1 Maccabees, 5

1. Now when the nations round about heard that the altar was built and the sanctuary renewed as before, it displeased them very much.

1. When the pagans who lived around them learned that the altar had been rebuilt and the temple restored as before, they became very angry.

2. Wherefore they thought to destroy the generation of Jacob that was among them, and thereupon they began to slay and destroy the people.

2. They determined to destroy the descendants of Jacob who lived among them; so they began killing and driving away the Jews.

3. Then Judas fought against the children of Esau in Idumea at Arabattine, because they besieged Gael: and he gave them a great overthrow, and abated their courage, and took their spoils.

3. That is why Judas declared war against the sons of Esau in Idumea and in the province of Akrabattene, for they surrounded Israel. He dealt them a mortal blow - he humbled them and looted them.

4. Also he remembered the injury of the children of Bean, who had been a snare and an offence unto the people, in that they lay in wait for them in the ways.

4. Then he remembered the wickedness of the gangs of Baean who were a plague and a permanent source of trouble for the Jews with their ambushes on the roads.

5. He shut them up therefore in the towers, and encamped against them, and destroyed them utterly, and burned the towers of that place with fire, and all that were therein.

5. So Judas, after blockading and besieging them in their towers, took an oath to exterminate them; he then burned the towers with all who were inside.

6. Afterward he passed over to the children of Ammon, where he found a mighty power, and much people, with Timotheus their captain.

6. From there he crossed over to the land of the Ammonites where he encountered a large and well-organized army under the command of Timotheus.

7. So he fought many battles with them, till at length they were discomfited before him; and he smote them.

7. He engaged them in many encounters, defeated them and crushed them.

8. And when he had taken Jazar, with the towns belonging thereto, he returned into Judea.

8. He attacked and captured the city of Yazer with its neighboring villages and then returned to Judea.

9. Then the heathen that were at Galaad assembled themselves together against the Israelites that were in their quarters, to destroy them; but they fled to the fortress of Dathema.

9. The pagans of Gilead gathered together to destroy the Israelites who lived in their territory. But the Israelites took refuge in the fortress of Dathema,

10. And sent letters unto Judas and his brethren, The heathen that are round about us are assembled together against us to destroy us:

10. and sent a letter to Judas and his brothers which said, "The pagans around us have joined forces to crush us

11. And they are preparing to come and take the fortress whereunto we are fled, Timotheus being captain of their host.

11. and are now preparing to storm the fortress where we have taken refuge. Timothy is their leader.

12. Come now therefore, and deliver us from their hands, for many of us are slain:

12. Come at once and rescue us from their hands since many among us have already died;

13. Yea, all our brethren that were in the places of Tobie are put to death: their wives and their children also they have carried away captives, and borne away their stuff; and they have destroyed there about a thousand men.

13. all our brothers living in the land of Tobias have been murdered, their women and children taken captives; about a thousand men have been killed."

14. While these letters were yet reading, behold, there came other messengers from Galilee with their clothes rent, who reported on this wise,

14. They were reading this letter when other messengers arrived from Galilee tearing their garments as they gave this message:

15. And said, They of Ptolemais, and of Tyrus, and Sidon, and all Galilee of the Gentiles, are assembled together against us to consume us.

15. "The people of Ptolemais, Tyre, Sidon and the whole of heathen Galilee have united to destroy us!"

16. Now when Judas and the people heard these words, there assembled a great congregation together, to consult what they should do for their brethren, that were in trouble, and assaulted of them.

16. When Judas and his men heard this news, they summoned a great assembly to determine what could be done for their brothers and sisters in distress who were fighting for their lives.

17. Then said Judas unto Simon his brother, Choose thee out men, and go and deliver thy brethren that are in Galilee, for I and Jonathan my brother will go into the country of Galaad.

17. Judas said to his brother Simon: "Choose your men; go and free our brothers in Galilee; I and my brother Jonathan will go to Gilead."

