15. He gave him his crown, robe, and official ring, and authorized him to educate his son Antiochus the Fifth and bring him up to be king.
16. King Antiochus died there in the year 149.
17. When Lysias heard that the king had died, he made the young Antiochus king in place of his father. He had brought up Antiochus from childhood and now gave him the name Eupator.
18. Meanwhile, the enemies at the fort in Jerusalem had been blockading the people of Israel in the area round the Temple, constantly causing them trouble and giving support to the Gentiles.
19. So Judas decided to get rid of them and called all the people together to besiege the fort.
20. The people assembled and laid siege to the fort in the year 150. They built siege-platforms and battering-rams.
21. But some of the men under siege escaped, and together with some of the renegade Jews, they went to the king and said,
22. “How long are you going to wait before you take revenge for what was done to our countrymen?
23. We were willing to serve your father, follow his orders, and obey his decrees.
24. But what good did it do us? Now our own countrymen have become our enemies. In fact, they have killed as many of us as they could find and have stolen our possessions.
25. But we are not the only ones they have harmed; they have attacked all their neighbours.
26. And now they have laid siege to the fort in Jerusalem and are planning to take it. They have also fortified the Temple and Bethzur.
27. Unless you act immediately, they will do even more, and you will not be able to stop them.”
28. When the king heard this, he was furious. He brought together all the army commanders, the cavalry officers, and his most trusted advisers.
29. He also hired mercenary soldiers from other countries and from the Greek islands.
30. His forces numbered 100,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, and 32 elephants trained for war.
31. The king and his army passed through Idumea and laid siege to Bethzur, where they fought for a long time. They built battering-rams and siege-platforms, but the defenders fought bravely and came out of the town and burnt down the platforms.
32. Then Judas withdrew his troops from the fort in Jerusalem and set up his camp at Beth Zechariah, blocking the advance of the king's army.
33. Early the next morning, the king rapidly moved his army along the road to Beth Zechariah, where his troops took up battle positions and blew trumpets.