2 Maccabees 12 — Greek text and reception

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When these agreements had been made, Lysias went away to the king, and the Jews turned to farming.

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But among the local governors, Timothy and Apollonius son of Gennaeus, as well as Hieronymus and Demophon, and besides them Nicanor, commander of Cyprus, would not allow them to remain settled and live quietly.

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The people of Joppa committed this great impiety. They invited the Jews living among them to board boats that they had provided, with their wives and children, as though there were no hostility toward them,

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in accordance with the city's common decree. The Jews accepted, wishing to live peaceably and suspecting nothing; but the people took them out to sea and drowned no fewer than two hundred.

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When Judas learned of the cruelty committed against his fellow countrymen, he gave orders to the men with him.

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Calling upon God, the righteous Judge, he came against his brothers' murderers. By night he burned the harbor and set the boats ablaze, and stabbed those who had fled there.

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Since the town was shut, he withdrew, intending to return and uproot the whole community of Joppa.

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Learning also that the people of Jamnia intended to act in the same way toward the Jews living among them,

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he attacked the Jamnites by night and set fire to the harbor with its fleet. The radiance of the blaze was visible in Jerusalem, two hundred forty stadia away.

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After they had withdrawn nine stadia from there, on their way toward Timothy, Arabs attacked him, no fewer than five thousand, with five hundred horsemen.

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A fierce battle took place, and Judas's men succeeded through God's help. Defeated, the nomads asked Judas to give them pledges, promising to give livestock and assist them in other matters.

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Judas, thinking that they could indeed be useful in many ways, agreed to make peace with them. They received pledges and departed to their tents.

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He also attacked a city strong with earthworks and enclosed by walls, inhabited by a mixture of nations, and named Caspin.

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Those inside trusted in the strength of the walls and the stock of provisions. They treated Judas's men rudely, insulting them, and moreover blaspheming and saying things that were unlawful.

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Judas's men called upon the great Sovereign of the world, who in Joshua's time threw down Jericho without battering rams or mechanical engines, and rushed like wild animals against the wall.

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Taking the city by God's will, they carried out indescribable slaughter, so that the adjacent lake, two stadia wide, appeared filled with flowing blood.

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After withdrawing seven hundred fifty stadia from there, they reached Charax, among the Jews called Toubiani.

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They did not find Timothy in those regions, for he had then left without accomplishing his purpose, but had left a very strong garrison in one place.

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Dositheus and Sosipater, commanders under Maccabeus, marched out and destroyed those whom Timothy had left in the stronghold, more than ten thousand men.

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Maccabeus arranged his army in companies, placed those men over the companies, and rushed against Timothy, who had with him one hundred twenty thousand infantry and twenty-five hundred horsemen.

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When Timothy learned of Judas's advance, he sent the women, children and remaining baggage ahead to the place called Carnion, for the place was difficult to besiege and difficult to approach because of the narrowness of all the approaches.

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When Judas's first company appeared, dread came upon the enemy. Fear fell upon them through the manifestation of the One who watches all things, and they rushed into flight, scattering in different directions, so that they were often injured by their own men and pierced by the points of their swords.

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Judas pursued them with greater vigor, stabbing the accursed men and destroying about thirty thousand.

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Timothy himself fell into the hands of Dositheus's and Sosipater's men. With much deceitful persuasion he begged them to release him unharmed, because he held the parents of many and the brothers of some, and these would come to be disregarded.

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After he had guaranteed in many ways his undertaking to restore them unharmed, they released him for their brothers' deliverance.

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Judas went out against Carnion and the sanctuary of Atargatis and slaughtered twenty-five thousand people.

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After their defeat and destruction, he also marched against Ephron, a fortified city where Lysias and mixed multitudes lived. Strong young men stood before the walls and defended themselves vigorously; there were also large stores of engines and missiles there.

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Calling upon the Sovereign who powerfully shatters the strength of enemies, they brought the city under their control and struck down about twenty-five thousand of those inside.

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Departing from there, they rushed toward Scythopolis, six hundred stadia from Jerusalem.

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The Jews living there testified to the goodwill the Scythopolitans had shown them and their humane treatment in times of misfortune.

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They thanked them and further urged them to remain favorable to their people in future, then came to Jerusalem as the Festival of Weeks drew near.

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After the festival called Pentecost, they rushed against Gorgias, governor of Idumea.

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He came out with three thousand infantry and four hundred horsemen.

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When they drew up for battle, a few of the Jews happened to fall.

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A certain Dositheus, one of Bacenor's men, a strong cavalryman, caught hold of Gorgias. Grasping his cloak, he dragged him forcefully, wishing to capture the accursed man alive. But one of the Thracian horsemen rushed upon him and struck away his shoulder, and Gorgias escaped to Marisa.

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When Esdris's men had been fighting for a long time and were exhausted, Judas called upon the Lord to appear as their ally and leader of the war.

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Beginning the cry with hymns in their ancestral language, he rushed unexpectedly upon Gorgias's forces and put them to flight.

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Judas took his army and came to the city of Adullam. As the seventh day was approaching, they purified themselves according to custom and observed the Sabbath there.

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On the following day, when it had become necessary, Judas's men came to recover the bodies of the fallen and place them with their kinsmen in the ancestral tombs.

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Under the tunics of each of the dead they found sacred objects of the idols from Jamnia, things from which the law excludes the Jews. It became clear to everyone that these men had fallen for this reason.

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They all therefore blessed the deeds of the Lord, the righteous Judge who makes hidden things manifest,

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and turned to supplication, asking that the sin committed might be completely blotted out. The noble Judas urged the multitude to keep themselves free from sin, having seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen.

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He took up a collection from each man, amounting to about two thousand silver drachmas, and sent it to Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice for sin. He acted very well and nobly, considering the resurrection.

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For if he did not expect those who had fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead.

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But if he was looking to the finest reward laid up for those who fall asleep in piety, the thought was holy and devout. Therefore he made propitiation for the dead, so that they might be released from their sin.