The High Priest Alcimus and the Campaign of Nicanor

¹In the year 151, Demetrius son of Seleucus left Rome and with a few men landed at a town on the Mediterranean coast, where he proclaimed himself king.

²As he was making his way to the royal palace of his ancestors, the soldiers arrested Antiochus the Fifth and Lysias, planning to take them to Demetrius.

³When Demetrius heard about it, he said, I don't want to see them.

⁴So the soldiers killed them, and Demetrius took the throne.

⁵Then all the godless traitorous Jews led by Alcimus, who wanted to be High Priest, went to Demetrius.

⁶They brought accusations against the other Jews and said, Judas and his brothers have killed everybody who supported you, and they have driven us out of our country.

⁷We advise you to send someone whom you can trust to go and inspect all the damage done to our property and the king's territory and to punish Judas, his brothers, and all who support them.

⁸King Demetrius chose one of his advisers, a man by the name of Bacchides, who was the governor of Greater Syria. He was an important man in the empire and loyal to the king.

⁹He was sent along with the godless Alcimus, whom the king had appointed High Priest; Alcimus had orders to take revenge on the Jews.

¹⁰They left Antioch and arrived in Judea with a large army. Bacchides tried to trick Judas and his brothers by sending to them messengers with offers of peace.

¹¹But when Judas and his brothers saw what a large army they had brought, they did not believe what the messengers said.

¹²A group of teachers of the Law came to Alcimus and Bacchides, asking for justice.

¹³These devout and patriotic men were the first of the Jews to try to make peace with Alcimus and Bacchides.

¹⁴They trusted Alcimus, who was a priest descended from Aaron, and they thought he would not cause them any harm.

¹⁵Alcimus assured them of his peaceful intentions and solemnly promised that no harm would come to them or their friends.

¹⁶But as soon as they began to trust him, he arrested 60 of them and put them all to death on the same day. As the scripture says,

¹⁷The blood of your faithful people was poured out, their bodies were scattered around Jerusalem, and there was no one left to bury the dead.

¹⁸When this happened, all the people were afraid of Alcimus and Bacchides, and they said, They don't know what truth or justice means. They gave their solemn word and then broke it!

¹⁹Bacchides left Jerusalem and set up his headquarters at Beth Zaith. He ordered the arrest of some of the faithful Jews and even many of the renegades who had willingly joined him; he had them killed and thrown into a deep pit.

²⁰Bacchides put the country under the control of Alcimus, left troops there to help him, and returned to the king.

²¹Alcimus then began his struggle to establish himself as High Priest.

²²Every troublemaker in the country joined him. They gained control of the land of Judea and caused great difficulties for the Jews.

²³Judas saw that the trouble Alcimus and his men had caused was even worse than the damage done by the Gentiles.

²⁴So he went around the whole country of Judea taking revenge on all the men who had willingly joined Alcimus and preventing them from leaving the towns and going into the country.

²⁵When Alcimus saw that Judas and his men were growing more powerful and when he realized that he would not be able to stand against them, he returned to the king and accused them of great crimes.

²⁶Then the king sent Nicanor, one of his most honored officers, who hated the Jews, with orders to exterminate them.

²⁷Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a big army. He tried to trick Judas and his brothers by sending peace offers. He said,

²⁸There need not be any quarrel between you and me. I will come to you with a small escort for a friendly private conversation.

²⁹When he came to Judas, they exchanged polite greetings, but Judas' enemies were ready to kidnap him.

³⁰When Judas learned that Nicanor's visit was part of a plot against him, he was afraid and decided not to meet him again.

³¹Nicanor realized that his plan had been discovered, so he left Jerusalem to meet Judas in battle near Capharsalama.

³²About 500 of Nicanor's men were killed, and the rest of the army escaped to the fort in Jerusalem.

³³Some time later Nicanor went to Mount Zion. Some of the priests left the Temple and, along with some of the leaders of the people, went to welcome him with words of peace and to show him the burnt offering that was being sacrificed on behalf of the king.

³⁴But he ridiculed them and made them ceremonially unclean by spitting on them. He spoke proudly

³⁵and angrily threatened them with an oath, Unless Judas and his army are surrendered to me immediately, I will burn this Temple down as soon as I return after my victory. And he left in a rage.

³⁶The priests went into the courtyard and stood facing the altar and the Temple. They started weeping and prayed,

³⁷Lord, you chose this Temple to bear your name and to be a place of prayer and intercession for your people.

³⁸Now, take vengeance on this man and his army; let them die in battle. Remember how they spoke evil of you, and let none of them survive.

³⁹Nicanor left Jerusalem and set up his headquarters at Beth Horon, where the Syrian army joined him.

