1 * After Alexander son of Philip, the Mace- donian, who came from the land of Kittim, had defeated ^a Dari'us, king of the Persians and the Medes, he succeeded him as king. (He had previously become king of Greece.) ²He fought many battles, conquered strongholds, and put to death the kings of the earth. ³He advanced to the ends of the earth, and plundered many nations. When the earth became quiet before him, he was exalted, and his heart was lifted up. ⁴He gathered a very strong army and ruled over countries, nations, and princes, and they became tributary to him.

2 In those days Mattathi'as the son of John, son of Simeon, a priest of the sons of Jo'arib, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Mo'dein. ²He had five sons, John surnamed Gaddi, ³Simon called Thassi, ⁴Judas called Mac''cabe'us, ⁵Elea'zar called Av'aran, and Jonathan called Ap'phus. ⁶He saw the blasphemies being committed in Judah and Jerusalem, ⁷and said,

29 Then many who were seeking righteousness and justice went down to the wilderness to dwell there, ³⁰they, their sons, their wives, and their cattle, because evils pressed heavily upon them. ³¹And it was reported to the king’s officers, and to the troops in Jerusalem the city of David, that men who had rejected the king’s command had gone down to the hiding places in the wilderness. ³²Many pursued them, and overtook them; they encamped opposite them and prepared for battle against them on the sabbath day. ³³And they said to them, “Enough of this! Come out and do what the king commands, and you will live.” ³⁴But they said, “We will not come out, nor will we do what the king commands and so profane the sabbath day.” ³⁵Then the enemy ^g hastened to attack them. ³⁶But they did not answer them or hurl a stone at them or block up their hiding places, ³⁷for they said, “Let us all die in our innocence; heaven and earth testify for us that you are killing us unjustly.” ³⁸So they attacked them on the sabbath, and they died, with their wives and children and cattle, to the number of a thousand persons.

3 Then Judas his son, who was called Mac''- cabe'us, took command in his place. ²All his brothers and all who had joined his father helped him; they gladly fought for Israel.

4 Now Gor'gias took five thousand infantry and a thousand picked cavalry, and this division moved out by night ²to fall upon the camp of the Jews and attack them suddenly. Men from the citadel were his guides. ³But Judas heard of it, and he and his mighty men moved out to attack the king’s force in Emma'us ⁴while the division was still absent from the camp. ⁵When Gor'gias entered the camp of Judas by night, he found no one there, so he looked for them in the hills, because he said, “These men are fleeing from us.”

19 Just as Judas was finishing this speech, a detachment appeared, coming out of the hills. ²⁰They saw that their army ^o had been put to flight, and that the Jews ^o were burning the camp, for the smoke that was seen showed what had happened. ²¹When they perceived this they were greatly frightened, and when they also saw the army of Judas drawn up in the plain for battle, ²²they all fled into the land of the Philis'tines. ²³Then Judas returned to plunder the camp, and they seized much gold and silver, and cloth dyed blue and sea purple, and great riches. ²⁴On their return they sang hymns and praises to Heaven, for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever. ²⁵Thus Israel had a great deliverance that day.

34 Then both sides attacked, and there fell of the army of Lys'ias five thousand men; they fell in action. ^{p 35}And when Lys'ias saw the rout of his troops and observed the boldness which inspired those of Judas, and how ready they were either to live or to die nobly, he departed to Antioch and enlisted mercenaries, to invade Judea again with an even larger army.

5 When the Gentiles round about heard that the altar had been built and the sanctuary dedicated as it was before, they became very angry, ²and they determined to destroy the descendants of Jacob who lived among them. So they began to kill and destroy among the people. ³But Judas made war on the sons of Esau in Idume'a, at Ak''rabatte'ne, because they kept lying in wait for Israel. He dealt them a heavy blow and humbled them and despoiled them. ⁴He also remembered the wickedness of the sons of Bae'an, who were a trap and a snare to the people and ambushed them on the highways. ⁵They were shut up by him in their towers; and he encamped against them, vowed their complete destruction, and burned with fire their ^t towers and all who were in them. ⁶Then he crossed over to attack the Am'monites, where he found a strong band and many people with Timothy as their leader. ⁷He engaged in many battles with them and they were crushed before him; he struck them down. ⁸He also took Ja'zer and its villages; then he returned to Judea.

