Judas Maccabeus Defeats Lysias

¹Not long after Timothy was defeated, Lysias, the King's guardian and relative, and head of the government, heard what had happened. He became angry

²and led 80,000 infantry and all his cavalry against the Jews with the intention of turning Jerusalem into a Greek city.

³The Temple would be taxed, as were all Gentile places of worship, and the office of High Priest would be up for sale each year.

⁴Lysias was so pleased with his tens of thousands of infantry, his thousands of cavalry, and his eighty elephants that he failed to take into account the power of God.

⁵He invaded Judea and attacked the fort of Bethzur, about twenty miles south of Jerusalem.

⁶When Judas and his men heard that Lysias was laying siege to their forts, they and all the people cried and wept, begging the Lord to send a good angel to save them.

⁷Judas was the first to take up his weapons, and he urged the others to join him in risking their lives to help the other Jews. So with great eagerness they all set out together.

⁸But they had not gone far from Jerusalem, when suddenly they noticed they were being led by a horseman dressed in white and carrying gold weapons.

⁹Immediately all of them together thanked God for his mercy; he had made them brave enough to attack not only men, but even the most savage animals or even walls of iron.

¹⁰So they marched in battle formation, and with them went the one whom the Lord in his mercy had sent to fight on their side.

¹¹Then they charged into the enemy like lions, killing 11,000 infantry and 1,600 cavalry, and forcing the rest to run for their lives.

¹²Most of those who ran were wounded and had lost their weapons, and Lysias himself managed to escape only because he ran away like a coward.

Lysias Makes Peace with the Jews

¹³Lysias was no fool. As he thought about the defeat he had suffered, he realized it was because the mighty God had fought for the Jews, making it impossible for them to be defeated. So he sent a message to the Jews,

¹⁴trying to persuade them to agree to a just settlement and promising to do all he could to make the king friendly toward them.

¹⁵Judas Maccabeus considered what would be best for the people, and so he agreed to all the proposals Lysias had made, since the king had granted every written request that Judas had presented to Lysias.

The Letter of Lysias to the Jews

¹⁶Here is a copy of the letter which Lysias wrote to the Jews: Lysias to the Jewish people, greetings.

¹⁷Your representatives John and Absalom have delivered to me the official document you sent with them, and they have asked me to agree to what is contained in it.

¹⁸I have informed the king of the matters that needed to be brought to his attention, and he has agreed to do whatever is possible.

¹⁹If you continue to be loyal to the government, I will do everything I can in the future to benefit your nation.

²⁰I have instructed your representatives and mine to meet with you to discuss the details of these matters.

²¹May all go well with you. Dated the twenty-fourth day of the month of Dioscorinthius in the year 148.

The King's Letter to Lysias

²²Here is a copy of the King's letter: King Antiochus to the honorable Lysias, greetings.

²³Now that my father has gone to be with the gods, I want the subjects of my kingdom to conduct their own affairs without interference.

²⁴I understand that the Jews do not wish to adopt the Greek way of life, as my father had intended, but prefer their own way of life and have requested that they be allowed to live according to their own customs.

²⁵Since I desire that they live undisturbed like the other nations in my empire, I hereby decree that their Temple be restored to them and that they be allowed to live according to the customs of their ancestors.

²⁶Please inform them of this decision and assure them of my friendship, so that they may conduct their own affairs in peace, without anything to worry about.

²⁷Here is a copy of the king's letter to the Jewish people: King Antiochus to the Jewish leaders and all the Jews, greetings.

²⁸I hope that all is going well for you. I am in good health.

²⁹Menelaus has informed me of your desire to return home and attend to your own affairs.

³⁰So then, those of you who return home by the thirtieth of the month of Xanthicus may rest assured that you have nothing to fear.

³¹You may continue to observe your food laws and other laws, as you used to do, and no Jew will be punished for any crime done in ignorance.

³²I am sending Menelaus to set your minds at ease.

³³May all go well with you. Dated the fifteenth day of the month of Xanthicus in the year 148.

The Letter of the Romans to the Jews

³⁴The Romans also sent the Jews the following letter: Quintus Memmius and Titus Manius, representatives of the Romans, to the Jews, greetings.

³⁵We are in complete agreement with all that has been granted to you by the honorable Lysias.

³⁶We are now on our way to Antioch, so please examine carefully those matters that Lysias referred to the king. Then send a reply to us immediately so that we can represent your best interests before him. Do this as soon as you can,

³⁷without delay, so that we may know what you have decided.

³⁸May all go well with you. Dated the fifteenth day of the month of Xanthicus in the year 148.

Wisdom Led the Israelites through the Desert

¹Wisdom brought success to the people of Israel through a holy prophet.

²They traveled across a desert where no one lived and camped in places where no human being had ever been.

³They stood up to their enemies and fought them off.

⁴When your people grew thirsty, they called to you, Lord, and you gave them water flowing out of solid rock.

⁵The disasters that punished the Egyptians saved your people when they were in trouble.

The Punishment of the Egyptians

^6-8Because those enemies decreed that the babies of your people should be killed, you stirred up the sources of their everflowing river and made it foul with blood. In the desert you let your people go thirsty, to give them a taste of how you had punished their enemies. And then, when they least expected it, you gave them plenty of water.

