Content

CAP 3
1 And Judas, that was clepid Machabeus, the sone of Matatias, roos for hym.
2 And alle hise britheren helpiden hym, and alle that ioyneden hem to his fadir, and thei fouyten the batel `of Israel with gladnesse.
3 And he alargide glorie to his puple, and clothide hym with an haburiowne as a giaunt, and girde hym with hise armeris of batel in batels, and defendide castels with his swerd.
4 He was maad lijk a lioun in hise werkis, and as a whelp of lioun rorynge in his huntyng.
5 And he pursuede wickid men, and souyte hem; and he brente hem in flawmes, that disturbliden his puple.
6 And hise enemyes weren put abac for drede of hym, and alle worcheris of wickidnesse weren troblid to gidere; and heelthe was dressid in his hond.
7 And he wraththide many kyngis, and gladide Jacob in hise werkis, and in to world his mynde is in blessyng.
8 And he wente thorouy the citees of Juda, and loste vnpitouse men of hem, and turnede awei wraththe fro Israel.
9 And he was named til to the vtmest of erthe, and he gaderide men perischynge.
10 And Appollyne gaderide folkis, and fro Samarie myche vertu, and greet, for to fiyte ayens Israel.
11 And Judas knew, and wente out ayens hym, and smoot, and slow hym. And many woundid fellen doun, and the othere fledden; and he took preies of hem.
12 And Judas took awei the swerd of Appollyne, and was fiytynge therwith in alle daies.
13 And Seron, prince of the oost of Sirie, herde, that Judas gaderide a gaderyng, and the chirche of feithful men with hym.
14 And he seide, Y schal make to me a name, and Y schal be glorified in the rewme, and Y schal ouercome Judas, and hem that ben with hym, whiche dispisiden the kyngis word.
15 And he made redi hym; and the castels of vnpitouse men, stronge helperis, stieden vp with hym, for to do veniaunce on the sones of Israel.
16 And thei neiyiden `til to Betheron; and Judas wente out ayens hem, with fewe men.
17 Forsothe as thei siyen the oost comynge to hem in metinge, thei seiden to Judas, Hou moun we fewe fiyten ayens so greet multitude, so strong; and we ben maad weri bi fastyng this dai?
18 And Judas seide, It is liyt, `ether esy, that many be closid togidere in hond of fewe; and difference is not in siyt of God `of heuene, for to delyuere in manye ether in fewe;
19 for not in multitude of oost is the victorie of batel, but of heuene is strengthe.
20 Thei comen to vs in rebel multitude, and pride, for to distrie vs, and oure wyues, and oure sones, and for to robbe vs.
21 Forsothe we schulen fiyte for oure lyues, and oure lawis;
22 and the Lord hym silf schal al to-breke hem bifore oure face; forsothe drede ye not hem.
23 Sotheli as he ceesside for to speke, he hurlide in `in to hem sudenli; and Seron was al to-brokun, and his oost, in the siyt of hym.
24 And he pursuede hym in the goynge doun of Betheron, til in to the feeld; and eiyte hundrid men of hem fellen doun, the othere forsothe fledden in to the lond of Filistiym.
25 And the drede of Judas, and of his britheren, and the inward ferdnesse, felle on alle hethene men in cumpas of hem;
26 and the name of hym cam to the kyng, and alle folkis telden of the bateils of Judas.
27 Sotheli as king Antiok herde these wordis, he was wrooth in soule; and he sente, and gaderide the oost of al his rewme, ful stronge castels.
28 And he openyde his treserie, and yaf sowdis to the oost, in to a yeer, and comaundide hem, that thei schulden be redi to alle thingis.
29 And he sai, that money failide of hise tresouris, and tributis of the cuntrei weren litil, for dissencioun and veniaunce that he dide in the lond, for to do awei the lawful thingis that weren of the firste daies.
30 And he dredde, that he schulde not haue as onys and twies in to costis and yiftis, whiche he hadde youun bifore with large hond; and he was riche ouer kingis that weren bifore hym.
31 And he was astonyed in soule greetli, and thouyte for to go in to Persis, and for to take tributis of cuntreis, and for to gadre myche siluer.