9 Now the Gentiles in Gilead gathered together against the Israelites who lived in their territory, and planned to destroy them. But they fled to the stronghold of Dath'ema, ¹⁰and sent to Judas and his brothers a letter which said, “The Gentiles around us have gathered together against us to destroy us. ¹¹They are preparing to come and capture the stronghold to which we have fled, and Timothy is leading their forces. ¹²Now then come and rescue us from their hands, for many of us have fallen, ¹³and all our brethren who were in the land of Tob have been killed; the enemy ^u have captured their wives and children and goods, and have destroyed about a thousand men there.”

21 So Simon went to Galilee and fought many battles against the Gentiles, and the Gentiles were crushed before him. ²²He pursued them to the gate of Ptolema'is, and as many as three thousand of the Gentiles fell, and he despoiled them. ²³Then he took the Jews ^x of Galilee and Ar'batta, with their wives and children, and all they possessed, and led them to Judea with great rejoicing.

24 Judas Mac''cabe'us and Jonathan his brother crossed the Jordan and went three days’ journey into the wilderness. ²⁵They encountered the Nab''ate'ans, who met them peaceably and told them all that had happened to their brethren in Gilead: ²⁶“Many of them have been shut up in Bozrah and Bo'sor, in Al'ema and Chas'pho, Ma'ked and Carna'im”—all these cities were strong and large—²⁷“and some have been shut up in the other cities of Gilead; the enemy ^y are getting ready to attack the strongholds tomorrow and take and destroy all these men in one day.”

28 Then Judas and his army quickly turned back by the wilderness road to Bozrah; and he took the city, and killed every male by the edge of the sword; then he seized all its spoils and burned it with fire. ²⁹He departed from there at night, and they went all the way to the stronghold of Dath'ema. ^{z 30}At dawn they looked up, and behold, a large company, that could not be counted, carrying ladders and engines of war to capture the stronghold, and attacking the Jews within. ^{a 31}So Judas saw that the battle had begun and that the cry of the city went up to Heaven with trumpets and loud shouts, ³²and he said to the men of his forces, “Fight today for your brethren!” ³³Then he came up behind them in three companies, who sounded their trumpets and cried aloud in prayer. ³⁴And when the army of Timothy realized that it was Mac''cabe'us, they fled before him, and he dealt them a heavy blow. As many as eight thousand of them fell that day.

6 King Anti'ochus was going through the upper provinces when he heard that Elyma'is in Persia was a city famed for its wealth in silver and gold. ²Its temple was very rich, containing golden shields, breastplates, and weapons left there by Alexander, the son of Philip, the Macedonian king who first reigned over the Greeks. ³So he came and tried to take the city and plunder it, but he could not, because his plan became known to the men of the city ⁴and they withstood him in battle. So he fled and in great grief departed from there to return to Babylon.

40 Now a part of the king’s army was spread out on the high hills, and some troops were on the plain, and they advanced steadily and in good order. ⁴¹All who heard the noise made by their multitude, by the marching of the multitude and the clanking of their arms, trembled, for the army was very large and strong. ⁴²But Judas and his army advanced to the battle, and six hundred men of the king’s army fell. ⁴³And Elea'zar, called Av'aran, saw that one of the beasts was equipped with royal armor. It was taller than all the others, and he supposed that the king was upon it. ⁴⁴So he gave his life to save his people and to win for himself an everlasting name. ⁴⁵He courageously ran into the midst of the phalanx to reach it; he killed men right and left, and they parted before him on both sides. ⁴⁶He got under the elephant, stabbed it from beneath, and killed it; but it fell to the ground upon him and there he died. ⁴⁷And when the Jews ^p saw the royal might and the fierce attack of the forces, they turned away in flight.

