23. We were willing to serve your father, follow his orders, and obey his decrees.
24. But what good did it do us? Now our own countrymen have become our enemies. In fact, they have killed as many of us as they could find and have stolen our possessions.
25. But we are not the only ones they have harmed; they have attacked all their neighbours.
26. And now they have laid siege to the fort in Jerusalem and are planning to take it. They have also fortified the Temple and Bethzur.
27. Unless you act immediately, they will do even more, and you will not be able to stop them.”
28. When the king heard this, he was furious. He brought together all the army commanders, the cavalry officers, and his most trusted advisers.
29. He also hired mercenary soldiers from other countries and from the Greek islands.
30. His forces numbered 100,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, and 32 elephants trained for war.
31. The king and his army passed through Idumea and laid siege to Bethzur, where they fought for a long time. They built battering-rams and siege-platforms, but the defenders fought bravely and came out of the town and burnt down the platforms.