1. Judas Maccabaeus and his followers, under the leadership of the Lord, recaptured the Temple and the city of Jerusalem.
2. They tore down the altars which foreigners had set up in the market-place and destroyed the other places of worship that had been built.
3. They purified the Temple and built a new altar. Then, with new fire started by striking flint, they offered sacrifice for the first time in two years, burnt incense, lit the lamps, and set out the sacred loaves.