14
Some were selling all they possessed while at the same time calling on the Lord to rescue those whom Nicanor had sold even before they met.
15
They asked that God do this, if not for their sake then for the sake of the covenants with their ancestors, and because he had called them by his revered and glorious name.
16
The Maccabee gathered around him approximately six thousand men. He encouraged them not to be terrified by their enemies nor to fear the great number of Gentiles coming at them unjustly. Rather, they were to fight honorably
17
and keep before their eyes the outrage committed unlawfully in the holy place, the torture of the scorned city, and the overthrow of their ancestral way of life.
18
"They rely on weapons and daring," he said, "but we trust in the almighty God, who is able to strike down with a single nod those coming against us—and even the whole world."