within the fortifications; but when he saw the strength of them, no longer regarding his oath, he caused them to be demolished. Menelaus the high priest had accompanied the king, in the hope of being reinstated in his office but Lysias justly regarding him as the author of the war which he had carried on with such continual loss, and terminated so disgracefully, accused him to the king, who caused him to be put to death. The office of high priest was now conferred on Alcimus, a man as wicked as Menelaus, to the exclusion of the lawful successor Onias. The latter, shocked at this injustice, fled from Antioch, and went into Egypt, where we shall have occasion to notice him by and by.

LETTER XXXVI.

DEMETRIUS the son of Seleucus Philopator, who had been sent to Rome as a hostage by his father, and who was the rightful heir to the crown of Syria, had frequently solicited the senate for his release. But as they paid no attention to his request, he contrived to escape privately, and going into Syria declared that he was sent by the Romans to take possession of his kingdom. This being generally believed, the friends of Eupator considered his case desperate, and therefore yielded to Demetrius. The young prince and his guardian Lysias being betrayed and given up by their own soldiers, were put to death. The appointment of Alcimus was very displeasing to the Jews, who refused to receive him, because he had conformed to many of the Grecian customs. On this refusal he gathered the apostate Jews

who dwelt at Antioch, and joined with them in a petition against Judas: representing him as the persecutor of the king's friends, who had expelled them on account of their conformity to the decrees of Antiochus Epiphanes. Demetrius, on hearing this, was greatly provoked; and having confirmed Alcimus in his office, sent him to Jerusalem with a considerable force under the command of Bacchides, to make war upon Judas. On their arrival in Judea they endeavoured to get Judas and his brothers into their power by an artful display of friendship; but Judas was too well aware of the character of Alcimus to trust him; and the event justified his caution; for others who were more credulous, fell into the snare and were put to death. Among these were sixty Assideans, and several scribes. After some time, Bacchides returned into Syria, leaving some of his forces with Alcimus, who for a while had influence and power to maintain a party in his favour, and thus disturbed the peace of the nation. But when Judas again took the field, Alcimus being no longer able to stand against him, had recourse to the Syrians; representing to Demetrius that while Judas lived, there was no hope of peace in Judea. The king's ministers out of hatred to the Jews, having confirmed the assertion of Alcimus, another army was sent under the command of Nicanor, with orders to destroy Judas, disperse his followers, and establish Alcimus in his office of high priest. Nicanor, however, who knew that it was more easy to give these orders than to execute them; and who had had some experience of the prowess of Judas, did not like to expose himself to another defeat; but endeavoured to conclude the war by treaty. Judas and he having agreed on the terms, awaited only the king's ratification of them;

but Alcimus prejudiced him so greatly against the mea-. sure, that he commanded Nicanor to continue the war, till he had slain or taken Judas. Being thus obliged to recede from the terms he had made, and not liking to risk a battle, Nicanor sought to get Judas into his power by treachery. He therefore went to Jerusalem and invited him to a conference; but the snare was discovered time enough to prevent its taking effect; and Judas losing all confidence in the crafty Syrian, prepared to repel him by force of arms. In the first action which took place, Nicanor was defeated with the loss of five thousand men. He was so greatly enraged at this that he went to Jerusalem and demanded that Judas and his followers should be delivered up to him: threatening that unless his demands were complied with, he would come again and pull down the altar and burn the temple. To these menaces he added many blasphemies against the God of Israel; vowing to level his temple with the ground, and erect one to Bacchus in the place of it. The priests and people humbly besought God to regard the place which he had appointed for his holy worship, and the house which he had chosen for a house of prayer; that the impious threats of Nicanor might be averted from it. Soon after this, Nicanor encamped at Bethoron, where he was joined by a Syrian reinforcement. Judas in the meantime was at Adasa, with only three thousand men; but they were strong in faith, and determined to engage the enemy: trusting in the defence of Him who had heard and punished the blasphemies of Sennacherib. Not doubting that he would maintain their cause against the impious Nicanor. When the two armies met, the Syrian commander was slain in the first onset; and his host, seized with a panic terror, fled in all directions.

Judas pursued them, and causing an alarm to be sounded, drew all the men out of the several cities they passed, to assist him. By this means the whole Syrian army, consisting of thirty-five thousand men, fell into the hands of the Jews; not one of them escaping to carry the news of their defeat to Antioch. Judas and his men, on their return to the field of battle, found the body of Nicanor; and having cut off his head and the hand he had so impiously lifted up against the temple, carried them to Jerusalem, and fixed them in a conspicuous situation without the city. This great deliverance was not only celebrated with praise and rejoicing at the time it was effected; but a yearly commemoration of it was enjoined on the thirteenth day of the month Adar. After this victory the Jews had a short respite from the malice of their enemies; and Judas took advantage of the leisure it afforded him to dispatch an embassy to solicit the aid and protection of the Romans against the oppressive tyranny of the Syrian kings. It would be difficult to account for the conduct of Judas in this particular, were we not acquainted with the deceitfulness of the human heart; and the weakness of the most pious and confiding servants of God, when left to themselves. Judas, like Hezekiah, had experienced the wonderful power and faithfulness of God towards those who trust in him; yet in a faithless moment he casts away his hitherto unshaken confidence, and seeks protection from an arm of flesh. We must not, however, hastily condemn him; but rather regard the undeviating tenor of his previous conduct, and conclude that, like Hezekiah, he was left to himself on one occasion, that he might become more intimately acquainted with his own heart.*

* 2 Chronicles xxxii. 31.

The Jewish embassy was honourably received at Rome, a treaty of alliance offensive and defensive was made, and the senate wrote to Demetrius desiring him to desist from any farther vexation of the Jews, who were now become the friends and allies of the Roman people. Judas however did not live long enough to learn the event of his application; for before the return of his ambassadors he was slain in battle. When Demetrius heard of the defeat and death of Nicanor, he sent Bacchides with the flower of his army into Judea. Three thousand men only were with Judas, most of whom, fearing the enemy, withdrew from him; so that his whole force was reduced to eight hundred. With these, however, he determined to engage the enemy; though they endeavoured to deter him from so bold a measure. He expressed his confidence in God's power to save by their means; and his entire resignation to the divine will, if deliverance were not vouchsafed by them; or if this were the time appointed for their death. The army of the Syrians consisted of twenty-two thousand men, but notwithstanding the disparity of numbers, Judas and his little band gained an advantage over the right wing, commanded by Bacchides, whom they put to flight, and pursued to a considerable distance. But the left wing of the Syrians following in their rear, they were surrounded, and such as could not escape by flight were killed; among whom was their heroic leader. When the death of Judas was made known, it caused great lamentations throughout Israel. His brothers Simon and Jonathan buried him in the sepulchre of his family at Modin; and a mourning was observed many days by the people in testimony of their poignant grief for his loss. It is not necessary for me to say much on the