1Maccabees:6
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About that time king Antiochus travelling through the high countries heard say ,
that Elymais in the country of Persia was a city greatly renowned for riches ,
silver ,
and gold ;
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And that there was in it a very rich temple ,
wherein were coverings of gold ,
and breastplates ,
and shields ,
which Alexander ,
son of Philip ,
the Macedonian king ,
who reigned first among the Grecians ,
had left there .
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Wherefore he came and sought to take the city ,
and to spoil it ;
but he was not able ,
because they of the city ,
having had warning thereof ,
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Rose up against him in battle :
so he fled ,
and departed thence with great heaviness ,
and returned to Babylon .
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Moreover there came one who brought him tidings into Persia ,
that the armies ,
which went against the land of Judea ,
were put to flight :
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And that Lysias ,
who went forth first with a great power was driven away of the Jews ;
and that they were made strong by the armour ,
and power ,
and store of spoils ,
which they had gotten of the armies ,
whom they had destroyed :
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Also that they had pulled down the abomination ,
which he had set up upon the altar in Jerusalem ,
and that they had compassed about the sanctuary with high walls ,
as before ,
and his city Bethsura .
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Now when the king heard these words ,
he was astonished and sore moved :
whereupon he laid him down upon his bed ,
and fell sick for grief ,
because it had not befallen him as he looked for .
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And there he continued many days :
for his grief was ever more and more ,
and he made account that he should die .
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Wherefore he called for all his friends ,
and said unto them ,
The sleep is gone from mine eyes ,
and my heart faileth for very care .
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And I thought with myself ,
Into what tribulation am I come ,
and how great a flood of misery is it ,
wherein now I am !
for I was bountiful and beloved in my power .
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But now I remember the evils that I did at Jerusalem ,
and that I took all the vessels of gold and silver that were therein ,
and sent to destroy the inhabitants of Judea without a cause .
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I perceive therefore that for this cause these troubles are come upon me ,
and ,
behold ,
I perish through great grief in a strange land .
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Then called he for Philip ,
one of his friends ,
who he made ruler over all his realm ,
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And gave him the crown ,
and his robe ,
and his signet ,
to the end he should bring up his son Antiochus ,
and nourish him up for the kingdom .
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So king Antiochus died there in the hundred forty and ninth year .
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Now when Lysias knew that the king was dead ,
he set up Antiochus his son ,
whom he had brought up being young ,
to reign in his stead ,
and his name he called Eupator .
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About this time they that were in the tower shut up the Israelites round about the sanctuary ,
and sought always their hurt ,
and the strengthening of the heathen .
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Wherefore Judas ,
purposing to destroy them ,
called all the people together to besiege them .
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So they came together ,
and besieged them in the hundred and fiftieth year ,
and he made mounts for shot against them ,
and other engines .
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Howbeit certain of them that were besieged got forth ,
unto whom some ungodly men of Israel joined themselves :
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And they went unto the king ,
and said ,
How long will it be ere thou execute judgment ,
and avenge our brethren ?
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We have been willing to serve thy father ,
and to do as he would have us ,
and to obey his commandments ;
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For which cause they of our nation besiege the tower ,
and are alienated from us :
moreover as many of us as they could light on they slew ,
and spoiled our inheritance .
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Neither have they stretched out their hand against us only ,
but also against their borders .
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And ,
behold ,
this day are they besieging the tower at Jerusalem ,
to take it :
the sanctuary also and Bethsura have they fortified .
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Wherefore if thou dost not prevent them quickly ,
they will do the greater things than these ,
neither shalt thou be able to rule them .
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Now when the king heard this ,
he was angry ,
and gathered together all his friends ,
and the captains of his army ,
and those that had charge of the horse .
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There came also unto him from other kingdoms ,
and from isles of the sea ,
bands of hired soldiers .
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So that the number of his army was an hundred thousand footmen ,
and twenty thousand horsemen ,
and two and thirty elephants exercised in battle .
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These went through Idumea ,
and pitched against Bethsura ,
which they assaulted many days ,
making engines of war ;
but they of Bethsura came out ,
and burned them with fire ,
and fought valiantly .
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Upon this Judas removed from the tower ,
and pitched in Bathzacharias ,
over against the king '
s camp .
