1 Now King Antiochus passed through the upper countries and heard that Elymais in Persia was a splendid city for its wealth in silver and gold.
2 Its temple contained great wealth, with shields of gold, breastplates, and weaponry left there by Alexander, the son of Philip, the Macedonian king who first ruled over the Greeks.
3 So he came and sought to defeat the city and take spoils, but he failed because his plot was uncovered by the men of the city.
4 They confronted and fought against him, and he fled and retreated from there very discouraged, and went back to Babylon.
5 Then a man came and told him while he was still in Persia that his army which had invaded the land of Judah was put to flight;
6 that Lysias had gone first with a strong army, but had been put to shame before Israel; that Israel was growing strong by the weapons, supplies, and abundant spoils they had taken from the armies they had conquered.
7 Moreover, they had pulled down the abomination he built on top of the altar in Jerusalem; and they had encircled the sanctuary with high walls as it had before, as well as Beth-zur, his hometown.
8 When the king received this report, he was shocked and greatly shaken. He fell upon his bed and was sick with grief, because matters had not gone for him as he hoped.
9 King Antiochus lay there several days, for deepening grief worsened his condition. He concluded he was about to die.
10 Thus he called together his friends, saying, “Sleep has eluded my eyes, and anxiety has devastated my heart.
11 I ask myself, ‘What is this stress I have come to, and into what sea of troubles am I immersed? For I was kind and loved as a ruler.’
12 But now I recall the evils I did in Jerusalem; for I took all the silver and gold vessels, and sent to destroy those who lived in Judah for no good reason.
13 I know that because of these things, evils have found me; and behold, I am perishing with deep grief in a foreign land.”
14 He then summoned Philip, one of his friends, and set him over his entire kingdom.
15 He gave him his crown and his robe and ring, that he could take charge of his son Antiochus and raise him to rule.
16 Thus Antiochus the king died in the one hundred and forty-ninth year.
17 When Lysias found out the king had reposed, he established Antiochus his son to reign. Lysias had raised him from youth and called him Eupator.
18 Now men from the citadel were confining Israel to the area around the sanctuary. They were attempting by whatever means to injure them, and to bring strength to the Gentiles.
19 So he gathered all the men to defeat them.
20 They assembled the army and attacked the city in the hundred and fiftieth year. He also built engines of war and other instruments of battle.
21 But some of these enemies escaped from the enclosure, and some ungodly Israelites sided with them.
22 They approached the king, saying, “How long will it be until you render a judgment to avenge our brothers?
23 We were pleased to serve your father, and to follow what he said and obey his orders.
24 Because of this the sons of our people attacked the citadel and became our enemies. Besides this, they killed as many of us as they found, and our inheritances were taken away.
25 But they have not stretched out their hand against us alone, but also against all the lands on their borders;
26 and behold, today they have surrounded the citadel in Jerusalem to defeat it. They have strengthened the sanctuary and Beth-zur as well.
27 So unless you quickly overtake them, they will do worse things than these, and you will be unable to stop them.”
28 The king was angered greatly when he heard this, so he assembled all his friends, the military leaders, and those who ruled.
29 Armies of mercenaries came to him as well from other nations and from various islands of the seas.
30 So the number of his armies was one hundred thousand foot soldiers, twenty thousand calvary, and thirty-two elephants trained for battle.
31 They arrived through Idumea and marched against Beth-zur, fighting for many days and building engines of war. But Israel went out, set them on fire, and battled heroically.
32 Judas then marched out from the citadel and set up camp at Beth-zechariah, across from the king's camp.
33 The next morning the king rose at dawn and led his army on a forced march on the highway to Beth-zechariah. His soldiers prepared themselves for warfare and blew the trumpets.
34 They also showed the elephants the juice of grapes and mulberries to ready them for the campaign.
35 Then they stationed the elephants among the phalanxes and set alongside each animal a thousand men, covered with coats of mail and with bronze helmets on their heads. Five hundred horsemen were chosen and assigned to each elephant.
36 These positioned themselves beforehand wherever the animal was, and wherever it went, they rode alongside and never left it alone.
37 Sturdy covered wooden towers were strapped upon each elephant by a special harness, and four armed men fought from inside each tower with its Indian driver.
38 They positioned the remainder of the horsemen on each side, on the two flanks of the forces, disturbing the enemy while they themselves were protected by the phalanxes.
39 As the sun shined on the golden and bronze shields, the hills glistened from them and lit up like a flaming fire.
40 While one sector of the king's forces was stretched out on the high hills and some were on the plain, they marched on steadfastly in good order.
41 Everyone trembled when they heard the sounds of the soldiers as they marched along, and the clanging of their weapons, for the army was massive and very strong.
42 But Judas drew near with his army in battle formation, and six hundred of the king's men fell.
43 Then Eleazar, called Avran, saw one of the elephants covered with royal armor. It was taller than the rest, and he reasoned the king was riding it.
44 So he laid down his life to rescue his people and to make an everlasting name for himself.
45 He ran boldly into the center of the phalanx, killing soldiers to the right and left, and they got out of his way on both flanks.
46 Then he crawled under the elephant, struck it from beneath, and killed it. It fell to the ground on top of him, and he died there.
47 When the Israelites saw the royal might and the fierce attack of the troops, they turned away from them in flight.
48 But the soldiers of the king's army went up to Jerusalem to attack them, and the king set up camp in Judea and on Mount Zion.
49 He reached a peace accord with the men of Beth-zur, who evacuated the city because they had no food there to withstand a siege, for it was a sabbatical year for the land.
50 So the king captured Beth-zur and set a guard there to secure it.
51 He then set a camp opposite the sanctuary for several days and built siege towers, engines of war which threw fire and stones, machines to fire off arrows, and catapults.
52 The defenders also made engines of war to match theirs. So they battled several days.
53 But with no food stored up, because it was the seventh year, and the men who survived in Judea against the Gentiles had eaten the remaining provisions,
54 few men remained in the sanctuary, for hunger had overtaken them. They scattered, each to his own place.
55 Now Lysias got word that Philip, whom Antiochus the king had chosen while still alive to raise Antiochus his son to rule,
56 had returned from Persia and Media with the armies that had gone there with the king, and that he was trying to gain control of the kingdom.
57 So Lysias decided immediately to send a message to the king, the commanders, and the men, saying, “We grow weaker each day, our food supply is running out, the force we are fighting against is strong, and governing the kingdom puts pressure on us.
58 Therefore, let us come to agreement with these men and have peace with them and their nation.
59 We should arrange for them to live by their laws as before; for it was because of their laws which we abolished that they became furious and did all the things they have done.”
60 This word pleased the king and the commanders, so he sent an offer of peace to the Israelites, which they accepted.
61 Thus the king and the commanders gave them their oath. On these conditions the Israelites evacuated the fortress.
62 But when the king came to Mount Zion and saw the fortification of the place, he broke his promise and commanded his men to pull down the surrounding wall.
63 Then he left hastily and came back to Antioch. There he discovered Philip in charge, so he attacked him and captured the city by force.