‏ 2 Maccabees 8

1Then Judas Maccabeus, and they that were with him, went privily into the towns, and calledtheir kinsfolks together, and took to them all such as continued in the Jews' religion, and assembledabout six thousand men. 2And they called upon the Lord, that he would look upon the people that was trodden downof all; and also pity the temple profaned of ungodly men; 3And that he would have compassion upon the city, sore defaced, and ready to be made evenwith the ground; and hear the blood that cried to him, 4And remember the wicked slaughter of harmless infants, and the blasphemies committed againsthis name; and that he would show his hatred against the wicked. 5Now when Maccabeus had his company about him, he could not be withstood by the heathen:for the wrath of the Lord was turned into mercy. 6Therefore he came at unawares, and burnt up towns and cities, and got into his hands themost commodious places, and overcame and put to flight no small number of his enemies. 7But specially took he advantage of the night for such privy attempts, insomuch that thefruit of his holiness was spread every where. 8So when Philip saw that this man increased by little and little, and that things prosperedwith him still more and more, he wrote to Ptolemeus, the governor of Celosyria and Phenice, to yield moreaid to the king's affairs. 9Then forthwith choosing Nicanor the son of Patroclus, one of his special friends, he senthim with no fewer than twenty thousand of all nations under him, to root out the whole generation of theJews; and with him he joined also Gorgias a captain, who in matters of war had great experience. 10So Nicanor undertook to make so much money of the captive Jews, as should defray thetribute of two thousand talents, which the king was to pay to the Romans. 11Wherefore immediately he sent to the cities upon the sea coast, proclaiming a sale ofthe captive Jews, and promising that they should have fourscore and ten bodies for one talent, not expectingthe vengeance that was to follow upon him from the Almighty God. 12Now when word was brought to Judas of Nicanor's coming, and he had imparted to thosethat were with him that the army was at hand, 13They that were fearful, and distrusted the justice of God, fled, and conveyed themselvesaway. 14Others sold all that they had left, and withal implored the Lord to deliver them, soldby the wicked Nicanor before they met together: 15And if not for their own sakes, yet for the covenants he had made with their fathers,and for his holy and glorious name's sake, by which they were called. 16So Maccabeus called his men together to the number of six thousand, and exhorted themnot to be stricken with terror of the enemy, nor to fear the great multitude of the heathen, who camewrongly against them; but to fight manfully, 17And to set before their eyes the injury that they had unjustly done to the holy place,and the cruel handling of the city, whereof they made a mockery, and also the taking away of the governmentof their forefathers: 18For they, said he, trust in their weapons and boldness; but our confidence is in theAlmighty who at a beck can cast down both them that come against us, and also all the world. 19Moreover, he recounted to them what helps their forefathers had found, and how they weredelivered, when under Sennacherib an hundred fourscore and five thousand perished. 20And he told them of the battle that they had in Babylon with the Galatians, how theycame but eight thousand in all to the business, with four thousand Macedonians, and that the Macedoniansbeing perplexed, the eight thousand destroyed an hundred and twenty thousand because of the help thatthey had from heaven, and so received a great booty. 21Thus when he had made them bold with these words, and ready to die for the law and thecountry, he divided his army into four parts; 22And joined with himself his own brethren, leaders of each band, to wit Simon, and Joseph,and Jonathan, giving each one fifteen hundred men. 23Also he appointed Eleazar to read the holy book: and when he had given them this watchword,The help of God; himself leading the first band, 24And by the help of the Almighty they killed above nine thousand of their enemies, andwounded and maimed the most part of Nicanor's host, and so put all to flight; 25And took their money that came to buy them, and pursued them far: but lacking time theyreturned: 26For it was the day before the sabbath, and therefore they would no longer pursue them. 27So when they had gathered their armor together, and spoiled their enemies, they occupiedthemselves about the sabbath, yielding exceeding praise and thanks to the Lord, who had preserved themto that day, which was the beginning of mercy distilling upon them. 28And after the sabbath, when they had given part of the spoils to the maimed, and thewidows, and orphans, the residue they divided among themselves and their servants. 29When this was done, and they had made a common supplication, they implored the mercifulLord to be reconciled with his servants for ever. 30Moreover of those that were with Timotheus and Bacchides, who fought against them, theykilled above twenty thousand, and very easily got high and strong holds, and divided among themselvesmany spoils more, and made the maimed, orphans, widows, yes, and the aged also, equal in spoils with themselves. 31And when they had gathered their armor together, they laid them up all carefully in convenientplaces, and the remnant of the spoils they brought to Jerusalem. 32They killed also Philarches, that wicked person, who was with Timotheus, and had annoyedthe Jews many ways. 33Furthermore at such time as they kept the feast for the victory in their country theyburnt Callisthenes, that had set fire upon the holy gates, who had fled into a little house; and so hereceived a reward meet for his wickedness. 34As for that most ungracious Nicanor, who had brought a thousand merchants to buy theJews, 35He was through the help of the Lord brought down by them, of whom he made least account;and putting off his glorious apparel, and discharging his company, he came like a fugitive servant throughthe midland to Antioch having very great dishonor, for that his host was destroyed. 36Thus he, that took upon him to make good to the Romans their tribute by means of captivesin Jerusalem, told abroad, that the Jews had God to fight for them, and therefore they could not be hurt,because they followed the laws that he gave them.