12. But I now recall the evils I did in Jerusalem, when I carried away all the vessels of silver and gold that were in it, and for no cause gave orders that the inhabitants of Judah be destroyed.
13. I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me; and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land.”
14. Then he summoned Philip, one of his Friends, and put him in charge of his whole kingdom.
15. He gave him his diadem, his robe, and his signet ring, so that he might guide the king’s son Antiochus and bring him up to be king.
16. So King Antiochus died there in the one hundred and forty-ninth year.
17. When Lysias learned that the king was dead, he set up the king’s son Antiochus, whom he had reared as a child, to be king in his place; and he gave him the title Eupator.
18. Those in the citadel were hemming Israel in around the sanctuary, continually trying to harm them and to strengthen the Gentiles.
19. And so Judas planned to destroy them, and assembled the people to besiege them.
20. So in the one hundred and fiftieth year they assembled and besieged the citadel, for which purpose he constructed platforms and siege engines.
21. But some of the besieged escaped, and some renegade Israelites joined them.
22. They went to the king and said: “How long will you fail to do justice and to avenge our kindred?
23. We agreed to serve your father and to follow his orders and obey his edicts.
24. And for this our own people have become our enemies; they have put to death as many of us as they could find and have seized our inheritances.
25. They have acted aggressively not only against us, but throughout their whole territory.
26. Look! Today they have besieged the citadel in Jerusalem in order to capture it, and they have fortified the sanctuary and Beth-zur.
27. Unless you act quickly to prevent them, they will do even worse things than these, and you will not be able to stop them.”
28. When the king heard this he was enraged, and he called together all his Friends, the officers of his army, and the commanders of the cavalry.
29. Mercenary forces also came to him from other kingdoms and from the islands of the seas.
30. His army numbered a hundred thousand footsoldiers, twenty thousand cavalry, and thirty-two elephants trained for war.
31. They passed through Idumea and camped before Beth-zur. For many days they attacked it; they constructed siege engines, but the besieged made a sortie and burned these, and they fought bravely.