And they engaged, and the nations were shattered, and they fled into the plain.

But all the last fell by the sword, and they pursued them as far as Gazeron and as far as the plains of Idumea and Azotus and Jamneia, and about three thousand men fell from them.

And Judas and the force turned back from pursuing behind them.

And he said to the people, Do not desire the spoils, because war is before us.

And Gorgias and the force are in the mountain near us; but stand now against our enemies and fight them, and after these things take the spoils with boldness.

While Judas was still carrying out these things, a certain part was seen peering out from the mountain.

And he saw that they had been routed and were burning the camp, for the smoke being seen made clear what had happened.

But they, perceiving these things, were greatly afraid, and perceiving also the camp of Judas in the plain, ready for battle array,

And they all fled into the land of the Philistines

And Judas returned to the plunder of the camp, and they took much gold and silver and blue-purple cloth and sea-purple and great wealth

And turning back they were hymning and blessing toward heaven, because he is good, because his mercy is forever.

And there was great salvation for Israel on that day

But as many of the foreigners as were saved, having come, reported to Lysias all the things that had happened.

But when he heard, he was troubled and was downcast, because things had not turned out for Israel as he had wanted, and not as the king had commanded him, it had gone out.

And in the coming year he encamped with sixty thousand chosen men and five thousand horsemen, so as to make war against them.

And they came into Idumea and encamped at Bethsour, and Judas met them with ten thousand men

And he saw the camp to be strong, and he prayed and said, Blessed are you, O Savior of Israel, who crushed the onset of the mighty by the hand of your servant David, and you gave over the camp of the foreigners into the hands of Jonathan son of Saul and of the one who lifts his vessels.

So enclose this camp in the hand of your people Israel, and let them be put to shame because of their power and their horsemen.

Give them cowardice, and melt the boldness of their strength, and let them be shaken by their breaking.

Bring them down with the sword of those who love you, and let all who know your name praise you with hymns.

And they joined battle with one another, and there fell from the camp of Lysias about five thousand men, and there fell on their side opposing them.

And Lysias, seeing the rout that had happened of his own array, and the courage that had arisen of Judah, and that they are ready either to live or to die nobly, departed to Antioch, and was recruiting foreigners, saying to come again in greater number into Judea.

And Judas and his brothers said, Behold, our enemies have been crushed; let us go up to cleanse the holy things and to dedicate them.

And the whole camp was gathered together, and they went up to Mount Sion

And they saw the sanctuary laid waste and the altar profaned and the doors burned down and in the courts plants growing up as in a wood or as in one of the mountains and the chamber rooms pulled down

And they tore their garments and made a great lamentation and put on ashes

And they fell on their face to the ground and sounded with the trumpets of the signals and cried out to heaven

Then Judas ordered men to fight against those in the Akra until he should cleanse the holy places

And he selected blameless priests, zealots for the law

And they cleansed the holy places and carried away the stones of defilement to an unclean place

And they deliberated concerning the altar of the whole burnt offering, the one profaned, what they should do to it.

And a good plan fell upon them to pull it down, lest it should become for them a reproach, because the nations had defiled it, and they tore down the altar.

And they put the stones aside in the mountain of the house in a suitable place until a prophet should come to give answer concerning them

And they took whole stones according to the law and built a new altar according to the former one

And they built the holy places and the things inside the house, and they consecrated the courts.

And they made new holy vessels and brought in the lampstand and the altar of incense and the table into the temple

And they burned incense upon the altar and lit the lamps that were upon the lampstand and they gave light in the temple

And they placed the bread on the table and spread out the curtains and completed all the works that they had done

And they rose early in the morning on the fifth and twenty-first day of the ninth month, this month is Chasleu, of the one hundred and forty-eighth year.

And they offered sacrifice according to the law upon the new altar of burnt offerings that they had made

At the very time and on the day on which the nations profaned it, on that one it was dedicated anew with songs and lyres and harps and cymbals

And all the people fell on their face and worshiped and blessed toward heaven the one who had given them success

And they made the dedication of the altar for eight days, and they offered burnt offerings with gladness, and they sacrificed a sacrifice of deliverance and of praise.

And they adorned the front of the temple with golden wreaths and little shields, and they dedicated the gates and the chambers, and they door-fitted them.

And there was very great rejoicing among the people, and the reproach of the nations was turned away.

And Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel established that the days of the dedication of the altar should be kept in their times year by year for eight days from the twenty-fifth of the month Chasleu, with gladness and joy.

And they built at that time the mount Sion round about high walls and strong towers, lest the nations, when they should come, should trample them down as they did before

And he set there a force to guard it, and he fortified it to guard Bethsura, for the people to have a stronghold opposite Idumea