26 Their temple and the town of Beth-Zur are powerful fortresses, and right now those Jews are attacking the fortress in Jerusalem.
27 Do something fast! Soon there will be no way to stop them.
28 When Antiochus heard this, he became furious. So he, together with his trusted friends and army officers, decided on a plan of attack.
29 He hired soldiers from other kingdoms and from the Greek islands,
30 until he had 100,000 soldiers and 20,000 cavalry. He also had 32 elephants trained for war.
31 He led his army through Idumea, and for a long time, he attacked the town of Beth-Zur with weapons to break through the wall. But the people fought back bravely. They even rushed out of the town and set fire to the weapons of war.
32 Judas called off his attack on the Jerusalem fortress and led his army to the town of Beth-Zechariah, where he camped not far from the army of Antiochus the Fifth.