1 Three years later, Judas and his men were informed that Deme t rius,
son of Seleucus, had landed in Tripoli with a fleet and a powerful army,
2 and had taken control of the kingdom, killing Antiochus and his tutor
Lysias.
3 A certain Alcimus, who had been High Priest before, but was disgraced
during the time of the rebellion, realized that there was no way for him
to be restored to the ministry at the sacred altar.
4 So, he went to King Demetrius in about the year one hundred and
fifty-one, and offered him a golden crown, a palm and even some olive
branches from the Temple as usual. On that day, he did not ask for
anything.
5 But he found a proper occasion for his evil designs when he was called
to a meeting of the king¡¯s council. When he was asked with what
disposition and spirit the Jews were to be confronted, he answered,
6 ¡°There exists a party called Hasideans among the Jews, headed by Judas
Mac ca beus, that keeps up war and rebellion, and hinders the
reestablishment of peace and order in the land.
7 Because of them, I have been deprived of the dignity of my ancestors,
that is, the office of High Priest. And I came here,
8 concerned for the king¡¯s interests above everything else, but for my
compatriots as well, since the fanaticism of those men has plunged our
people into great misery.
9 O King, look upon our land and nation which is hard pressed on all
sides, with that same kindness you have for all.
10 For as long as Judas lives, it is impossible for the State to find
peace.¡±
11 When Alcimus had said this, the rest of the King¡¯s Friends who were
hostile to Judas, quickly incited Demetrius against him.
12 And the king immediately chose Nicanor, who com manded the squadron
of elephants, and ap pointed him military commissioner of Judea
13 with orders to kill Judas, disperse his men and restore Alcimus as
priest of the great Temple.
14 The pagans who had earlier escaped from Judea for fear of Judas,
flocked in great number to Nicanor, thinking that the misfortunes and
defeat of the Jews would mean victory for them.
Treaty of peace between Nicanor and Ju das
15 When the men of Judas learned about the coming of Nicanor and the
invasion of Nic anor was coming and about the invasion of the pagans,
they sprinkled dust upon their heads, and called on Him who had
established his people forever, and had each time protect ed his people
by wonderful manifestations.
16 Then, at their leader¡¯s command they set out to march, and the battle
began near Dessau.
17 Simon, the brother of Judas, had attacked Nicanor, but his men were
suddenly confounded by the enemies, suffering a slight setback.
18 However, as Nicanor had heard of the courage of Judas and his men and
of how bravely they fought for their country, he feared resolving the
situation by bloodshed.
19 So, he sent Posidonius, Theodotus and Mattathias to arrange for
peace.
20 After a thorough consideration of the conditions, he communicated
this to his troops and it seemed that they were unanimous about it. The
treaty of peace was accepted.
21 So they set the date on which the leaders should meet. A chariot came
forward from each side and they prepared seats of honor.
22 Judas positioned armed men in strategic places, in case of sudden
treachery on the part of the enemy. But their meeting went well.
23 Nicanor spent some time in Jeru salem without doing any harm, and
even dismissed the people that had gathered around him.
24 He always had Judas with him, for he had a high regard for him.
25 He advised him to get married and have children, so Judas got married
and enjoyed a peaceful life.
26 When Alcimus saw the good understanding between the two, he secured a
copy of the signed accord and went to Demetrius, accusing Nicanor of
acting against the interests of the State, inasmuch as he had appointed
Judas, the enemy of the kingdom, as his minister.
27 The king was infuriated and stirred up by the slanders of that wicked
man. He wrote Nicanor telling him how indignant he was over the treaty
and ordering him to put Maccabeus in chains and to send him to Antioch
at once.
28 Nicanor was dismayed to learn that he was asked to break the treaty
with Judas who had done nothing wrong.
29 But he could not go against the king¡¯s orders, so he sought an oc
casion to carry this out by deceit.
30 Maccabeus noticed that Nicanor had become more reserved towards him
and more unpleasant in their usual meetings, so he understood that this
did not promise well. He began to gather some of his men, but did not
make this known to Nicanor.
31 When the latter became aware that Judas had escaped without being
disloyal, he appeared in the holy Temple while the priests were offering
the ritual sacrifices, and demanded that they hand Judas over to him.
32 The priests declared on oath that they did not know where he was to
be found.
33 Then, he stretched out his hand to the sanctuary and made this oath:
¡°If you do not hand Judas over to me in chains, I shall raze this place
consecrated to God, destroy the altar, and right here build a splendid
temple to Dionysus.¡±
34 And after saying this, he left. The priests stretched forth their
hands to heaven and called on him who had unceasingly defended our
nation, saying
35 ¡°O Lord of the universe, though you do not need anything, it has
pleased you to put among us this temple as your dwelling place.
36 So now, keep undefiled forever this house that has just been
purified.¡±
37 Razis, one of the elders of Jerusa lem, was denounced to Nicanor as
being a very patriotic man, well known as ¡°father of the Jews¡± because
of his kindness.
38 In the time before the rebellion, he had been accused of Judaism and
with much enthusiasm he had totally given himself to the defense of
Judaism.
39 Now then, Nicanor, wishing to show his hatred towards the Jews,
ordered more than five hundred soldiers to take him prisoner.
40 He thought that by putting him in prison, he would deal a great blow
to the Jews.
41 When the soldiers were about to capture the tower and were breaking
the door of the courtyard (they had already ordered that fire be brought
to burn the door), Razis, surrounded on all sides, struck his belly with
his own sword.
42 He preferred to die bravely rather than fall into the hands of
foreigners and suffer insults unworthy of his noble birth.
43 But when he fell upon his sword, he did not hit exactly, so when he
saw the troops were now rushing in through the gates, he gathered enough
strength to climb to the top of the tower, and manfully threw him self
down upon the soldiers.
44 But they quickly withdrew, so he fell into an empty space.
45 Still alive, and aflame with valor, he stood up in spite of the blood
that gushed forth and the wounds he had, and came running through the
soldiers.
46 He stood on a steep rock and there, with his blood almost completely
drained from him, he took hold of his intestines with both hands and
hurled them at the crowd. Then calling upon the name of the Lord of life
and spirit to give them back to him again one day, he left this life.