First Book of Maccabees 16

¹ John then went up from Gezer and reported to his father Simon what Cendebaeus was busy doing.

² At this, Simon summoned his two elder sons, Judas and John, and said to them, ‘I and my brothers and my father’s House have fought the enemies of Israel from our youth until today; the enterprises we directed have been successful, and many a time have we brought Israel deliverance.

³ But now I am an old man, while you, mercifully, are old enough; take my place and my brother’s, go out and fight for our nation, and may the support of heaven be with you.’

⁴ Then he selected from the country twenty thousand fighting men and cavalry, and these marched against Cendebaeus, spending the night at Modem.

⁵ Making an early start, they marched into the plain, to find a large army opposing them, both infantry and cavalry; there was, however, a wadi in between.

⁶ John drew up facing them, he and his people, and seeing that the men were afraid to cross the wadi he crossed over first himself. When his men saw this, they too crossed after him.

⁷ He divided his army into two bodies of foot, with the horse in the centre, the enemy’s cavalry being very numerous.

⁸ The trumpets rang out, and Cendebaeus was routed with his army; many of them fell mortally wounded, and the remainder took refuge in the fortress.

⁹ It was then that Judas, John’s brother, was wounded, but John pursued them until Cendebaeus reached Kedron, which he had strengthened.

¹⁰ Their flight took them as far as the towers in the countryside of Azotus, and John burnt these down. The enemy losses amounted to ten thousand men; John returned safely to Judaea.

¹¹ Ptolemy son of Abubus had been appointed military commissioner for the plain of Jericho; he owned much silver and gold,

¹² and was the high priest’s son-in-law.

¹³ His ambition was fired; he hoped to make himself master of the whole country, and began to plot the ruin of Simon and his sons.

¹⁴ Simon, who was inspecting the towns up and down the country and attending to their administration, had come down to Jericho with his sons Mattathias and Judas, in the year one hundred and seventy-seven, in the eleventh month, the month of Shebat.

¹⁵ The son of Abubus lured them into a small fortress called Dok[*a], which he had built, where he offered them a great banquet, having men concealed about the place.

¹⁶ When Simon and his sons were drunk, Ptolemy leapt to his feet with his men, and, grasping their weapons, they rushed on Simon in the banqueting hall and killed him with his two sons and some of his servants.

¹⁷ So he committed a great act of treachery, and rendered evil for good.

¹⁸ Ptolemy wrote a report of the affair and sent it to the king, in the expectation of being sent reinforcements and having the cities and the province made over to him.

¹⁹ He sent other men to Gezer to murder John, and sent written orders to the military commanders to come to him so that he could present them with silver and gold and gifts;

²⁰ he also sent others to take possession of Jerusalem and the Temple hill.

²¹ But someone had been too quick for him and had already informed John in Gezer that his father and brothers had perished, adding, ‘He is also sending people to kill you too!’

²² Overcome as he was by the news, John arrested the men who had come to kill him and put them to death, since he already knew their murderous design.

²³ The rest of John’s acts, the battles he fought and the exploits he performed, the city walls he built, and all his other achievements,

²⁴ are to be found recorded in the Annals of his pontificate from the day he succeeded his father as high priest.