28. And the king was angry when he heard this. And he called together all his friends, and the leaders of his army, and those who were over the horsemen.
29. But there even came to him mercenary armies from other kingdoms and from the islands of the sea.
30. And the number of his army was one hundred thousand footmen, and twenty thousand horsemen, and thirty-two elephants trained for battle.
31. And they traveled through Idumea, and they took a position near Bethzur. And they fought for many days, and they made machines of war. But they came out and burnt them with fire, and they fought manfully.
32. And Judas departed from the stronghold, and he moved the camp to Bethzechariah, opposite the camp of the king.
33. And the king rose up, before it was light, and he forced his troops to march toward the way of Bethzechariah. And the armies prepared themselves for battle, and they sounded the trumpets.
34. And they showed the elephants the blood of grapes and mulberries, to provoke them to fight.
35. And they divided the beasts by the legions, and there stood by every elephant a thousand men, with shields joined together and with brass helmets on their heads. And five hundred well-ordered horsemen were chosen for every beast.
36. These were ready beforehand, and wherever the beast was, they were there; and whenever it moved, they moved, and they did not depart from it.
37. Moreover, upon them there were strong wooden turrets, watching over every beast, with machines upon them, and on them were thirty-two valiant men, who fought from above, and an Indian to rule each beast.
38. And the rest of the horsemen, he stationed here and there, in two parts, with trumpets to stir up the army and to urge on those who were slow to move within its legions.
39. And so, when the sun reflected off the shields of gold and of brass, the mountains were resplendent from them, and they glowed like lamps of fire.
40. And part of the king's army was divided to the high mountains, and the other part to the low places. And they went forth with order and caution.
41. And all the inhabitants of the land were shaken at the voice of their multitude, and at the advance of the company, and at the clash of the armor. For the army was very great and strong.
42. And Judas and his army drew near for battle. And there fell of the king's army six hundred men.
43. And Eleazar, the son of Saura, saw one of the beasts shielded with the king's shield, and it was higher than the other beasts. So it seemed to him that the king must be on it.
44. And he gave himself for the freedom of his people, and to obtain for himself a name in eternity.
45. And he ran up to it boldly in the midst of the legion, killing on the right and on the left, and they fell down before him on this side and that.
46. And he went between the feet of the elephant, and put himself under it, and he killed it. And it fell to the ground upon him, and he died there.