Bacchides and Alcimus

1In the year 151 of the Syrian Kingdom, Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, sailed with a few soldiers from Rome to the coastal city of Tripolis, where he appointed himself king.

2From there, Demetrius went to his ancestors' palace in Antioch, and he arrived just as some soldiers were arresting Antiochus and Lysias. The soldiers wanted to hand them over to Demetrius. 3But he said, "I don't even want to look at them!" 4The soldiers put them to death, and he took command of the whole kingdom.

5Alcimus, leader of the unfaithful Jews, wanted Demetrius to appoint him high priest. So one day, he and his followers went to Demetrius 6and brought charges against the other Jews. They said:

Judas and his brothers have killed all of your trusted friends and forced us out of our country. 7Please send an officer you can rely on and let him see the damage they have done to our property and to your kingdom. Then punish them and their followers.

8Demetrius did as they requested and sent his trusted friend Bacchides to Judea. Bacchides was a powerful and loyal official, who was governor of the region between Egypt and the Euphrates River. 9But Demetrius also appointed that worthless Alcimus to be high priest and sent him along with instructions to punish the people of Judea.

10Bacchides and Alcimus led a powerful army to Judea. Then they sent Judas and his brothers some messengers who lied and promised peace. 11But no one believed them, because Bacchides and Alcimus had brought such a large army.

Some Jewish Leaders Visit Alcimus and Bacchides

12-13Some very devout Jews wanted to make peace with the Gentiles. So they sent some of their experts in the Law of Moses to ask Bacchides and Alcimus to treat their people fairly. 14These experts had said to themselves, "Alcimus has come with the army, but he is a priest from the family of Aaron, and he will surely treat us with kindness."

15Alcimus promised to let these devout Jews live in peace, 16and they believed him. But he later arrested 60 of them and put them all to death in one day. This is what the Scriptures said would happen:

17 The blood-stained bodies

of God's faithful people

now lie scattered

everywhere in Jerusalem.

And there's no one left

to bury the dead.

18Everyone started trembling with fear and said, "Alcimus and Bacchides are deceitful liars who never keep their word."

19Bacchides moved his army out of Jerusalem and set up camp near Beth-Zaith. From there he sent soldiers to arrest some of the Jews and those troops who had deserted his army. Then the soldiers murdered them all and dumped their bodies into a deep well.

20Bacchides returned to Demetrius and left Alcimus with a large group of troops to control Judea. 21Alcimus had a hard time keeping his position as high priest. 22But a lot of troublemakers helped him, and together they took control of the nation and did horrible things to the people.

Judas Takes Action

23When Judas found out that Alcimus and his followers were causing so much trouble, he said, "They're worse than the Gentiles." 24Then Judas and his soldiers went to the nearby towns of Judea, punishing the unfaithful Jews, without letting any of them escape.

25Alcimus realized he could not oppose Judas and his powerful army. So he returned to King Demetrius and accused them of terrible crimes.

Nicanor Fights Judas

26King Demetrius had an outstanding officer by the name of Nicanor, who hated the Jews. And the king ordered him to destroy them all. 27When Nicanor and his large army arrived in Jerusalem, he sent messengers with false promises of peace to Judas and his brothers. 28The messengers said, "Let's not get into a fight! A few of my bodyguards and I just want to have a friendly talk with you here in your camp."

29Nicanor gave orders for his bodyguards to kidnap Judas. So Nicanor went with them to the camp, where Nicanor greeted him like a friend. 30But Judas found out what Nicanor had in mind, and he was frightened and refused to meet with him.

31When Nicanor realized that he could not trick Judas, he attacked him near the town of Caphar-Salama. 32Nicanor lost about 500 soldiers in the battle, before the rest of his army retreated to the fortress in Jerusalem.

Nicanor Disgraces the Temple

33Sometime later, Nicanor went up to Mount Zion, where he was met by some priests and leaders outside the temple. They welcomed him peacefully and showed him how they offered sacrifices as a way of asking God to bless King Demetrius.

34Nicanor laughed and made fun of the priests and leaders. He even spit on them and made them unfit to serve God. He was so arrogant 35and angry that he said, "If Judas and his soldiers aren't handed over to me immediately, I'll return here and destroy your temple just as soon as I defeat him." Nicanor was furious when he left.

36The priests returned to the temple courtyard, where they stared at the temple and the altar. Then with tears in their eyes, they prayed:

37"You have chosen this temple

as the place where your people

must worship in your name.

38Defeat Nicanor and his army!

Destroy them in battle.

Don't ever forget

how they insulted you,

and don't let them live!"

39Nicanor led his troops out of Jerusalem, and they camped near the town of Beth-Horon, where they were joined by a force of Syrian soldiers.

40After Judas and his army of 3,000 soldiers set up camp near the town of Adasa, Judas prayed:

41 Our God, a long time ago the king of Assyria sent messengers to insult you. But your angel slaughtered 185,000 of his soldiers.

42Destroy Nicanor's army today, and it will show our enemies that Nicanor cannot get away with disgracing your temple.

God Punishes Nicanor

43The battle took place on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and Nicanor's army was wiped out. He himself was the first to be killed, 44and when his troops saw what had happened, they threw down their weapons and ran for their lives.

45For the rest of the day, Judas and his soldiers chased the enemy troops from Adasa as far as Gazara. They blew trumpets as they went along, 46and their friends rushed out from nearby villages of Judea. They attacked the enemy from the side and forced them to turn back toward Judas and his army. Not one of Nicanor's troops survived.

47The Jews took everything of value from the dead enemy soldiers. Then they chopped off Nicanor's head and the right hand he had used to disgrace the temple and took them to Jerusalem, where they displayed them outside the city.

48-49 The Jews held a joyful victory celebration and decided to celebrate on the thirteenth day of Adar each year.

50And so, there was peace in Judea for a while.