22
Judas had taken the precaution of placing battle-ready troops in strategic places, in case of sudden treachery on the part of the enemy. But the two leaders had a friendly meeting.
23
Nicanor stayed on in Jerusalem for some time after that. He did not mistreat the Jews in any way, and even sent away the people who had come over to his side.
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.