7 In the one hundred and fifty-first year ^u Deme'trius the son of Seleu'cus set forth from Rome, sailed with a few men to a city by the sea, and there began to reign. ²As he was entering the royal palace of his fathers, the army seized Anti'ochus and Lys'ias to bring them to him. ³But when this act became known to him, he said, “Do not let me see their faces!” ⁴So the army killed them, and Deme'trius took his seat upon the throne of his kingdom.

39 Now Nica'nor went out from Jerusalem and encamped in Beth-ho'ron, and the Syrian army joined him. ⁴⁰And Judas encamped in Ad'asa with three thousand men. Then Judas prayed and said, ⁴¹“When the messengers from the king spoke blasphemy, your angel went forth and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrians. ^a >42So also crush this army before us today; let the rest learn that Nica'nor ^b has spoken wickedly against your sanctuary, and judge him according to this wickedness.” ⁴³So the armies met in battle on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar'. The army of Nica'nor was crushed, and he himself was the first to fall in the battle. ⁴⁴When his army saw that Nica'nor had fallen, they threw down their arms and fled. ⁴⁵The Jews ^c pursued them a day’s journey, from Ad'asa as far as Gaza'ra, and as they followed kept sounding the battle call on the trumpets. ⁴⁶And men came out of all the villages of Judea round about, and they outflanked the enemy ^d and drove them back to their pursuers, ^e so that they all fell by the sword; not even one of them was left. ⁴⁷Then the Jews ^f seized the spoils and the plunder, and they cut off Nica'nor’s head and the right hand which he so arrogantly stretched out, and brought them and displayed them just outside Jerusalem. ⁴⁸The people rejoiced greatly and celebrated that day as a day of great gladness. ⁴⁹And they decreed that this day should be celebrated each year on the thirteenth day of Adar'. ⁵⁰So the land of Judah had rest for a few days.

8 Now Judas heard of the fame of the Romans, that they were very strong and were well-disposed toward all who made an alliance with them, that they pledged friendship to those who came to them, ²and that they were very strong. Men told him of their wars and of the brave deeds which they were doing among the Gauls, how they had defeated them and forced them to pay tribute, ³and what they had done in the land of Spain to get control of the silver and gold mines there, ⁴and how they had gained control of the whole region by their planning and patience, even though the place was far distant from them. They also subdued the kings who came against them from the ends of the earth, until they crushed them and inflicted great disaster upon them; the rest paid them tribute every year. ⁵Philip, and Per'seus king of the Macedonians, ^g and the others who rose up against them, they crushed in battle and conquered. ⁶They also defeated Anti'ochus the Great, king of Asia, who went to fight against them with a hundred and twenty elephants and with cavalry and chariots and a very large army. He was crushed by them; ⁷they took him alive and decreed that he and those who should reign after him should pay a heavy tribute and give hostages and surrender some of their best provinces, ⁸the country of India and Med'ia and Lyd'ia. These they took from him and gave to Eu'menes the king. ⁹The Greeks planned to come and destroy them, ¹⁰but this became known to them, and they sent a general against the Greeks ^h and attacked them. Many of them were wounded and fell, and the Romans ⁱ took captive their wives and children; they plundered them, conquered the land, tore down their strongholds, and enslaved them to this day. ¹¹The remaining kingdoms and islands, as many as ever opposed them, they destroyed and enslaved; ¹²but with their friends and those who rely on them they have kept friendship. They have subdued kings far and near, and as many as have heard of their fame have feared them. ¹³Those whom they wish to help and to make kings, they make kings, and those whom they wish they depose; and they have been greatly exalted. ¹⁴Yet for all this not one of them has put on a crown or worn purple as a mark of pride, ¹⁵but they have built for themselves a senate chamber, and every day three hundred and twenty senators constantly deliberate concerning the people, to govern them well. ¹⁶They trust one man each year to rule over them and to control all their land; they all heed the one man, and there is no envy or jealousy among them.

