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1-2Meanwhile, King Antiochus and his army had invaded Persia, where they attempted to capture the city of Persepolis and to rob its temples. But the citizens of Persepolis fought back, until Antiochus and his army were forced to retreat in shame and confusion.
3When Antiochus reached the city of Ecbatana, he was told what Judas had done to the armies of Nicanor and Timothy.[#9.3 About 800 kilometers northwest of Persepolis.]
4This made him furious, and he decided to take revenge on our people for the defeat he had just suffered at Persepolis. So he told his chariot driver to take him straight to Jerusalem. In his arrogance he thought, “I'll turn Jerusalem into a pile of Jewish bones!”[#3 Macc 2.21,22.]
Antiochus did not realize that the Lord God of Israel was about to punish him.
5And at that very moment the Lord who sees everything struck him with a mysterious and deadly disease that made him double up with endless pain.
6This was the perfect punishment for someone who had tortured others so often and with such cruelty.
7-8But the pain just made Antiochus more arrogant than ever. He shouted terrible curses against our people and ordered his chariot driver to go even faster.
Not long before this, he had felt so proud and powerful that he had said to himself, “Ocean waves obey me, and mountains move at my command!” But as his chariot was speeding along, he suddenly fell to the ground with such a thud that every part of his body ached. Then he was carried away on a stretcher, and everyone saw the power of God.
9This godless Antiochus was still alive, but his body was tormented by throbbing pain. His skin began rotting, and worms started crawling out of his eyes. He was stinking so badly that his entire army felt like vomiting,[#9.9 Some manuscripts have “body.”]
10and so no one was willing to carry this man who once thought he could reach up and touch the stars.
11God punished King Antiochus with unending pain and depression, until the king began to lose his pride and started thinking clearly.
12And when he could no longer stand his own smell, he said, “We humans are nothing compared to the Lord God, and we should obey him.”[#9.12 Or “We cannot think thoughts that only God is allowed to have.”]
13The Lord refused to be merciful to Antiochus any longer, even though this disgusting man made the following promises to the Lord:
18God was punishing Antiochus just as he deserved, and so none of these promises relieved his suffering. Then Antiochus wrote the following letter to our people:
28King Antiochus murdered people and insulted God. So after he had suffered the same horrible pains that he had caused others, he died a pitiful death in the mountains of a foreign country.
29Philip, who had been brought up with him, took the king's body home. But Philip did not trust the son of Antiochus, and so he went over to King Ptolemy Philometor of Egypt.[#9.29 See 4.21 and the note there.]