18. So he left Joseph the son of Zacharias, and Azarias, captains of the people, with the remnant of the host in Judea to keep it.

18. He left the rest of the troops under the command of Joseph the son of Zechariah, and Azariah, a leader of the people, to defend the land of Judea,

19. Unto whom he gave commandment, saying, Take ye the charge of this people, and see that ye make not war against the heathen until the time that we come again.

19. and gave them this order: "Remain at the head of the people, but do not attack the pagans until we return."

20. Now unto Simon were given three thousand men to go into Galilee, and unto Judas eight thousand men for the country of Galaad.

20. Three thousand men were assigned to Simon for the campaign in Galilee, and eight thousand men to Judas for Gilead.

21. Then went Simon into Galilee, where he fought many battles with the heathen, so that the heathen were discomfited by him.

21. Simon left for Galilee and defeated the pagans in many encounters,

22. And he pursued them unto the gate of Ptolemais; and there were slain of the heathen about three thousand men, whose spoils he took.

22. and pursued them to the gates of Ptolemais. About three thousand of the pagans fell, and Simon seized their spoils.

23. And those that were in Galilee, and in Arbattis, with their wives and their children, and all that they had, took he away with him, and brought them into Judea with great joy.

23. Then he took away with him the Jews who were in Galilee and Arbatta as well as their women and children, and all they had, and brought them into Judea with great rejoicing.

24. Judas Maccabeus also and his brother Jonathan went over Jordan, and travelled three days' journey in the wilderness,

24. Meanwhile, Judas Maccabeus and his brother Jonathan crossed the Jordan and journeyed through the desert for three days.

25. Where they met with the Nabathites, who came unto them in a peaceable manner, and told them every thing that had happened to their brethren in the land of Galaad:

25. There they encountered the Nabateans who received them in a friendly way and told them all that had happened to their brothers in the region of Gilead.

26. And how that many of them were shut up in Bosora, and Bosor, and Alema, Casphor, Maked, and Carnaim; all these cities are strong and great:

26. They gave them the news that many Jews were imprisoned in Alema, Chaspho, Maked and Carnaim, all large and fortified towns in the vicinity of Bozrah and Bosor.

27. And that they were shut up in the rest of the cities of the country of Galaad, and that against to morrow they had appointed to bring their host against the forts, and to take them, and to destroy them all in one day.

27. They also related that Jews were also blockaded in other cities of Gilead, and that the pagans had decided to attack their strongholds on the following day intending to destroy all of them in one day.

28. Hereupon Judas and his host turned suddenly by the way of the wilderness unto Bosora; and when he had won the city, he slew all the males with the edge of the sword, and took all their spoils, and burned the city with fire,

28. Judas quickly turned off with his army by the desert road to Bozrah; he occupied the city, put all the men to the sword, seized the booty and then burned the city.

29. From whence he removed by night, and went till he came to the fortress.

29. He left the place at night and advanced until they reached the fortress.

30. And betimes in the morning they looked up, and, behold, there was an innumerable people bearing ladders and other engines of war, to take the fortress: for they assaulted them.

30. At dawn, the Jews looked up and saw an innumerable army carrying ladders and engines of war to attack and capture the fortress.

31. When Judas therefore saw that the battle was begun, and that the cry of the city went up to heaven, with trumpets, and a great sound,

31. Judas saw that the attack had begun; from the city an uproar rose up to heaven with shouts and trumpet blast.

32. He said unto his host, Fight this day for your brethren.

32. He said to his men: "Let us now fight for our brothers."

33. So he went forth behind them in three companies, who sounded their trumpets, and cried with prayer.

33. Then he divided his troops into three groups, and attacked the enemy from behind, sounding the trumpets and praying out loud.

34. Then the host of Timotheus, knowing that it was Maccabeus, fled from him: wherefore he smote them with a great slaughter; so that there were killed of them that day about eight thousand men.

34. When the army of Timothy recognized that it was Maccabeus, they began to escape, but Judas dealt them a heavy blow, and about five thousand of the enemy fell that day.