23 “May all go well with the Romans and with the nation of the Jews at sea and on land for ever, and may sword and enemy be far from them. ²⁴If war comes first to Rome or to any of their allies in all their dominion, ²⁵the nation of the Jews shall act as their allies wholeheartedly, as the occasion may indicate to them. ²⁶And to the enemy who makes war they shall not give or supply grain, arms, money, or ships, as Rome has decided; and they shall keep their obligations without receiving any return. ²⁷In the same way, if war comes first to the nation of the Jews, the Romans shall willingly act as their allies, as the occasion may indicate to them. ²⁸And to the enemy allies shall be given no grain, arms, money, or ships, as Rome has decided; and they shall keep these obligations and do so without deceit. ²⁹Thus on these terms the Romans make a treaty with the Jewish people. ³⁰If after these terms are in effect both parties shall determine to add or delete anything, they shall do so at their discretion, and any addition or deletion that they may make shall be valid.

9 When Deme'trius heard that Nica'nor and his army had fallen in battle, he sent Bacchi'des and Al'cimus into the land of Judah a second time, and with them the right wing of the army. ²They went by the road which leads to Gilgal and encamped against Mes'aloth in Arbe'la, and they took it and killed many people. ³In the first month of the one hundred and fifty-second year ^j they encamped against Jerusalem; ⁴then they marched off and went to Bere'a with twenty thousand foot soldiers and two thousand cavalry.

After these things it was reported to Jonathan and Simon his brother, “The sons of Jam'bri are celebrating a great wedding, and are conducting the bride, a daughter of one of the great nobles of Canaan, from Nad'abath* with a large escort.” ³⁸And they remembered the blood of John their brother, and went up and hid under cover of the mountain. ³⁹They raised their eyes and looked, and saw a tumultuous procession with much baggage; and the bridegroom came out with his friends and his brothers to meet them with tambourines and musicians and many weapons. ⁴⁰Then they rushed upon them from the ambush and began killing them. Many were wounded and fell, and the rest fled to the mountain; and they took all their goods. ⁴¹Thus the wedding was turned into mourning and the voice of their musicians into a funeral dirge. ⁴²And when they had fully avenged the blood of their brother, they returned to the marshes of the Jordan.

54 In the one hundred and fifty-third year, ^p in the second month, Al'cimus gave orders to tear down the wall of the inner court of the sanctuary. He tore down the work of the prophets! ⁵⁵But he only began to tear it down, for at that time Al'cimus was stricken and his work was hindered; his mouth was stopped and he was paralyzed, so that he could no longer say a word or give commands concerning his house. ⁵⁶And Al'cimus died at that time in great agony. ⁵⁷When Bacchi'des saw that Al'cimus was dead, he returned to the king, and the land of Judah had rest for two years.

10 In the one hundred and sixtieth year ^t Alexander Epiph'anes, the son of Anti'ochus, landed and occupied Ptolema'is. They welcomed him, and there he began to reign. ²When Deme'trius the king heard of it, he assembled a very large army and marched out to meet him in battle. ³And Deme'trius sent Jonathan a letter in peaceable words to honor him; ⁴for he said, “Let us act first to make peace with him ^u before he makes peace with Alexander against us, ⁵for he will remember all the wrongs which we did to him and to his brothers and his nation.” ⁶So Deme'trius ^v gave him authority to recruit troops, to equip them with arms, and to become his ally; and he commanded that the hostages in the citadel should be released to him.

11 Then the king of Egypt gathered great forces, like the sand by the seashore, and many ships; and he tried to get possession of Alexander’s kingdom by trickery and add it to his own kingdom. ²He set out for Syria with peaceable words, and the people of the cities opened their gates to him and went to meet him, for Alexander the king had commanded them to meet him, since he was Alexander’s ⁱ father-in-law. ³But when Ptol'emy entered the cities he stationed forces as a garrison in each city.

