so
great, sent against him Nicanor, the most kind and most faithful of all
his friends; for he it was who fled away with him from the city of Rome.
He also gave him as many forces as he thought sufficient for him to
conquer Judas withal, and bid him not to spare the nation at all.
When Nicanor was come to Jerusalem, he did not resolve to fight
Judas immediately, but judged it better to get him into his power by
treachery; so he sent him a message of peace, and said there was no
manner of necessity for them to fight and hazard themselves; and that he
would give him his oath that he would do him no harm, for that he only
came with some friends, in order to let him know what king Demetrius's
intentions were, and what opinion he had of their nation. When Nicanor
had delivered this message, Judas and his brethren complied with him,
and suspecting no deceit, they gave him assurances of friendship, and
received Nicanor and his army; but while he was saluting Judas, and they
were talking together, he gave a certain signal to his own soldiers,
upon which they were to seize upon Judas; but he perceived the
treachery, and ran back to his own soldiers, and fled away with them.
So upon this discovery of his purpose, and of the snares laid for Judas,
Nicanor determined to make open war with him, and gathered his army
together, and prepared for fighting him; and upon joining battle with
him at a certain village called Capharsalama, he beat Judas, [26] and
forced him to fly to that citadel which was at Jerusalem.

5. And when Nicanor came down from the citadel unto the temple, some
of the priests and elders met him, and saluted him; and showed him
the sacrifices which they offered to God for the king: upon which he
blasphemed, and threatened them, that unless the people would deliver up
Judas to him, upon his return he would pull down their temple. And when
he had thus threatened them, he departed from Jerusalem. But the priests
fell into tears out of grief at what he had said, and besought God to
deliver them from their enemies But now for Nicanor, when he was gone
out of Jerusalem, and was at a certain village called Bethoron, he there
pitched his camp, another army out of Syria having joined him. And Judas
pitched his camp at Adasa, another village, which was thirty furlongs
distant from Bethoron, having no more than one thousand soldiers. And
when he had encouraged them not to be dismayed at the multitude of their
enemies, nor to r