1-2 Meanwhile, King Antiochus and his army had invaded Persia, where they attempted to capture the city of Persepolis and to rob its temples. But the citizens of Persepolis fought back, until Antiochus and his army were forced to retreat in shame and confusion.
3 When Antiochus reached the city of Ecbatana, he was told what Judas had done to the armies of Nicanor and Timothy.
4 This made him furious, and he decided to take revenge on our people for the defeat he had just suffered at Persepolis. So he told his chariot driver to take him straight to Jerusalem. In his arrogance he thought, “I'll turn Jerusalem into a pile of Jewish bones!”Antiochus did not realize that the Lord God of Israel was about to punish him.
5 And at that very moment the Lord who sees everything struck him with a mysterious and deadly disease that made him double up with endless pain.
6 This was the perfect punishment for someone who had tortured others so often and with such cruelty.
7-8 But the pain just made Antiochus more arrogant than ever. He shouted terrible curses against our people and ordered his chariot driver to go even faster.Not long before this, he had felt so proud and powerful that he had said to himself, “Ocean waves obey me, and mountains move at my command!” But as his chariot was speeding along, he suddenly fell to the ground with such a thud that every part of his body ached. Then he was carried away on a stretcher, and everyone saw the power of God.
9 This godless Antiochus was still alive, but his body was tormented by throbbing pain. His skin began rotting, and worms started crawling out of his eyes. He was stinking so badly that his entire army felt like vomiting,