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| [1]Then toke Gorgias fiue thousand me of foote, and a thousand of the best horsmen, and remoued out of the campe by night, |
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| [2]To come nye where the Iewes hoast lay, & so to slay them sodenly: (Nowe the men that kept the castle, were the conueyers of them.) |
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| [3]Nowe when Iudas heard this, he remoued, and al the strong men that were with hym, to smyte the chiefe and principall of the kinges hoast at Emmaus: |
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| [4]For the army was not yet come together. |
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| [5]In the meane season came Gorgias by night into Iudas tentes, and when he founde no man there, he sought them in the mountaynes, and thought they had ben fled away because of him. |
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| [6]But when it was day, Iudas shewed hym selfe in the fielde with three thousande men only, which had neither harnesse, nor swordes to their mindes. |
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| [7]But on the other side, they saw that the heathen were mightie and well harnessed, and their horsemen about them, and all these well expert in feates of warre. |
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| [8]Then sayde Iudas to the men that were with him: Feare not ye the multitude of them, be not afrayde of their violent running. |
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| [9]Remember howe our fathers were deliuered in the red sea, when Pharao folowed vpon them with a great hoast. |
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| [10]Euen so let vs also crye nowe towarde heauen, and the Lord shall haue mercie vpon vs, and remember the couenaunt of our fathers, yea & destroy this hoast before our face this day: |
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| [11]And all the heathen shall knowe, that it is God him selfe which deliuereth and saueth Israel. |
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| [12]Then the heathen lift vp their eyes, and when they sawe that they were comming against them, |
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| [13]They went out of their tentes into the battayle, and they that were with Iudas blewe vp the trumpettes. |
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| [14]So they buckled together, and the heathen were discomfited, and fled ouer the playne fielde: |
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| [15]But the hinmost of them were slayne with the sword: For they folowed them vnto Assaremoth, and into the fieldes of Idumea toward Azot and Iamnia: so that there were slayne of them vpon a three thousande men. |
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| [16]So Iudas turned againe with his hoast, |
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| [17]And sayd vnto the people, Be not greedy of the spoyles, we haue yet a battayle to fight: |
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| [18]For Gorgias and his hoast are here by vs in the mountaynes, but stand ye fast against our enemies, & ouercome them, then may ye safely take the spoyles. |
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| [19]As Iudas was speaking these wordes, behold, there appeared one part of them vpon the mount. |
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| [20]But when Gorgias sawe that they of his partie were fled, and the tentes brent vp (for by the smoke they might vnderstande what was done) they perceauing this, were very sore afrayde: |
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| [21]And when they sawe also that Iudas and his hoast were in the fielde redy to stryke battayle, |
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| [22]They fled euery one into the lande of the heathen. |
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| [23]So Iudas turned againe to spoyle the tentes, where they gat much golde and siluer, precious stones, purple, and great riches. |
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| [24]Thus they went home, and song a Psalme of thankesgeuing, and praysed God in heauen, For he is gracious, and his mercie endureth for euer. |
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| [25]And so Israel had a great victorie in that day. |
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| [26]Now all the heathen that escaped, came and tolde Lysias euery thing that had happened: |
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| [27]Wherfore Lysias was sore afrayde and greeued in his minde, because Israel had not gotten such misfortune as he woulde they should, neither as the king commaunded. |
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| [28]The next yere folowing, gathered Lysias three score thousande chosen men of foote, and fyue thousande horsemen, to fight against Hierusalem. |
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| [29]So they came into Iurie, and pitched their tentes at Bethoron: where Iudas came against them with ten thousande men. |
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| [30]And when he sawe so great and mightie an hoast, he made his prayer, & sayde: Blessed be thou O sauiour of Israel, which diddest destroy ye violent power of the giaunt in the hande of thy seruaunt Dauid, & gauest the hoast of the heathen into the hand of Ionathan the sonne of Saul, & of his harnesse bearer: |
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| [31]Put this hoast now into the hand of thy people of Israel, & let them be confounded in their multitude and horsemen. |
