30. Antiochus had always given presents more lavishly than earlier kings, but now he was worried that he might not be able to continue this, or even to meet expenses — this had happened once or twice before.
31. He was very disturbed; but finally he decided to go to Persia, collect the taxes from the provinces there, and bring together a large sum of ready cash.
32. He appointed Lysias, an important man who had been granted the title “Relative of the King,” as governor to take care of the king's affairs in the whole territory between the River Euphrates and the Egyptian border.
33. The king also made Lysias the guardian of his son Antiochus the Fifth until his own return.
34. He put Lysias in charge of all the elephants and of half his army, and then gave him detailed instructions about what he wanted done, and in particular, what he wanted done with the inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem.
35. Lysias was ordered to send an army against the Jews, especially the Jews in Jerusalem, to break their power and destroy them, so that no trace of them would remain.
36. He was ordered to take their land and give it to foreigners, who would settle the whole area.
37. Taking the other half of his army, the king set out from Antioch, his capital city, in the year 147. He crossed the Euphrates and marched through Mesopotamia.
38. Lysias chose Nicanor, Gorgias, and Ptolemy son of Dorymenes as army commanders; all three were able men who bore the title “Friend of the King.”
39. He put them in charge of 40,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry and ordered them to invade the land of Judea and destroy it as the king had commanded.
40. These commanders set out with their entire force, and when they came to the plains near Emmaus, they made camp.
41. A force from Idumea and Philistia joined them. The merchants of the region heard about the strength of the army, and they came to the camp with chains and a large amount of money, hoping to buy some Jewish slaves.