27. Then Mattathias shouted loudly in the town, "Everyone who is zealous for the Law and supports the covenant should come with me!"
28. So he and his sons fled to the hills and left behind all that they had in the town.
29. At that time, many who sought righteousness and justice went to live in the desert.
30. They were there with their sons, their wives, and their livestock because troubles pressed heavily on them.
31. The king’s officers and the troops in Jerusalem, David’s City, learned that those who had rejected the king’s command had gone down to hiding places in the wilderness.
32. Many pursued and overtook them. The king’s military forces camped opposite them and prepared for battle against them on the Sabbath.
33. They said to them: "Enough of this! Come out and do what the king commands, and you will live."
34. But the Israelites replied: "We won’t come out, and we won’t do what the king commands and so violate the Sabbath."
35. So the enemy immediately attacked them.
36. Still they didn’t answer or throw a rock at them or even block up their hiding places.
37. They said, "Let’s all die in our innocence. Heaven and earth testify on our behalf that you are killing us unjustly."