5
Invading Judea, he approached Beth-zur, which was a fortified place about five leagues from Jerusalem, and pressed it hard.
6
When Maccabeus and his men got word that Lysias was besieging the strongholds, they and all the people, with lamentations and tears, besought the Lord to send a good angel to save Israel.
7
Maccabeus himself was the first to take up arms, and he urged the others to risk their lives with him to aid their brethren. Then they eagerly rushed off together.
8
And there, while they were still near Jerusalem, a horseman appeared at their head, clothed in white and brandishing weapons of gold.
9
And they all together praised the merciful God, and were strengthened in heart, ready to assail not only men but the wildest beasts or walls of iron.
10
They advanced in battle order, having their heavenly ally, for the Lord had mercy on them.
11
They hurled themselves like lions against the enemy, and slew eleven thousand of them and sixteen hundred horsemen, and forced all the rest to flee.
12
Most of them got away stripped and wounded, and Lysias himself escaped by disgraceful flight.
13
And as he was not without intelligence, he pondered over the defeat which had befallen him, and realized that the Hebrews were invincible because the mighty God fought on their side. So he sent to them
14
and persuaded them to settle everything on just terms, promising that he would persuade the king, constraining him to be their friend.
15
Maccabeus, having regard for the common good, agreed to all that Lysias urged. For the king granted every request in behalf of the Jews which Maccabeus delivered to Lysias in writing.