27. Every bridegroom was saddened,and intended brides satmourning in their chambers.
28. Even the land shook for its people,and all of Jacob’s housewas clothed with shame.
29. Two years later, to collect tribute from the Judean cities, King Antiochus sent his chief officer, who came to Jerusalem with a large army.
30. The agent spoke peaceably and the Jews believed him, but he was deceitful. Without warning, he attacked the city, dealt it a brutal blow, and killed many Israelites.
31. He plundered the city. He set fires within it, destroyed its houses, and tore down its protective walls.
32. His forces took women and children as prisoners and seized livestock.
33. After all of this, the agent’s forces fortified David’s City with a very strong wall and powerful towers, and it became their fortress.
34. They stationed sinful, immoral people there, and these soldiers held down their position.