The Death of King Antiochus the Fourth

1One day, as King Antiochus the Fourth was leading his army through Mesopotamia, he heard about the Persian city of Elymais, which was famous for its treasures of silver and gold. 2The temple in Elymais was especially rich because of the gold shields, armor, and weapons that had been left there by Alexander the Great, the first king to rule the Greeks.

3-4Antiochus tried to capture the city of Elymais and take its treasures. But his attack failed because the people found out about his plans and fought hard against him.

Antiochus was terribly frustrated and started back toward Babylonia. 5But while he was still in Persia, a messenger came and said:

The Jews have crushed the armies you sent to Judea, 6including the huge army Lysias led there. They are now a powerful force because they have taken a lot of weapons, supplies, and other things from the armies they defeated.

7 The Jews have always despised the "Horrible Thing" you placed on their altar in Jerusalem. Now they have torn it down and once again built high walls around their temple and turned your town of Beth-Zur into a fortress.

8Antiochus was so shocked and discouraged by this report that he got sick and had to stay in bed 9for many days. He never got over the shock, and just before he died, 10he called together his trusted friends and said:

I can't close my eyes at night. I'm sick from worry 11and keep saying to myself, "How did you ever get into such a mess? Why are you up to your neck in troubles? After all, you're a kind ruler, and everyone likes you."

12My friends, I can't forget about the crimes I committed in Jerusalem. I robbed the city of its silver and gold, and I sent soldiers to murder the innocent people of Judea. 13These crimes are the reason I'm dying of sorrow here in a foreign land.

14-15Antiochus told his friend Philip to come near his bed. He put Philip in command of the whole kingdom and gave him his crown, his robe, and his ring. Then he said, "Raise my son, so that he will be ready to rule the kingdom." 16Antiochus died in the year 149 of the Syrian Kingdom.

Antiochus the Fifth Becomes King

17The young son of Antiochus the Fourth had been brought up by Lysias, and when Lysias heard that Antiochus was dead, he crowned the boy Antiochus the Fifth and named him Eupator.

Antiochus the Fifth and Judas

18Meanwhile, some enemies were still in the Jerusalem fortress, where they were trying to keep control of the temple and help the Gentiles by causing trouble for the Jews.

19Judas decided to attack the fortress and get rid of those troublemakers. 20So he and his troops set up movable towers and other weapons of war and attacked in the year 150 of the Syrian Kingdom.

21Some of the troops in the fortress escaped and were joined by a group of unfaithful Jews. 22Together they went to Antiochus the Fifth and said:

Aren't you ever going to get even with those Jews for what they did to our group? 23We gladly obeyed your father's laws, and we liked working for him. 24That's why those Jews hate us and are attacking the fortress.

King Antiochus, they have captured and killed some of our people. They've stolen our property 25and attacked all the countries near Judea as well.

26Their temple and the town of Beth-Zur are powerful fortresses, and right now those Jews are attacking the fortress in Jerusalem. 27Do something fast! Soon there will be no way to stop them.

28When Antiochus heard this, he became furious. So he, together with his trusted friends and army officers, decided on a plan of attack. 29He hired soldiers from other kingdoms and from the Greek islands, 30until he had 100,000 soldiers and 20,000 cavalry. He also had 32 elephants trained for war.

31He led his army through Idumea, and for a long time, he attacked the town of Beth-Zur with weapons to break through the wall. But the people fought back bravely. They even rushed out of the town and set fire to the weapons of war.

Judas Fights the Gentiles at Beth-Zechariah

32Judas called off his attack on the Jerusalem fortress and led his army to the town of Beth-Zechariah, where he camped not far from the army of Antiochus the Fifth.

33Early the next morning, Antiochus moved his army toward them at Beth-Zechariah. Then he ordered his troops to line up for battle and to blow their war trumpets.

34Some of the soldiers gave the elephants grape juice and mulberry juice to make them eager to fight. 35Others then led the elephants to their places among the troops. Five hundred expert cavalry and 1,000 troops with bronze helmets and metal armor worked with each animal. 36These men were commanded not to leave the elephants until the battle was over.

37A strong wooden platform with four sides and a top was strapped on the back of each elephant. Then four well-armed soldiers and someone from India to guide the elephant were stationed on the platform.

38Antiochus placed the rest of his cavalry to the right and to the left of the army, because he wanted the cavalry troops to stay close to his army for protection and to attack the Jewish forces whenever they could. 39-40His huge army covered the hills and the valleys. And when the columns of soldiers marched forward, their gold and brass shields caught the rays of the sun and made the hillsides blaze with light.

41The loud and clanging sound of this powerful army brought terror to the hearts of all who heard them coming. 42But Judas and his troops still attacked, and they killed 600 of the enemy troops.

The Death of Eleazar

43Eleazar noticed that the largest elephant was dressed in the royal armor. So he said to himself, "I'm certain Antiochus must be up there!"

44-46Eleazar killed every enemy soldier around him, and others ran away as he bravely fought his way toward the huge elephant. Then he ran under it and stabbed it to death. But the heavy elephant sank down and crushed him. Eleazar gave up his life to save his people, and he will never be forgotten.

47Suddenly the Jews realized how helpless they were against the fierce attack of the king's army, and they started running away.

Antiochus the Fifth Attacks the Temple

48-49Antiochus the Fifth surrounded Jerusalem with part of his army, while the rest of his troops set up camp everywhere in Judea. All of this happened during the Seventh Year, when the Jews do not plant crops.

Antiochus attacked the town of Beth-Zur. Its people soon ran out of food and had to stop fighting, so they surrendered and left their town. 50Then Antiochus stationed his own soldiers there. 51Meanwhile, his army was still attacking the troops stationed in the temple. They built movable towers and weapons that hurled fire, stones, arrows, and other deadly objects.

52The Jews then built the same kinds of weapons and fought back for several days. 53But it was the year when they had let the fields rest, and they ran out of supplies, because they had given what little food they had stored in the temple to those who had run away from the Gentiles and had come to Judea. 54Most of the people went home, because they were starving. Only a small group was left in the temple.

Lysias Wants Peace

55-56Before Antiochus the Fourth died, he had made his friend Philip promise that the younger Antiochus would take his place as king. Philip wanted control of the kingdom, and so he brought back the part of the army that had been in Persia and Media.

When Lysias found out what Philip was doing, 57he said to the young Antiochus the Fifth and to the officers and the soldiers:

You must leave Jerusalem at once!

Things are getting worse every day. We're short of food, and the enemy fortress is powerful. Besides, we have other problems to solve.

58Let's sign a treaty with these Jews and the rest of their nation 59to let them follow their own customs again. After all, they got angry and did all these things, because we ordered them to give up the traditions of their ancestors.

60-61Antiochus and his officers liked what Lysias had suggested. So he promised to let the Jews live in peace, and then they left the fortress.

62But when Antiochus came to Mount Zion and saw what a powerful fortress it was, he broke his promise and ordered his soldiers to tear down the fortress walls. 63Then he rushed off to the city of Antioch where he found Philip in command. He attacked him and recaptured the city.