t, you must either recover that liberty and so regain a happy and
blessed way of living, which is that according to our laws and the
customs of our country, or to submit to the most opprobrious sufferings;
nor will any seed of your nation remain if you be beat in this battle.
Fight therefore manfully, and suppose that you must die though you do
not fight; but believe that besides such glorious rewards as those of
the liberty of your country, of your laws, of your religion, you shall
then obtain everlasting glory. Prepare yourselves, therefore, and put
yourselves into such an agreeable posture that you may be ready to fight
with the enemy as soon as it is day to-morrow morning."

And this was the speech which Judas made to encourage them. But when the
enemy sent Gorgias with five thousand foot and one thousand horse, that
he might fall upon Judas by night, and had for that purpose certain of
the renegade Jews as guides, the son of Mattathias perceived it and
resolved to fall upon those enemies that were in their camp, now their
forces were divided. When they had therefore supped in good time and had
left many fires in their camp he marched all night to those enemies that
were at Emmaus; so that when Gorgias found no enemy in their camp, but
suspected that they were retired and had hidden themselves among the
mountains, he resolved to go and seek them wheresoever they were.

But about break of day Judas appeared to those enemies that were at
Emmaus, with only three thousand men, and those ill-armed by reason of
their poverty; and when he saw the enemy very well and skilfully
fortified in their camp he encouraged the Jews and told them that they
ought to fight, though it were with their naked bodies, for that God had
sometimes of old given such men strength, and that against such as were
more in number, and were armed also, out of regard to their great
courage. So he commanded the trumpeters to sound for the battle, and by
thus falling upon the enemy when they did not expect it, and thereby
astonishing and disturbing their minds, he slew many of those that
resisted him and went on pursuing the rest as far as Gadara and the
plains of Idumea, and Ashdod, and Jamnia; and of these there fell about
three thousand. Yet did Judas exhort his soldiers not to be too desirous
of the spoils, for that still they must have a contest and battle with
Gorgias and the forces that were with him, but that when they had once
overcome them then