8
Philip saw how Judas was progressing little by little and gaining ground with each success, so he wrote to Ptolemy the governor of Coele-Syria and Phoenicia to come to the aid of the royal government.
9
Nicanor, Patroclus' son, one of the king's most important political advisors, was immediately chosen and sent with a military unit of no fewer than twenty thousand men of various nationalities to eliminate Judea's entire population. He also sent with him Gorgias, a general experienced in military affairs.
10
Nicanor agreed to raise the payment that the king owed the Romans—two thousand talents—by selling the Jewish prisoners of war.
11
Immediately, he sent a message into the coastal cities, summoning them to purchase Jews as slaves, promising ninety persons a talent. But he didn't anticipate the judgment that was coming from the almighty.
12
When news of Nicanor's plan reached Judas, he told those with him about the imminent appearance of the military force.