of Apollonius, with which he fought all his days.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:13-15]
When Seron, the commander of the army of Syria, heard that Judas had
gathered a large force of faithful men about him, who went with him to
war, he said, I will make myself famous and gain renown in the kingdom;
for I will fight with Judas and those with him, who are defying the
command of the king. And there went up with him also a mighty army of the
godless to help him, to take vengeance on the Israelites.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:16-22]
As he approached the ascent of Bethhoron, Judas went forth to meet him
with a small company. But when they saw the army coming to meet them, they
said to Judas, How shall we, few as we are, be able to battle against so
great a multitude? and we are faint also, having tasted no food to-day.
Then Judas said, It is an easy thing for many to be shut up in the hands
of a few; and with Heaven it is equally easy to save by many or by few;
for victory in battle does not depend upon the size of an army, but from
Heaven comes the strength. They come to us full of insolence and
lawlessness, to destroy us with our wives and children and to plunder us;
but, as for us, we are fighting for our lives and our laws. And he himself
will crush them before our face; so do not be afraid of them.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:23, 24]
Now when he had finished speaking, he leaped suddenly upon them, and Seron
and his army were put to flight before him. And they pursued them by the
descent of Bethhoron to the plain, and there fell of them about eight
hundred men; but the rest fled into the land of the Philistines.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:25-31]
Now the fear of Judas and his brothers and the dread of them began to fall
upon the nations round about them. And his reputation reached the king,
for every nation was telling of the battles of Judas. But when King
Antiochus heard these things, he was filled with indignation and sent
and gathered together all the forces of his realm, a very strong army.
And he opened his treasury and gave his forces pay for a year, and
commanded them to be ready for every emergency. And seeing that money was
scarce in his treasury and that the tributes of the country were small,
because of the dissension and calamity which he had brought upon the land,
for the purpose of taking away the laws which had been in force from the
earliest days, he feared that he should not have enough, as at other
times, for the expenses an