19. For he has rescued us from great perils, and he has purged the place.
20. The truth about Judas Maccabeus, and his brothers, and the purification of the great temple, and the dedication of the altar,
21. and also about the battles, which pertain to Antiochus the illustrious, and his son, Eupator,
22. and about the illuminations, which came from heaven to those who acted on behalf of the Jews with fortitude, was such that they, though few, vindicated the entire region and put to flight a multitude of the barbarous,
23. and recovered the most famous temple in the whole world, and freed the city, and restored the laws that were abolished. For the Lord, with all tranquility, was acting favorably toward them.
24. And similar things as have been comprised in five books by Jason the Cyrenean, we have attempted to abridge into one volume.
25. For, considering the multitude of the books, and the difficulty that those who are willing to undertake the narrations of histories find, due to the multitude of events,