24
The two men became the best of friends, and Judas was Nicanor's constant companion.
25
Nicanor urged him to marry and start a family. So Judas did this and settled down to a peaceful life.
26
When Alcimus noticed how well Nicanor and Judas were getting along, he obtained a copy of the treaty and went to see King Demetrius. He told the king that Nicanor was disloyal to the government, because he had appointed the traitor Judas to be his successor.
27
These false accusations infuriated the king, and in his anger he wrote to Nicanor, informing him that he was dissatisfied with the treaty and ordering him to arrest Judas Maccabeus and send him to Antioch at once.
28
When this message reached Nicanor, he was hurt and didn't know what to do, because he did not like having to break an agreement with a man who had kept his part of the bargain.
29
Yet it was impossible for him to ignore the king's command, so he began looking for a way to trap Judas.
30
Judas, however, noticed that Nicanor was becoming hostile and rude toward him, and he knew that this was a bad sign. So he gathered a large number of his followers and went into hiding.
31
When Nicanor realized that Judas had outsmarted him, he went to the great and holy Temple at the time when the priests were offering sacrifice and ordered them to surrender Judas to him.
1
32
But the priests declared under oath that they had no idea where Judas was hiding.
33
Then Nicanor raised his right arm in the direction of the Temple and made a solemn threat: "If you do not hand Judas over to me as a prisoner, I will level God's Temple to the ground, demolish this altar, and on this spot build a glorious temple to Dionysus."
34
Then he left, and immediately the priests lifted their arms toward heaven and prayed to God, the faithful Defender of our nation: