1 About this time Antiochus the Fourth made a second attack against Egypt.
2 For nearly forty days people all over Jerusalem saw visions of cavalry troops in gold armour charging across the sky. The riders were armed with spears and their swords were drawn.
3 They were lined up in battle against one another, attacking and counter-attacking. Shields were clashing, there was a rain of spears, and arrows flew through the air. All the different kinds of armour and the gold bridles on the horses flashed in the sunlight.
4 Everyone in the city prayed that these visions might be a good sign.
5 When a false report began to spread that Antiochus had died, Jason took more than a thousand men and suddenly attacked Jerusalem. They drove back those stationed on the city walls and finally captured the city. Menelaus fled for safety to the fort, near the Temple hill,