24. Also at that time, there was a severe famine, and the whole country went over to the side of the renegades.
25. Bacchides deliberately appointed some renegade Jews as rulers over the country.
26. These men hunted down the friends of Judas and brought them all before Bacchides, and he subjected them to torture and humiliation.
27. It was a time of great trouble for Israel, worse than anything that had happened to them since the time prophets ceased to appear among them.
28. Then all the friends of Judas came together and said to Jonathan,
29. “Since your brother Judas died, there has been no one like him to lead us against our enemies, against Bacchides and those of our own nation who oppose us.
30. So today we choose you to succeed him as our ruler and commander to carry on our war.”
31. Jonathan accepted the leadership that day and took the place of his brother Judas.
32. When Bacchides learnt of this, he made up his mind to kill Jonathan.
33. But when this news reached Jonathan, he fled, with his brother Simon and their men, to the wilderness of Tekoa and set up camp at the pool of Asphar.
34. (Bacchides learnt about this on the Sabbath and crossed the Jordan with his whole army.)
35. Jonathan sent his brother John, who was responsible for the soldiers' families, to ask the Nabateans, with whom he was on friendly terms, for permission to store with them the large amount of baggage they had.