39-40 His huge army covered the hills and the valleys. And when the columns of soldiers marched forward, their gold and brass shields caught the rays of the sun and made the hillsides blaze with light.
41 The loud and clanging sound of this powerful army brought terror to the hearts of all who heard them coming.
42 But Judas and his troops still attacked, and they killed 600 of the enemy troops.
43 Eleazar noticed that the largest elephant was dressed in the royal armor. So he said to himself, “I'm certain Antiochus must be up there!”
44-46 Eleazar killed every enemy soldier around him, and others ran away as he bravely fought his way toward the huge elephant. Then he ran under it and stabbed it to death. But the heavy elephant sank down and crushed him. Eleazar gave up his life to save his people, and he will never be forgotten.
47 Suddenly the Jews realized how helpless they were against the fierce attack of the king's army, and they started running away.
48-49 Antiochus the Fifth surrounded Jerusalem with part of his army, while the rest of his troops set up camp everywhere in Judea. All of this happened during the Seventh Year, when the Jews do not plant crops.Antiochus attacked the town of Beth-Zur. Its people soon ran out of food and had to stop fighting, so they surrendered and left their town.