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Then the king rising very early marched fiercely with his host toward Bathzacharias ,
where his armies made them ready to battle ,
and sounded the trumpets .
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And to the end they might provoke the elephants to fight ,
they shewed them the blood of grapes and mulberries .
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Moreover they divided the beasts among the armies ,
and for every elephant they appointed a thousand men ,
armed with coats of mail ,
and with helmets of brass on their heads ;
and beside this ,
for every beast were ordained five hundred horsemen of the best .
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These were ready at every occasion :
wheresoever the beast was ,
and whithersoever the beast went ,
they went also ,
neither departed they from him .
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And upon the beasts were there strong towers of wood ,
which covered every one of them ,
and were girt fast unto them with devices :
there were also upon every one two and thirty strong men ,
that fought upon them ,
beside the Indian that ruled him .
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As for the remnant of the horsemen ,
they set them on this side and that side at the two parts of the host giving them signs what to do ,
and being harnessed all over amidst the ranks .
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Now when the sun shone upon the shields of gold and brass ,
the mountains glistered therewith ,
and shined like lamps of fire .
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So part of the king '
s army being spread upon the high mountains ,
and part on the valleys below ,
they marched on safely and in order .
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Wherefore all that heard the noise of their multitude ,
and the marching of the company ,
and the rattling of the harness ,
were moved :
for the army was very great and mighty .
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Then Judas and his host drew near ,
and entered into battle ,
and there were slain of the king '
s army six hundred men .
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Eleazar also ,
surnamed Savaran ,
perceiving that one of the beasts ,
armed with royal harness ,
was higher than all the rest ,
and supposing that the king was upon him ,
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Put himself in jeopardy ,
to the end he might deliver his people ,
and get him a perpetual name :
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Wherefore he ran upon him courageously through the midst of the battle ,
slaying on the right hand and on the left ,
so that they were divided from him on both sides .
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Which done ,
he crept under the elephant ,
and thrust him under ,
and slew him :
whereupon the elephant fell down upon him ,
and there he died .
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Howbeit the rest of the Jews seeing the strength of the king ,
and the violence of his forces ,
turned away from them .
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Then the king '
s army went up to Jerusalem to meet them ,
and the king pitched his tents against Judea ,
and against mount Sion .
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But with them that were in Bethsura he made peace :
for they came out of the city ,
because they had no victuals there to endure the siege ,
it being a year of rest to the land .
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So the king took Bethsura ,
and set a garrison there to keep it .
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As for the sanctuary ,
he besieged it many days :
and set there artillery with engines and instruments to cast fire and stones ,
and pieces to cast darts and slings .
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Whereupon they also made engines against their engines ,
and held them battle a long season .
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Yet at the last ,
their vessels being without victuals , (
for that it was the seventh year ,
and they in Judea that were delivered from the Gentiles ,
had eaten up the residue of the store ;)
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There were but a few left in the sanctuary ,
because the famine did so prevail against them ,
that they were fain to disperse themselves ,
every man to his own place .
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At that time Lysias heard say ,
that Philip ,
whom Antiochus the king ,
whiles he lived ,
had appointed to bring up his son Antiochus ,
that he might be king ,
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Was returned out of Persia and Media ,
and the king '
s host also that went with him ,
and that he sought to take unto him the ruling of the affairs .
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Wherefore he went in all haste ,
and said to the king and the captains of the host and the company ,
We decay daily ,
and our victuals are but small ,
and the place we lay siege unto is strong ,
and the affairs of the kingdom lie upon us :
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Now therefore let us be friends with these men ,
and make peace with them ,
and with all their nation ;
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And covenant with them ,
that they shall live after their laws ,
as they did before :
for they are therefore displeased ,
and have done all these things ,
because we abolished their laws .
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So the king and the princes were content :
wherefore he sent unto them to make peace ;
and they accepted thereof .
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Also the king and the princes made an oath unto them :
whereupon they went out of the strong hold .
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Then the king entered into mount Sion ;
but when he saw the strength of the place ,
he broke his oath that he had made ,
and gave commandment to pull down the wall round about .
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Afterward departed he in all haste ,
and returned unto Antiochia ,
where he found Philip to be master of the city :
so he fought against him ,
and took the city by force .
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