1 Maccabees 16

1 And they went up to mount Sion with joy and gladness, and offered holocausts, because not one of them was slain, till they had returned in peace. 2 Now in the days that Judas and Jonathan were in the land of Galaad, and Simon his brother in Galilee, before Ptolemais, 3 Joseph, the son of Zacharias, and Azarias, captain of the soldiers, heard of the good success, and the battles that were fought, 4 And he said: Let us also get us a name, and let us go fight against the Gentiles that are round about us. 5 And he gave charge to them that were in his army, and they went towards Jamnia. 6 And Gorgias and his men went out of the city, to give them battle. 7 And Joseph and Azarias were put to flight, and were pursued unto the borders of Judea: and there fell on that day, of the people of Israel, about two thousand men, and there was a great overthrow of the people: 8 Because they did not hearken to Judas and his brethren, thinking that they should do manfully. 9 But they were not of the seed of those men by whom salvation was brought to Israel. 10 And the men of Juda were magnified exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and of all the nations where their name was heard. 11 And the people assembled to them with joyful acclamations. 12 Then Judas and his brethren went forth and attacked the children of Esau, in the land towards the south, and he took Chebron and her towns: and he burnt the walls thereof, and the towers all round it. 13 And he removed his camp to go into the land of the aliens, and he went through Samaria. 14 In that day some priests fell in battle, while desiring to do manfully they went out unadvisedly to fight. 15 And Judas turned to Azotus, into the land of the strangers, and he threw down their altars, and he burnt the statues of their gods with fire: and he took the spoils of the cities, and returned into the land of Juda. 17 Now king Antiochus was going through the higher countries, and he heard that the city of Elymais in Persia, was greatly renowned, and abounding in silver and gold, 18 And that there was in it a temple exceeding rich; and coverings of gold, and breastplates, and shields, which king Alexander, son of Philip, the Macedonian, that reigned first in Greece, had left there. 19 So he came, and sought to take the city and to pillage it; but he was not able, because the design was known to them that were in the city. 20 And they rose up against him in battle, and he fled away from thence, and departed with great sadness, and returned towards Babylonia. 21 And whilst he was in Persia there came one that told him how the armies that were in the land of Juda were put to flight: 22 And that Lysias went with a very great power, and was put to flight before the face of the Jews, and that they were grown strong by the armour, and power, and store of spoils which they had gotten out of the camps which they had destroyed: 23 And that they had thrown down the abomination which he had set up upon the altar in Jerusalem, and that they had compassed about the sanctuary with high walls as before, and Bethsura also, his city. 24 And it came to pass, when the king heard these words, that he was struck with fear, and exceedingly moved: and he laid himself down upon his bed, and fell sick for grief, because it had not fallen out to him as he imagined.