⁹When they were being tested, even though it was a merciful discipline, they learned how wicked people were tortured when you judged them in anger.

¹⁰You tested your people, as parents test their children, to warn them. But you judged their enemies like a stern king and condemned them.

¹¹They suffered, whether they were near your people or far from them.

¹²Their sorrow was doubled; they groaned as they looked back on what had happened.

¹³When they learned that their punishment had been of benefit to your people, they realized that it was your work, Lord.

¹⁴The Egyptians had refused to have anything to do with that man who, long before as a baby, had been thrown out and exposed; but as things worked out, they came to be amazed at him. The righteous never suffered a thirst like theirs.

¹⁵Their wickedness misled them into silly ideas, so that they worshiped snakes and other disgusting animals, creatures without any powers of reason. Because of this, you punished them with millions of such animals,

¹⁶and taught them that punishment for sin takes the same form as the sin itself.

¹⁷Your almighty power, Lord, created the world out of material that had no form at all. You could easily have punished those people by sending an invasion of bears or savage lions.

¹⁸You could have created new and terrible animals, that could breathe fire or roar and send out clouds of smoke, or shoot out fearful sparks from their eyes.

¹⁹You could have made animals like these that would not have to attack those people to kill them, but could scare them to death just by looking at them.

²⁰But this was not necessary. You could have pursued them with your justice or struck them dead at the slightest hint of your power. But you have chosen to measure, count, and weigh everything you do.

God Is Powerful and Merciful

²¹You can show your great power any time you wish, and no one can stand up against it.

²²In your sight the whole world is a grain of sand, barely heavy enough to tip a pair of scales, a drop of dew on the ground in the morning.

²³You are powerful enough to do anything, but you are merciful to everyone; you overlook our sins and give us time to repent.

²⁴You love everything that exists; you do not despise anything that you have made. If you had not liked it, you would not have made it in the first place.

²⁵How could anything last, if you did not want it to? How could it endure, if you had not created it?

²⁶You have allowed it all to exist, O Lord, because it is yours, and you love every living thing.

¹Your immortal spirit is in every one of them,

²and so you gently correct those who sin against you. You remind them of what they are doing, and warn them about it, so that they may abandon their evil ways and put their trust in you, Lord.

The Sins of the Canaanites

^3-4You hated the people who lived in your holy land long ago, because they did horrible things: they practiced magic and conducted unholy worship;

⁵they killed children without mercy and ate the flesh and blood of human beings. They were initiated into secret rituals

⁶in which parents murdered their own defenseless children. It was your will for our ancestors to destroy these people,

⁷so that the land which you consider the most precious of all lands would be a suitable home for your people.

⁸But even in this you showed mercy toward their enemies, since they were only human beings. You sent hornets ahead of your army, to destroy the enemy gradually.

⁹You could have allowed the righteous to destroy those ungodly people in battle; you could have wiped them out immediately with wild animals or with one harsh command.

¹⁰But instead, you carried out your sentence gradually, to give them a chance to repent, even though you knew that they came from evil stock, that they had been wicked since birth, and that they would never change their way of thinking.

¹¹Their whole nation was cursed from the start, and though you had not punished them for their sins, it was not because you were afraid of anyone.

God Is Sovereign

¹²You created those wicked people, and no one can speak in their defense or condemn you for destroying them. No one can question what you have done or challenge your judgment.

¹³All things are under your care, and there is no other god to whom you must justify your decisions.

¹⁴No king or ruler on earth can accuse you of punishing those people unfairly.

¹⁵You are righteous, and you rule everything righteously. You have never used your power to condemn a person who does not deserve to be punished.

¹⁶Your strength is the source of justice. You can show mercy to everyone, because you are the Lord of all.

¹⁷You show your strength when people doubt that your power is perfect, and you punish anyone who knows your power but dares to ignore it.

¹⁸Even though you have absolute power, you are a merciful judge. You could take action against us whenever you like, but instead, you rule us with great patience.

¹⁹By the things you have done you have taught your people that a person who is righteous must also be kind. You have given your people abundant hope by allowing them to repent of their sins.

²⁰You were very careful and patient in punishing your people's enemies; even when they deserved to die, you gave them every opportunity to give up their sinful ways.

²¹But you judged your own people very strictly, even though you had made covenants with their ancestors and had solemnly promised to give them good things.

²²Yes, you punish us, but you punish our enemies ten thousand times more, so that when we judge others, we may remember your goodness, and when we are being judged, we may look for mercy.

The Punishment of the Egyptians

²³And so you tormented those who were foolish enough to live wickedly—you tormented them with the horrible things they worshiped.

²⁴They had wandered far away from the truth and worshiped the most disgusting and horrible animals. They were deceived as easily as little children.

²⁵And so you punished them for their stupidity, and your judgment made them look like fools.

²⁶It was a light punishment, but those who pay no attention to such warnings deserve to feel the full weight of God's judgment.

²⁷When they were punished with those creatures they considered gods, they became bitterly disillusioned and recognized that the true God was the one they had always refused to acknowledge. That is why they suffered the final punishment.

⁸Don't be too quick to go to court about something you have seen. If another witness later proves you wrong, what will you do then?

⁹If you and your neighbor have a difference of opinion, settle it between yourselves and do not reveal any secrets.

¹⁰Otherwise everyone will learn that you can't keep a secret, and you will never live down the shame.