XCIX. (1) After this the king went his way to Macedon and Judah, judged his people, and did righteousness and justice. At that time Demetrius, the son of Seleucus the king, with a Koman army, engaged in battle with Antiochus Eopator, in which Antiochus and Lysias were slain, and he held the reins of government in Antiochia in Macedon.
(2) Now, Alkimos the priest, a worthless man, who ate swine's flesh during the reign of Antiochus, came to Demetrius, and said, ' Long live King Demetrius! How long wilt thou remain inactive on behalf of thy servants in the land of Judah, who have fallen by the sword of Judah, the son of Mattathias, and his people the Jews, who are called Hassidim? He slays us because we refuse to comply with many precepts of their law.'
(3) Demetrius, stirred to anger by this, sent Nicanor,
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the captain of his army, with a strong army, and chariots, horsemen, elephants, and footmen without number. Arriv- ing at Jerusalem, he sent word professing his friendship, and said, ' Come and let us see each other, and consult in a friendly manner.' Judah, fearing no treachery, went to meet him. When Nicanor met him, he embraced him, and asked after his welfare. Then, placing seats for both of them, they sat down and conversed. Judah, however, had commanded his young Hasmoneans to remain armed ready for battle, lest the enemy suddenly attack them. Accordingly, his men stood near him, ready at any moment for the fray, as Judah had ordered. Judah and Nicanor at length rose from their seats, and went into their respective tents, and they dwelt both in Jerusalem, there being no war between them. On the contrary, Nicanor was very fond of Judah, and said to him, ' Would it not be meet for a man like thee to take a wife and beget children?' Judah married, and begat children.
(4) When Alkimos recognised the love Judah and Nicanor bore each other, he again went to the king, and informed him what had taken place. The king thereupon sent a letter to Nicanor, saying, ' If thou wilt not send me Judah, son of Mattathiah, bound in chains, know that thou wilt surely be slain.' Judah soon became aware of this, and, leaving the city by night, he sounded the trumpet-call and gave the battle-signal, and when all the valiant Hassidim and Hasmoneans had mustered in full force, he went to Samaria, and remained there.
(5) In the meantime Nicanor went to the temple of the Lord, and said to the priests, ' Bring ye out the man who fled from me, that I may send him to the king bound in chains.' But the priests swore unto him, saying, ' He has not been here, nor have we seen him since the day before yesterday.' At this reply, Nicanor spoke blasphemously of the temple, and, spitting upon it, stretched out his right hand, and, baring his arm for slaughter, he said, ' I will overthrow this temple, and will not leave one single stone in its place, and I shall dig up and overturn all its founda-
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tions.' With this, he departed in anger, and the priests went about crying between the porch and the altar, and said, * 0 God, whose dwelling-place has of old been in this temple, now continue to rest here, for here is Thy throne, and here is Thy footstool, and all Thy service. The heart of Nicanor was filled with blasphemy towards Thy house and towards Thy habitation. He acted treacherously against the temple of Thy glory, and has committed abomination, therefore let him die as an abomination.'
(6) Nicanor searched all the houses of Jerusalem for Judah, and sent 500 troops to the house of Daqsios (DiN^Dpn), the Elder of Hassidim, who was tested in Antiochus's reign and found perfect, for he had suffered many tortures, and was called 'Father of the Jews and Judge in Jerusalem.'
(7) And as Nicanor was trying to show his bitter hatred of the Jews, he sent a messenger to fetch the old man, while his men surrounded the house to catch him; but the old man, unsheathing his sword and piercing his bowels, ran upon the wall, and threw himself upon Nicanor's troops, who made room for him, and he fell to the ground. But he soon rose up again, and went towards the troops. He stood on a large stone, and from the great loss of blood which was rapidly flowing from him, he became distracted, and took part of his entrails and threw it at the troops. Then, calling upon the Lord in prayer, he died, and was gathered to his people.
(8) When Judah heard these things, he waxed furious, and sent a message to Nicanor, saying, 'Why dost thou delay? Come into the field, and I will show thee the man thou hast been seeking in the chamber. Behold, he is here waiting for thee in the valley and in the plain.' Nicanor then gathered all his forces, and went to meet the Jews on a Sabbath. The Jews that were with him said, * 0 my lord, we beseech thee, do not act presumptuously; grant Him honour who gave the Sabbath.' 'And who, indeed, gave the Sabbath?' asked Nicanor. ' The God whose dwelling is in heaven,' answered they, ' and whose
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dominion extends over the whole world.' Nicanor then spoke such words of blasphemy as are not fit to be written down.
(9) Judah heard of this, and said to his men, * How long will we be indolent, and refuse to give battle to this reviler and blasphemer? for who is this dead dog and outcast that defies the strength and glory of Israel?'
(10) He then marched in great anger and zeal to attack Nicanor, who came to meet him with a huge and powerful army. And Judah cried to the Lord, saying, ' 0 Lord my God, Thou didst send a messenger into the camp of Senna- cherib, whose men stood up outside the city and blasphemed Thee, and Thou didst smite his multitude by slaying 175,000 men; the slain we counted, but the slayer we did not see. Now, how much more deserving of death is this man, who has stood up against Thy temple, and has blasphemed Thy might and Thy glory?'
(11) On that day a very fierce and bloody battle was fought. When Judah saw Nicanor with drawn sword, he cried out, ' At thee, Nicanor!' and then ran against him in the fury of his anger. And Nicanor turned his back to flee, but Judah laid hold of him, and, cutting him in two, cast him to the ground. There fell on that day 30,000 men of the Macedonian army. The remainder fled, but were pursued by Judah's men, who all the while were sounding the Shofar. All the cities of Judah turned out to meet the enemy, and smote them, cutting them to pieces, so that not one of them remained alive. Then, proceeding to strip the slain, they found abundance of gold, precious stones, and purple garments. They cut off the head of Nicanor and the arm that he had stretched out against God's temple, and hung them up before the gate, which has henceforth until this very day been called ' The gate of Nicanor.' The people then rejoiced exceedingly, and sang the Psalms of David, King of Israel, concluding, ' For He is good, and His mercy endureth for ever.'
(12) Ever since that time the Jews celebrate this day as a feast and a holiday, on which wine is drunk — viz., the
13th day of Adar, one day before ' Purim/ And Judah judged all his people, and did justice and righteousness in the land.