32 And he lefte Lisias, a noble man of the kyngis kyn, on the kingis nedis, fro the flood Eufrates til to the flood of Egipt;
33 and that he schulde nursche Antiok, his sone, til he cam ayen.
34 And he bitook to hym the half of the oost, and olifauntis, and comaundide to hym of alle these thingis that he wolde, and of men enhabitynge Judee and Jerusalem;
35 and that he schulde sende to hem an oost, for to al to-breke, and to distrie vttirly the vertu of Israel, and relifs of Jerusalem, and for to do awey the mynde of hem fro place;
36 and for to ordeyne dwelleris sones aliens in alle the coostis of hem, and bi lot for to departe the lond of hem.
37 And the kyng took a part of the residue oost, and wente out of Antiochie, citee of his rewme, in the hundrid and seuene and fourti yeer; and passide ouer the flood Eufrates, and wente thorou the hiyere cuntreis.
38 And Lisias chees Tholome, the sone of Dorym, and Nycanore, and Gorgie, miyti men of the kyngis frendis.
39 And he sente with hem fourti thousynde of men, and seuene thousynde of hors men, `ether knyytis, that thei schulden come in to the lond of Juda, and distrie it, bi the word of the kyng.
40 And thei wenten forth, for to go with al her pouer; and thei camen, and londiden at Ammaum, in the feeldi lond.
41 And marchauntis of cuntreis herden the name of hem, and token siluer and gold ful miche, and children, and camen in to castels, for to take the sones of Israel in to seruauntis; and the oostes of Sirie and the londis of aliens weren addid to hem.
42 And Judas siy, and his britheren, that yuelis weren multiplied, and the oost appliede, `ether londide, at the coostis of hem; and thei knewen the wordis of the kyng, whiche he comaundide the puple for to do, in to perischyng and endyng.
43 And thei seiden, ech man to his neiybore, Reise we the castyng doun of oure puple, and fiyte we for oure puple, and oure hooli thingis.
44 And comyng togidere of oost was gaderid, for to be redi in to batel, and for to preie, and axe merci, and merciful doyngis.
45 And Jerusalem was not enhabitid, but was as desert; ther was not that entride and wente out, of children therof; and the hooli thing was defoulid, and sones of aliens weren in the hiy tour, ther was the dwellyng of hethene men; and the likyng was don awei fro Jacob, and pipe and harpe failide there.
46 And thei weren gaderid, and camen in to Masphat ayens Jerusalem; for place of preier was in Masphat, sunnere than in Jerusalem.
47 And thei fastiden in that dai, and clothiden hem with hairis, and puttiden aisch in her heed, and renten her clothis.
48 And thei spredden abrood bookis of lawe, of the whiche hethene men souyten licnesse of her symylacris;
49 and thei brouyten ournementis of prestis, and `firste fruytis, and tithis; and thei reisiden Nazareis that hadden fillid daies.
50 And thei crieden with greet vois to heuene, and seiden, What schulen we do to these, and whidur schulen we lede hem?
51 And thin hooli thingis ben to-trodun, and defoulid, and thi prestis ben maad in to mourenyng,
52 and in to dispisyng. And lo! naciouns camen togidere ayens vs, for to distrie vs; thou wost what thingis thei thenken ayens vs.
53 Hou schulen we mow withstonde bifore the face of hem, no but thou, God, helpe vs?
54 And thei crieden in trumpis, with greet vois.
55 And aftir these thingis Judas ordeynede duykis of the puple, tribunes, and centuriouns, and pentacontrarkis, and decuriouns.
56 And he seide to these that bildiden housis, and wediden wyues, and plauntiden vyne yerdis, and to dredeful men, that thei schulden turne ayen, eche man in to his hous, bi the lawe.
57 And thei mouyden castels, and thei settiden togidere at the south of Ammaum.
58 And Judas seide, Be ye gird, and be ye miyti sones, and be ye redi `in the morewnyng, and that ye fiyte ayens these naciouns, that camen togidere for to distrie vs, and oure hooli thingis.
59 For betere is, that we die in batel, than for to se yuels of oure folc and holi thingis.
60 Sotheli as wille schal be in heuene, so be it don.