40. and prostrated themselves. And when the signal was given with trumpets, they cried out to Heaven.
41. Judas appointed men to attack those in the citadel, while he purified the sanctuary.
42. He chose blameless priests, devoted to the law;
43. these purified the sanctuary and carried away the stones of the defilement to an unclean place.
44. They deliberated what ought to be done with the altar for burnt offerings that had been desecrated.
45. They decided it best to tear it down, lest it be a lasting shame to them that the Gentiles had defiled it; so they tore down the altar.
46. They stored the stones in a suitable place on the temple mount, until the coming of a prophet who could determine what to do with them.
47. Then they took uncut stones, according to the law, and built a new altar like the former one.
48. They also repaired the sanctuary and the interior of the temple and consecrated the courts.