35. This done, Judas turned aside to Maspha; and after he had assaulted it he took and slew all the males therein, and received the spoils thereof and and burnt it with fire.

35. From there, Judas went to Alema; he attacked and occupied the city, killed all the men and seized the booty, and then he burned the city.

36. From thence went he, and took Casphon, Maged, Bosor, and the other cities of the country of Galaad.

36. From there, he captured Chaspho, Maked and Bosor and the remaining towns of Gilead.

37. After these things gathered Timotheus another host and encamped against Raphon beyond the brook.

37. After these events, Timothy gathered a new army and encamped opposite Raphon, at the other side of the stream.

38. So Judas sent men to espy the host, who brought him word, saying, All the heathen that be round about us are assembled unto them, even a very great host.

38. Judas sent men to explore the camp and they brought back the following information: "All the pagans of this region have joined forces under Timothy, forming a powerful army.

39. He hath also hired the Arabians to help them and they have pitched their tents beyond the brook, ready to come and fight against thee. Upon this Judas went to meet them.

39. They have also hired Arab mercenaries as auxiliaries, and they are now encamped at the other side of the stream, ready to attack you." So Judas set out to confront them in battle.

40. Then Timotheus said unto the captains of his host, When Judas and his host come near the brook, if he pass over first unto us, we shall not be able to withstand him; for he will mightily prevail against us:

40. Timothy saw that Judas was approaching the stream with his army, so he said to the captains of his troops, "If he crosses first and advances against us, he shall attack us with such great force that we will not be able to withstand him.

41. But if he be afraid, and camp beyond the river, we shall go over unto him, and prevail against him.

41. But if he hesitates and encamps at the other side of the river, then we shall cross over to attack and defeat him."

42. Now when Judas came near the brook, he caused the scribes of the people to remain by the brook: unto whom he gave commandment, saying, Suffer no man to remain in the camp, but let all come to the battle.

42. When Judas reached the banks of the stream, he assigned the officials of his men along the stream and ordered them: "Do not let anyone pitch his tent; all are to fight."

43. So he went first over unto them, and all the people after him: then all the heathen, being discomfited before him, cast away their weapons, and fled unto the temple that was at Carnaim.

43. Judas was the first to cross to the enemy, and all his men followed. They defeated all the pagans who threw down their weapons and took refuge in the sacred enclosure of Carnaim.

44. But they took the city, and burned the temple with all that were therein. Thus was Carnaim subdued, neither could they stand any longer before Judas.

44. But the Jews captured the city and burned the sacred enclosure with everyone inside. So Carnaim was crushed, and no one was able to withstand Judas.

45. Then Judas gathered together all the Israelites that were in the country of Galaad, from the least unto the greatest, even their wives, and their children, and their stuff, a very great host, to the end they might come into the land of Judea.

45. Judas gathered together all the Israelites from the region of Gilead, small and great, their women and children and their belongings, an immense multitude, to take them into the land of Judea.

46. Now when they came unto Ephron, (this was a great city in the way as they should go, very well fortified) they could not turn from it, either on the right hand or the left, but must needs pass through the midst of it.

46. They reached Ephron, a strong and important town, situated by the road. It was impossible to go around it either to the right or to the left, so they were forced to go through it,

47. Then they of the city shut them out, and stopped up the gates with stones.

47. but the inhabitants entrenched themselves inside and blocked the entrance with stones.

48. Whereupon Judas sent unto them in peaceable manner, saying, Let us pass through your land to go into our own country, and none shall do you any hurt; we will only pass through on foot: howbeit they would not open unto him.

48. Judas sent them a message of peace saying: "Allow us to go through your land as we go back to ours; we will simply walk through and none of us will do you any harm." But they refused to open the gates to him.

49. Wherefore Judas commanded a proclamation to be made throughout the host, that every man should pitch his tent in the place where he was.

