Renewed Attacks from Syria

¹⁸ Meanwhile the garrison in the citadel kept hemming Israel in around the sanctuary. They were trying in every way to harm them and strengthen the Gentiles. ¹⁹ Judas therefore resolved to destroy them, and assembled all the people to besiege them. ²⁰ They gathered together and besieged the citadel^[a] in the one hundred and fiftieth year;^[b] and he built siege-towers and other engines of war. ²¹ But some of the garrison escaped from the siege and some of the ungodly Israelites joined them. ²² They went to the king and said, ‘How long will you fail to do justice and to avenge our kindred? ²³ We were happy to serve your father, to live by what he said, and to follow his commands. ²⁴ For this reason the sons of our people besieged the citadel^[c] and became hostile to us; moreover, they have put to death as many of us as they have caught, and they have seized our inheritances. ²⁵ It is not against us alone that they have stretched out their hands; they have also attacked all the lands on their borders. ²⁶ And see, today they have encamped against the citadel in Jerusalem to take it; they have fortified both the sanctuary and Beth-zur; ²⁷ unless you quickly prevent them, they will do still greater things, and you will not be able to stop them.’

²⁸ The king was enraged when he heard this. He assembled all his Friends, the commanders of his forces and those in authority.^{[d] 29} Mercenary forces also came to him from other kingdoms and from islands of the seas. ³⁰ The number of his forces was one hundred thousand foot-soldiers, twenty thousand horsemen, and thirty-two elephants accustomed to war. ³¹ They came through Idumea and encamped against Beth-zur, and for many days they fought and built engines of war; but the Jews^[e] sallied out and burned these with fire, and fought courageously.

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 He entered Jericho and was passing through it. ² A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax-collector and was rich. ³ He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycomore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. ⁵ When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.’ ⁶ So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. ⁷ All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’ ⁸ Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’ ⁹ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.’