17. They were to keep before their eyes the lawless outrage perpetrated by the Gentiles against the holy place and the affliction of the humiliated city, as well as the subversion of their ancestral way of life.
18. He said, “They trust in weapons and acts of daring, but we trust in almighty God, who can by a mere nod destroy not only those who attack us but even the whole world.”
19. He went on to tell them of the times when help had been given their ancestors: both the time of Sennacherib, when a hundred and eighty-five thousand of his men perished,
20. and the time of the battle in Babylonia against the Galatians, when only eight thousand Jews fought along with four thousand Macedonians; yet when the Macedonians were hard pressed, the eight thousand, by the help they received from Heaven, destroyed one hundred and twenty thousand and took a great quantity of spoils.
21. With these words he encouraged them and made them ready to die for their laws and their country.Then Judas divided his army into four,
22. placing his brothers, Simon, Joseph, and Jonathan, each over a division, assigning them fifteen hundred men apiece.
23. There was also Eleazar. After reading to them from the holy book and giving them the watchword, “The help of God,” Judas himself took charge of the first division and joined in battle with Nicanor.
24. With the Almighty as their ally, they killed more than nine thousand of the enemy, wounded and disabled the greater part of Nicanor’s army, and put all of them to flight.
25. They also seized the money of those who had come to buy them as slaves. When they had pursued the enemy for some time, they were obliged to return by reason of the late hour.
26. It was the day before the sabbath, and for that reason they could not continue the pursuit.
27. They collected the enemy’s weapons and stripped them of their spoils, and then observed the sabbath with fervent praise and thanks to the Lord who kept them safe for that day on which he allotted them the beginning of his mercy.
28. After the sabbath, they gave a share of the spoils to those who were tortured and to widows and orphans; the rest they divided among themselves and their children.
29. When this was done, they made supplication in common, imploring the merciful Lord to be completely reconciled with his servants.
30. They also challenged the forces of Timothy and Bacchides, killed more than twenty thousand of them, and captured some very high fortresses. They divided the considerable plunder, allotting half to themselves and the rest to victims of torture, orphans, widows, and the aged.
31. They collected the enemies’ weapons and carefully stored them in strategic places; the rest of the spoils they carried to Jerusalem.
32. They also killed the commander of Timothy’s forces, a most wicked man, who had done great harm to the Jews.