1st Maccabees 16

CHAPTER 16

¹And John went up from Gazara, and told to Simon, his father, what things Cendebeus did in the people of them.

²And Simon called his twain elder sons, Judah and John, and said to them, I, and my brethren, and the house of my father, have overcome the enemies of Israel, from youth till into this day; and it had prosperity in our hands, for to deliver Israel sometimes.

³Forsooth now I have elded [or olded] , but be ye in my stead, and of my brother, and go ye out, and fight for our folk; forsooth help of heaven be with you.

⁴And he chose of the country twenty thousand of fighting men, and horsemen; and they went out to Cendebeus, and slept in Modin.

⁵And they rose early, and went into the field, and lo! a copious host came into the meeting of them, of footmen and horsemen; and a running flood was betwixt the midst of them.

⁶And he and his people moved the battle array [or the tents] against the face of them, and he saw the people trembling to pass over the stream of water, and he passed over the first; and men saw him, and passed over after him.

⁷And he parted the people, and horsemen in the middle of footmen; forsooth the multitude of horsemen of adversaries was full plenteous.

⁸And they cried on high with holy trumps; and Cendebeus was turned into flight, and his host, and many of them fell wounded; soothly the residues fled into [the] strength.

⁹Then Judas, the brother of John, was wounded; forsooth John pursued them, till Cendebeus came to Kedron, which he builded.

¹⁰And they fled till to towers, that were in the fields of Azotus, and he burnt them with fire; and there fell of them two thousand of men, and he turned again into Judea in peace.

¹¹And Ptolemy, the son of Abubus, was ordained duke in the field of Jericho, and [he] had much silver and gold;

¹²for he wedded the daughter of the highest priest.

¹³And the heart of him was raised, and he would wield the country; and he thought guile against Simon and his sons, for to do away them.

¹⁴Forsooth Simon walked by cities that were in the country of Judea, and bare [the] busyness of them, and came down into Jericho, he, and Mattathias, his son, and Judas, in the hundred year and seven and seventieth, in the eleventh month; this is the month of Shebat, that is, January-February .

¹⁵And Ptolemy the son of Abubus received them into a little strength, that is called Docus, with guile, which he builded; and made to them a great feast, and hid men there.

¹⁶And when Simon was full of drink, and his sons, Ptolemy rose with his men , and took their arms, and entered into the feast, and slew him, and his two sons, and some children of him.

¹⁷And he did a great deceit in Israel, and yielded evils for goods.

¹⁸And Ptolemy wrote these things, and sent to the king, for to send to him an host into help, and he should betake to him the country and cities of them, and tributes.

¹⁹And he sent others into Gazara, for to do away John; and to the tribunes he sent epistles, that they should come to him, and he should give to them silver, and gold, and gifts.

²⁰And he sent other men [or he sent others] , for to occupy Jerusalem, and the mount of the temple.

²¹And some man ran before, and told to John in Gazara, that his father perished, and his brethren, and that he, Ptolemy , sent that thou also be slain.

²²Forsooth as he heard, he wondered [or dreaded] greatly; and he caught the men that came to lose him, and he slew them; for he knew, that they sought for to lose him.

²³And other things of John’s words, and of his battles, and good virtues, in which he did strongly, and of building of walls, which he fully made, and of things done of him,

²⁴lo! these be written in the book of days of his priesthood, since he was made prince of priests after his father.