49. So Judas gave orders to his army for everyone to take up his position where he was.

50. So the soldiers pitched, and assaulted the city all that day and all that night, till at the length the city was delivered into his hands:

50. The men of war took up their positions, and Judas attacked the city all day and night until it fell into his hands.

51. Who then slew all the males with the edge of the sword, and rased the city, and took the spoils thereof, and passed through the city over them that were slain.

51. He put all the male inhabitants to the sword, razed the city and took its plunder.

52. After this went they over Jordan into the great plain before Bethsan.

52. Then they passed through the city over the bodies of the dead and came to the great plain after crossing the Jordan opposite Bethshan.

53. And Judas gathered together those that came behind, and exhorted the people all the way through, till they came into the land of Judea.

53. Throughout the journey Judas kept on encouraging his people and rallying those who fell behind, until they reached the land of Judah.

54. So they went up to mount Sion with joy and gladness, where they offered burnt offerings, because not one of them were slain until they had returned in peace.

54. They went up to Mount Zion joyfully and well contented, and they offered holocausts because they had returned safe and sound, without losing a single man.

55. Now what time as Judas and Jonathan were in the land of Galaad, and Simon his brother in Galilee before Ptolemais,

55. While Judas and Jonathan were in the land of Gilead, and their brother Simon was encamped in Galilee opposite Ptolemais,

56. Joseph the son of Zacharias, and Azarias, captains of the garrisons, heard of the valiant acts and warlike deeds which they had done.

56. Zechariah's son Joseph and Azariah were in command of the army. When they heard of their exploits and how well they had done in battle,

57. Wherefore they said, Let us also get us a name, and go fight against the heathen that are round about us.

57. they said, "We also have to win renown, so let us go and fight the pagans who live around us."

58. So when they had given charge unto the garrison that was with them, they went toward Jamnia.

58. So they gave orders to their army to march against Jamnia.

59. Then came Gorgias and his men out of the city to fight against them.

59. But Gorgias came out of the city with his men and attacked them.

60. And so it was, that Joseph and Azaras were put to flight, and pursued unto the borders of Judea: and there were slain that day of the people of Israel about two thousand men.

60. Joseph and Azariah were defeated and pursued as far as the borders of Judea, and about two thousand Israelites fell that day.

61. Thus was there a great overthrow among the children of Israel, because they were not obedient unto Judas and his brethren, but thought to do some valiant act.

61. The people suffered this great defeat because the Jewish commanders did not listen to Judas and his brothers, thinking they themselves were capable of great deeds.

62. Moreover these men came not of the seed of those, by whose hand deliverance was given unto Israel.

62. They did not belong to those to whom the deliverance of Israel had been entrusted.

63. Howbeit the man Judas and his brethren were greatly renowned in the sight of all Israel, and of all the heathen, wheresoever their name was heard of;

63. The valiant Judas and his brothers were greatly honored in Israel and became famous among the foreigners who heard of them,

64. Insomuch as the the people assembled unto them with joyful acclamations.

64. and many came to congratulate them.

65. Afterward went Judas forth with his brethren, and fought against the children of Esau in the land toward the south, where he smote Hebron, and the towns thereof, and pulled down the fortress of it, and burned the towers thereof round about.

65. Judas with his brothers went to the Negeb to fight the Edomites. He seized Hebron and its villages, demolished its walls and burned its defending towers.

66. From thence he removed to go into the land of the Philistines, and passed through Samaria.

66. Then he left for the land of the Philistines, passing through Marisa.

67. At that time certain priests, desirous to shew their valour, were slain in battle, for that they went out to fight unadvisedly.

67. That day some priests who wanted to be valiant fell because they imprudently attacked the enemy.

68. So Judas turned to Azotus in the land of the Philistines, and when he had pulled down their altars, and burned their carved images with fire, and spoiled their cities, he returned into the land of Judea.

68. From there Judas turned towards Azotus in the land of the Philistines. He destroyed their altars, burned the statues of their gods, plundered the city and then returned to Judah.