⁴⁰Meanwhile, Judas set up camp at Adasa with 3,000 men. There Judas prayed,

⁴¹Lord, the Scriptures tell us that when a king sent messengers to insult you, your angel went out and killed 185,000 of his soldiers.

⁴²Now, in the same way, crush this army before us today and let everyone know that Nicanor is being punished because he insulted your holy Temple. Punish him as his wickedness deserves.

⁴³The armies met in battle on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and Nicanor's army was defeated. Nicanor himself was the first to be killed in the battle,

⁴⁴and when his soldiers saw that he was dead, they threw down their weapons and fled.

⁴⁵The Jews pursued them all day long from Adasa to Gezer. As they followed, they kept sounding the call to battle on the trumpets,

⁴⁶and from all the surrounding villages of Judea people came out and attacked the fleeing enemy from the sides. This forced them back toward the Jews who were chasing them, and all of the enemy were killed in the fight. Not one of them survived.

⁴⁷The Jews took the loot and then cut off Nicanor's head and his right arm, which he had extended so arrogantly. They brought his head and his arm to be put on display outside Jerusalem.

⁴⁸There was great rejoicing among the Jews. They set that day aside as a special day of celebration,

⁴⁹and decreed that the thirteenth day of Adar should be observed as an annual day of celebration.

⁵⁰There was peace in the land of Judea for a little while.

¹If you do, you will never get rich; if you don't pay attention to small matters, you will gradually ruin yourself.

²Wine and women make sensible men do foolish things. A man who goes to prostitutes gets more and more careless,

³and that carelessness will cost him his life. Worms will feed on his decaying body.

⁴It is silly to trust people too quickly. If you sin, you are hurting yourself.

⁵If wickedness makes you happy, you will be condemned.

Loose Talk

⁶Avoid idle talk, and you will avoid a lot of trouble.

⁷Never repeat what you hear, and you will have no regrets.

⁸Don't tell it to your friends or your enemies unless it would be sinful to keep it to yourself.

⁹Whoever hears you will take note of it, and sooner or later will hate you for it.

¹⁰Have you heard a rumor? Let it die with you. Be brave! It won't make you explode.

¹¹A foolish person trying to keep a secret suffers like a woman in labor.

¹²Any time he hears a secret, it's like an arrow stuck in his leg.

¹³If you hear that a friend has done something wrong, ask him about it. Maybe it isn't true. If it is true, he won't do it again.

¹⁴If you hear that a neighbor has said something he shouldn't, ask him about it. Maybe he didn't say it. If he did, he won't say it again.

¹⁵If you hear something bad about a friend, ask him about it. It might be a lie. Don't believe everything you hear.

¹⁶A person may say something carelessly and not really mean it. Everyone has sinned in this way at one time or another.

¹⁷If you hear something that makes you angry with your neighbor, ask him about it before you threaten him. Leave the matter to the Law of the Most High.

Recognizing Real Wisdom

²⁰Fear the Lord and keep his Law; that is what Wisdom is all about.

²²You may know everything there is to know about wickedness, but that does not make you wise. It is not sensible to follow the advice of sinners.

²³It is possible to use cleverness for wicked purposes, but some people act like fools because they don't know any better.

²⁴A devout person, even if he is not very intelligent, is better off than the cleverest of sinners.

²⁵It is possible to be marvelously clever and still be dishonest, or to get what you want by being absurdly polite.

²⁶Then there are those wicked people who go about looking very solemn and mournful, but who are only trying to deceive you.

²⁷They will turn their faces away and pretend not to hear you, but they'll take advantage of you when you least expect it.

²⁸If for some reason they are unable to sin now, they'll get around to it at the first opportunity.

²⁹You can know people by their appearance. The first time you look at them, you can tell if they have good sense.

³⁰Their character shows in the way they dress, the way they laugh, and the way they walk.

Knowing When to Talk

¹A person can be rebuked in the wrong way; it may be wiser to keep quiet than to speak.

²But it is much better to rebuke the person than to keep your anger bottled up.

³Admit when you are wrong, and you will avoid embarrassment.

⁴Using force to get a point across is like a castrated man trying to rape a young woman.

⁵Some people are thought to be wise because they don't talk much; others are disliked because they talk too much.

⁶Some people keep quiet because they don't have anything to say; others keep quiet because they know the right time to speak.

⁷A wise person will not speak until the right moment, but a bragging fool doesn't know when that time is.

⁸No one can stand a person who talks too long and will not give others a chance to speak.

Sudden Changes of Fortune

⁹Bad luck can sometimes lead to success, and a stroke of good luck can sometimes lead to loss.

¹⁰Generosity will sometimes do you no good, but at other times it will repay you double.

¹¹Honor can be followed by disgrace, but there are people who have risen from obscurity to places of honor.

¹²Sometimes what seems like a real bargain can turn out to be a very expensive mistake.