8 So King Ptol'emy gained control of the coastal cities as far as Seleu'cia by the sea, and he kept devising evil designs against Alexander. ⁹He sent envoys to Deme'trius the king, saying, “Come, let us make a covenant with each other, and I will give you in marriage my daughter who was Alexander’s wife, and you shall reign over your father’s kingdom. ¹⁰For I now regret that I gave him my daughter, for he has tried to kill me.” ¹¹He threw blame on Alexander ^l because he coveted his kingdom. ¹²So he took his daughter away from him and gave her to Deme'trius. He was estranged from Alexander, and their enmity became manifest.

20 In those days Jonathan assembled the men of Judea to attack the citadel in Jerusalem, and he built many engines of war to use against it. ²¹But certain lawless men who hated their nation went to the king and reported to him that Jonathan was besieging the citadel. ²²When he heard this he was angry, and as soon as he heard it he set out and came to Ptolema'is; and he wrote Jonathan not to continue the siege, but to meet him for a conference at Ptolemais as quickly as possible.

23 When Jonathan heard this, he gave orders to continue the siege; and he chose some of the elders of Israel and some of the priests, and put himself in danger, ²⁴for he went to the king at Ptolema'is, taking silver and gold and clothing and numerous other gifts. And he won his favor. ²⁵Although certain lawless men of his nation kept making complaints against him, ²⁶the king treated him as his predecessors had treated him; he exalted him in the presence of all his friends. ²⁷He confirmed him in the high priesthood and in as many other honors as he had formerly had, and made him to be regarded as one of his chief friends. ²⁸Then Jonathan asked the king to free Judea and the three districts of Samar'ia ⁿ from tribute, and promised him three hundred talents. ²⁹The king consented, and wrote a letter to Jonathan about all these things; its contents were as follows:

54 After this Try'pho returned, and with him the young boy Anti'ochus who began to reign and put on the crown. ⁵⁵All the troops that Deme'trius had cast off gathered around him, and they fought against Demetrius, ^r and he fled and was routed. ⁵⁶And Try'pho captured the elephants ^s and gained control of Antioch. ⁵⁷Then the young Anti'ochus wrote to Jonathan, saying, “I confirm you in the high priesthood and set you over the four districts and make you one of the friends of the king.” ⁵⁸And he sent him gold plate and a table service, and granted him the right to drink from gold cups and dress in purple and wear a gold buckle. ⁵⁹Simon his brother he made governor from the Ladder of Tyre to the borders of Egypt.

60 Then Jonathan set forth and traveled beyond the river and among the cities, and all the army of Syria gathered to him as allies. When he came to Aska'lon, the people of the city met him and paid him honor. ⁶¹From there he departed to Gaza, but the men of Gaza shut him out. So he beseiged it and burned its suburbs with fire and plundered them. ⁶²Then the people of Gaza pleaded with Jonathan, and he made peace with them, and took the sons of their rulers as hostages and sent them to Jerusalem. And he passed through the country as far as Damascus.

12 Now when Jonathan saw that the time was favorable for him, he chose men and sent them to Rome to confirm and renew the friendship with them. ²He also sent letters to the same effect to the Spartans and to other places. ³So they went to Rome and entered the senate chamber and said, “Jonathan the high priest and the Jewish nation have sent us to renew the former friendship and alliance with them.” ⁴And the Romans ^u gave them letters to the people in every place, asking them to provide for the envoys ^v safe conduct to the land of Judah.

13 Simon heard that Try'pho had assembled a large army to invade the land of Judah and destroy it, ²and he saw that the people were trembling and fearful. So he went up to Jerusalem, and gathering the people together ³he encouraged them, saying to them, “You yourselves know what great things I and my brothers and the house of my father have done for the laws and the sanctuary; you know also the wars and the difficulties which we have seen. ⁴By reason of this all my brothers have perished for the sake of Israel, and I alone am left. ⁵And now, far be it from me to spare my life in any time of distress, for I am not better than my brothers. ⁶But I will avenge my nation and the sanctuary and your wives and children, for all the nations have gathered together out of hatred to destroy us.”

