Bishops(i)
1 Now when king Antiochus trauailed thorough ye hie countries, he heard that Elymas in Persia was a noble and plenteous citie in siluer and golde,
2 And that there was in it a very rich temple, where as were clothes, coate armours, and shieldes of golde, which Alexander the sonne of Philip king of Macedonia that raigned first in Grecia had left behinde him.
3 Wherefore he went about to take the citie & to spoyle it, but he was not able: for the citezins were warned of it, and fought with him:
4 And so he fled, and departed with great heauinesse, and came againe into Babylon.
5 Moreouer, there came one which brought him tidinges in Persia, that his hoastes which were in the lande of Iuda were driuen away,
6 And how that Lysias went foorth first with a great power, and was dryuen away of the Iewes, how that they had wonne the victory, and gotten great goodes out of the hoastes that perished,
7 How they had broken downe the abhomination which he set vp vpon the aulter at Hierusalem, & fenced the sanctuary with hie walles, lyke as it was afore, yea and Bethsura his citie also.
8 So it chaunced, that when the king heard these wordes, he was afrayde, & greeued very sore: Wherefore he layde him downe vpon his bed, and fell sicke for very sorowe, and all because it had not happened as he had deuised.
9 And there continued he long: for his griefe was euer more and more, so that he sawe he must needes dye.
10 Therfore he sent for all his friendes, & saide vnto them: The sleepe is gone fro myne eyes for the very sorowe and vexation of heart that I haue.
11 For when I consider in my minde the great aduersitie that I am come vnto, and the fluddes of heauines which I am come in, where as afore time I was so merie, and so greatlie set by by reason of my power:
12 Againe, considering the euill that I haue done at Hierusalem, from whence I toke all the riches of golde and siluer that were in it, and sent to destroye the inhabitours of Iurie without any reason why:
13 I know that these troubles are come vpon me for the same cause: and behold, I must dye with great sorowe in a straunge lande.
14 Then called he for one Phillip, a frend of his, whom he made ruler of all his realme,
15 And gaue him the crowne, his robe, and his ring, that he shoulde take his sonne Antiochus vnto him, & bring him vp, till he might raigne him selfe.
16 So the king Antiochus died there, in the hundred fourtie and nine yere.
17 When Lysias knew that the king was dead, he ordained Antiochus his sonne, whom he had brought vp, to raigne in his fathers steede, and called him Eupator.
18 Nowe they that were in the castle [at Hierusalem] kept in the Iewes rounde about the sanctuary, and sought euer still to do them harme, for the strengthening of the Heathen.
19 Wherefore Iudas thought to destroy them, and called all the people together, that they might lay siege vnto them.
20 So they came together in the hundred and fiftie yere, and besieged them, laying foorth their ordinaunce & instrumentes of warre.
21 Then certaine of them that were besieged, went foorth: vnto whom some vngodly men of Israel ioyned them selues also,
22 And went vnto the king, saying: how long wyll it be or thou punishe, and auenge our brethren?
23 We haue euer ben minded to do thy father seruice, to walke in his statutes, and to obey his commaundementes,
24 Therfore our people fell from vs: and wheresoeuer they founde any of vs, they slue them, and spoyled our enheritaunce.
25 And they haue not onely medled with vs, but with all our countries.
26 And beholde, this day are they besieging the castle at Hierusalem to take it, and haue made vp the strong holde in Bethsura:
27 And if thou doest not preuent them right soone, they wil do more then these, and thou shalt not be able to ouercome them.
28 When the king heard this, he was very angry, and called all his friendes, the captaines of his armie, and [all his footemen and] horsemen:
29 He hired men of warre also, of other realmes pertayning to the kinges that were confederate with him, and of the Iles of the sea, which came vnto him.
30 And the number of his hoast was an hundred thousand footemen, and twentie thousand horsemen, and thirtie & two Elephantes well exercised to battaile.
31 These came through Idumea vnto Bethsura, and besieged it a long season, & made diuers instrumentes of warre against it: but the Iewes came out and brent them with fire, & fought like men.
32 Then departed Iudas from the castle [at Hierusalem] and remoued the hoast toward Bethzacaran, ouer against the kinges armie.
