were the only enemies remaining, and they expected no others. And just
as he was speaking to his soldiers, Gorgias's men looked down into that
army which they left in their camp, and saw that it was overthrown, and
the camp burnt; for the smoke that arose from it showed them, even when
they were a great way off, what had happened. When therefore those
that were with Gorgias understood that things were in this posture, and
perceived that those that were with Judas were ready to fight them, they
also were affrighted, and put to flight; but then Judas, as though he
had already beaten Gorgias's soldiers without fighting, returned and
seized on the spoils. He took a great quantity of gold, and silver, and
purple, and blue, and then returned home with joy, and singing hymns to
God for their good success; for this victory greatly contributed to the
recovery of their liberty.

5. Hereupon Lysias was confounded at the defeat of the army which he had
sent, and the next year he got together sixty thousand chosen men. He
also took five thousand horsemen, and fell upon Judea; and he went up
to the hill country of Bethsur, a village of Judea, and pitched his camp
there, where Judas met him with ten thousand men; and when he saw the
great number of his enemies, he prayed to God that he would assist him,
and joined battle with the first of the enemy that appeared, and beat
them, and slew about five thousand of them, and thereby became terrible
to the rest of them. Nay, indeed, Lysias observing the great spirit of
the Jews, how they were prepared to die rather than lose their liberty,
and being afraid of their desperate way of fighting, as if it were real
strength, he took the rest of the army back with him, and returned to
Antioch, where he listed foreigners into the service, and prepared to
fall upon Judea with a greater army.

6. When therefore the generals of Antiochus's armies had been beaten so
often, Judas assembled the people together, and told them, that after
these many victories which God had given them, they ought to go up to
Jerusalem, and purify the temple, and offer the appointed sacrifices.
But as soon as he, with the whole multitude, was come to Jerusalem, and
found the temple deserted, and its gates burnt down, and plants growing
in the temple of their own accord, on account of its desertion, he and
those that were with him began to lament, and were quite confounded at
the sight of the temple; so he chose out some of