1 Maccabees 3:38-4:24
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Preparations for Battle. 38 (A)Lysias chose Ptolemy, son of Dorymenes, and Nicanor[a] and Gorgias, powerful men among the King’s Friends, 39 and with them he sent forty thousand foot soldiers and seven thousand cavalry to invade and ravage the land of Judah according to the king’s orders. 40 Setting out with their whole force, they came and pitched their camp near Emmaus[b] in the plain. 41 When the merchants of the region heard of their prowess, they came to the camp, bringing a huge sum of silver and gold, along with fetters, to buy the Israelites as slaves. A force from Edom and from Philistia joined with them.
42 Judas and his brothers saw that evils had multiplied and that armies were encamped within their territory. They learned of the orders which the king had given to destroy and utterly wipe out the people. 43 So they said to one another, “Let us raise our people from their ruin and fight for them and for our sanctuary!”
44 The assembly gathered together to prepare for battle and to pray and ask for mercy and compassion.
45 Jerusalem was uninhabited, like a wilderness;
not one of her children came in or went out.
The sanctuary was trampled on,
and foreigners were in the citadel;
it was a habitation for Gentiles.
Joy had disappeared from Jacob,
and the flute and the harp were silent.
46 [c]Thus they assembled and went to Mizpah near Jerusalem, because formerly at Mizpah there was a place of prayer for Israel.(B) 47 That day they fasted and wore sackcloth; they sprinkled ashes on their heads and tore their garments. 48 They unrolled the scroll of the law, to learn about the things for which the Gentiles consulted the images of their idols.[d] 49 They brought with them the priestly garments, the first fruits, and the tithes; and they brought forward the nazirites[e](C) who had completed the time of their vows. 50 And they cried aloud to Heaven: “What shall we do with these, and where shall we take them? 51 For your sanctuary has been trampled on and profaned, and your priests are in mourning and humbled. 52 Now the Gentiles are gathered together against us to destroy us. You know what they plot against us. 53 How shall we be able to resist them unless you help us?” 54 Then they blew the trumpets and cried out loudly.
55 After this Judas appointed officers for the people, over thousands, over hundreds, over fifties, and over tens. 56 He proclaimed that those who were building houses, or were just married, or were planting vineyards, and those who were afraid, could each return home, according to the law.(D) 57 Then the army moved off, and they camped to the south of Emmaus. 58 Judas said: “Arm yourselves and be brave; in the morning be ready to fight these Gentiles who have assembled against us to destroy us and our sanctuary. 59 It is better for us to die in battle than to witness the evils befalling our nation and our sanctuary. 60 Whatever is willed in heaven will be done.”
Chapter 4
Victory over Gorgias. 1 Now Gorgias took five thousand infantry and a thousand picked cavalry, and this detachment set out at night 2 in order to fall upon the camp of the Jews in a surprise attack. Some from the citadel were his guides. 3 Judas heard of it and himself set out with his soldiers to attack the king’s army at Emmaus 4 while these forces were still scattered away from the camp. 5 During the night Gorgias came into the camp of Judas, and found no one there; so he sought them in the mountains, saying, “They are fleeing from us.”
6 But at daybreak Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men; furthermore they lacked the helmets and swords they wanted. 7 They saw the army of the Gentiles,[f] strong, breastplated, and flanked with cavalry, and made up of experienced soldiers. 8 (E)Judas said to the men with him: “Do not fear their numbers or dread their attack. 9 Remember how our ancestors were saved in the Red Sea, when Pharaoh pursued them with an army.(F) 10 So now let us cry to Heaven in the hope that he will favor us, remember the covenant with our ancestors, and destroy this army before us today. 11 All the Gentiles shall know that there is One who redeems and delivers Israel.”
12 When the foreigners looked up and saw them marching toward them, 13 they came out of their camp for battle. The men with Judas blew the trumpet, and 14 joined the battle. They crushed the Gentiles, who fled toward the plain. 15 Their whole rear guard fell by the sword, and they were pursued as far as Gazara[g] and the plains of Idumaea, to Azotus and Jamnia. About three thousand of their men fell.
16 When Judas and the army returned from the pursuit, 17 he said to the people: “Do not be greedy for plunder; for there is a fight ahead of us, 18 and Gorgias and his army are near us on the mountain. But now stand firm against our enemies and fight them. Afterward you can freely take the plunder.”
19 As Judas was finishing this speech, a detachment[h] appeared, looking down from the mountain. 20 They saw that their army had been put to flight and their camp was burning. The smoke they saw revealed what had happened. 21 When they realized this, they completely lost heart; and when they also saw the army of Judas in the plain ready to attack, 22 they all fled to the land of the foreigners.[i]
23 Then Judas went back to plunder the camp, and they took much gold and silver, cloth dyed blue and marine purple, and great treasure. 24 As they returned, they were singing hymns and glorifying Heaven, “who is good, whose mercy endures forever.”(G)
Footnotes
- 3:38 Nicanor: perhaps the leader of another attack against the Jews four years later; he was finally killed by Judas; cf. 7:26–46.
- 3:40 Emmaus: probably not the village mentioned in Lk 24:13 but a settlement about twenty miles west of Jerusalem at the edge of the hill country.
- 3:46 Mizpah…a place of prayer for Israel: a holy place of great antiquity eight miles north and slightly west of Jerusalem. It was here that Samuel began to judge the Israelites (1 Sm 7:5–11; 10:17).
- 3:48 To learn…idols: favorable omens for the coming battle. A contrast is intended between the idol worship of the pagans and the consultation of the word of God by the Jews; cf. 2 Mc 8:23.
- 3:49 Nazirites: see note on Nm 6:2–21.
- 4:7 Army of the Gentiles: the main force; cf. 3:39–40; 4:1–2.
- 4:15 Gazara: Gezer of the Hebrew Bible, five miles northwest of Emmaus; Azotus, Hebrew Ashdod, lay to the southwest; and Jamnia, Hebrew Jabneel (Jos 15:11) or Jabneh (2 Chr 26:6), to the west of Gazara.
- 4:19 A detachment: i.e., Gorgias’ force; cf. vv. 1–5.
- 4:22 The land of the foreigners: i.e., territory controlled by the Syrians. The Greek term used here is the same as that used throughout 1–2 Samuel in Greek for Philistine territory and intends to compare Maccabean victories to those of Saul and David.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.