12. replacing Ptolemy Macron, who had been the first governor to treat the Jews fairly. Macron had established peaceful relations with them in an attempt to make up for the wrongs they had suffered.
13. As a result, the King's Friends went to Eupator and accused Macron of treachery, because he had abandoned the island of Cyprus, which King Philometor of Egypt had placed under his command, and had gone over to Antiochus Epiphanes. In fact, everyone called Macron a traitor. No longer able to maintain the respect that his office demanded, he committed suicide by taking poison.
14. When Gorgias became governor of Idumea, he kept a force of mercenaries and attacked the Jews at every opportunity.
15. Not only this, but the Idumeans themselves controlled certain strategic fortresses and were constantly harassing the Jews. They welcomed those who fled from Jerusalem and did everything they could to keep the country in a perpetual state of war.
16. So Judas Maccabaeus and his men, after offering prayers for God's help, rushed out and made a vigorous attack against the Idumean fortresses.
17. They beat back those who were defending the walls and captured the fortresses, killing everyone they found, a total of about 20,000 people.