1 Maccabees 6:54

54 The shortage of food had been so severe that many people had scattered to their homes, and only a few men were left in the Temple.

1 Maccabees 6:54 In-Context

52 The defenders also made war machines to oppose those of the enemy, and so the battle went on for a long time.

53 But there was no food left in the Temple storage bins because it was the sabbatical year, and the people who had fled from the Gentiles and taken refuge in Judea had eaten all the food that had been stored there.

54 The shortage of food had been so severe that many people had scattered to their homes, and only a few men were left in the Temple.

55 Meanwhile, Philip, who had been appointed by King Antiochus before his death to educate his son to be king,

56 returned from Persia and Media. He had come back with the royal army and planned to take control of the government. When Lysias heard this news,