unto them.

6:22. And they went to the king, and said: How long dost thou delay to
execute judgment, and to revenge our brethren?

6:23. We determined to serve thy father, and to do according to his
orders, and obey his edicts:

6:24. And for this they of our nation are alienated from us, and have
slain as many of us as they could find, and have spoiled our
inheritances.

6:25. Neither have they put forth their hand against us only, but also
against all our borders.

6:26. And behold they have approached this day to the castle of
Jerusalem to take it, and they have fortified the strong hold of
Bethsura:

6:27. And unless thou speedily prevent them, they will do greater things
than these, and thou shalt not be able to subdue them.

6:28. Now when the king heard this, he was angry: and he called together
all his friends, and the captains of his army, and them that were over
the horsemen.

6:29. There came also to him from other realms, and from the islands of
the sea, hired troops.

6:30. And the number of his army was an hundred thousand footmen, and
twenty thousand horsemen, and thirty-two elephants trained to battle.

6:31. And they went through Idumea, and approached to Bethsura, and
fought many days, and they made engines: but they sallied forth, and
burnt them with fire, and fought manfully.

But they sallied forth... That is, the citizens of Bethsura sallied
forth and burnt them, that is, burnt the engines of the besiegers.

6:32. And Judas departed from the castle, and removed the camp to
Bethzacharam, over against the king's camp.

6:33. And the king rose before it was light, and made his troops march
on fiercely towards the way of Bethzacharam: and the armies made
themselves ready for the battle, and they sounded the trumpets:

6:34. And they shewed the elephants the blood of grapes, and mulberries,
to provoke them to fight.

6:35. And they distributed the beasts by the legions: and there stood by
every elephant a thousand men in coats of mail, and with helmets of
brass on their heads: and five hundred horsemen set in order were chosen
for every beast.

6:36. These before the time wheresoever the beast was they were there:
and whithersoever it went, they went, and they departed not from it.

These before the time... That is, these were ready for every occasion.

6:37. And upon the beast, there were strong wooden towers which covered
every one of them: and engines upon them, and upon every