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| [32]Make them afrayde, and discomfite the boldnesse of their strength, that they may be moued thorowe their destruction. |
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| [33]Cast them downe thorowe the sworde of thy louers, then shall all they that knowe thy name, prayse thee with thankesgeuing. |
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| [34]So they stroke the battell, and there were slayne of Lysias hoast fiue thousande men. |
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| [35]Then Lysias seyng the discomfyting of his men, and the manlinesse of the Iewes, howe they were redy either to lyue or to dye lyke men: he went vnto Antioch, and chose out men of warre, that when they were gathered together, they might come againe into Iurie. |
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| [36]Then sayde Iudas and his brethren: Behold, our enemies are discomfited, let vs nowe go vp to clense and to repayre the sanctuarie. |
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| [37]Vpon this, al the hoast gathered them together, and went vp into mount Sion. |
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| [38]Nowe when they sawe the sanctuarie layed wast, the aulter defiled, the doores brent vp, the shrubbes growing in the courtes, like as in a wood or vpon mountaynes, yea and that the priestes chambers were broken downe: |
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| [39]They rent their clothes, & made great lamentation, cast asshes vpon their heades, |
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| [40]Fell downe flat to the grounde vpon their faces, made a great noyse with the trumpettes, and cryed toward heauen. |
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| [41]Then Iudas appoynted certayne men to fight against those which were in the castle, till they had clensed the sanctuarie. |
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| [42]So he chose priestes that were vndefiled, such as had pleasure in the lawe of God: |
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| [43]And they clensed the sanctuarie, and bare out the defiled stones into an vncleane place. |
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| [44]And forsomuch as the aulter of burnt offeringes was vnhalowed, he toke aduisement what he might do withall: |
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| [45]So he thought it was best to destroy it, lest it shoulde happen to do them any shame, for the heathen had defiled it: and therfore they brake it downe. |
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| [46]As for the stones, they layed them vp vpon the mountayne by the house in a conuenient place, till there came a prophete to shewe what shoulde be done with them. |
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| [47]So they toke whole stones, according to the lawe, and buylded a newe aulter, such one as was before, |
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| [48]And made vp the sanctuarie within and without, & halowed the house and the courtes: |
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| [49]They made newe holy ornamentes, & brought the candlesticke, the aulter of incense, and the table into the temple. |
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| [50]The incense layed they vpon the aulter, & lighted the lampes whiche were vpon the candelsticke, that they might burne in the temple: |
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| [51]They set the shew bread vpon the table, and hanged vp the vayle, and finished all the workes which they had begun to make, |
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| [52]And vpon the twentie and fifth day of the nynth moneth (whiche is called the moneth of Casleu) in the hundred fourtie and eyght yere: |
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| [53]They rose vp betimes in the morning, for to do sacrifice according to the lawe vpon the newe burnt offring aulter that they had made. |
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| [54]After the time and season that the heathen had defiled it, and the same day was it set vp againe, with songues, pypes, harpes, and cymbales, |
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| [55]And all the people fel vpon their faces, worshipping and thanking the God of heauen, whiche had geuen them the victorie. |
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| [56]So they kept the dedication of the aulter eyght dayes, offring burnt sacrifices and thanke offeringes with gladnesse: |
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| [57]They deckt the forefrunt of the temple also with crownes and shieldes of gold, and halowed the portes and celles, and hanged doores vpon them. |
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| [58]Thus there was very great gladnesse among the people, because the blasphemie of the heathen was put away. |
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| [59]So Iudas and his brethren, with the whole congregation of Israel, ordeyned that the time of the dedication of the aulter shoulde be kept in his season from yere to yere, by the space of eyght dayes, from the twentie and fifth day of the moneth Casleu with myrth and gladnesse. |
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| [60]And at the same time buylded they vp the mount Sion, with hye walles and strong towres round about, lest the gentiles shoulde come and treade it downe, as they did afore. |
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| [61]Therfore Iudas set men of warre in it to kepe it, and made it strong for to defend Bethsura, that the people might haue a refuge against the Edomites. |
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