7 Judas was the first to take up his weapons, and he urged the others to join him in risking their lives to help the other Jews. So with great eagerness they all set out together.
8 But they had not gone far from Jerusalem, when suddenly they noticed that they were being led by a horseman dressed in white and carrying gold weapons.
9 Immediately all of them together thanked God for his mercy; he had made them brave enough to attack not only men, but also the most savage animals or even walls of iron.
10 So they marched in battle formation, and with them went the one whom the Lord in his mercy had sent to fight on their side.
11 Then they charged into the enemy like lions, killing 11,000 infantry and 1,600 cavalry, and forcing the rest to run for their lives.
12 Most of those who ran were wounded and had lost their weapons, and Lysias himself managed to escape only because he ran away like a coward.
13 Lysias was no fool. As he thought about the defeat he had suffered, he realized it was because the mighty God had fought for the Jews, making it impossible for them to be defeated. So he sent a message to the Jews,