33 So the king arose before the day, and brought the power of his hoast into the way to Bethzacara: where the hoastes made them redie to the battaile, blowing the trumpettes.
34 And to prouoke the Elephantes for to fight, they shewed them the sappe of red grapes, and mulberies.
35 And deuided the Elephantes among the hoast: so that by euery Elephant there stoode a thousand men well harnessed, & helmettes of steele vpon their heades: yea, vnto euery one of the Elephantes also were ordained fiue hundred horsemen of the best,
36 Which wayted on the Elephant, going wheresoeuer he went, and departed not from him.
37 Euery Elephant was couered with a strong towre of wood, fastened thereon with instrumentes, whereupon were thirtie, and two valiaunt men with weapons to fight, and within was a man of Inde, to rule the beaste.
38 As for the remnaunt of the horsemen, he set them vpon both the sides in two partes with trumpettes, to prouoke the hoast, & to stirre vp such as were slowe in the armie.
39 And when the sunne shone vpon their shieldes of golde and steele, the mountaines glistered againe at them, & were as bright as the cressets of fire.
40 The kinges hoast also was deuided, one parte vpon the hie mountaines, the other low beneath: so they went on, taking good heede, and keping their order.
41 And all they that dwelt in the lande, were afrayd at the noyse of their hoast when the multitude went foorth, and when the weapons smote together: for the hoast was both great and mightie.
42 Iudas also and his hoast entred into the battaile, and slue sixe hundred men of the kinges armie.
43 Now when Eleazar the sonne of Saura did see one of the Elephantes deckt with the kinges badge, and was a more goodly beast then the other, he thought the king should be vpon him:
44 And ieoparded him selfe to deliuer his people, & to get him a perpetual name.
45 Wherfore he ranne with a courage vnto the Elephant in the middest of the hoast, smiting them downe on both the sides, and slue many about him.
46 So went he to the Elephantes feete, and gat him vnder him, and slue him: then fel the Elephant downe vpon him, and there he dyed.
47 Iudas also and his men, seeing the power of the king and the mightie violence of his hoast, departed from them.
48 And the kinges armie went vp against them toward Hierusalem, and pitched their tentes in Iurie beside mount Sion.
49 Moreouer, the king toke truice with them that were in Bethsura: but whe they came out of the citie (because they had no vitayles, but were shut vp within, and the lande lay vntilled)
50 The king toke Bethsura, and set men to keepe it, and turned his hoast to the place of the sanctuary,
51 And layed siege to it a great while, where he made all maner ordinaunce, handbowes, firie dartes, racketts to cast stones, scorpions to shoote arrowes, and slinges.
52 The Iewes also made ordinaunce against theirs, and fought a long season.
53 But in the citie there were no vittailes, for it was the seuenth yere of ye warres: and those heathen that remayned in Iurie, had eaten vp all their store.
54 And in the sanctuary were fewe men left: for the hunger came so vpon them, that they were scattred abrode euery man to his owne place.
55 So when Lysias heard that Philip (whom Antiochus the king while he was yet liuing, had ordained to bring vp Antiochus his sonne, that he might be king)
56 Was come againe out of Persia & Medea with the kinges hoast, and thought to obtaine the kingdome with the gouernaunce of all thinges:
57 He gate him to the king in al the haste, and to the captaynes of the hoast, and saide, We decrease dayly, and our vittailes are but small: Againe, the place that we laye siege vnto is very strong, & it were our part to see for the realme:
58 Let vs agree with these men, and take truice with them, and with al their people,
59 And graunt them to lyue after their lawe, as they did afore: for they be greeued, and do all these thinges against vs, because we haue despised their lawe.
60 So the king and the princes were content, and sent vnto them to make peace: and they receaued it.
61 Now when the king and the princes had made an oth vnto them, they came out of the castle,
62 And the king went vp to mount Sion: but when he saw that the place was well fenced, he brake the oth that he had made, and commaunded to destroy the wall rounde about.
63 Then departed he in all the haste, and returned vnto Antioch, where he found Philip hauing dominion of the citie: So he fought against him, and toke the citie againe into his handes.