¹³When a person with good judgment speaks, he wins friends. A stupid person, though, can shower compliments on everybody, and it won't help him a bit.

¹⁴If such a person gives you something, it won't do any good; it won't be as valuable as he thinks it is.

¹⁵He isn't generous with anything but criticism, which he will shout for all the world to hear. If he lends you something today, he'll want it back tomorrow. (Don't you hate people like that?)

¹⁶Then that fool will say, Nobody likes me. Nobody appreciates what I do for them. They'll take what I give them, but then talk about me behind my back.

¹⁷And he's right—he's a constant joke to everyone.

Inappropriate Talk

¹⁸A slip of the tongue is worse than a slip on the pavement; the wicked will go to ruin just as suddenly as a person slips and falls.

¹⁹An impolite person is like one of those off-color stories that ignorant people are always telling.

²⁰Nobody takes a proverb seriously when some fool quotes it at the wrong time.

²¹If a person is too poor to afford sin, he can rest without a guilty conscience.

²²You can lose all your self-respect by being reluctant to speak up in the presence of stupidity.

²³If you promise a friend something because you are too bashful to say no, you're needlessly making an enemy.

²⁴Lying is an ugly blot on a person's character, but ignorant people do it all the time.

²⁵A thief is better than a habitual liar, but both are headed for ruin.

²⁶A liar has no honor. He lives in constant disgrace.

Stewardship of Wisdom

²⁷Speak wisely, and you will get ahead in the world. Influential people appreciate good sense.

²⁸They will excuse your errors if they like you, so cultivate the soil and reap the harvest!

²⁹Gifts and bribes make even the wise blind to the truth, and prevent them from being honest in their criticism.

³⁰Wisdom that is not expressed is like a treasure that has been hidden—both are useless.

³¹But a person who covers up his foolishness is better than one who keeps his wisdom to himself.

Sin

¹My child, have you sinned? Don't do it again, and pray for forgiveness for what you have already done.

²Avoid sin as if it were a snake. If you get too near, it will sink its teeth into your soul like a lion, and destroy you.

³Every lawless act leaves an incurable wound, like one left by a double-edged sword.

⁴If a person is insolent and arrogant, he may lose everything he has.

⁵When poor people pray, God hears them and quickly answers their prayers.

⁶If you refuse to accept correction, you are committing a sin; and if you fear the Lord, you will make a sincere change in your ways.

⁷Someone may be famous as a good speaker, but when he is wrong, a sensible person will detect it.

⁸Anyone who borrows money to build a house is just collecting stones for his own tomb.

⁹A group of people who have no respect for the Law is like a pile of kindling; they will meet a fiery end.

¹⁰The road that sinners walk is smooth and paved, but it leads to the world of the dead.

Wisdom and Foolishness

¹¹Whoever wants to keep the Law must learn what the Law means. If you fear the Lord in every sense of the term, you will have wisdom.

¹²You have to be intelligent to learn anything; but there is such a thing as just pretending to be intelligent, which only makes people bitter.

¹³A wise person's knowledge is like a river that never runs dry, like an everflowing stream of good advice.

¹⁴A fool, on the other hand, has a mind like a jar with a hole in it; anything he learns is soon lost.

¹⁵When an educated person hears something that shows insight, it stimulates his mind and leads him on to other ideas. But when someone who is satisfied with ignorance hears it, he won't like it, and will forget it as soon as he can.

¹⁶Listening to a foolish person talk is like traveling with a heavy load on your back, but it is a pleasure to hear what intelligent people have to say.

¹⁷The assembly will be eager to hear from an intelligent person and will take his opinion seriously.

¹⁸To an ignorant person, wisdom is as useless as a house gone to ruin. He has never even thought about the things he is so sure of.

¹⁹To a person without any sense, an education is like handcuffs,

^20-21but to a sensible person, it is like gold bracelets. An intelligent person will smile quietly while a fool roars with laughter.

^22-23A stupid person will peep into someone's house through the door and then march right in, but someone with experience and good manners will have enough respect to wait outside.

²⁴Eavesdropping at doors is bad manners, and anyone with a sense of decency would be ashamed to do it.

²⁵Presumptuous people talk about things that are none of their business, but the wise will consider the consequences of what they say.

²⁶Fools say whatever comes to mind; wise people think before they speak.

²⁷When a wicked person curses his enemy he is cursing himself.

²⁸A gossip ruins his own character, and everyone in the neighborhood hates him.

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²²Don't take advantage of the poor just because you can; don't take advantage of those who stand helpless in court.

²³The Lord will argue their case for them and threaten the life of anyone who threatens theirs.

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²⁴Don't make friends with people who have hot, violent tempers.

²⁵You might learn their habits and not be able to change.