Expedition of Bacchides and Alcimus
1 In the year 151, Demetrius the son of Seleucus set out from Rome. He sailed with a small group to a town by the sea and claimed the kingship there.
2
As he entered the royal palace of his ancestors, the army seized Antiochus and Lysias, intending to bring them to him.
3
But when he learned about this act, he said, "Don't let me see their faces!"
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So the soldiers killed them. Demetrius then took his seat on the throne of the kingdom.
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All the immoral and sinful Israelites came to him. Alcimus, who wanted to be high priest, led them.
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They made an accusation to King Demetrius against the people, "Judas and his brothers have destroyed all your political advisors and have driven us out of our land.
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Now send someone that you trust to go and see all the ruin that Judas has brought on us and on the king's land. Let that person punish them and all who help them."
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The king selected Bacchides, one of the king's chief political advisors and governor of the province called Beyond the River. He was a powerful man in the kingdom and was loyal to the king.
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The king sent him and sent the wicked Alcimus along with him. He made Alcimus high priest and authorized him to take vengeance on the Israelites.
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So they marched forward and came with a large force into the land of Judah. Bacchides sent messengers to Judas and his brothers using peaceful but deceitful words.
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But they ignored the messengers because they saw that they had come with a large military force.
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Then a group of legal experts came before Alcimus and Bacchides to ask for just terms.
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The Hasideans were the first among the Israelites to seek peace with them.
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They said, "A priest who is descended from Aaron has come with the army, and he won't harm us."
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Alcimus spoke peaceably to them and made a pledge to them: "We won't seek to injure you or your friends."
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So they trusted him. But he seized sixty of them and killed them in one day. This was in keeping with the written word:
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The flesh of your faithful ones… and their blood they poured out all around Jerusalem; there was no one to bury them.
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Then fear and dread came over all the people. They said, "They are not truthful or just, because they broke the promise they made."
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Bacchides retreated from Jerusalem and camped in Beth-zaith. He captured many of the soldiers and some of the people who had deserted to his side. He killed them and threw them into a great pit.
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He put Alcimus in charge of the country and left a force to assist him. Then Bacchides went back to the king.
21
Alcimus struggled to maintain the high priesthood.
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All the troublemakers joined him. They gained control of Judah and did great damage in Israel.
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Judas saw all the wrongs that Alcimus and those with him had done among the Israelites, exceeding what the Gentiles had done.
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So Judas went into the surrounding Judean highlands and took vengeance on those who had deserted. He prevented them from going out into the country.
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When Alcimus saw that Judas and his companions had grown strong, he knew he couldn't resist them. So he returned to the king and brought spiteful charges against them.