29-30. At that time also many of the Israelites who were seeking to be right with God through obedience to the Law went out to live in the wilderness, taking their children, their wives, and their livestock with them, because of the terrible oppression they were suffering.
31. The report soon reached the king's officials and the soldiers in the fort at Jerusalem that some men who had defied the king's command had gone into hiding in the wilderness.
32. A large force of soldiers pursued them, caught up with them, set up camp opposite them, and prepared to attack them on the Sabbath.
33. “There is still time,” they shouted out to the Jews. “Come out and obey the king's command, and we will spare your lives.”
34. “We will not come out,” they answered. “We will not obey the king's command, and we will not profane the Sabbath.”
35. The soldiers attacked them immediately,
36. but the Jews did nothing to resist; they did not even throw stones or block the entrances to the caves where they were hiding.
37. They said, “We will all die with a clear conscience. Let heaven and earth bear witness that you are slaughtering us unjustly.”
38. So the enemy attacked them on the Sabbath and killed the men, their wives, their children, and their livestock. A thousand people died.
39. When Mattathias and his friends heard about this, they were greatly saddened
40. and said to one another, “If all of us do as these other Jews have done and refuse to fight the Gentiles to defend our lives and our religion, we will soon be wiped off the face of the earth.”
41. On that day they decided that if anyone attacked them on the Sabbath, they would defend themselves, so that they would not all die as other Jews had died in the caves.
42. Then Mattathias and his friends were joined by a group of devout and patriotic Jews, the strongest and bravest men in Israel, who had all volunteered to defend the Law.
43. In addition, everyone who was fleeing from the persecution joined them and strengthened their forces.
44. Now that they had an army, they gave vent to their anger by attacking the renegade Jews. Those who escaped were forced to flee to the Gentiles for safety.
45. Mattathias and his friends went everywhere tearing down pagan altars
46. and circumcising by force every uncircumcised boy they found within the borders of Israel.
47. They were also successful in hunting down the arrogant Gentile officials.