34. And he handed over to him half of the army, and the elephants. And he commanded him concerning all that he wanted, and concerning the inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem:
35. so that he would send an army against them to crush and to root out the virtue of Israel and the remnant of Jerusalem, and to take away the memory of them from that place,
36. and so that he would establish dwelling places for the sons of foreigners in all their parts, and would distribute their land by lot.
37. And so, the king took the remaining part of the army, and he went forth from Antioch, the city of his kingdom, in the one hundred and forty-seventh year. And he crossed over the river Euphrates, and he traveled through the upper regions.
38. Then Lysias chose Ptolemy, the son of Dorymenes, and Nicanor and Gorgias, powerful men from among the king's friends.
39. And he sent them with forty thousand men, and seven thousand horsemen, to enter into the land of Judah, and to destroy it, according to the word of the king.
40. And so, they proceeded with all their power, and they arrived and took a position near Emmaus, in the land of the plains.