11 His words offered them more hope and encouragement than their shields and spears.Judas gave his troops further encouragement by telling them what he had seen in a dream—one that he knew they could trust. He said:
12 I saw Onias the high priest. He was both gentle and kind, as well as humble and honest. He also had a gift for speaking and had been brought up well. In my dream, Onias was praying for the whole nation, with his arms outstretched.
13 Next I saw a dignified and very important looking man with gray hair.
14 Onias said to me, “This man is God's prophet Jeremiah. He loves our nation and our holy city of Jerusalem so much that he never stops praying for us.”
15 Then with his right hand, Jeremiah handed me a gold sword and said,
16 “This sacred sword is a gift from God. Take it and cut your enemies to pieces.”
17 Everyone, young and old, was encouraged by what Judas had said. They felt so brave and strong that they decided to rush out of camp and fight Nicanor's troops in hand-to-hand combat, in order to protect the city, the holy things, and the temple.