7 The spirit of the people was rekindled when they heard these words, ⁸and they answered in a loud voice, “You are our leader in place of Judas and Jonathan your brother. ⁹Fight our battles, and all that you say to us we will do.” ¹⁰So he assembled all the warriors and hastened to complete the walls of Jerusalem, and he fortified it on every side. ¹¹He sent Jonathan the son of Ab'salom to Joppa, and with him a considerable army; he drove out its occupants and remained there.

12 Then Try'pho departed from Ptolema'is with a large army to invade the land of Judah, and Jonathan was with him under guard. ¹³And Simon encamped in Ad'ida, facing the plain. ¹⁴Try'pho learned that Simon had risen up in place of Jonathan his brother, and that he was about to join battle with him, so he sent envoys to him and said, ¹⁵“It is for the money that Jonathan your brother owed the royal treasury, in connection with the offices he held, that we are detaining him. ¹⁶Send now a hundred talents of silver and two of his sons as hostages, so that when released he will not revolt against us, and we will release him.”

In the one hundred and seventy-second year ^o Deme'trius the king assembled his forces and marched into Med'ia to secure help, so that he could make war against Try'pho. ²When Ar'saces the king of Persia and Med'ia heard that Deme'trius had invaded his territory, he sent one of his commanders to take him alive. ³And he went and defeated the army of Deme'trius, and seized him and took him to Ar'saces, who put him under guard.

20 This is a copy of the letter which the Spartans sent: “The rulers and the city of the Spartans to Simon the high priest and to the elders and the priests and the rest of the Jewish people, our brethren, greeting. ²¹The envoys who were sent to our people have told us about your glory and honor, and we rejoiced at their coming. ²²And what they said we have recorded in our public decrees, as follows, ‘Nume'nius the son of Anti'ochus and Antip'ater the son of Jason, envoys of the Jews, have come to us to renew their friendship with us. ²³It has pleased our people to receive these men with honor and to put a copy of their words in the public archives, so that the people of the Spartans may have a record of them. And they have sent a copy of this to Simon the high priest.’ ”

This is a copy of what they wrote: “On the eighteenth day of E'lul, in the one hundred and seventy-second year, ^r which is the third year of Simon the great high priest, ²⁸in Asar'amel, ^s in the great assembly of the priests and the people and the rulers of the nation and the elders of the country, the following was proclaimed to us:

41 “And ^a the Jews and their priests decided that Simon should be their leader and high priest for ever, until a trustworthy prophet should arise, ⁴²and that he should be governor over them and that he should take charge of the sanctuary and appoint men over its tasks and over the country and the weapons and the strongholds, and that he should take charge of the sanctuary, ⁴³and that he should be obeyed by all, and that all contracts in the country should be written in his name, and that he should be clothed in purple and wear gold.

15 Anti'ochus, the son of Deme'trius the king, sent a letter from the islands of the sea to Simon, the priest and ethnarch of the Jews, and to all the nation; ²its contents were as follows: “King Anti'ochus to Simon the high priest and ethnarch and to the nation of the Jews, greeting. ³Whereas certain pestilent men have gained control of the kingdom of our fathers, and I intend to lay claim to the kingdom so that I may restore it as it formerly was, and have recruited a host of mercenary troops and have equipped warships, ⁴and intend to make a landing in the country so that I may proceed against those who have destroyed our country and those who have devastated many cities in my kingdom, ⁵now therefore I confirm to you all the tax remissions that the kings before me have granted you, and release from all the other payments from which they have released you. ⁶I permit you to mint your own coinage as money for your country, ⁷and I grant freedom to Jerusalem and the sanctuary. All the weapons which you have prepared and the strongholds which you have built and now hold shall remain yours. ⁸Every debt you owe to the royal treasury and any such future debts shall be canceled for you from now on and for all time. ⁹When we gain control of our kingdom, we will bestow great honor upon you and your nation and the temple, so that your glory will become manifest in all the earth.”