1 Maccabees 6

[November/December 164] Then some one came to him in Persia and reported that the armies which had gone into the land of Judah had been routed; that Lysias had gone first with a strong force, but had turned and fled before the Jews; that the Jews had grown strong from the arms, supplies, and abundant spoils which they had taken from the armies they had cut down; that they had torn down the abomination which he had erected upon the altar in Jerusalem; and that they had surrounded the sanctuary with high walls as before, and also Beth-Zur, his city.

When the king heard this news, he was astounded and badly shaken. He took to his bed and became sick from grief, because things had not turned out for him as he had planned. He lay there for many days, because deep grief continually gripped him, and he concluded that he was dying. So he called all his friends and said to them, "Sleep departs from my eyes and I am downhearted with worry. I said to myself, 'To what distress I have come! And into what a great flood I now am plunged! For I was kind and beloved in my power.' But now I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem. I seized all her vessels of silver and gold; and I sent to destroy the inhabitants of Judah without good reason. I know that it is because of this that these evils have come upon me; and behold, I am perishing of deep grief in a strange land."

Then he called for Philip, one of his friends, and made him ruler over all his kingdom. He gave him the crown and his robe and the signet, that he might guide Antiochus his son and bring him up to be king. Thus Antiochus the king died there in the one hundred and forty-ninth year.[Seleucid Era; 1]

Now the men in the citadel kept hemming Israel in around the sanctuary. They were trying in every way to harm them and strengthen the Gentiles. So Judas decided to destroy them, and assembled all the people to besiege them. They gathered together and besieged the citadel in the one hundred and fiftieth year [SE; 162/161]; and he built siege towers and other engines of war.

But some of the garrison escaped from the siege and some of the ungodly Israelites joined them. They went to the king and said, "How long will you fail to do justice and to avenge our brethren? We were happy to serve your father, to live by what he said and to follow his commands. For this reason the sons of our people besieged the citadel and became hostile to us; moreover, they have put to death as many of us as they have caught, and they have seized our inheritances. And not against us alone have they stretched out their hands, but also against all the lands on their borders. And behold, today they have encamped against the citadel in Jerusalem to take it; they have fortified both the sanctuary and Beth-Zur; and unless you quickly prevent them, they will do still greater things, and you will not be able to stop them."

The king was enraged when he heard this. He assembled all his friends, the commanders of his forces and those in authority. And mercenary forces came to him from other kingdoms and from islands of the seas. The number of his forces was a hundred thousand foot soldiers, twenty thousand horsemen, and thirty-two elephants accustomed to war. They came through Idumea and encamped against Beth-Zur, and for many days they fought and built engines of war; but the Jews sallied out and burned these with fire, and fought manfully. Then Judas marched away from the citadel and encamped at Beth-Zechariah, opposite the camp of the king.

Early in the morning the king rose and took his army by a forced march along the road to Beth-Zechariah, and his troops made ready for battle and sounded their trumpets. They showed the elephants the juice of grapes and mulberries, to arouse them for battle. And they distributed the beasts among the phalanxes; with each elephant they stationed a thousand men armed with coats of mail, and with brass helmets on their heads; and five hundred picked horsemen were assigned to each beast. These took their position beforehand wherever the beast was; wherever it went they went with it, and they never left it. And upon the elephants were wooden towers, strong and covered; they were fastened upon each beast by special harness, and upon each were four armed men who fought from there, and also its Indian driver. The rest of the horsemen were stationed on either side, on the two flanks of the army, to harass the enemy while being themselves protected by the phalanxes.

When the sun shone upon the shields of gold and brass, the hills were ablaze with them and gleamed like flaming torches. 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. All 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. But Judas and his army advanced to the battle, and six hundred men of the king's army fell.

And [Judas' brother] Eleazar, called Avaran, 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. So he gave his life to save his people and to win for himself an everlasting name. He 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. He got under the elephant, stabbed it from beneath, and killed it; but it fell to the ground upon him and he died.

And when the Jews saw the royal might and the fierce attack of the forces, they turned away in flight.

The soldiers of the king's army went up to Jerusalem against them, and the king encamped in Judah and at Mount Zion. He made peace with the men of Beth-Zur, and they evacuated the city, because they had no provisions there to withstand a siege, since it was a sabbatical year for the land. So the king took Beth-zur and stationed a guard there to hold it.

Then he encamped before the sanctuary for many days. He set up siege towers, engines of war to throw fire and stones, machines to shoot arrows, and catapults. The Jews also made engines of war to match theirs, and fought for many days. But they had no food in storage, because it was the seventh year; those who found safety in Judah from the Gentiles had consumed the last of the stores. Few men were left in the sanctuary, because famine had prevailed over the rest and they had been scattered, each to his own place.

Then Lysias heard that Philip, whom King Antiochus while still living had appointed to bring up Antiochus his son to be king, had returned from Persia and Media with the forces that had gone with the king, and that he was trying to seize control of the government. So he quickly gave orders to depart, and said to the king, to the commanders of the forces, and to the men, "We daily grow weaker, our food supply is scant, the place against which we are fighting is strong, and the affairs of the kingdom press urgently upon us. Now then let us come to terms with these men, and make peace with them and with all their nation, and agree to let them live by their laws as they did before; for it was on account of their laws which we abolished that they became angry and did all these things."

The speech pleased the king and the commanders, and he sent to the Jews an offer of peace, and they accepted it. So the king and the commanders gave them their oath. On these conditions the Jews evacuated the stronghold. But when the king entered Mount Zion and saw what a strong fortress the place was, he broke the oath he had sworn and gave orders to tear down the wall all around. Then he departed with haste and returned to Antioch. He found Philip in control of the city, but he fought against him, and took the city by force.